Ok, i should get the remaining parts for my new rig in the next couple of days, so i can finally start building it.
I will try to take some pictures during the process.

Here's the final setup:

Case:
Antec P182

PSU:
LC-Power Arkangel 850W

Motherboard:
Asus Striker II Formula

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Extreme Qx9650
For cooling i will first -*test*-('") the stock fan as it looks quite interesting, later i am probably going to install the Scythe Mugen i currently have in my PC. Unless there is need for more serious cooling at some point...

GPU's:
2xAsus 8800GTS 640Mb / SLI

Memory:
2Gb Corsair Dominator 1066Mhz DDR2 (not gonna upgrade to Vista like i originally planned to, so only 2Gb for now)

HDD's:
1xWD Raptor 150Gb
1xSeagate Barracuda 400Gb

So, that's how it looks like. Any comments or improvement ideas?

Looks Good,

I know nothing about RAID arrays, except they're fast. So why no 2 raptors??

Mark

(just remember if you go the RAID route, you need a good backup solution).

To be honest, i haven't built any RAID configs so far, so i have little knowledge about that area at the moment.

At this point the Raptor is replacing the 250Gb SG Barracuda as the OS + programs HDD.

I will probably do more HDD upgrading later, but first i need to learn more about the RAID configs etc.

edit:
well, i went ahead and ordered another 150Gb Raptor, after all, you can't have too much diskspace, can you

So, i will have 2x150Gb Raptor + the 400Gb SG Barracuda.

I assembled the new rig yesterday evening and now it is in "normal operating state", so nothing has been oc'd yet, but everything important has been installed / configured.

I run the "Windows Experience Test" on Vista (i don't know if it is any good ) and i got a pretty nice score.

It has score scale from 1 to 5.9.

Here's the result i got:

Nice, 5.9 is the highest score it will give right now.

So do you plan on joining us in the Forum Wars next month? Will be a great chance to get some oc'ing experience with the Striker II.

I have checked the Forum Wars forum a bit, but i must say that i am not too familiar with the rules... if someone could clarify them a bit, then i could think about it more seriously...

I haven't done any serious oc'ing, i am basically relying on normal cooling (the best CPU cooler i have at the moment is Scythe Mugen), so i won't be getting that high oc figures, but it might be interesting to give it a try.

To put it in a nutshell, you run about 6 bench -*test*-('")s, 3Dmark etc. and post your scores. We then get an overall score from 20 members. Not necessary to go crazy on overclocking at all. Many people are just aircooling so thats not a issue at all.

There are different team groups based on system specs, that way someone with a solid aircooled system is not competing against a watercooled, highly overclocked monster.

Fun part is everyone shares there overclocking experience and ideas with each other.

With your system, you should do fairly well with basic overclocking.

Well, that could be fun. When would i need to be ready (i am still not quite finished on the software optimizing side)...?

That would be great, MTM. We would really enjoy having you on the team!

We post stock scores from February 29th - March 14th. We decide who will be on which 4-person team (A, B, C, etc.) the following week, from March 15th - 21st.

Then, from March 22nd - April 19th, we start posting our over-clocked scores, going easy at first, with the hard-core group really pushing it toward the deadline.

We still have a couple three weeks to get just a basic stock bench score.

Here is the link to a thread that has the dates and stuff.

http://asustech.15.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=3404

MTM, you are ready to qualify now. All you need is stock scores before March 14th. That is a monster rig mate and you should learn to use it to the best of its capabilities. High priced gear is designed to be overclocked. If no overclocking then you can settle for a much lower priced motherboard. You need to learn about overclocking, though, and Forum Wars is, honestly, the best venue to do that. Bunch of guys addicted to this stuff helping each other out. I learn something new every year.

You spent the bucks mate now learn how to use it. You'll be amazed what a rig like that can do, safely, with a knowledgeable operator at the controls. Plus you'll understand the thing so much better.

We are all beginners at one time. Don't be intimidated. Some of the best O/Cers here learned during a Forum Wars. BTW, you never stop learning this stuff. You can't, there is too much to know and it changes daily so dive in and have some fun.

I already replaced the stock fan with the Scythe Mugen. Reason for that was that the stock fan was incredibly loud, even on the "more quiet" setting (it has normal mode and performance mode, on performance mode it sounded that my PC is gonna go airborne any minute now ).

Scythe brought the noise level back to normal and it also cools more efficiently as the cooling element is about 4 times the size of the stock one.

Merc, very good points on your post and trust me, i didn't buy all this stuff just to run it on stock So, i will be more than happy to learn more about oc'ing (i know a little already, but nothing too complex i guess...) and this Winter War thing might be just what i need.

I did a -*test*-('") run on 3DMark06, the score was something around 14,5k. I haven't got those other -*test*-('") softwares yet, but i will be downloading them in the next couple of day, so i can start getting those stock results.

One question, my memory is now running at 1066Mhz (SLI ready memory is enabled on BIOS, so it automatically set it to 1066), but as my memory is Corsair Dominator 1066Mhz, it still counts as stock, right?

I believe that's correct.

BTW, I was one of the "noobs" for the last FW. It was incredibly fun (I'm a geek when it comes to this stuff) learning what my machine could do. This group of people here are some of the nicest and patient people I have met online. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I know I did and couldn't wait until the next FW came up.

MTM - we need to know you exact memory specs to know for sure if running it @ 1066MHz is stock. But, it probably is, especially since the SLI setting has it running @ 1066. Please also go to the signature link via the forum control panel and list your system specs there, so they're always handy.

That's a good stock 3D06 score. Sounds like you know what you are doing to get the rest of the benches, but gives us a shout if you need more information.

As everyone is saying, it's really a ton of fun and it's a great learning experience. I'd been overclocking for quite a while, but last year was my first FWs. It took my game up quite a few notches.

If you are ready to join the team, PM Captain Merc, and he'll add you to the roster.

It is this one:
http://www.corsair.com/_datasheets/TWIN2X2048-8500C5D.pdf