Hi guys, for any who remember me, i was here a few months back building a computer for myself.  This time my lovely wife needs one, and i need to get it rather quickly as she wants to be able to play Age of Conan at or close to launch (the 17th)  I'm not going to build it myself so that's out.  Last time i used Cyberpower and was relatively happy with them, but i'm open to using whoever.  My maximum budget is 2500$ i'd be much happier paying closer to 1500$.
 
I want this computer to be able to handle games for the next 3 years and near-max settings.  I know the oddball game like Crysis (or rather whatever approaches it 3 years from now) will be an exception.  But she won't start feeling like she's in an old computer for a good long while.  I'm not opposed to making easy upgrades later (like my current computer has a single 8800GTX with the expectation that some time in the future i may will SLI another one)  But i'm not going to be switching out CPUs, MOBO's etc.   So i wouldn't mind a mobo with potential for future upgrade via easy PCI card swaps, but nothing more complicated than that.
 
I'm also going to be making the purchase in the next couple days so i need somthing that can be shipped soon, not somthing on backorder.  Thanks much!

CPU: Intel E8400 ~$200
 
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L: $85
 
RAM: 2gb ddr2 800 crucial ballastix : $29
 
GPU: 8800GT 512mb: $160
 
Hard Drive: 500GB Seagate 7200.11 : $85
 
PSU: Corsair 550VX : $65
 
Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 : $36.99
 
Monitor: SAMSUNG 920NW Black 19": $199.99
 
Case: Antec 900: $100
 
Total: $960. That rig will last you a long time and give you a lot of firepower.  
 
Also you might wanna upgrade to the Radeon 4870 when it releases. Costing $350, the 4870 outperforms even the $600 Nvidia 9800GX2. So maybe you could swap the 8800GT later on for the 4870.

If your not looking to build a pc yourself, I would look to alienware.com.  They have some very solid systems that would probably fit the bill.  I've never bought a pre-built system but I would have to assume that if your looking for a gaming pc, it won't be a couple day turnaround.  I think most big name builders will probably have a minimum turnaround time for this.  It's possible that Dell may have a quicker ship time than others, though there XPS gaming line is awful pricey.

Age of Connan won't run on 2 gigs of RAM.. i'm really looking for a better computer all around than that one, oh and i have the monitor covered btw.  Alienware was much more exspensive for the same components as CyberPower last i checked, but i will definately look again.  Cyberpower also shipped 4 days after purchased, got to me  business days from the moment i clicked the button.

lol..then get 4 gigs of ram...though i doubt Connan needs it. A game uses GPU and CPU as its heart and brain. Any GPU other than the 8800GT/GTS wouldn't be very wise especially since 4870 is 3 weeks away. Get an SLI/CF mobo if you wish. That's all there is regarding "All round better computer".

Agreed. Very good choices.

General component selection :
CPU : C2Q Q6600 + XIGMATEK S1283 $260
Motherboard : ASUS P5E $225
RAM : 2x2GB CORSAIR DHX C4 DDR2 $125
some cheap 8800 GTS 512MB $220
HDD WD6400AAKS $110
NEC AD-7203S DVDRW $30
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP $100 (with shipping)
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX $90 or CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX $120
 
Around $1200 from newegg.com
Should be below $1500 from anyone prebuilt.

You may also want to check out Digitalstormonline.com. They are a small custom computer company based out of California. They offer a lot of good options for a computer, and also have fairly good prices. Nowhere near expensive as alienware, or even dell right now when it comes to the silly 730. All their computers come with a 3 year warrenty just like cyberpower, the only difference is DS actually has the customer service to back it up with. As you can see in the review site below they are VERY highly rated. I myself am ordering a computer from them in less then a week now.  
 
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Digital_Storm
 
 
An added bonus on top of it is since they are a small company, you dont have to pay a sales tax on their systems if you live outside of California. Which as you know can be pretty damn pricey depending on how much you spend. Shipping is also free.  
 
 
I am a bit bias though as i am buying a system from them in little less then a week now. It will run 2666 dollars, but i think it will provide a great amount of power and have the room to expand on.
 
Small details about my order:
Cosmos S case
Artic cooling CPU cooler
Zalman Case Fans max the case can hold (their option called Stage 3 aircooling)
790i ultra Mobo
2GB corsair 1333 (picked this because i plan to upgrade ram later on, its easy to do plus im not completely certain on the best speeds yet for my build)
E8400 CPU (DS will overclock)
9800GX2  
1000W corsair Power supply (might add another GX2 later, or switch to higher powered 9900s later if they are good, plus gives a lot of flexiblity)
Vista 64 (EWWW!!! but oh well...you cant fight the system)
 
Honestly i call that a fairly good deal for 2666 bucks, no sales tax, no shipping costs. Plus a 3 year warrenty and a 72 hour burn in time. I wish i had the time to build it myself, but i work full time, and i sort of need a new computer very soon..lol. My current computer doesnt even meet the min requirements for Crysis =/.

