So, I've basically got a rough outline of my PC please speak up if I'm getting an inferior part or you have any changes you guys might make. I'm pretty confident this rig will last me until some damn powerful DX11 card turns out. This will be my first PC that I have made personally so I'm a massive noob 

CPU - Intel Core i7 920 - $280 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4240166&SRCCODE=PRICEGRABBER&cm_mmc_o=2mHCjCVybgwTyz__wyCjCVqHCjCdwwp

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P - $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-GIGABYTE-_-13128374

GPU - three way SLI of GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB - $450 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133270&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-PNY+Technologies++Inc.-_-14133270

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB - $60 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Hard+Drives-_-Seagate-_-22148395

Memory - Corsair XMS3 3GB PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3- $90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145225&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-Corsair+(XMS+Series)-_-20145225

PSU - Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W - $190 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371012&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Power+Supplies-_-Antec-_-17371012

1300 bucks eh... at least it runs Crysis. I already have a case and monitor ready for my new build.

You do realise that damn powerful is about 2-3months away? The new AMD cards will launch around Windows 7.

Also the PSU you chose can't run Tri SLI because it only has 4 PCI-E power adapters. Sorry!

Oh yeah and the cheaper Corei5 mainstream motherboard/CPUs are coming out, if you aren't looking to overclock...

Oh and the HDD you chose is a little small, you should get 1000GB because games are starting to chew through 20+GB of space.

I'm a fanatic overclocker and since Tri SLIs absolutely need Core i7s I guess the 920 is perfect to me.

To be honest, I don't think I'm going to use more than 500GB. If anything I could still use also my old but efficient 320GB 5400rpm hard drive.

And damn I didn't knew that 1000W behemoth couldn't run Tri SLI. I absolutely forgot to look at it's features. So, do you recommend me any PSU?

triple sli??? is that going to give like what? 85% to 100% more than a single 260?? for me aint worth it... you should buy a 285 now and if she gave up on you in the future then you would go for another 285 and then yes put that sli to work ... then it would be much cheaper then today.... but hey ... IMO... with the money you save from GPU buy more RAM... 3Gb aint that much...

haxxiy said: I'm a fanatic overclocker and since Tri SLIs absolutely need Core i7s I guess the 920 is perfect to me. To be honest, I don't think I'm going to use more than 500GB. If anything I could still use also my old but efficient 320GB 5400rpm hard drive. And damn I didn't knew that 1000W behemoth couldn't run Tri SLI. I absolutely forgot to look at it's features. So, do you recommend me any PSU?

Well if I recall correctly Direct X 11s driver is better model for multi GPU support for reasons I cannot remember. Also there are some really cool features such as multi-threaded rendering and the compute shader which are quite relevant for multi-gpu owners. Lastly I would suspect that two AMD latest generation cards will be more powerful overall and more consistantly powerful than 3 GTX 265's when you consider how they are likely to be more powerful than a GTX 285 and two GPUs scale better than three. Also when theres no scaling, as in crossfire/sli fails you'll have better single card performance.

One reason to go with a larger HDD is not just because it has more space, but you also get greater transfer performance as the platters have a higher density. Also you attain a higher average performance if you don't fill up the disc, its better to have more than you need than just what you want.

As for a PSU, I really can't help you that well. Its an important component and I have absolutely no experience with anything over 1000W.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817611009 Thats Tri SLI compatible for example.

@ sergiodaly: Tri SLI benefits are around 150% over a single card using an overclocked Core i7 processor. You can't beat a GTX260 tri-sli considering it is only $450.

mmm. Maybe I should wait and see how the new Radeon cards will turn out. If they are like 1280 shaders, 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs (exactly two times a RV740) I will surely get a 2x Crossfire instead.
Please AMD, do not release a 960:48:16 card or some crap alike at $300.

The only clue I have regarding their performance is that they will be > GTX 285. So 2* > GTX 285 at minimum is likely faster than 3* GTX 265s. Thats all I can say for sure, everything else is being kept close to their chest.

Right, so I thought about doing an AMD platform instead, using the AMD Black Edition AMD Phenom II X4 955 / 3.2 GHz processor and a Asus M4A78T-E Motherboard. I would spare around $150 compared to the i7 platform, and still be able to do a Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire when the cards come out.

Someone knows how much performance I would lose regarding multi-GPU gaming using the Phenom processor?

See, this is the problem I am having trying to build my computer, I dont understand anything you guys are talking about but I want to get back into PC gaming. Its sad, I feel ashamed.

BTW it sounds like a nice setup but thats only because I wouldnt know if there is anything better

Ha, thanks man. Its's an amazing high-end bang-for-the-buck setup, so to speak.