I am getting ready to build a new computer for gaming and some home DVD making work. I have made about 50 different builds and this is the latest. I would appreciate any input you can give. I am working with a $3000 us. budget and will be reusing my keyboard, mouse and speakers. anyway, here is the build.

150 thermolake Black Tower case
25 Lite on IHAS120-08 DVD/CD burner
250 Ausus P5Q3 socket 775 intel P45 crossfire MOBO
290 CPU C2D E8500 3.16 Ghz
375 DDR3 ram Super Talent 1800 Mhz 4GB 2 x 2GB
570 2 X Asus EAH4870/HTDI 512Mb radeon HD 4870 w/ GDDR5
60 CPU Fan V-1
519 ICZ Core Series SSD drive 128 GB
190 HDD 32Mb cache 1 TB by Samsung
110 Vista Home Premium
180 PSU Apevia Warlock 900 wt
300 Monitor gateway FPD2485w 24" WS

I'm sticking with the C2D instead of a mid level C2Q but I will upgrade to an C2extreme when prices drop. I am also interested in anyone's thoughts on going with the crossfire set up. I have been a long time fan of ATI and I guess more than anything I'm hoping they get their act together. That said, I would still really like to know what the better informed think of the crossfire decision. ( it is not a done deal yet)

thank you

i think crossfire is a waste of money. 10% tops performance increase for 2x the cost. i doubt i'd do it even with an unlimited budget

consider a xigmatek hdt cooler. i'm using a HDT-RS1283 120mm (the fancy one with lights). e8400 @3.23, core idle temp 51º/52ºC, full load both cores 100% 57º/58ºC. stock cooler was 71º/72ºC full load.

the stuffs y'all have there will do the job rather well. nice specs.

Thanks. that saves me $25 on the PSU. so if I go with an E8500 I was thinking of an XFX nForce 790i ultra sli with one of the new gtx 280's. still within budget and with a little room to spare. Any thoughts on the MOBO or the new video card?

yah man. i just looked at the board at anandtech and that looks to be very nice, very well laid out. like looks like most of the slots can be used. i'd be happy to get rid of pci entirely and use pcie1x slots.

the intel chipsets have been better with intel chips for some time but the p45 is new so expect a few problems. the 4870 and 280gtx are about equal so that's a tossup other than the nvidia cost. haven't been looking at the nvidia chipsets lately. this is my first intel build so have been concentrating on the intel stuff.

i'm using a gigabyte ga-ep35-ds4. it's stable and fast enough and the bios is very easy to use but the board layout stinks. i'll probably change in a month or so. maybe by then the p45 will have matured.

here's what anandtech has to say about the 790i.

790i at anandtech

Thanks again. I really want to get a good MOBO this time the one I have been limping along is an abit socket 754. It has nice bios tools that let someone who has never overclocked anything OC my poor amd athlon 2.0 Mhz processor to 2.4, just enough to play Crysis, with now problems. I just want a good MOBO so I can still make upgrades for a while. This is the first time I've ever spent more than $1200 on parts to build a PC. Hope all goes well.

BTW nice article. I have about two months before I order the parts so maybe something will come down in price. And I'm waiting to see some more reviews of the SSDD. I'm still a little hesitant with that as well. thanks for your time

y'all're welcome dave. looks like y'all have this thing well under control.