$1,000 Gaming PC - is this setup compatible?

[xextorior]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2-3 Weeks

BUDGET RANGE: 800-1000 before shipping

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Games, Movies, Music, Surfing the net, Encoding.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD and ATI

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I want a computer that can handle just about anything i can throw at it. I dont believe i need a quad core. I dont really believe in SLI/Crossfire. I already purchased the power supply and half of the memory (2x 2GB). Going 8GB RAM total.

============================

I have done a lot of research. I am pretty set on these parts. I am looking for advice and suggestions

CASE: Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058

CASE FANS: APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case Fan - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

CPU COOLER: ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019

MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE GA-790XT-USB3 AM3 AMD 790X USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128427

MEMORY: CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1333C9DHX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145198

VIDEO CARD: SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

HARD DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148445

CD/DVD-RW: LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH24NS50 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

POWER SUPPLY: Thermaltake W0116RU 750W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153038

MONITOR: ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051

 

[Silvune]

That is all compatible. I'd like to make some suggestions.
I believe that a quad core would be beneficial for some of the things that you want to do, particularly encoding. But then again you put it last on your list which makes it seem like it isn't important to you, yet you want to get 8GB of RAM which is massive overkill for gaming. Anyway here is a good tri-core, AMD Athlon II X4 435 $60 (which comes in a combo with your motherboard), I seem to remember from the last benchmarks I checked for this CPU it was better for most programs than the Phenom II X2 550. Perhaps you would want to do your own research on this. Here's an article http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3663
I was going to suggest a different power supply, but you've already bought that thermaltake which thankfully isn't a complete disaster.

 

[xextorior]

I appreciate your input, and i will take what you said into consideration. Yes encoding is something i do once in a great while. its either go 4GB or 8GB ram, and for some reason i feel with windows 7 and a 1GB video card 4GB is gonna JUST cut it.

 

[skora]

Ummm, not to hurt your feelings, but you system is unbalanced for your needs as planned now. Load up a game, ALT+Tab out of it, then hit ALT+CTRL+DEL. Go to taskmanager and performance and see how much physical memory you have left. I promise you, unless you've left open a few HEAVY programs, you're not going to come close to using 4gbs. So drop that cost right away.

Love the mobo, good choice going with a USB 3.0 capable board. That shows good forward thinking. I'd encourage to use that same thinking when choosing a CPU. While games are just starting to show optimization for multi cores, there will be more and in a short amount of time, it will make a difference. If you do listen to reason and only go with 4 gigs, you can afford a 955x4 and really get a lot longer life out of this system. Or getting a tri/quad near the same price point and really free up some money for a GPU bump. See below.

Another place you can save a few pennies is the HSF. While the Zalman 9700 had its day, its day has passed especially for the cost. Direct Heat Pipe Touch is the current best tech out there. The other question that comes up is if you don't plan to OC, then don't buy an aftermarket HSF. The retail fan will work just fine at stock speeds and even with a small bump in speed. I use this site for reviews.
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK

This is a great HSF for $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

If you take my suggestion for a different CPU and HSF, you can free up enough (using a CPU for the same cost as the dual) to get a 5850. The 5770 is a capable GPU, but at 1920x1080, will be stretched just a touch at higher settings with eye candy on with the more demanding games. A 5850 will eat anything you send at it for some time. The main reason is the 256bit memory bandwidth the 5850 has and only 128bit on the 5770.

So summarize,
-4gigs ram only
-At least a tri core CPU, or quad core. If not OC'ing, spend more for faster stock speeds. If you do OC, stick with the Athlon II x3/x4.
-You can get a much less expensive HSF and get better performance.
-If you've shaved enough off to get a 5850, go for it, if you just want to save the money, the 5770 will do well enough.

 

[Silvune]

Windows 7 isn't memory hungry at all. I'd suggest trying it out with 4GB first, then if you're not happy with it get more.

 

[xextorior]

as for video cards, what companys do you recommend i go with and stay away from.

i want a 1gb 256 bit.

as for cpu i think i might go AMD II x4 955 BE

What HSF do you recommend for OC on that.

I am watching my money but if i go a little over its ok.

As for the HDD i am probbably gonna go 1TB F3 Samsung.

And i am going to still with the 4GB of ram for now and try it out.

 

[Silvune]

Well the Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus is AM3 socket compatible. In a recent Tom's hardware article it seemed to favour the Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B for it's quieter performance. I don't think it's available on newegg atm and it's about $10 more expensive.
The differences between video card brands is usually do to with warranties and some will pre-oc them, so if you aren't interested in either of aspects then it doesn't really matter which company you go for. The only vague details I know the warranty for is XFX, which has a double lifetime warranty for it's cards. Personally I'd just get one of the cheapest.