New build please advise

[AgentOmega]

So its been 2 years since my last build and it is that time again.

I have been reading reviews for a while and have come up with a parts list and wanted to get opinions about the choices.
The Pc is first and foremost going to be a gaming rig. secondary uses are all low intensity but the rig itself is going to be overclocked as high as I can get it on air. I tend to upgrade my video card every 8 to 12 months compared to 2 years for the rest of my parts. My goal it to have a competitive system now and be able to just upgrade video later and be set for another 8 months. I am not going quad core as it makes no difference for the vast majority of games out now and I suspect for the next year or so.
My hard price limit is 1200$ US.

COOLMAX CUG-700B ATX 12V( V.2.2) 700W Power Supply - Retail 130$

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $260

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail $220

ZOTAC ZT-88TES3P-FCP GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $270

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $95

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail $115

ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler - Retail $40 ($30 after rebate)

COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $170 ($110 after rebate)

ANY feedback is appreciated oh and lastly I'm taking votes on which OS would be best for this rig for running games.
Windows XP 32
Windows XP 64
Windows Vista x64

 

[Dangman]

First of all, ditch that Coolmax. Coolmax does not make good PSUs AFAIK. Any of these other excellent quality PSUs have more than enough power to power your rig:
Corsair 650TX 650W PSU - $143
Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $145
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $160
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - $162

Any reason why you're going with the 780i motherboard? Are you planning to use SLI? If so, do you have a 24" monitor or play at 1920x1200+ resolution?

Also, my vote is for Windows Vista 64bit. Vista 64bit is better supported driver wise than XP64bit.

 

[AgentOmega]

Thanks for the info I think I will take your advice on the PSU's as for the 780i it just seemed like the best choice especially for overclocking also it supports 1066 memory and also has true SLI in that all the PCIe slots operate at x16 or 2.0.

 

[Dangman]

Actually with Core 2 Duo CPUs and their newer Penryn brethren, you really don't need a high-end motherboard to attain high OCs. I've seen people hit 4.0Ghz with the E8400 using the $90 IP35-E. So look around for cheaper motherboards. many of those cheaper mobos will offer the same kind of OC headroom and peformance as their 200+ brethren. Here are a few recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL Intel P35 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $127
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $150
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $168
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $175

 

[silent-circuit]

DFI P35 Dark P35-TR2S -$140 shipped at motherboardpro.com (haven't seen it anywhere else)

Supposedly has better power filtering (more stages) than the TR2L. May not be worth the extra $20 unless you're going for stupid-high OCs.

 

[AgentOmega]

So does chipset really not matter all that much I was under the impression that only the 780i had support for the 45nm wolfdale out of the box am I wrong on that?

 

[silent-circuit]

So does chipset really not matter all that much I was under the impression that only the 780i had support for the 45nm wolfdale out of the box am I wrong on that?

You are. P35 boards support Wolfsdale, as do X38 boards. Some boards will require a BIOS flash, however, so the "out of the box" statement may hold if the board you get is an older revision. If you happen to know anyone else living nearby with a S775 CPU you borrow briefly that's a non-issue.

 

[engiNURD]

nForce chipsets run hotter than Intel chipsets. Intel chipsets are known to be more reliable/stable (less potential issues). If you don't need SLI/Crossfire, the P35 chipset is your best choice since it runs cooler than the lower nForce chipsets. Any of the P35 boards already listed above will work fine.