OK so I am going to order probably within a week and the last time I posted I didn't really get responses that helped.

I am aiming for a setup that will be used as a multimedia PC, everyday use, and gaming. I have never really had a computer that could handle the latest games, so now is the time for me to get one.

This is my first time making a computer.

Requirements that I want are:
1. A high amount of RAM. I want this computer to handle everything I throw at it, for at least the next few years.

2. A very good GPU(s). As I said, this is primarily for gaming. I don't care how many there are, but it has to perform.

3. At least a decent soundcard. I listen to quite a bit of music and watch lots of movies, it doesn't have to be the very greatest although I would like my stuff to sound good.

4. 3 monitors, at least 24" for all of them. I was thinking 2x 24" monitors and 1x 28", but in this regard I am flexible. At least one of the monitors has to have the ability to switch to my 360's input quickly (I have an Elite so I have the cables etc)

5. Fast HDD(s). One will be the main one (the fastest) but I also need a ridiculous amount of space for my movies and music. No solid state though. Perhaps a 10000rpm smaller hard drive and a slower 1TB?

6. DVD burner. At least one.

7. Maybe bluray. Depending on cost, but definitely not at the top of my list.

8. A good processor. Really don't know much about them, and I don't know what to get. I plan to OC.

9. Good cooling. The quieter the better, but it's not a dealbreaker if its loud.

10. A spacious case that will allow me to upgrade easily in the future.

11. Again I don't really know about motherboards, but obviously it has to be compatible with all the other parts.

12. Any other stuff I may have missed/PSU/etc

I plan on using a logitech g19 keyboard, but I don't know about the mouse yet.

In addition, if anyone knows a good computer desk for this kind of setup, it would be much appreciated if you dropped me a line.

EDIT: I would also like to have both a wireless-n card and ethernet, just in case as well as bluetooth and firewire.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Aug 8 2009, 4:33 am by Praetor.

1. A high amount of RAM.
-This is a hard one because of what OS you choose: 32 bit or 64 bit. If you play a lot of older games as well, and opt for 32 bit windows, 4gb is the largest you should consider, as it will be reported as 3.5gb or less no matter how much is physically present. In 64 bit windows 8gb would be more than enough for current games, and 12gb could be overkill. You can always buy more ram, its only getting cheaper. Also 1600mhz or up I would recommend for a fast memory experience.
2. A very good GPU(s).
-One thing you could consider is getting a high end Nvidia GPU for graphics, and a slower GPU for physics. If it is in your budget consider a GTX295 for the graphics and a 9800GTX for the physics. If physics processing is not your thing however (and it doesn't seem that important to me yet) then you should go with ATI as it will save money and keep the performance. Two 4890s would be a hell of a lot of power under the hood, and if you wanted to get crazy you could try pairing two 4850X2s or 4870X2s together. However I don't have any info on how stable drivers for those 4 card setups would be. The GPU is the most important part of a gaming rig.
3. At least a decent soundcard.
-There are some good sound cards out there for the price, and I'm not a guru in that sorts, however nobody seems to be considering your speakers. Make sure you get good speakers to go with a good sound card.
4. 3 monitors. At least one of the monitors has to have the ability to switch to my 360's input quickly (I have an Elite so I have the cables etc)
-Again not really a guru on this one, but an idea i had was why not hook it all up to a badass 1080p TV? This would make switching between the 360 and the PC and TV all easy. I'm just not sure how an extra monitor or 2 would hook up so that you could have both on a screen at some point.
5. Fast HDD(s).
-For storage I would go with the 7200 rpm WD drives mentioned earlier by Excalibur, excellent fast drives. For the speed drive you could choose from an SSD or a 10000 RPM drive. WD's Velociraptor series are freaky fast 10000rpm hard drives. OCZ has some nice SSDs between 120-260gb. Both types of hardware have their drawbacks at this point, a 10000rpm drive is a machine moving extremely fast, and machines moving fast sometimes break. SSDs however are running on borrowed time, as they can only take so many reads/writes. Read some of the reviews on Newegg and decide for yourself.
6. DVD burner.
-I've had an LG and a Sony that have both worked well for a while, just make sure it uses a SATA connector instead of the outdated IDE connector.
7. Maybe bluray.
-I don't know any blu ray drives, can't recommend.
8. A good processor.
-The Core i7 series are the fastest on the market, and a 920 performs and OC's well for the money. Since intel and AMD seem to be focusing on releasing mid range cpus for now an i7 would make you king. Like I said, the GPU is the most important part of a gaming rig, and an i7 920 OCed would keep pace with any graphics you pair it with.
9. Good cooling.
-The Noctua NH-U12P is a great air CPU cooler as you can find, and will OC well enough. I wouldn't recommend water cooling for your first build, and since you will be gaming OCing an i7 to 4gz would even be overkill for games. Othe than that, the cooling on individual products is your call, go to newegg and read reviews on the products you wish to buy to see how well they cool.
10. A spacious case.
-ATX or E-ATX is the way to go for a big enough case, E-ATX being the biggest. Search around and read reviews, I own a NZXT Tempest and it cools my drives and has good airflow.
11. Again I don't really know about motherboards, but obviously it has to be compatible with all the other parts.
-Of all the manufactures I would go with DFI, Asus, or EVGA. Make sure it is a Corei7 board, and you will want at least TWO PCI Express 2.0 X16 slots for graphics cards. EVGA and DFI both make excellent overclocking boards, and Asus makes good boards, some tailored more towards beginning overclockers or basic users, any of these 3's boards would be a good choice.
12. Any other stuff I may have missed/PSU/etc
-Corsair makes great PSUs, and with a system that is going to be beefy this is no area to slouch on. 1000w from corsair was another great part mentioned before in this thread that would suit you well.
-I can't think of anything else, except maybe case fans if you plan to replace your cases fans with different ones, aesthetics such as cold cathode lights or something.
Screw the desk, I say figure out a way to get that baby on a 60 inch TV!

