How does this build fare?

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ~2 wks
BUDGET RANGE: 600 US
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: HTPC with some gaming, digitizing cd and dvd collection
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS(Windows 7 Pro)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com,
PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD for value
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 for movies, less rez for gaming is fine
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd think i'd like to add a sound card at some point

case – Antec Sonata III w/ 500W EarthWatts PSU- $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129024

motherboard - ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X- $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] A790X-UD4P

cpu – AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz $102
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103680

ram – mushkin HP 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146868

video card – HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161287

hard drive – 500GB WD Caviar Black $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136320

optical - PLEXTOR Black 24X DVD+R $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827249054

I'd like to go ahead and thank everyone who takes the time to reply in advance!!!

Any particular reason you're getting the M4A79XTD-EVO? There are cheaper motherboards out there that will save you the money for a 4850 or a better CPU.

The video card won't handle 19x10. It should be ok at 16x10, but won't handle 19x10 on modern games well at all. I'd try to get at least the 4850 for that. The 4870 is better, but I get the feeling that squeezing in the 4850 will be hard enough. To save money, I'd look at getting a cheaper mobo or ram.

Motherboard, RAM and DVD burner are a bit expensive. Here's some alternatives:

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128392

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 CL8 - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231275

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD Writer - Bulk - LightScribe Support - $31.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106333

As for the GPU, what games do you play and at what resolution would you like to play at (you didn't really make it clear) ?

I'm not sure how much the rig will actually get used for gaming. Likely less than I'd like it to be.

Better description of the facts since I'm no longer @ work:

Talked wife into cutting cable/sat ties and sold her on all that's free and legal out here with a nice shiny new pc. So far using my old company laptop to stream has sufficed and she's actually cool with it but is ready for bigger and better.

Sure as hell wouldn't hurt if i could game on it too.

Had planned to try to unlock the additional 2 cores but is it worth the gamble or just go ahead w/ the Athlon x4?

I also plan to eventually have all my music encoded to flac, ~500 cds. This is why I mentioned a sound card further down the road to send out to home theater. I know i'll be adding more hdd space sooner than later but this gets me out of the gate.

Maybe add a blueray drive eventually and/or a tuner card to dvr all that's free ota?

This brings me to the board. A buddy at work recommended the ASUS M4A79XTD EVO. I mentioned that I wasn't interested in integrated graphics and he asked what I planned to add down the road as upgrades/additions. He thought I'd be happiest using it but I'm not committed to it.

It's funny. All these great ideas have been mentioned and I was most concerned about the case and psu. Any thoughts there? Good enough? How much wattage is needed to step to a 4870 for instance with everything mentioned?

Thanks again!