Feedback on this Monarch system?

[stringer]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate your feedback on this machine that I configured at Monarch. I've been going back and forth between ABS, PC Club, Velocity and Monarch for a couple of weeks now, and this seems to offer the best bang for the buck. Besides, if I look at one more configurator my head will asplode

Machine will be used for moderately heavy gaming (WoW, FPS, RTS), light video editing, Photoshop, and as an ocassional backup for my dedicated digital audio recording machine:

Monarch Nemesis Custom Desktop w/PCI-E and SLI
Case: 100588 - PS 450W - Antec Sonata II Piano Black Qui $99.99
Power Supply: 100241 - PS 550W - Antec True Power 2 SLI ATX 2.0 $84.99
Case Fan: 100886 - 80mm - Antec 80mm SmartCool Case Fan $19.50


Motherboard: 110257 - Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Audio/GB- $159.68
Processor: 120233 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core 512K Per $390.00
Thermal Grease: 800018 - Shin-Etsu G675 Thermal Grease (Cools CPU $14.99
Heat Sink Fan: 130223 - Thermaltake TR2TT A4014 CPU Cooler for AM $19.73
Memory: 140178 - DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair $107.76
2nd Memory: 140178 - DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair $107.76
Hard Drive: 150939 - SATA3G - Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB $125.55
2nd Hard Drive: 150939 - SATA3G - Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB $125.55
3rd Hard Drive: 150939 - SATA3G - Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB $125.55
RAID Setup: 80012 - RAID 1 (One) $10.00 $10.00
RAID Controller: None
Plextor PX-740A/SW-BL Dual Layer $94.79
Lite-On SOHR-5239S 52X32X52 CD-RW $29.00

Mitsumi Floppy 7-in-1 USB Card Reader/Sma $46.75
Creative Labs X-Fi Platinum 7.1 24-Bit So $179.00
Video Card: 190466-2 eVGA GeForce 7800 GT CO 256MB DDR3/PCI-E/ $679.98
Add-On Card: 270408 - Fire Wire - 4 Port Fire Wire Card

Total Price: $2,855.00

I'm still torn on whether to go with the 2 7800GT's in SLI, or a single 7800GTX. I'm leaning heavily towards the SLI route. The power supply is another concern.

I considered an Opty instead of the X2, but I definitely will not be OC'ing this system.

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 119758]

Looks like a really nice machine. Lots o' storage - lol. If you're a heavy gamer, it's hard not to go with SLI if that's an option for you. We've got 7800GT's in SLI in a system in our [H] Consumer offices right now and it's a beast of a machine.

The X-Fi sound card is also a very nice choice. Very impressive sound solution.

 

[stringer]

Thanks for the reply DNA Doc. Heh, I must have slipped up on the build -- 2 HD's should be plenty, not sure where that 3rd one came from.

Glad to hear that the dual 7800GT approach works well, I think that's what I'll go with.