Yes, I have a Modstream 520w. And if you're using a midtower case, you're in for an annoying time trying to curve and move the power cables of the modstream to fit in your case with all of your drives and other cables in there. There isn't much flexibility in the power cables in a mid tower case. I got mine to fit ok, but it was a tight fit and I had to put my cdrom up in the very top drive bay. This is just a warning. The Modstream is great otherwise. Maybe the OCZ Powerstream PSU is better for you (if you have a midtower case) if it doesn't have the same thick shielded cabling.
Again, if you don't have a midtower, then ignore this post completely.
---------------------------------------
3500+ San Diego?/3200+ Venice?
Asus A8n Sli Deluxe/Dfi Sli Dr?
X850 XT/6800 Ultra? PCI-E
Lian Li PC-65/CoolerMaster Praetorian?
Plextor/Pioneer?
MX 518/Razer diamond back?
Logitech Elite keyboard?
Hitachi SATA2 250 gigs/Seagate 7200.8 250 gigs?
OCZ El platinum rev 2/Patriot XBL/PQI Turbo?
Modstream/Powerstream?
---------------------------------------
Ok, now that you're asking about other hardware. Hardware is my forte.
CHIP:
The 3200+ Venice is good, but if you plan or want to OC to 2.8ghz, get a Venice 3800+. They don't have problems reaching 2.8ghz on air cooling. The 3200+ only reach about 2.5-2.6. It's up to you. Venice's though are nice, 10 degrees cooler by default, less power, and alot of OC'ing headroom.
MAINBOARD: For the best nF4 performance currently out (non-SLI), and all of the tuning options you'll ever need.....the DFI lanparty Nf4 Ultra-D is the best.
Video: The PCI-e version of the X850 XL is the best performance for the money. The X850 XL by default runs faster than 2 6800 GT's in SLI. For the $440 price tag, you cannot beat it. The platinum edition is $150 more and is only 5% faster. And what I do is use a program called "powerstrip" to OC my card to 540core/590memory (which is platinum edition speeds and it runs great. However doing this, I also use an additional 80mm fan blowing directly onto the card to help with cooling. Never has a problem.
CASE: Either a Lian Li or a good Antec case. Antec makes very good cases as well. Either a Lian Li or an Antec, all the way. Which exact one is up to your tastes and cooling options.
Plextor, always. The Plextor labs are cleaner inside their actual fab than some hard drive manufacturers. That tells you about the quality of Plextor.
Not sure what MX 518/Razer diamond back? is. Can't help you there. And keyboard doesn't matter. Whatever you want. Why don't you get a nice logitech wireless keyboard/mouse setup.
HARDDISK: I'm a gamer. I don't have a ton of stuff loaded on my machine. Usually only the games that I will play. I always remove excess things I won't use. So space isn't a concern for me. I run a WD740GD Sata I raptor. Sata 2 is not a concern right now, as currently HD transferrs don't even exceed the Sata 1 spec. But if you want the fastest, the WD740GD is it. However, it is pricier. If the 3-4 seconds of faster loading times on games is worth another $120 or so to you, then get the WD740GD, however if you want the next best thing. Go to www.storagereview.com and look up the fastest 7200rpm Maxtor you can find, and that'll be great too.
MEMORY: OCZ VX GOLD pc4000 2-2-2-8@3.5v is hands down the fastest memory out right now. However, it's $260 for a gig at newegg. Their OCZ VX value ram is cheaper and runs super fast as well. OCZ Platinum rev 2 is the next best thing under that.
POWER SUPPLY: If you're getting a full tower, then either a Modstream 520w or a Powerstream 520w is great. Don't worry about people here saying you don't need that much power. You're planning for the future. OCZ has a lifetime warantee, so you're getting a PSU that's enough power for the future. (If you're getting a midtower, then get the Powerstream as I said before, because the Modstream's shielded cables are hard to bend and mold in a midtower case. I know first hand.
Oh, btw:
COOLING: The best air cooling heatsink right now is the Thermalright XP-120. Mix that with a panaflo 120mm (115cfm) fan (www.coolerguys.com) and put AS5 on the CPU obviously and you'll have the best air cooling solution to date. Unless you don't care about noise, and then get the 190cfm Delta 120mm fan. But that's crazy, and will turn your PC into a noise machine rivaling a server room.
Check Thermalright's site to see if the heatsink will fit your mainboard too, because it's the biggest commercial heatsink there is right now. It fits the DFI lanparty nf4 Ultra-D just fine as long as you don't use the bigger memory (like the Corsair modules with LED's). The heatsink on the DFI boards will cover the 4th DIMM slot -above- the memory. It doesn't block the memory from going into there, it's above it, but only normal sized memory will fit there, not the big Corsairs. And the heatpipes on the heatsink will block the PCI-e 4x slot. It doesn't block the PCI-e 16x slots that people use for vid cards.
3500+ San Diego?/3200+ Venice?
Asus A8n Sli Deluxe/Dfi Sli Dr?
X850 XT/6800 Ultra? PCI-E
Lian Li PC-65/CoolerMaster Praetorian?
Plextor/Pioneer?
MX 518/Razer diamond back?
Logitech Elite keyboard?
Hitachi SATA2 250 gigs/Seagate 7200.8 250 gigs?
OCZ El platinum rev 2/Patriot XBL/PQI Turbo?
Modstream/Powerstream?
---------------------------------------
Ok, now that you're asking about other hardware. Hardware is my forte.