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Aug 7 2009, 4:22 pm by FireFightJack.

Okay.

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 HAF 932 <3
Storage HDDs: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 x2 WD Caviar Blacks <3
OS HDD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136296 Raptor!
GFX: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103076 x2 HD4890 stock overclocked. Wonderful.
Sound: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271005 Pricey pricey but high quality. Get some good speakers for this.
PSU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703022 Lotta power.
RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226050 x2 As a note, I've always wanted to recommend Muskin ram, but it's always so damn expensive. Not many people have a budget like yours.
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136063 <3 DFI
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 Supremely overclockable i7 920.
CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608007 And the Noctua to put it under.

The reasons why:
The HAF 932 needs no introduction or endorsement, the look and feel of the case and the amount of large fans speak for themselves. It is second to none in it's price range, the only thing better would be a Lian Li, and that's just over kill IMO.
WD CBs are some of the fastest 7200RPM drives ever made, and the 1TBs should do a good amount of storage. I defy that you'll need more than the 2TBs of space, but add a third if you want to go crazy. Your money.
WD Raptors are second only to SSDs. Due to the early nature of SSDs at this time, I cannot recommend them, and so went with the tried and true Raptor.
Now, a lot of people are probably going to say 'NUB WHY NOT 4870x2? WUT ABOUT GTX295? HUH?' to those people I say 'Have you ever owned a dual GPU card? Do you know of the driver, heat, and general problems associated with them? Are you aware of how much tweaking goes in to getting them to scale properly in games?' and most of them cannot answer with anything but a strangled 'gulp'. Stick to single GPU cards and double them up like I've done here. Those 4890s are excellent and have the coolers that put heat out the back, so they won't bleed heat onto each other.
Best sound card newegg.ca had, so I went with it. From the reviews, it sounds like a killer card.
PC Power and Cooling have great PSUs. It's solid and it'll do the job.
As I said above, Mushkin is always bloody expensive RAM. Mushkin Redline is not only expensive, but is known for going above and beyond the call of duty in both frequency and timings. Use them wisely.
I cannot and will not recommend anything other than DFI boards. Admittedly this one needs a BIOS update out of the box, but that isn't hard, and for a system like this, should be welcomed. It's a damn solid board, and I only wish I could have one myself.
The i7 920 is more than ready to handle the task this system presents for a CPU, and with the Noctua cooler over it, should do nicely. Overclock to the sky, and enjoy.

What you still need:
Newegg.ca doesn't carry a lot of things you'll need or that I didn't want to get into, such as:
OCZ Freeze Extreme thermal compound.
7.1 speakers.
Monitors. (I didn't like their selection. Find something nice and big with a good resolution and low MS.)
Keyboard, mouse.
Additional cords for the special out puts from the soundcard. (No idea about these. Depends on what speakers you get.)

My build here costed $2,864.87 CDN before tax and shipping. It is my opinion that in the budget you stated you still have plenty of room for the things you need, and should be fine.

If you want it brought up or down, let me know.

Thanks, that will really help a lot.

Any idea as to what CD/DVD burner I should get, or a gaming mouse for this setup?

If you're actually going to use said burner, get one with a high speed (x##) a large cache, and make sure its SATA. Nobody likes damn IDE ribbon cables.

I use this CD/DVD burner. For my build (which is a budget gaming, around 1,100 dollars) it's fantastic.