Advice for $1000 gaming/multimedia PC

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: By the end of this week

BUDGET RANGE: 800-1000 before rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, surfing the net

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference really

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, but unlikely

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (would like to leave possibility open)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024, but I plan to buy a 22" monitor soon (not sure what resolution that would run though)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like to know if there are better components for my money and if there are any bottlenecks in my system the way it is now. Thank you for your comments.



Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail


GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail


CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail


EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail


G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B - Retail


PLEXTOR Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD/CD Writer LightScribe Support - OEM


SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM


EDIT: Samsung drive to be replaced with Lite-On drive below (since it is IDE as BohleyK pointed out):

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Retail

The GTX275 is a waste of a 790X board, it only supports CF not SLI, and a GTX275 is way more powerful than you need at that resolution, i have a very similar setup except i have a 4850 512MB card, and i can play everything on high at that resolution, if you intend to upgrade your monitor in the near future consider picking up a 4870 1GB, it will handle higher AA and AF.

Also with a 955, you really should buy an aftermarket heatsink and try OCing, you have an unlocked multiplier to work with so its super easy. If you really dont think you will OC drop down to the 945 which you can get combo'ed with that board.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.271996

Thank you guys for your replies so far! I've found them to be very helpful. I've edited my original post a bit.. I do plan on buying a larger monitor in the near future for higher resolutions, and I'll go ahead and take a look at that 4870 when I get home.