Building a new system, lookign for tips and advice.

I am building a new system and it has been a while. I am mainly using it for gaming and school work. All I have to work with is the monitor, keyboard and mouse. These are the parts I am hoping work together, let me know if you see any glaring problems.

Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Case

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Motherboard

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Videocard

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Power Supply

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
CPU

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - Retail
Memory

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Hard Drive

LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe LightScribe Support - OEM
DVD Drive

There are all the parts. I was looking for some additional cooling for my processor, but wasn't sure what to buy since I could not find any that matched the processor I am planning on purchasing. Also, I know this is a probably a dumb question, but how can I tell if the dvd burner I am purchasing supports dual layer? Thanks again.

A few issues, dont get a crossfire board and an nvidia card, if you are going to go nvidia get a 770 chipset on the board. Get a dual channel kit of DDR3 ram, its cheaper and will work better with any non i7 processor. Drop down to a 750TX or a 650TX. The 650TX will let you CF 2 4870s and the 750TX will handle 2 4890s easily. Also consider a larger case with better airflow, putting a big heatsink on the processor doesnt do a thing if there is no fresh air blowing across it.

There are a few components that could use some attention. The motherboard you picked supports crossfire (ATI GPU's), not SLI. An ATI 4870 1GB will offer nearly identical performance as the GTX 260 and leave the option open of adding another GPU in crossfire later.

850W is overkill even for crossfire 4870's. You could go down to the 750TX and still have plenty of power.

The RAM you picked is a triple channel kit designed for the Intel i7 chips. Your system will work best with a dual channel kit.

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS34G1600LLK - Retail $84.99

The "DL" in the product description indicates that the DVD burner is capable of burning dual layer DVD disks. The DVD burner you picked is capable of burning dual layer media.

Edit: Wow - I really need to work on my typing speed. You guys had a whole conversation while I was typing my reply.

Looks good. Nice job!

Here are my final tweaks. Please let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary or if you think it will not work together, or suggest any simple upgrades, such as the HD. Thanks again guys.

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
CPU

LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe LightScribe Support - OEM
DVD Drive

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail
Power Supply

SAMSUNG Spinpoint
F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Hard Drive

And some more changes...

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Case

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Videocard

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996601 - Retail
Memory

Wayne, that was the other card I was torn between as well. If anyone could confirm the difference between these two, it would be greatly appreciated.

2GB of memory is not needed on a video card, if you see this review
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2380.html
the 285 is a ton stronger than the 4870 and still gets no benefit from the extra GB of memory

For $5 less after promo code you can actually pick up an OC'ed 4890 with vapor-x cooling
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102841

Same price as the other xfx card but with hawx and overclocked halfway to the HIS card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150360
Thats the one i would go with.

Thanks for all the help guys. Any suggestions on an OS?