Don't forget a good case, and a Windows license.

Originally Posted by doondoon

WoW that is real helpful i didnt expect so much detail, thank you very much for this i decided to go with the
ASUS P5K AiLifestyle Series iP35 Socket 775 eSATA 8channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Coolermaster RealPower 700W Modular PSU - SLI Ready
Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-18) Heat Spreader

That board first off limits the PCI_E multiplier:

2 x PCI Express x16 (1 @ X4 mode ).

Also it states: ATI CrossFire technology support.

Nowhere do I see Nvidia SLi support.

Right enough that was 1 of them i was looking at, but posted the wrong 1 actually ment
Asus P5N32-E SLI Socket 775 Nforce 680i SLI FSB1333 Audio Firewire ATX Motherboard

Okay. That looks like a nice board:

2 x PCIe x16 , support NVIDIA® SLI™ technology, at full x16, x16 speed.

Also has the third PCI_E slot for a potential Physics card.

Sorry to bother you, but i have put this setup together now was just testing with the 1 graphics card for now and well the card gets waaay too hot to the point the pc just emegency shuts down what could be the problem here, no blue screen either.

No problem. We are here to help.

How are you monitoring the temps?

In general the board shut down would be linked to the CPU.

Does it just shut down in the BIOS?

Did you use Thermal paste on the CPU?

you know, I had the same issues with an XFX 8600 GT I borrowed from a friend, it heated the system up so bad the heatsink got warm, and no longer cooled the CPU correctly. I have a warning beep that warns me of overheat long before the system shuts off, so all i had to do was shut down the game and it went cool again. the problem with it was the card released to much heat, and it all went into the case, the little fan over the GPU didnt do squat unless u used riva tuner to up it, and even then it all went into the case. my friend gets away with it using PCI slot exhaust fans mounted below the cards, which sucks all the hot air out of the case. great idea. I have since upgraded to an ATI card that has a much more efficient cooling system. but yeah, if ur sure its the video card overheating the case, and not something like no thermal paste, or the PSU overheating under load, then try getting a PCI slot exhaust fan, u can usually get them from between 2-15 bucks, so their not expensive to run at all. u can also water cool them as well. these are just my two cents, so dont take them as gospel, I am far from an expert, and a lot of what I know I have learned from others, a lot from here in fact.

I use RivaTuner to moniter the temps i didnt use any paste no, the chip didnt come with any so figured maybe it was not needed any more but the graphics card is almost too hot too touch after the shutdown but not sure what it shuts down the whole pc just cuts out

Man! You need Thermal compound!

Read this:

http://www.d-a-l.com/help/showthread.php?t=52630

ok well supposing i do need the paste... would it make my graphics card over heat that much?