Hey everyone,

This is my first post and also the specs for the new gaming rig that i am planning on building this summer:

Please let me know what you guys think and i am open to suggestions:

Ultra Black Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case
Ultra 700-Watt XVS Power Supply
EVGA nForce 680i SLI NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E660 2.40ghz OEM Processor
OCZ 2048MB PC5400 DDR2 667Mhz (2 X 1024MB)
Seagate 250GB Hard-Drive 8mb 7200
XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX 256MB PCI-e
2 DVD Burners

Also, can you guys please suggest what type of cooling i should do?

Again, keep in mind that this is my first ever build so would all these components be compatible with each other for good performace.

I am not looking for anything HARDCORE, just something that will play most FPS games and general use (multi-tasking)

I'd personally recommend combining the Core 2 Duo processor with an Intel P965 chipset based motherboard over an nForce alternative. You loose NVIDIA SLI support, but you did say you're not after hard core. SLI is a pretty stupid technology anyway.

hmm...thanks for the reply but what if i wanted to overclock a little bit.....i'm not into the Overclocking seen that much but from what i've researched, it's not possible to overclock an Intel motherboard

If not the 680i nForce how about the 650i? doesnt support SLi either and yes i agree that having 2 graphics card is a waste of money and space lol but if there is no alternative technology that comes out then it may leave me no choice in the future but to have an SLi setup....so having the 680i will at least keep it future proof.

Any other suggestions besides the Intel mobo Syphus or anyone else?

Perhaps you're confusing an Intel chipset with an Intel motherboard. The Core 2 Duo/P965 combination is in general, an exceptionally good overclocker. Intel motherboards do not typically include very good overclocking options, but motherboards manufacturered by the likes of ASUS, DFI, Gigabyte etc all feature pretty decent overclocking options and stability.

There are numerous examples if you actually care to look. There are also examples of the nForce 680i failing to live up to the P965

ahh yeah thanks for clearing that up, i think i was half asleep when i read that post....but yeah after researching a bit more on that i think i will def. go with that and it also makes my wallet much happier.

what do you think about the graphics card and other components? air cooled ok or should i go water cooled?

I find it hard to appreciate the benefit of water cooling when there are pretty efficient air coolers out there. Of course, it really depends what you're aiming to get.

It's still an unfortunate fact that if you buy a high end graphics card, you're probably going to have to swap out the stock cooler for at least an Arctic Cooling model.

I'd say water cooling is only really worth while if your system is going to suffer from high from internal air temperature (thinking in terms of Core 2 Quad and a pair of high end graphics cards).