Help me make a bad ass gaming rig

[fetus]

My price range for this is $2,000-$3,000. Listed below is what I've got so far...

CPU
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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

MOBO
MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223

or

GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128377

CASE
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

RAM
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR16004GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227320

(I could order two of these for 8 GB)

Or should I go with this triple channel?

OCZ Reaper HPC 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR1600LV6GK – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227467

GPU
XFX HD-489A-ZDDC Radeon HD 4890 XXX Edition 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150368
(Two of these)

HDD
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

 

[foothead]

Wow, you've pretty much nailed it.
You can't do triple channel on the p2 though.
What OS are you using?

 

[fetus]

I honestly haven't thought much about the OS, heh. I think I'll just stick with XP SP3 or should I upgrade to Vista or what? Windows 7 isn't out till like Oct. and I wouldn't wanna get it right away anyway. I've only used Vista very briefly on a couple of occasions and I didn't really care for the GUI. Is it really much better than XP?

 

[Joel~]

Considering the amount of memory you want to use, a 64-bit operating system would be the way to go. However, with Windows 7 being just around the corner, I don't think that it would be worth purchasing Windows Vista. If you currently have a Windows XP licence, you could just carry on using that until Windows 7 is released.

 

[foothead]

If you buy vista now, you get a free W7 upgrade.
Thats what I would do. You have an optical drive already I'm assuming.

 

[Joel~]

If you buy vista now, you get a free W7 upgrade.
Thats what I would do. You have an optical drive already I'm assuming.

Really? As in, you get the full version of 7 for free, or you only get an upgrade version?

 

[worshipme]

MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130223

or

GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128377

I'd personally go with the MSI, I like the way the NB is positioned so that it recieves the blow through from the CPU cooler. That's the only real difference I could find between the two boards TBH.

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR16004GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227320

Although Phenom II or i7 don't really benefit from fast DDR3 RAM, it's not that much more expensive than the 1333 so you might as well, just don't bother with the 8GB.

Or should I go with this triple channel?

OCZ Reaper HPC 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR1600LV6GK – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227467

Phenom II doesn't support triple channel.

XFX HD-489A-ZDDC Radeon HD 4890 XXX Edition 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150368
(Two of these)

Just go with a stock clocked HD 4890, there is no change on the hardware level so they could overclock to the XXX's speeds without much hassle and $80 saved. You could even surpass the 1GHz barrier if you did a little voltage increase through a BIOS flash.

 

[foothead]

Really? As in, you get the full version of 7 for free, or you only get an upgrade version?

You get an upgrade version, so its basically like buying W7 now, just getting vista to use till it comes out.

 

[Joel~]

You get an upgrade version, so its basically like buying W7 now, just getting vista to use till it comes out.

Ah, I see. I wonder how that would work in Europe (or even if it would be available to Europeans)...

 

[JogaBonito1502]

I honestly haven't thought much about the OS, heh. I think I'll just stick with XP SP3 or should I upgrade to Vista or what? Windows 7 isn't out till like Oct. and I wouldn't wanna get it right away anyway. I've only used Vista very briefly on a couple of occasions and I didn't really care for the GUI. Is it really much better than XP?

Go with Vista. What's the point of having a badass gaming rig if you won't be able to play games on their best settings? You don't have support for the latest DX with XP.