Building a new PC.

[Cthulhu]

I'm not a fan of 64-bit there aren't enough native applications for it yet. Maybe in a few years when 32bit has become obsolete and you can only get 64 bit cpus and there is a larger range of 64bit apps.

[IntoTheNewWorld]

CPU
- Intel C2D E8500 (3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB) ~$325 (C WORLD)
          OR
- Intel Core i7 920 ~$450 (CPL)

G/V card
- XFX 896MB GTX 260+ ~$305 (CPL)
          OR
- Gigabyte 896MB GTX275 ~$355 (CPL)

RAM
- Kingston 6GB DDR3 ~$145 (CPL)
          OR
- Corsair 6GB DDR3 ~ $165 (CPL)

Monitor
- 19" Acer X193HQ (1440*900) ~ $150 (CPL)
          OR
- 20" LG W2043T-PF (1600*900) ~$189 (CPL)

HD
- Seagate 1TB SATA II ~$135 (CPL)
          OR
- WD 1TB SATA II ~$138 (CPL)

These are the parts I have an idea about, I'm not too sure about Motherboard, Power Supply, Case & Cooler. I wouldn't recommend Blu-ray drive as 1) The average gamer wont need to use it often. 2) Pioneer Blu-ray drive costs ~$299.
 
With the cheaper alternatives: $1063, which leaves $437 for remaining parts. Assuming you already have keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS etc $437 might just cover the rest, although unlikely.

NB: OS will have to be 64bit in order to support 4GB+ RAM, if not, consider 4GB DDR 3

6GB of ram seems a bit much...even with 64bit

[Flaming_Arrow]

CPU
- Intel C2D E8500 (3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB) ~$325 (C WORLD)
          OR
- Intel Core i7 920 ~$450 (CPL)

G/V card
- XFX 896MB GTX 260+ ~$305 (CPL)
          OR
- Gigabyte 896MB GTX275 ~$355 (CPL)

RAM
- Kingston 6GB DDR3 ~$145 (CPL)
          OR
- Corsair 6GB DDR3 ~ $165 (CPL)

Monitor
- 19" Acer X193HQ (1440*900) ~ $150 (CPL)
          OR
- 20" LG W2043T-PF (1600*900) ~$189 (CPL)

HD
- Seagate 1TB SATA II ~$135 (CPL)
          OR
- WD 1TB SATA II ~$138 (CPL)

These are the parts I have an idea about, I'm not too sure about Motherboard, Power Supply, Case & Cooler. I wouldn't recommend Blu-ray drive as 1) The average gamer wont need to use it often. 2) Pioneer Blu-ray drive costs ~$299.
 
With the cheaper alternatives: $1063, which leaves $437 for remaining parts. Assuming you already have keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS etc $437 might just cover the rest, although unlikely.

NB: OS will have to be 64bit in order to support 4GB+ RAM, if not, consider 4GB DDR 3

6GB of ram seems a bit much...even with 64bit

trust me you'll need it, i got 4gb atm and windows 7 eats up 1.5gb just to boot

[Mao]

AMD3 with quadruple firefly graphic cards

[excal]

6GB because you should get your DDR3 RAM to work in triple channel. Smallest individual stick is 2GB therefore 2x3=6GB

[shinny]

Being a gaming rig, I don't think there's much point getting 64 bit is there? Same goes for the i7. From what I've heard, the performance boosts are negligible for gaming. You're better spending the excess on a better graphics card since that often seems to be the limiting factor nowadays rather than processor. I got myself a gaming rig recently and I'm just running a E8400 (3ghz), but everything works perfectly fine with a GTX260+ on-board. In the worst case, I can just overclock it to 4ghz in future anyway.

[excal]

CPU
- Intel C2D E8500 (3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB) ~$325 (C WORLD)
          OR
- Intel Core i7 920 ~$450 (CPL)

G/V card
- XFX 896MB GTX 260+ ~$305 (CPL)
          OR
- Gigabyte 896MB GTX275 ~$355 (CPL)

RAM
- Kingston 6GB DDR3 ~$145 (CPL)
          OR
- Corsair 6GB DDR3 ~ $165 (CPL)

Monitor
- 19" Acer X193HQ (1440*900) ~ $150 (CPL)
          OR
- 20" LG W2043T-PF (1600*900) ~$189 (CPL)

HD
- Seagate 1TB SATA II ~$135 (CPL)
          OR
- WD 1TB SATA II ~$138 (CPL)

These are the parts I have an idea about, I'm not too sure about Motherboard, Power Supply, Case & Cooler. I wouldn't recommend Blu-ray drive as 1) The average gamer wont need to use it often. 2) Pioneer Blu-ray drive costs ~$299.
 
