~2.5kish new gaming pc

Purchase date: about 2 weeks to a month and a half

Primary use: Gaming and surfing the internet.

All parts but OS required

Preferred website, newegg.com

I prefer ATI and AMD parts.

Overclocking: Some Crossfire: Maybe

Resolution 1920x1200

I did one of these several months back but didn't quite have the budget to actually buy so I more or less re-did the parts list and am looking for advice for this build.

The first thing I ask is: This setup is using the phenom II 940 and I was wondering if it would be advisable to get the 955 and w/ ddr3 as would it be perhaps slightly more future proof with the am3 socket?

Parts list:

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129043

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131361

XFX HD-489A-ZDEC Radeon HD 4890 Xtreme 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150360

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139009

Antec has some deals on their PSUs with the antec 1200 so I was wondering if anyone knew much about those.

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103471

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820104073

OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227395

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319

SAMSUNG ToC T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 10000:1 Built in DTV Tuner & Dolby Digital Surround Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824001280

HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6829271003

Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836121120

Heatsink: Xigmatek THOR'S HAMMER HDT-S126384 CPU Cooler - Retail w/ 2 x Scythe DFS123812-3000 "ULTRA KAZE" 120 x 38 mm Case Fan - Retail attatched

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233032
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185054

OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835202006

Mouse is a g5 and the keyboard is a generic style logitech.

The main questions I have are about if that heatsink/fan combo looks good, as well as the psu I am using. I'm sure I could easily get a lesser wattage PSU but I may want the bigger one for the next gen of graphics cards, which leads me to my next question. Should I get say a 4770 or 4850 or perhaps even 4870 now and wait for the next generation of cards to come out?

get a i7 + SSD + legal OS for <1.500

you really dont need to spend 2,5

I'd be using windows 7 RC with it so that technically is a legal os ^ ^. As for i7, it's about 230ish more dollars if I went with a 920 and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188039 and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227365

any advice on ram/mobo for i7?

A lot of the costs of the system come from things that are not required for a computer but I want such as a sound card, nice speakers, 24 inch widescreen etc. And I do not intend to get a nvidia gpu.

I do like that site where you can definitely get a d0 stepping, and hmm that mobo doesn't look bad at all. And i managed to miss that ram on newegg. Hrmmm good advice for an i7!

I am pretty sure it would fit no problem but I would still go with the Dark Knight. I am positive the Dark Knight works and I believe the Dark Knight comes with an i7 backplate too.

+1 for Why_Me's build.

You would be extremely satisfied with that and you would save quite a bit of cash.
The z5500's are a great choice for a sound system but in terms of a sound card most onboard sound on the mobo's are pretty good and would not justify the premium for a sound card. I would first listen to the sound quality of the mobo's and then if you decide you need a sound card you can always buy one.

But again I would definitely go with Why_Me's build. If you have a microcenter near you locally you can save some money on the i7 and get it for $230. You could also get lucky if they have a D0 stepping in stock.

I would go with Why_Me's build, some z5500's, and a nice 1920x1080 monitor and you would be extremely happy and would have saved some cash from your originial budget.

I would suggest to you the Asus P6T Deluxe v2 then.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131365

I would still stick with Why_Me's build and simply replace the mobo with the one I just suggested if you like the layout of it.

If you would like an ATI card then I strongly suggest CFing 2 4890's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150359
$199.99 for each one so it will save you some money there compared to the gtx 275's.
And let me tell you two of these in CF will max any game and I mean any game. 2 of these are better then a gtx 295 and you can overclock them quite a bit too. : )
Hope this helps

That's kind of what I was thinking. I've heard that the ones that come OCd are better from the batch and can be Ocd even more easier. Any truth to that?

Probably a good plan, especially with the xfx card and their warranty.

So the 750 watt corsair psu would be good for the two of them? And do you think heat would be an issue with 2 gpus in the antec 1200?

The 750w will be fine. And the antec 1200 is one of the best cases for cooling so no worries there!

I believe almost any other x58 board will be the same if you CF two cards. Also, I doubt you will even need a sound card, the onboard sound on most mobos nowadays is extremely good. I got a sound card for my pc and the difference between the onboard audio and the sound card is barely even noticable.