First Time Gaming PC Build

[Rufalisk]

I've been researching a mid-high gaming build for a while and these are the parts I'm looking at. Please let me know if you see any obvious issues like compatibility. My main concerns are if the motherboard can get full use of the video card and the ram (in terms of performance, it holds up to 32gb). My budget atm is ~1000 for everything including tax.

CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

RAM
Kingston HyperX 4X4GB Kit (or 8GB if I'm looking to make cuts later)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104169

Hard Drive (Torn between SSD or HDD. I feel like the installed game space will add up)
HDD - WDC Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM (WD1002FAEX)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
SSD - OCZ-VERTEX4 128GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227791&Tpk=OCZ-VERTEX4%20128GB

Video Card (I'm not comfortable overclocking. I realize the 7850 is cheaper but as I understand, it doesn't handle textures as well.)
Double D Radeon HD 7870 Core (FX-787A-CDFC)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605

PSU (750W may be a bit overkill. I think this system only needs at most 600W)
Thermaltake 750W (W0382RU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136

Case
NZXT TEMPEST 210 Massive Midtower Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146084

Monitor
ASUS VE248H 24" Widescreen Full HD LED 1920X1080
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236102

DVD Drive
Samsung SH-222BB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

 

[Shockeray]

I'm not that advanced in computer knowledge, but according to my research, G.Skill or Mushkin RAM is better.

 

[wanderer11]

Get a 2x4 GB set of Corsair Vengenace LP. Get a 620W Seasonic or 600W Corsair. If you wanted to OC your cpu get a Coolermaster 212 EVO. Even if you don't it will be quieter and cooler than the stock amd cooler. Other than that everything looks ok.

 

[Rufalisk]

Get a 2x4 GB set of Corsair Vengenace LP. Get a 620W Seasonic or 600W Corsair. If you wanted to OC your cpu get a Coolermaster 212 EVO. Even if you don't it will be quieter and cooler than the stock amd cooler. Other than that everything looks ok.

8gb ram fair enough, but why do you think I should switch to Corsair?

 

[wanderer11]

Thermaltake don't make great psus and that one is overkill, unless you want sli/crossfire. Did you want to run 2 cards?

 

[Rufalisk]

I wasn't planning on using two cards, no. Sorry for not being clear, I meant the Corsair ram, not the psu

 

[wanderer11]

I've heard bad things about Kingston. I have the Corsair set I recommended and it works well. A lot of Kingston RAM is 1.65 V, which is bad for Intel. I'm not too sure about AMD though.

 

[Rufalisk]

Sounds good. Thanks for your input.

 

[Rufalisk]

Best answer selected by Rufalisk.