New Rig for a Moderate Gamer

you dont need more than 4 gig of RAM .

you dont need vista ultimate since you are gaming and it offers no relevant features that home premium doesnt have
Come to think of it ,since Windows 7 is bout to be released try downloading the RC for free and using that till its on sale

you dont need a 1000 w psu . 650 would be plenty

The ram you have selected is expensive because its 1600MHz , but the timings are not so good

This Gskill ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
is 1333 MHz but its low voltage and has muh better timings so the MHz difference is more than offset . Its only $65
And you still dont need 8 gig

^+1 for the 4GB RAM and less wattage PSU...

1000W ?? Are you planning for HD 4890 triple-crossfire ??? If yes, then OK stick with the 1000W...

A 650W would be very good but would be a close call for 2x HD 4890 crossfire just incase if you plan to add one more plater...though it would work but better to have some headroom...

As for the PSU, I would suggest this combo...Though the corsair 750TX is just fine...but this combo is better...
Antec 1200 + Antec CP850
One of the best full Tower cases + A very good 850W PSU that should be more than suffice for that config...But this PSU cannot be used with any other case apart from Antec 1200/ P183/ P193...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

or if you want to go cheap, then CM 690 + Corsair 750TX...

CPU cooler - Certainly the Scythe Mugen 2/ Xig Dark Knight...

HDD - Get the WD Black 640GB...they are newer, faster, better and bigger than the WD 500GB versions...

Thank you guys for the responses.

My main drive for going with the huge PSU is because I hate not being prepared down the road. I may end up getting another video card and getting some Crossfire going and I would hate to have gone with a smaller PSU that can't handle the load all to save a few bucks.

But the suggestion gkay gave with the Antec combo works well for me because I had looked at that case as a replacement for my current tower (an old Chieftec Dragon full tower case I've had for about 8 years, I'm attached lol)

So I'll cut down to 4 GBs of RAM, I'm gonna pass on the GSkill as I'm partial to Crucial or Corsair RAM. (Thanks anyway for the suggestion Outlander)

This is the RAM I'll be getting:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Also gkay I looked into the Xigmatek Dark Knight and I think I'll go with that, it seems to have pretty solid reviews.

Your Ram looks good .

It is nice to have some head room with a psu but if you have too much it doesnt work efficiently .

Even with a 750 watt psu you would be ok for crossfiring a second 4890 .

But a more likely upgrade is the shift to the next generation of gfx cards . In a year or so [ if the future is anything like the past ] then todays top end gfx will be matched by the next generations midrange card . Its usually not economical at that stage to add a second older card .
We are also likely to see the nexr generation of gfx cards using much less power . Partly thats already happened with the radeon 4770 . The circuits in the chip are burned on a smaller 40 nanometer process and it barely uses power compared to older gpu's of the same gfx ability . Theres every reason to think PC's will use less power in future and not more .

+1 for that RAM...No one would vote against the Crucial   And that too the tracer are fun to watch too...

And currently the Antec 1200 + X4 955 has $60 off with the combo...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Again I would suggest you change the HDD to WD Black 640...It is just $5 more and is well worth it...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Sorry I forgot to mention it, I plan on taking that bit of advice as well. My build currently looks like this:

Mobo - MSI 790FX-GD70 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.20GHZ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Memory - Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3 1333 (2x2GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Video Card - Sapphire VAPOR-X Radeon 4890 1GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Hard Drive - Western Digital Black 640Gb 7200RPM 32MB Cache - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU Cooling Fan - Xigmatek Dark Knight - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Power Supply - Antec 850W Continuous Power - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case - Antec Twelve Hundred Full Tower - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

And I'm in the process of downloading Windows 7 RC.


I want to thank you guys for the help. I'm a home tech, been building my own computers since I was 14 (first computer was an AMD K6 overclocked to a whopping 366 or something close to that). But I like having feedback and assistance in my builds, I find it helps when you can get another persons view and a fresh set of eyes to catch anything I may have overlooked.

Also any suggestions for a good thermal paste off of NewEgg.com?

Nice setup...

Glad could help...
Just few last minute suggestions...
You can also look into these 2 cards...they are well worth the extra $10/ $20...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Thermal compound - Latest and best...
TX-3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Hi I got a Xigmatek Dark Kight recently and is the thermal compund that comes with it that bad? and would it make a big differance getting a AS5

The thermal compound is not that bad as the one that comes with the stock cooler, but also is not as good as the AS5...The AS5 might lower the temps by 2 or 3 degrees...

Yea, cause I wanna overclock my AMD 955 to about 3.6ghz so should I just use the thermal compound that came with my Xigmatek and not bother with getting anything else.

For that overclock, it should be fine...But applying the AS5 wouldn't hurt though...

yea but I would have to waste 16 pounds (deliver included) so I quess Ill just use the one that came with my cooler.

16 Pounds...Yup like you said stick with the one that came with the cooler  

Thanks again for all the input fellas.

Unfortunately last night as i was getting ready to purchase it ... Newegg ran out of the MoBo ... so it looks like I'll be putting off buying it until they get more in.