 
I think a system similar to this delivers very good performance and value for money.

What resolution does this monitor have?

Without breaking any NDAs I can safely say that AoC WILL HAVE multithreading support... quadcore with 4gb ram, vista 64 recommended
 
I'm technically allowed to give experiences until level 13.
 
So you'll want an 8800 series or better for vid card, i recommend the 9800 gtx
 
*edit*
 
If you're not building it yourself, alienware is rather expensive, overpriced.
 
www.ibuypower.
 
www.abs.com
 
www.cyberpowerpc.com
 
those might be better choices for costs closer to actual newegg value.
(building a PC really isn't complicated though)

If you're looking 2-3 years into the future, you'd be much better off with a Q6600 or Q6700.  
 
Also, if you're wanting to SLI in the future, you'd need a nForce board, such as the EVGA 750i, 780i, 790i, etc. (Or Skulltrail). However, if you're considering switching between ATI and nVidia, I'd say shoot for a p35.  
 
And no, do not buy from Alienware.

i went with alienware... overpriced sure, but at least i can get it liquid cooled decently, cyberpowers liquid cooling was only for the cpu...  You know what really pisses me off tho'?  Alienware absolutely refuses to load 64bit vista on their machines.  I have no clue as to why that might be.

I think you can pick if you want a license for 64-bit or 32-bit when you install Vista (not sure if it has to be a retail version but I know HP offered this for my 8710W with Vista at work). If it's OEM or preloaded you're probably out of luck.

i specifically asked 2 reps at alienware and they said they would not install the 64bit version of vista.  However i did *pay* for the ultimate edition so perhaps if i bitch enough they'll give me a disc, because i also thought that version came with both 32 and 64 bit included
 
oh and to the guy who asked earlier (though i suspect it doesn't matter as much since i placed my order) i'm running my monitor at 1680x1050
 
*edit* not that anyone cares but this is what i went with
 
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 12MB Cache 1333MHz FSB
Alienware P2 Chassis: Alienware® P2 Chassis with AlienIce™ 3.0 Video Cooling - Space Black
System Lighting: Alienware® Standard System Lighting - Plasma Purple
System Cooling: Alienware® High-Performance Liquid Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 750 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
Graphics Processor: Single Graphics Card - 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GT
Video Optimizer: AlienAdrenaline v1.0: Video Performance Optimizer - More Info
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 2 x 2048MB
Motherboard: Alienware® Approved NVIDIA® nForce® 790i Ultra SLI™ Motherboard
Includes PCI-Express 2.0, DDR3 Memory, and Support for Intel 1600 FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Ultimate – DirectX 10 Ready!
System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 500GB (2 x 250GB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 16MB Cache
Optical Drives : Single Drive Configuration - 20X Dual-Layer Burner (DVD±RW)
Enthusiast Essentials: Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet Ports
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeGamer High Definition 7.1 Audio - More Info
Keyboard: Gaming Keyboard - Saitek II Backlit Keyboard
Mouse: Gaming Mouse - Razer Lachesis™ Mouse
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
AlienRespawn: AlienRespawn v2.0 Recovery DVD – Windows Vista® Edition
Featured Games: Battlefield 2142
Power: UPS Protection - Opti-UPS ES1000C (700W Capacity)  
 
Yes i paid more than i wanted to, yes i could've gotten it cheaper if i built it myself, but so long as it works as well as it's supposed to i'll be happy enough with it, i'm also curious to see how the liquid cooling stands up against my aircooled rig.

Ultimate does comes with 32- and 64-bit discs. I used the 64-bit version, so I don't remember exactly, but I believe you can order / download a 64-bit copy from M$ if you have a valid serial.

They have a "respawn" CD they give you to run if you reformat so you get all their little perks like their alienGuise (windows themes etc...)  they probably dont have one for 64 vista, thats why they refuse.
 
i didn't know you wanted liquid cooling, or else i woulda suggested other places sorry i guess i shoulda read the post better.
 
Voodoo is a nice company but they're even more expensive than alienware
 
also falcon-nw.com to consider  (also expensive)
 
Dell XPS might even have liquid cooling.

liquid cooling was just a bonus.  It wasn't nessisary.  I liked cyberPC, but alienware fiananced the whole system for me with no interest for a year... so i went with them.  CyberPC's pay-it-later program is utterly stupid, you have to build up credit over time so the fact i own my own home, and have a monthly income that greatly exceeds my debt doesn't matter,
 
Voodoo and FalconNW were just way too exspensive, Alienware was expensive but not stupidly so (i'd have paid nearly twice as much for about the same system at FNW or Voodoo)

For your next build if you're not going to watercool you might want to try building one yourself
 
It's very fun (at least I think so )