 | Antec Twelve Hundred ATX 12 Drive Bays 2xUSB 2.0 eSATA Audio Mid Tower Case
Buy new: $159.99 Bottom line, an SLI system should have a big case, not just because video cards have become ridiculously huge, but for your sanity to survive the building process intact. Working in a large case makes things much easier, and it will provide much needed cooling. You can even route cables behind the motherboard tray for a professional look.
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 | Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5 GHz 6M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Quad-Core Processor
Buy new: $239.99 / Used from: $209.99 The brains of this system will be the 45nm Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor. Sure, the 7.5 multiplier may be a bit low for some overclockers tastes, but on air cooling for the best stability, an overclock in the ballpark of 3 Ghz was our aim, and this CPU is just what the doctor ordered.
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 | XFX MBN780ISH9 nForce 780i Ultra SLI Ready DDR2 1333Mhz FSB Socket LGA 775 ATX Intel Motherboard
Buy new: $219.99 The default voltage settings in BIOS for most 780i motherboards seem a bit askew for most quad core systems so make sure you go in and check them and if need be. Also make sure each GTLVRef voltage do not read "0" for your CPU, a minimum setting of 0.5 in each lane should get your system running stable avoiding the dreaded "CPU Safe Mode..." message.
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 | Corsair Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF 8GB 2 x 4GB PC2-8500 1066MHz 240-Pin DDR2 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit
Buy new: $140.25 / Used from: $158.25 We splurged and went for 4 GB of Corsair Dominator 1066. If you're going to be building a system with a 32-bit OS, then 2 GB will serve you well enough, though a 4 GB kit will give you more headroom. This is SLI enabled memory, but if you overclock, you'll most likely want to set all the timings manually and turn off that feature in bios.
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 | XFX PVT98FYDF9 GeForce 9800GTX 512MB DDR3 675MHz Dual DVI PCI Express 2.0 SLI Ready Video Card
The 9800 GTX is a solid choice for gaming so you can imagine how great 2 of them will treat your games. With this configuration, you won't need to imagine, we went with 2 of them. Playing some Direct X 10 games like Crysis, Assassins Creed, and Company of Heroes really gives these cards a chance to shine.
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 | PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
Buy new: $140.46 / Used from: $100.00 The latest X-Fi card from Creative boasts a new PCI-E interface. Perfect for those lonely PCI-E x1 slots that largely go unused up until now. In this configuration, you will have to plug the card into the middle PCI-E x16 slot since the video cards cover up the x1 slot. It works fine in the x16 slot, but if you want triple SLI, you will have to use on-board sound.
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 | Western Digital WD1500AHFDRTL Raptor X 150GB SATA/150 Hard Drive
Since this was purely a gaming PC, we selected 2 of these for a RAID 0 array. However you may want to use 1 for games and opt for a larger drive for storage of your media files. The 780i motherboard has plenty of SATA ports for more drives, and the Antec case has plenty of bays to accommodate them.
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 | CORSAIR 750w TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply
Buy new: $111.97 / Used from: $124.97 This PSU is in a word: Awesome. Those of you looking for flashy aesthetics, and modular cables, need not apply. But if you're in the market for a extremely solid and high performance PSU, this is it. With a large case, the non modular cables aren't even a problem.
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 | Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Buy new: $74.80 / Used from: $65.99 The back lighting on this keyboard is awesome. The keys have a very responsive tactile feel, and the extra customizable keys are welcome to any MMORPG player. The LCD is very useful beyond just gaming stats too.
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 | Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (931376-0403)
Buy new: $54.97 / Used from: $25.99 Laser precision, comfortable grip, customizable weights, and a tangle free cloth cord. The Logitech G5 makes playing games that much more enjoyable.
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 | Sony BDUX10S SATA Blu-ray Disc-ROM Drive (Internal)
Buy new: $149.99 / Used from: $131.99 If you plan on watching High Definition Blu Ray content on your system, then you'll need one of these. They are "Read-Only" drives so yow will need to pair it up with a burner of your choice. The SATA interface keeps things tidy inside the PC too.
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 | Sony BWU200S DVD+/-RW Blu-ray Disc Serial ATA (SATA) Drive
Buy new: $599.99 / Used from: $479.99 This component is for those of you with high definition digital camcorders or a lot of files to back up. Though Blu Ray burning s not for everyone right now, the HD wars are over and this is a much safer investment than it was last year. Most people can substitute this with a regular DVD burner.
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 | Zalman CNPS9700LED Ultra Quiet Cpu Cooler
Buy new: $54.99 The standard cooler for most of our builds. Great design, adjustable direction for airflow, and a simple installation procedure, makes this cooler a staple for most overclockers.
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 | Antec TriCool case fan ( TRICOOL120MM BLUELED )
Buy new: $17.24 / Used from: $14.89 An extra 120mm fan for the side panel mounting point on the Antec Twelve Hundred case. Done.
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 | Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1
Buy new: $249.99 / Used from: $140.99 Windows Vista Ultimate X64, if you want to make use of 64-bit, 4 GB or more of memory and Direct X 10, you gotta have Vista X64. Home Premium X64 will do the job too.
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