Seeking advice on $800-900 build

Hello Hobbitt;
If this was your first attempt at putting together a system parts like - you did really good.
That Thermaltake Element G price is a real bargain. But it's also a pretty good chunk of your budget too. If you're willing to consider case alternatives you can trip the cost of a case about 50%. Some examples:
Antec Three Hundred Illusion $70 & free shipping or NZXT M59 $60 w/ free shipping and $15 rebate NZXT M59 review
@ MicroCenter Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case Pickup an extra case fan @ MC. V3 Black Edition Case Review

Maybe a CPU cooler to go along with the rest of the parts? CM Hyper 212 Plus (fits in the V3 case)

Have you found an independent review of the MSI 870A-G54 MB? It hasn't getting especially good customer feedback over @ NewEgg

Thank you, WR2. Do you (or anyone) have any suggestions for a better motherboard? I just saw the MSI 870A-G54 in another recommendation on these forums so assumed it was good and didn't really read up on it (my mistake). I'm also reconsidering cases per your suggestion - kind of like the NZXT M59.

The power supply I mentioned is out of stock - would the following be sufficient? (It is 80+ certified)

StealthXStream 2 600 Watt ATX Power Supply - $67.99 (47.99)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

Is it pretty wise to add a CPU cooler even without overclocking?

I'm getting anxious to order the parts so appreciate any input. Thanks!

You can actually nab 870A-G54 + 965BE $190 @ Microcenter ^^
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundl...

NZXT M59 + OCZSII 80+ 600 combo $59AR Free Ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

2 X 2 1333/CL7 Ballistix $40 Free Ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Alternate PSU choice looks good.
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600 W Power Supply Review

It's almost a shame to get a Black Edition CPU and not overclock a bit.
But if you're sure you don't plan on doing any of that the stock cooler for the X4 965BE will be fine.

Asus M4A88TD-V EVO is a choice I like.
It's got the same 1x16 PCI-e & 1x16 x4 electrical format as the MSI 870A-G54. Which is a bit less than ideal if your ever planning on use two video cards.

PSU: Corsair GS600
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
89.99

CPU: AMD PHENOM 2 X4 965 Black Edition (comes with a free MOBO)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
149.99

MOBO:M4N68T-M V2 Socket AM3 630a mATX Motherboard
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
FREE (or 54.99 if the promo ends)

MEMORY: XMS 4GB DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) CL7 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules)
http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?...
99.99

HDD: Caviar Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
79.99

CASE: Dark Fleet 30 ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
89.99

OPTICAL DRIVE: GH22NS50 22X Internal SATA Super Multi DVD Drive
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
17.99

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
109.99

GPU: PNY GTX460
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
189.99 (169.99 after rebate)

TOTAL not including rebate: $878
with rebate: $858

This almost my exact build. It runs EVERYTHING I have tested at max settings.

A bit cheaper build would be to replace a few parts:

MEMORY: XMS3 4GB DDR3-1600 (PC-12800) CL9 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
59.99 (39.99 after mail in rebate)

PSU:Builder Series CMPSU-600CX 600 Watt ATX Power Supply
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
64.99

HDD: Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ST3500418AS - OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
49.99

New total: $777
with rebate: $737
(totals assume 6% sales tax since you want instore)

This will run anything you play at max settings. Games I have personally tested (at max settings at 1920x768 with the same CPU, GPU, and MOBO and memory):
Crysis
STALKER: Call of Pripyat
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Psychonauts (because it is a GREAT game, and you need to play it if you have not lol)
Just Cause 2
Mafia II
Arma 2
Two Worlds 2 (everyone has a white head for some reason) (demo)
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Sims 3
Civilization V (DX11)

Some Notes from my build:

The M4N68T-M v2 board seems to be a great board and includes an unlocker and a turbo key, I have yet to use the turbo key. The only real problems I have at this point are concerning the borad, however, but it is to be expected for a free board I suppose:

2 slots for memory (max of 8GB supported)
1 PCI-Ex16 slot
The GTX460 is big enough to block my PCI-E slot, meaning I can not put my WLAN chip in. Which sucks since I already have one handy  
Otherwise the board seems real nice so far.

EDIT:
No cpu cooler is needed if your not going to OC. Coretemp shows my CPU at 44-48 degrees at most. The stock CPU cooler is good to go.

Negative - i would rate any of these chipsets

740G
690G
GF 7XXX
NForce 5xx/6xx

far inferior than any entry level AM2+ out in 2008 due to

a. HT Limitation when paired with any AM2+/AM3 chip
b. Still stuck on PCIe gen 1.0/1.1, true AM2+ had migrated to PCIe gen 2.0 as of 2008

Gigabyte NForce 630a
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3497#ov


MSI 740GTM-P23
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=171&prod_no=1917

Wow, good catch on the chipsets Batuchka...

Yep glad to help ^^

I use $1000 as the split between AMD builds and SB builds ... if ya reconsider ya budget while waiting for the replacement Sandy Bridge stuff.

Case - $70 - Antec 300 Illusion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU - $100 - XFX Black Edition 750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168....
MoBo - $390 - ASUS P8P67 Pro Currently Unavailable
CPU - incl above - Intel Core i5-2500K
RAM - $110 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair CAS 9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
GFX - $250 - Asus GTX 560 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HD - $55 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
DVD Writer - $22 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
OS - $100 - Win 7-64 Home Pre http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total $1097

If ya like the Dark Fleet, would suggest the upgrade to the DF-35 ... the DF-35 has two swappable "fleet bays" for ya HD's

Still searching...   Is this a decent motherboard (for my proposed system)?

ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 Socket AM3 870 ATX AMD Motherboard - $98 ($88 after rebate)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

Ugh. Now I get this combo deal at newegg.com, which seems so neat and tidy compared to all this agonizing. Any thoughts?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?I...

Well all/any 870 chipset save the Asrock offering is 16/4 and not recommended for CF so for far less than that $713AR bundle:

$587AR and 8/8 CFable?


HD6K Barts: single/CF review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-685...

Combo looks decent actually. I like it. Everything you need except Windows 7 right there. Great find.

A few things about the board...
*To reach DDR3 1866MHz or above, you must install two memory modules and install them in the DDR3_3 and DDR3_4 memory sockets.

1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)

Note: The PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots share bandwidth with the PCIEX4 slot. When PCIEX4 slot is populated with a x4 card, the PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots become unavailable.

Okay, I'm almost there. I tweaked a few choices based on input here and switched to newegg instead of Microcenter. Are there any glaring omissions or incompatible pieces here?

update: changing video card to:

GIGABYTE GV-R685D5-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB ($179)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9Ix4kp6HcQKBNMguS...

Thank you all again so much for the advice!

Get a 560 Ti which will fit in your budget, lower your case from 120$ to a 80$ exemple a HAF 922 which has great air flow. For 80-100$ you would get 8GB ram, therefore the 40$ for 4GB advices from the other members are great. PSU : If you want SLI two 560 get a Corsair 750tx otherwise anything within 550-650 will run a 560. And no you don't need a extra cooler for your CPU if you're not going to OC. Anyways you can always get one later.