Help wth Spec

[Malal]

Hi,

Been a long time since I last built a system, so here is the spec any comments and advice would be most appreciated.

I'm looking to get somethign that is going to last, just started Uni so this is all my spare cash for next few years so looking for something that will last especially components like Case/PSU etc

I haven't done any overclocking before so I'm also looking for any adivce you can throw at me on whether I should water cool the system or just air cool and if so what I need.

CPU: X6800 or E6700
Mobo: Abit AW9D-MAX / or would one of the Abit boards be better i.e. P5W64-WS
Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (again thoughts?)
Case: CoolerMaster Stacker 83
PSU: Enermax Galaxy 850W
HDD: 2 x WD Raptor 150GB (RAID 0)
GFX: ATI X1950 XT-X
SoundCard : Soundblaster X-Fi

Water Cool: Zalman Reserator2
Air cooling: No clue

Thanks a lot for any help your able to give.

Cheers

Malal

 

[Malal]

Well my budget is around £2k ex VAT.

What would be a good suggestion memory wise? and which of the motherboards if not the one I suggested or is that one ok?

GFX again im not 100% sure on, basically I want something that will do well till we get to at least 2nd release of DX10 cards. I can run up to 2048x1536 on my monitor.

Is it worth dropping the card I chose and getting 2 older cards in a crossfire configuration? I've heard mixed reviews about crossfire although it may be a lot better now.

I'll take a look at the case suggestions I've seen the reviews and pics on the net of the coolermaster.

I want if possible to try to keep the noise of the PC down as low as possible if I go with air cooling is there any way to work out how many fans etc I will need to keep it cool while OC'ing?

Cheers again for the input

Malal