Hello, I apologize for making a new thread for my first post but I don't know where else I can get some good advice for helping me build my first computer. What I have been trying to do is create a build which is in the neighborhood of $1,000 which will be used mainly for playing games. The trouble is that I don't have any real experience building a comp (though I think I can manage given the correct parts). So my question is will these components be compatible with one another? Are there obvious choices which would not cost too much more but would significantly improve performance? (video card, RAM, CPU, etc.) Any advice given would be greatly appreciated!

Here is the list of parts I came up with... like I said i'm not even sure the MOBO or power supply would be the correct ones.

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148288

Motherboard:
MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813130161

Graphics Card:
VisionTek 900241 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814129112
Would it be worth it to go ahead and use two of these in SLI? Would it work on the MOBO?

DVD drive:
Sony NEC Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827101131

Power Supply:
Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371015

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103773

RAM:
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820211188

The total cost for these parts is $750, which is well within my budget. I just want to hear people say 'yes that would work' or 'no dummy you're doing it all wrong' or 'this part is clearly superior' before dropping so much cash.

-You are paying for an SLI board and putting an ATI video card on it. ATI=Crossfire, nVidia=SLI.

- AMD is not a good choice for this build. At this price point Intel is much faster.

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341010
40 dollars after rebate if you order tomorrow. A good quality PSU.

Don't get an IDE optical drive. Get SATA for one or two bucks more.

MB ASUS P5Q Pro:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] =P5Q%20pro

Processor E8400:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

Everything else looks OK.

^ all good recommendations by Proximon. I have a couple of AMD systems, but for performance i'd go with the Intel build. I prefer this RAM, but nothing wrong with your choice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731
If you go retail on the burner you get the software package, not as important for some people.

+1 to Proximon's suggestions. I would also suggest the Western Digital 640 GB hard drive. It's only $80 w/ free shipping through today (9/1).

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEema [...] -Moredeals

The rest looks good with the suggestions.

MSI = rubbish, dont do it

with the price of Intel Quads so low, why the hell not?!?

I've heard the same thing about MSI mobos, but I don't think I've ever owned one.
+1 @Proximon too. For that money, Intel makes more sense.
Definitely +1 on the RAM that dirtmountain linked. That's the set I'm running now. You want RAM that will run at the JEDEC standard 1.8V. You can always bump it yourself if you are overclocking it.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! One other thing I was wondering though is should I go ahead and get the second graphics card for crossfire? I'm trying to keep this a relatively budget build but if the gaming performance increase would be very substantial I may go ahead and do it. What do you guys think?

Also:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115017

Greater than?

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

The first is a quad core and only $20 more

It's hard to answer on the processor. Really depends on your usage.

If you run a bunch of junk and tend to load down your system, go Quad.
If you want to plan for future gaming, go quad.
If you are just trying to maximize performance with most current games and do not multi-task much, the dual core will work better for you.

If you want to spend a bit more on the GPU, you would be better off getting a single 4870 for now... the cooling is better. The PSU will run it... you might have to upgrade the PSU if you wanted to run a second 4850.

oc the Q6600 to 3ghz? easy even with stock cooling