Need feedback on $1000 gaming build

[dasani123]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week

BUDGET RANGE: $1000 after rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, watching movies, surfing the web

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: No preference

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Northern California, US

PARTS PREFERENCES: would prefer i5, no other preferences

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe


MONITOR RESOLUTION: Currently have 1600x1200, might upgrade to 1920x1200 in the future

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I've done a bit of research already and this is what I've come up with. I'll be using this computer mainly for playing upcoming games (Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, etc...) and multimedia (movies, music). Please critique it and let me know if there are any questions or concerns. I've been out of the loop for some time now.

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Currently it comes out to about $820 after rebates before shipping (found a few combos). Is there anything I can improve or anything worth spending another hundred bucks or so on?

 

[verst]

Your links are all broken...

Advice:
1. Get the cheapest DVD burner...
2. Samsung F3's and Seagate 7200.12 HDD's are the best right now.
3. If gaming is important spend the extra hundred on the 5850 and maybe crossfire it later on... especially if you upgrade to 1920x1200.
4. Faster RAM for only 10$ more: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
5. That mobo won't support crossfire. If you want crossfire and U3S6 features that will be around 190$.
Look at these:
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P

But be warned that you lose U3S6 features when crossfiring on the latter...

That's about it...

 

[dasani123]

Thanks for your help! The links should be fixed now. Unfortunately, some of the combo deals I had originally seem to have expired so it's a bit more expensive now. I'll take a look at your suggestions and try to come up with a new cart. Thanks again!