My Gaming Rig

I will be talking about my personal desktop computer, which is self-assembled, built from components from Sim Lim Square. I must admit this was my first time building my computer from scratch, because my previous computer was pre-assembled. I took the whole night to build it, reading from the instruction manuals, took ages to fix the heatsink-fan combination to the processor (not very user-friendly installation though), had to attach the washers to the casing before fixing the mainboard to the casing, but it was a rewarding learning experience. Too bad my budget was only about a thousand dollars, so all my components were dirt cheap, but at least it can be upgraded in the future. Static electricity is also your worst enemy, it's a good idea to invest in a static wristband instead of touching metal to discharge your static electricity.

With unabated breath, here we go:


Overall View


Front View


Back View


Bird's Eye View


Side View


Side Closeup View


Top Down View


Top Down Closeup View


Specs

On a final note, I would just love to upgrade my mainboard to the MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum and upgrade my video card to the NV 7600GT. I would love to go dual core - An AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor would be a nice performance boost for multitasking. How about throwing in a Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi sound card with an AL GT5051R speakers? A good power boost would do wonders for those power hungry components - Antec Truepower 2.0 550W PSU would be nice too. Add some more storage for games, movies and music - WD Caviar SATA2 250GB HDD. Last but not least, not forgetting a DRP - UPS for a graceful shutdown and SP to prevent my precious components from being fried by lightning or power spikes. I would also love to get my hands on the new 802.11n (2nd draft standard) wireless router from brands such as Asus, Cisco, Linksys, Netgear; makes for faster wireless surfing, and also safer surfing with the new 802.11i wireless security. I almost forgot this one, I've always wanted a 17" DVI LCD monitor, perfect for watching movies or playing games.

Should I get a SLi or CrossFire mainboard? Is 1 + 1 = 2? Please give some C & C. Some advice would be helpful.