I have a few thousand leftover from my loan and I'm setting aside $1000-1250 to build a computer. I have never built one, so I'll be needing some help from some of the experts here. I won't contradict you, but I may ask questions.

• This build is for gaming and long-time computer use (programming and such)
  
• I'm debating if I should get it now or wait a few months (will prices drastically decrease anytime soon?)
  
• I need to run newer games on high settings, mainly Modern Warfare 2 and SC2 (although the specifications for both of these are estimated/unknown)
  
• I need a monitor, what's a good size for gaming? Will I really be able to tell the difference between 5ms and 2/3ms response times?
  
• I guess I need a wireless card, there aren't any ethernet jacks in my apartment.
  
• Duo Core or Quad?
  
• I'm looking for a 512G-1TB drive, if 1TB is only 10$ more than the lower sizes, I'll just get that.
  

Thank you.

# This build is for gaming and long-time computer use (programming and such)
No problem.
# I'm debating if I should get it now or wait a few months (will prices drastically decrease anytime soon?)
I'd wait a month or two for the HD5000 series to come out and get some reviews.
# I need to run newer games on high settings, mainly Modern Warfare 2 and SC2 (although the specifications for both of these are estimated/unknown)
Not a problem.
# I need a monitor, what's a good size for gaming? Will I really be able to tell the difference between 5ms and 2/3ms response times?
Anything with a res at or lager than 1920x1080 is nice. 22" or bigger. 2/3ms is preferable but 5ms isn't so bad. I don't think you'd really notice.
# I guess I need a wireless card, there aren't any ethernet jacks in my apartment.
No problem, I bought one a couple months ago I'm in love with.
# Duo Core or Quad?
Duo for gaming, quad for modeling as a rough rule of thumb. However depending on when you buy (Now, 2-3 months from now) that might change.
# I'm looking for a 512G-1TB drive, if 1TB is only 10$ more than the lower sizes, I'll just get that.
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB is preferable when it comes to drives.

Ready and waiting. Give me a time frame of when you'd like to buy and I'll get to work.

What will the cost of one of these be when they come out? (estimated?)

Yeah, I have been told that. What do you recommend?

I like it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Depends if Quad gets a drastic pricedrop or not. If it drops far enough so that its comparable to a duo, then a quad is more preferrable than a duo- if not, a duo is more preferrable than a quad. Some would call it "The performance difference that you cant make out isn't worth more money than the cheaper one."

1. HD5000 should be released by Mid October.

2. For a dual, you could go with an E8400 and clock it up to 3.8GHz with a heavy air cooler. By contrast, the Q9550 will be great for future performance as well as current and clocks to about 3.8GHz as well. The E8400 might be able to clock a little higher, but the Q9550 is generally the best CPU for the 775 socket. Unless you go up to Core i5/i7 (Not recommended) you cannot get a better CPU.

3. That's the baby. I have the 500GB model. Very happy with it.

I went and designed it as if we were buying everything except the GFX tomorrow.
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140042
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
The trusty RC690. Always a good choice.
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283
750GB costs less than the 640GB. Go figure.
Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254040
Its a steal but its on sale. You may want to pick it up now before it goes back up.
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702018
Solid 650w by BFGTech.
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
A nice G.Skill DDR2 1066 kit to OC with.
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372
Gigabyte is always spot on when it comes to boards. Good OCing potential.
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041
Went ahead and threw you the Q9550 since its better long-term.
CPU cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
After doing some digging for you, I found out the Sunbeam Corecontact Freezer, which I originally wanted to put on this build, does not fit on the motherboard we chose. Still, the Xigma is a great cooler and you will not be disappointed.
Retention Bracket: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233020
Holds the Xigma nice and tight. More pressure and better temps.
Thermal Compound: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835202006
Out of stock, but a great compound. You should grab a tube as soon as it comes in stock.
Wireless Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315041
It slices, it dices, it has an antenna! Kidding. I have this wireless card myself. The range is superb and my transfer speeds have never been faster.

With everything except the thermal compound (Out of stock) and a GPU (Waiting for HD5000), it comes to$957.05 after tax and shipping to my zip here in NJ. So you should be at or below your 1250$ upper limit when adding the two final parts. But that's if you get the stuff that's on sale before it goes off sale. If not I'll probably have to redo some stuff. I don't mind, but as of right now its one solid build, and I'd hate to have to sacrifice performance because we missed a sale.

Post has been edited 10 time(s), last time on Sep 23 2009, 1:56 pm by Excalibur.

Bad news.
As you can see here, 5870s are going for a much higher price than I expected. However since they're going to keep being out of stock every ten seconds for the next couple of weeks, we have time. Wait till mid-October to purchase one and you should be able to nail it for approx 250-300$. Launch prices are always high.

Conversely if prices don't go down, a 5850 will still be a very powerful card and cost less.

I'll update you as I find out any new info.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6654/5850.png
5850 is still a beast.
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8374/5870.png
5870 is even more of a beast.

Prices will ALWAYS fall (so long as it's over $50). The best time to buy something is the latest you actually need/want it. If you wait, you will wait forever.

This is everything except for the GPU and cooling compound. So should I complete this order and get it shipped to take advantage of the deals? I could just order the GPU and compound together later.

Thanks a bunch.

Yep, looks great Merrell. Enjoy.

I would pick out an 80plus power supply. They save money in the long run .

Deals come and go, then come back again. There's no way to tell. Might as well buy now. Definitely get the monitor, though. At $900, you can definitely get the 5850 and stay under, but you can also grab a 4870x2, though it will be cheaper to get 2 4870s in CF.

@ Johnny. It is 80+, and it doesn't save much money in the long run. Electricity is cheap, high end computers use ~200 W when idle. Your dryer uses 4 kW or so.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 24 2009, 6:19 am by rockz.

Why? Unless he plans to upgrade this computer later, he really doesn't need anything more.

Where do you live where electricity is cheap? My power bill is about 85 dollars a month.

I live in PA so I didn't have to pay the tax.

Ordered. Total Amount: $894.44.

So, I still need: GPU/Compound.

Cool. When the 5850 comes out/5870 comes down I'll let you know, and I'll try and keep an eye on the OCZ compound to see when it's in stock.

If you dont want to wait for the OCZ you can just get the mx-2 (my alternative)

Check the thermal roundup reviews Johnny, OCZ out performs the MX-2.

US average is 12 c / kWh. 5 hours of computer use costs 12 cents. 30 minutes of dryer use costs 24 cents.

Okay, when I get the parts, where do I start? I have some experience replacing a couple parts, but not all of them. Is there a guide you recommend that I follow? Also, I don't really know that much about overclocking, either.

I recommend we discuss it on MSN. There are a lot of specifics having to do with the CPU cooler, thermal compound, and such that aren't good to go back and forth with in posting.