Choosing New Gaming PC- Guidance Please

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I assume that I could simply add a second card at any time down the line couldn't I?

I've never done it myself, but as long as your motherboard supports SLI, yes, you can AFAIK.

Note:
SLI is dual or triple cards made by nVidia.
Crossfire is the same (no triple support though) made by ATI.
SLI by nVidia is better, IMO.

This is what I mean by upgradeable. Ram, motherboard, cpu, video cards. I want any and all of them to be able to be expanded upon/replaced when I see fit in the future. I don't want to spend money to be locked into a system that will require me to simply buy a whole new system to "upgrade" in just a few years.

Yes, they're all replaceable. Motherboard requires a bit more skill to be replaced than other components, as everything hooks back to it, but other than that, you're fine. That being said, it doesn't look like the company you're using uses components that are unreplaceable (a thousand curses on Dell!), but to be 100% sure, it's best to order and build yourself. Either that or e-mail the company.

Note that RAM needs to be compatible with other RAM on the system - don't take a Corsair RAM stick and jam in a Mushkin to "upgrade" - it won't work. All your RAM needs to be the same make and model from the same company for it to be guaranteed to work.

Oh- and I'm assuming that the specs you chose were from this rig correct? (The Mega Special III):

Yes.

Data Hard Drive and Optical Drive- What are these? I'm not familiar with these components.

I'm not sure what they mean by Data Hard Drive - perhaps a backup drive? For buying a backup drive, it's best to buy an external anyways.

Optical Drive is like a CD Drive, but a generalization that can refer to CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray drives.

And lastly- This is a real lame question too: The computer does not come with a modem, simply a network card. I've been on cable broadband for like 4 years. Obviously, I'm not going back to dialup heh. I don't need a modem for anything do I...simply a network card correct?

My internet is an ethernet cable from the motherboard connected to a router.