With the cheaper alternatives: $1063, which leaves $437 for remaining parts. Assuming you already have keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS etc $437 might just cover the rest, although unlikely.

NB: OS will have to be 64bit in order to support 4GB+ RAM, if not, consider 4GB DDR 3

Actually, Blu-ray is $163 for a combo (non-burner) drive. It's not too bad if you're contemplating a HTPC/psuedo-HTPC setup.

Monitor - consider a 22" monitor. There's a model of LG that's cheap and very good, can't remember what the number was. The Samsungs aren't too bad if you have the money. Or, even better, get a Dell Ultrasharp.

Mobo - ASUS P5Q3 (only for the C2D)

Are you trying to build a silent system or a ZOMFG OVERCLOCK system? These will affect what PSU/Case you should get. In either case, I would suggest the Corsair VX420 as this should be ample power, quiet and quite cheap for what you get.

Case - think about what you like. After all, you're gonna have to be looking at it day in and day out. Have a browser of this place http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=25 and see if you find anything that tickles your fancy. Let us know so we can give feedback (in conjunction with your desires for the system).

Cooler - do you intend to overclock? Stock cooling is fine if you don't plan on overclocking. However, the king (maybe he's been overthrown?) of Socket 775 (C2D/Q) cooling has been the Thermaltake Ultra 120. It's around $70-80 bucks and you'll also need to get a 120mm case fan to attach to it (~$20). A bit steep, but the cooling can't be beat.

[excal]

Being a gaming rig, I don't think there's much point getting 64 bit is there? Same goes for the i7. From what I've heard, the performance boosts are negligible for gaming. You're better spending the excess on a better graphics card since that often seems to be the limiting factor nowadays rather than processor. I got myself a gaming rig recently and I'm just running a E8400 (3ghz), but everything works perfectly fine with a GTX260+ on-board. In the worst case, I can just overclock it to 4ghz in future anyway.

There isn't much point in the amount of RAM, but memory performance on triple channel is better than not pairing (well, tripling?) your RAM correctly.

And, if he does decide to multitask like no-one's business or work on high resolution images or movies, the extra RAM will certainly help a heap.

[shinny]

Monitor - consider a 22" monitor. There's a model of LG that's cheap and very good, can't remember what the number was.

The one I got was the 22" LG Flatron W2242T. I assume you mean that one. Was pretty much the cheapest 22" at MSY.

And, if he does decide to multitask like no-one's business or work on high resolution images or movies, the extra RAM will certainly help a heap.

Well it was specified to be a gaming rig so I assume that's what we're aiming for. But I guess if he might work on stuff like that, then keep that in mind.

[Cthulhu]

I don't see any point getting an i7 cpu for a gaming rig. OS would probably be windows 7 any opinions on this? XP seems outdated these days and Windows Vista would be terrible for a gaming rig and 7 is a vista with less resource hogging.

[Cthulhu]

The problem with going higher than 4Gb of ram is the cpu is it not? 32Bit only supports up to 4Gb I believe and thats only in Vista SP1/2 To go higher you would need to get a 64bit cpu.

[Flaming_Arrow]

The problem with going higher than 4Gb of ram is the cpu is it not? 32Bit only supports up to 4Gb I believe and thats only in Vista SP1/2 To go higher you would need to get a 64bit cpu.

isnt 32bit only up to 3gb?

[shinny]

The problem with going higher than 4Gb of ram is the cpu is it not? 32Bit only supports up to 4Gb I believe and thats only in Vista SP1/2 To go higher you would need to get a 64bit cpu.

isnt 32bit only up to 3gb?

Nah 4gb. I'm running that atm with 32 bit.

[Cthulhu]

With the new service packs for vista it supports up to 4Gb but it all depends on the cpu as well.

[gfb]

Ram - just go for G-Skill 4Gb kit DDR2 1100  ------- 105$

or if you have extra cash to fork out..

6gb kit ddr3 2000 - G-Skill Trident  ------- $199

-------------

G-Skill highly recommended for gaming rigs.