I have some discretionary item for software items, but this is for the main machine. This is the current deal via newegg.com and it is over $1000.

Any ideas for tweaking this budget gaming system?

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$69.99

MSI 870S-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard
$99.99

HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
$219.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
$99.99

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
$159.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
$139.99

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply
$249.98

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835608018
$89.99

Everything you need to know about overclocking that 965:

http://forums.amd.com/forum/me...yword1=official%20965

Have fun & good luck...

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Phenom II X6 1100T B.E.@ 4.26GHz
Corsair H70 Core Hydro
ASUS Crosshair V Formula
2x4GB G.Skill RipjawsX@ 1894MHz, 9-10-9-28
SLI: 2x EVGA GTX 570's@ 902/1804/2032
Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Corsair HX850W Modular
Cooler Master HAF 922
2x Win 7 Home Premium (x64)

well, you can save money by buying a cheaper case and PSU. The selection you've made is great, don't get me wrong, but how about something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817151095 Seasonic M12II 620w

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811112245 Lian Li PC-8N case

also consider:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835181011 Corsair CAFA70 CPU HSF

you can also save upwards of $50 by moving down from an HD6870 to an HD6850 or GTX460

8 gigs of RAM is probably overkill as well

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Rig 1: AM2 X2 4850e--MSI K9N Neo V3--2x1gb Mushkin DDR2 800--Sapphire HD4830--Corsair VX450--Acer H213H-Win XP
Rig 2:Athlon X2 7850 Kuma--Biostar 780L--2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800--Asus Formula HD4770--Corsair VX450--LG Flatron W2252TQ-Win 7 32-bit Premium
Capitalism rocks!

Okay... Beta Version... going from Full Tower to Mid Tower - Some Fans may be needed...

LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $69.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM $69.99

MSI 870S-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard $99.99

HIS H685F1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready $179.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V $109.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $99.99

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition $159.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders $139.99

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler $89.99

Considering the awesome CF scaling of HD6k i would rather hit an Asrock CFable 870/880G/890GX

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My El Cheapo move to better PC Audio!
http://forums.amd.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=13&threadid=153336&enterthread=y