I have One Thousand Dollars (per my wife) and need a new rig!

My current gaming supercomputer:
Gateway Laptop Pentium 4 1.6 GHZ
5 hundred and 12 megs O' Ram
18 Gig HD
Two USB ports
and... ATI Mobility Radeon 7500

Now try to contain your jealousy. I know what your thinking: "Why would he upgrade that monster of a system?"
I am just a sucker for new technology.

This is what I want my new computer to handle:
1. Gaming - your question is what kind of games. Who knows, I cant run anything now. GTA San Andreas would not load. I didn't even try Doom 3. I have been reading about FPS and resolution, I have no idea what is good. I got CIV 4 to run, albeit with 2-3 min load times per turn...yup...2-3 min per turn.

2. I have a 54" HD 1080i tv. I would like to be able to pipe HD movies into it someday. I do not want to buy a Blueray/HDDVD player if I can run it through my computer. Maybe download online from Netflicks.

3. Video Editing. But only when I have a kid next year. So right now, I could care less.

4. Overclocking. If I can figure out how. Last time I overclocked a PII it broke.

Yes, I have been reading every piece of info I can get. Every report on this site, which I just found today.
Final big question is: Build it myself or buy from reconfigurator like AVADirect.

Part list----

Case: I want quality/quiet. I dig lights but I don't want the cheap/weird look.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129024 $119.95 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146018 $89.99 after MIR +
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371007 $59.99 after MIR (Pretty blue lights)

CPU: I read the whole review, figured E6750 w/ FSB 1333 was good choice. I love Intel.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115029 $204.99

Motherboard: Should I get dual SLI now, or DDR3, or onboard WIFI???
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813141002 $159.99 after MIR
-- Should I save the money and get a 1066mhz CPU and Motherboard?

Ram: 2 Gigs, I am not overclocking, so suggest away.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146565 $69.99 after MIR

HD: 320 Gig, 16 mb cache, What else should I be looking at here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136053 $89.99

Graphics: I am going NVIDIA here. Suggest away regarding HD movies to my tv.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130086 $149.99 after MIR
- I dig the HDTV output and 720 mhz overclock. It is also in the price range of a GT.
- No, I cannot justify 2x the money for an 8800 when I can buy it next year for this price.

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium $114.99 Why is builders version cheaper than upgrade???

DVD Burner: I cannot tell the difference with any of them.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827152076 $29.99

Keyboard and Mouse:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823126007 $79.99

GRAND TOTAL $1,049.99

Now pile on the advice and help me trim the fat...I still need a LCD monitor.

I really like Antec cases and have 2 Sonata II, very quiet, easy to work with, and good PSU.
Check out this Gigabyte mobo. Save quite a bit and if you're not going with 2 video cards, no need for SLI unless you want onboard firewire for something like a camcorder, tough to find onboard firewire without SLI. Most of what ive read suggest SLI isn't worth it, better off putting your money into a better video card. From what I've read DDR 3 is incredibly expensive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

Personally, I like Crucial. OEM OS is cheaper because it doesn't come in a nice box with a manual. Really no difference between the Retail and OEM. I would go with XP rather than Vista, seems Vista has problems with drivers. I'd wait at least until Vista SP1 comes out. Could consider a 2nd smaller hdd for OS and programs and use the 320 for storage, don't have to worry about backing up data when reinstalling Windows.

Motherboard: Should I get dual SLI now, or DDR3, or onboard WIFI???
No, no, no.

A friend has that NZXT case, and I don't find it to be too quiet. That Antec case is fine. You should look at some Lian Li cases too.

If you can get an 8800GTS to fit in your budget, you should think about it, it's less then 2x the price and it KILLS the 8600. If not, that 8600 is ok, but the GTS probably isn't worth it over the 8600GT.

If you are gaming, ditch the wireless mouse and get a good wired model. The G5 is still the gold standard and costs < $50.