Pre-sales config questions

I am in the market for a high-end gaming computer, and I've been shopping around online at about 10 different integrators.  I want a system that can play today's bleeding-edge games at the highest settings, because (even though that's pretty cool in and of itself) in 4-5 years I want this same system to be able to play new games at moderate settings.  In other words, I want to be somewhat future-proof and know that my investment is going to last me a while.  I've almost settled on Digital Storm, but I have a few questions before I make my purchase.

I currently own a 3-year-old system from a very well-known (if not the best known) gaming integrator, and quite honestly the only reason I've had it this long is because I am trying to eke out something close to my money's worth.  From an integration perspective, service has been horrible, the build time was over 10 weeks, and in terms of both theoretical (3DMark) and real-world (frame rates, loading times, etc.) performance, the system is actually SLOWER than computers that were thrown together by folks I know using similar parts.  Stability has been decidedly average and the only way my gaming room could be any louder from spinning blades is if I tried to fire up a passenger helicopter in here.

I only bring up my last experience with getting a gaming computer because I want to learn from my mistakes.  From reading testimonials here, at reseller ratings, etc. I feel pretty comfortable that my support experience with DS would be a good one.  But I ask those of you who own and have been using a DS system - how do you feel about the value-add of having DS build your system for you?  What is your experience with DS giving you a fast, quiet, and stable build?

For DS (or anyone else who wants who wants to answer), I have some technical config questions as well.

* In addition to pretty hard-core gaming, I also have some computationally intensive apps that I'd like to run on this machine.  Will DS overclock an Intel QX6850 to 3.67GHz (if liquid cooling for the CPU was purchased)?  Would such a system still qualify for 3-year parts warranty and the 24x7 phone support?

* If I do plan to overclock a quad-core CPU but don't plan to overclock the video cards, is liquid cooling for a 8800 SLI system "overkill", "nice to have", or "required"?

* There's an 850-Watt "8800GTX SLI Certified" power supply to pick from, but other integrators make a big deal about providing kilowatt power supplies in their SLI systems.  Given my potential power-consumption situation (overclocked quad-core, non-overclocked SLI video, 1 hard drive, 1 optical drive), what should I consider when deciding between 850W and 1KW?

* I'm definitely going with 32-bit Vista (I can't believe what I'm willing to do for DX10 ), and I understand that a 32-bit OS can't fully address 4GB of RAM.  But it should be able to address well over 3GB, shouldn't it?  My current usage profile looks something like... a really demanding game, TeamSpeak, iTunes, antivirus, and sometimes even IM and a browser open on a second monitor.   For people who run a few other background apps like I do when they're gaming, is 2GB enough or do you still page to disk a lot?  I'm trying to figure out if I should invest in the extra RAM to get the boost above 2GB in my 32-bit OS now, or if should I wait until I actually get a 64-bit OS to go all the way to 4GB instead.

* Does DS offer some sort of price/config guarantee like some of the other integrators?  I understand prices and configs change, but even a 30-day or 60-day guarantee against dramatic price drops on existing configs to prevent customers from getting "iPhoned" would make me feel a whole lot more comfortable about purchasing now as opposed to later.

* Finally, any other comments/recommendations based on what I've said so far?

Thanks a lot for reading through this novella and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  It's a great feature to be able to tap into the forum community like this before I'm even a customer!

Sorry, I should have phrased my question about the cooling better:

* If I do plan to overclock and liquid-cool a quad-core CPU but don't plan to overclock the video cards (due to stability concerns), is adding video card liquid cooling for a 8800 SLI system "overkill", "nice to have", or "required"?

It's good to know that the QX6850 may even go higher than 3.67Ghz; I guess now I need to know if DS will do it (and still cover it via warranty).

I trust the recommendation about the power supply, but I am still not sure I understand why you recommend the 1 kilowatt over the 850 watt.

Thanks for the help so far!

Liquid cooling is a Nice to have option and not required if you don't plan to an insane amount of OC. You can choose to liquid cool the CPU only or both cpu and video card. DS will OC your system to a stable point and i think they will cover it for 3 years. For a non SLI system, you don't need 1 KW power supply, a 850W is plenty. Go online and sites that has the online power calculator and you'll see what you need. Most of the SLI requirement is a little off since people want to be safe. The 1K MAYBE needed for the 8800ULTRA in SLI and for future upgrade. If you wnt a 1K PS, go with the PowerPc&Cooling PS instead of the Thermaltake---It's the best power supply there is. I still have a PcPower&Cooling PS unit from the days of Win95 and it still works fine to this day.

Everybody has been on the ball, just for clarification purposes:

It can be a bit confusing at first, but the overclocking feature is combined with the cooling selections. In the cooling selections, when it says "twisterboosted" that means the cpu is going to be overclocked.

Nice config btw