I started getting the itch to upgrade my rig recently, and last night I believe I parted together what I believe to be a pretty nice gamer setup. I almost bought the GTX 280, I actually did make the purchase, but reluctantly cancelled the order before it processed. It's just too much money for a single video card... but what about 3 cards I wondered.

Fast forward, I'm putting about $2,000 worth of system guts into my cart. Triple SLI Gamer Rig specs:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450 - Retail
$329.99

EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$349.99 - $30 MIB

x3 XFX PVT98FYDDU GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) XXX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$659.97 ($219.99 each) $30 total MIB

COOLMAX CUQ-1200B 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
$199.99

x2 Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$79.99 each

OCZ NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3N1800SR4GK - Retail
$410.99

Total: $2110.91

Okay, so it's a little bit over $2k but I'm sure there is a combo deal on NewEgg.com and then the MIB's which would lower this price a bit. I plan on using my current Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case and cheapy Lite-on DVD-RW Drive from my current system. I was also thinking of using the upcoming Geforce 9800 GTX+'s in this build when they come out in a couple weeks since I need to wait for another paycheck anyway to afford this setup.

What do you think? Waste of money... or good deal?

Current Rig:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
COOLMAX CUG-700B 700W ATX 12V( V.2.2) Power Supply - Retail

No no youve got it all wrong. Its either the new cards or no nvidia.
Try an ASUS P5E and buy 2 4870's and CF them.

Since you don't need DDR3 anymore, just get 4GB Corsair DOMINATOR or Gskill. I'm still figuring out which is better.

Get ONE 640GB drive. I've heard that they are almost as fast as the raptors.

Get a quality 750W PSU since you're not SLI anymore.

+1 for the CPU.

Hope I helped.

I would crossfire considering it will cost less than doing sli. I would change psu and a mobo to a X48 (Rampage Formula) to pair with the Q9450. The Maximus 2 Formula is out I believe and apparently overclocks well, but if you are using crossfire, you properly should go with the X48 for running both cards at pci-e x16 slots

I'd rather have a gt 280 than 3x 9800gtx myself

I got a 780i and been on XFX forums trying to get it working and all I see is 790i problems.... I recommend X48 too...

Well going with the X48 route is tempting since they're including a copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with it on NewEgg.com, and overall it'd be ~$500 cheaper with an ATI 4870 Crossfire setup:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131284

Still, from what I've seen the upcoming Geforce 9800 GTX+'s they seem to be a little more overclockable from what I've read. I'd like to hear if anyone has been extremely successful with a Triple SLI setup, and perhaps see some benchmark differences if possible.

Well, it seems like in my moment of impulsiveness I may have gotten the GTX 280 anyway, along with a Q6600, and 780i mobo. Just checked my bank statement...

06/27/08 WWW.NEWEGG.COM 800-390-1119 CA $1,117.56

yeah 280 is better bet anyway. save for a second one and itl rape. no wait, get 3. hrmm hmmm