CHIP:
The 3200+ Venice is good, but if you plan or want to OC to 2.8ghz, get a Venice 3800+. They don't have problems reaching 2.8ghz on air cooling. The 3200+ only reach about 2.5-2.6. It's up to you. Venice's though are nice, 10 degrees cooler by default, less power, and alot of OC'ing headroom.
MAINBOARD: For the best nF4 performance currently out (non-SLI), and all of the tuning options you'll ever need.....the DFI lanparty Nf4 Ultra-D is the best.
Video: The PCI-e version of the X850 XL is the best performance for the money. The X850 XL by default runs faster than 2 6800 GT's in SLI. For the $440 price tag, you cannot beat it. The platinum edition is $150 more and is only 5% faster. And what I do is use a program called "powerstrip" to OC my card to 540core/590memory (which is platinum edition speeds and it runs great. However doing this, I also use an additional 80mm fan blowing directly onto the card to help with cooling. Never has a problem.
CASE: Either a Lian Li or a good Antec case. Antec makes very good cases as well. Either a Lian Li or an Antec, all the way. Which exact one is up to your tastes and cooling options.
Plextor, always. The Plextor labs are cleaner inside their actual fab than some hard drive manufacturers. That tells you about the quality of Plextor.
Not sure what MX 518/Razer diamond back? is. Can't help you there. And keyboard doesn't matter. Whatever you want. Why don't you get a nice logitech wireless keyboard/mouse setup.
HARDDISK: I'm a gamer. I don't have a ton of stuff loaded on my machine. Usually only the games that I will play. I always remove excess things I won't use. So space isn't a concern for me. I run a WD740GD Sata I raptor. Sata 2 is not a concern right now, as currently HD transferrs don't even exceed the Sata 1 spec. But if you want the fastest, the WD740GD is it. However, it is pricier. If the 3-4 seconds of faster loading times on games is worth another $120 or so to you, then get the WD740GD, however if you want the next best thing. Go to www.storagereview.com and look up the fastest 7200rpm Maxtor you can find, and that'll be great too.
MEMORY: OCZ VX GOLD pc4000 2-2-2-8@3.5v is hands down the fastest memory out right now. However, it's $260 for a gig at newegg. Their OCZ VX value ram is cheaper and runs super fast as well. OCZ Platinum rev 2 is the next best thing under that.
POWER SUPPLY: If you're getting a full tower, then either a Modstream 520w or a Powerstream 520w is great. Don't worry about people here saying you don't need that much power. You're planning for the future. OCZ has a lifetime warantee, so you're getting a PSU that's enough power for the future. (If you're getting a midtower, then get the Powerstream as I said before, because the Modstream's shielded cables are hard to bend and mold in a midtower case. I know first hand.
Oh, btw:
COOLING: The best air cooling heatsink right now is the Thermalright XP-120. Mix that with a panaflo 120mm (115cfm) fan (www.coolerguys.com) and put AS5 on the CPU obviously and you'll have the best air cooling solution to date. Unless you don't care about noise, and then get the 190cfm Delta 120mm fan. But that's crazy, and will turn your PC into a noise machine rivaling a server room.
Check Thermalright's site to see if the heatsink will fit your mainboard too, because it's the biggest commercial heatsink there is right now. It fits the DFI lanparty nf4 Ultra-D just fine as long as you don't use the bigger memory (like the Corsair modules with LED's). The heatsink on the DFI boards will cover the 4th DIMM slot -above- the memory. It doesn't block the memory from going into there, it's above it, but only normal sized memory will fit there, not the big Corsairs. And the heatpipes on the heatsink will block the PCI-e 4x slot. It doesn't block the PCI-e 16x slots that people use for vid cards.
Thank you very much for the response BattleWaffle! Greatly Appreciated! The MX 518 is a new Logitech mouse and the Razer Diamond Back is new gaming mouse also. Yea im pretty much a gamer too all i do is game. So far i have most things figured out. Im thinking to actually go with the San Diego core since it seems to be a very good oc'er. Venice is great too but ive seen most success with San Diego 
. Also the new Antec P180 looks great and has 4 120mm Fans! Ima totally get that case. Dfi is having too many problems and i dont kno if i want to deal with that, especially the ultra d's, they have been having a lot of trouble with diff stuff. I think ima just go with the Asus A8N SLI Deluxe. Heres how everything looks so far:
Amd Athlon 3500+ San Diego
Asus A8N Sli Deluxe
Antec P 180
OCZ Modstream 520W
OCZ El Platinum Revision 2
Western Digital 74 Gig Raptor
Ati Connect3d X850 XT PCI-E
Plextor PX-716SA
Mitsumi 1.44
Samsung 990DF 19"
Logitech MX-518
Logitech Elite
. Also the new Antec P180 looks great and has 4 120mm Fans! Ima totally get that case. Dfi is having too many problems and i dont kno if i want to deal with that, especially the ultra d's, they have been having a lot of trouble with diff stuff. I think ima just go with the Asus A8N SLI Deluxe. Heres how everything looks so far:Amd Athlon 3500+ San Diego
Asus A8N Sli Deluxe
Antec P 180
OCZ Modstream 520W
OCZ El Platinum Revision 2
Western Digital 74 Gig Raptor
Ati Connect3d X850 XT PCI-E
Plextor PX-716SA
Mitsumi 1.44
Samsung 990DF 19"
Logitech MX-518
Logitech Elite
Instead of that Asus A8N ima go with the DFI lanparty SLi-Dr but everything else im going to get. Thanks so much for everyone and ur help.
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