Well Whats more future proof? the faster card would be the good choice but it also depeends on how a game is geared more to a certain brand like Crysis which likes Nvidia more than ATI. 04dcarraher

TWIMTBP doesn't make a game run better on Nvidia cards.

Tech Report:

But idle temp was still 80C, and I maxed overclocked it and it only went up to 85C without any problems. Elann2008

The fan fix will lower the temps considerably, to around 50C idle and 60C under load. It's on my sig but if you want more details Wesker made a guide.

Raptors seems a little expensive, is the extra increase to 10000rpm worth it?

Snosavan24

Not worth the extra cash for little performance gain. The Caviar 640 GB is fast enough. I'd rather wait a few seconds more for the pc to boot than to pay 200$ extra for 340 GB less.

[QUOTE="9mmSpliff"]Crossfire Intel boards
RD600 = Dual x8
P35 = x16/x4
P45 = Dual x8
X38/X48 = Dual x16
JP_Russell

Right, but are those conditions only when you have two cards in Crossfire? Or is that true when you just have a single video card in the board, as well?

Only when you have 2 cards in Crossfire. When you have one, it operates at x16 speed.

You'll need an after market cooler if you want to overclock your cpu.

Yes you can fit 2 hard drives in that case, up to 6 I think.

If you want max Crossfire performance get an X38 or X48 motherboard, like this Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 (225$).

You can start with a single HD4870 (285$ - 30$ MIR), and add a 2nd one later when the price drops even more.

I would get the Corsair 750TX 750W power supply, it's more than enough to power your system.

And you will want 2x2 GB of ddr2 ram 800 Mhz.

Plus 2-3 additional 120 mm fans.

-Where will you buy these parts from ?
-Do you need a new monitor ?
-What resolution will you use ?
-Does your budget include a monitor ?
-Do you multitask a lot ?

First comment: One 640 GB HD is enough for now, you can get a 2nd one later.

Any good nvidia cards for $180ish cause I heard ati drivers sometimes dont work.Helbrec

That's a lie. ATI releases monthly WHQL drivers. That means they are thouroughly tested and get certified. Their drivers are stable and give a performance boost in several games every single month. Last I checked Nvidia releases more beta drivers than certified ones. You'd be getting a slower card because of a false myth.