My $1000 new system build. Any suggestions?

[mlwhiteley]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Middle of January.

BUDGET RANGE: Around $1500 After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (Looking ahead to Starcraft 2), some Photoshop

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard and mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel, Nvidia, eVGA, 24" LCD

OVERCLOCKING: Never done it before, maybe but would be a while before I got to that.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This build will be used as my primary computer for 1 year. Not looking for SLI to start with but may add another card later if I think I need it. This is also only my 2nd full build, so please nothing to complicated.

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Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Processor:
Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Cooling:
Xigmatek Intel Core i7 compatible THOR'S HAMMER HDT-S126384 CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233032

Motherboard:
EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

PSU:
Thermaltake W0131RU 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153043

RAM:
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

HDD:
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136322

Graphics Card:
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475

 

[dndhatcher]

Velociraptors are old tech. Newer 500GB platter HDDs beat them in performance for far less money. The Samsung F3 is currently the best deal in HDDs (if you can find them in stock). The Seagate 7200.12 is not as fast as the F3 but still beats a velociraptor in some benchmarks. The Caviar Black 2TB is WDs only 500GB platter drive right now.

Why are you getting an expensive thermaltake PSU when you can get a quality Antec TruePower or Corsair for less?

Why are you getting so much expandability if you only intend to use it for a year?

 

[kufan64]

Don't bother with the aftermarket heatsink until you're ready to overclock. It's not necessary; the stock cooler will serve you just fine.

You could save $100 by going with this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231230
It's 1333 instead of 1600, but the Dominator RAM won't run at 1600 stock anyway, and the G.Skill has better timings... and it's $100 cheaper.

Depending on your budget, (you said $1,000 in the title, and $1,500 in the thread) I'd recommend either getting a SSD and/or a different HDD.

Samsung Spinpoint F3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
Grab one (or two ) while they last... it's a hot item

Intel X25-M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016

That PSU is overpriced simply because it is modular. Compare it to this model from Corsair:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009&T

Hope I've helped.