My old computer is incredibly outdated, and it seems like building my own computer is going to be the best bang for my buck. I'm perfectly comfortable replacing single components in existing PCs, so by what I've read, this shouldn't be much harder.

Looking over multiple forums and browsing Newegg, I've come up with a list of parts that seem like they'll give me a decent computer(just the box, I've got a nice monitor and other peripherals) for under $1200(Which happens to be my price limit.).

So, without any more talk, the parts list.

(This list fluctuates a bit. I just recently changed to some ATi hardware here.)

Case - Antec Nine Hundred
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021
Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131299
PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115018
HSF - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134
GPU - ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121253
Thermal Stuff - Arctic Silver 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100007
RAM - OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227269
HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218
Optical Drive - ASUS Black (Really long name, just click the link if you want the info.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135156
OS - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116204

to start with the 750i wouldnt give you the best bang of bucks!never!

you will have a nightmare overclock the Q6600 on that mobo thats be comfirmed.

depend how far you want to overclock, the ACF7P will only get you to under 3.2Ghz nothing more, it just simply cant handle the heat.

lastly i wouldnt waste the money on a pre-overclocked graphics card. i can 100% guarrantee you that you can achieve them speed by using 1 very simple ultility.

Are you planning on going SLI in the future? If so that PSU might have trouble running 2 9800s. If you're not planning to SLI then I'd go with a P45 or X38 motherboard instead of the 750i board.

I'd also consider a 4850 instead of the 9800GTX but they're pretty close in performance so either one should work well. You could also wait for the 4870 cards to come out. I'd definitely wait for benchmarks though.

I'd drop the sound card and see how well you like on-board.

The 640GB version of that HDD is a better deal and is a bit faster I believe.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look up some alternatives and edit the post a bit.
I do plan on going SLI in the future.

EDIT: Ok, I looked up some of the suggestions that have been made and changed the original post a bit. If anyone has any suggestions as to an OC-Friendly SLI motherboard, I'd appreciate them.

Get a 750TX from www.buy.com.

Get a GA-EX38-DS4 and two HD 4850 cards, and a HDT-S1283 cooler.

The rest is very good.

Looks really promising, good component selection there. What worries me is your PSU choice, you'll want something beefier to feed 9800's in SLI but for now it should be fine. The mobo seems like it will be fine for your needs, and for the price, it seems to be just fine. (plus its a full PCI-E 2.0 mobo) I'm not sure how that thing would overclock but for regular use it would be just great.

I do agree that the 9800 is unnecessary right now, either a 4850 or the upcoming 9800+ would suit you better, but as far as the 9800 is concerned i'd find it hard to suggest that over a 8800GT, depends on your resolution but at $160 its a really great card.

I keep looking at your post and seeing if thats really the best option, I think your right about your case selection but take a look at this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146038 NZXT case, its (to me) alot more attractive and does essentially the same thing (minus that huge 200mm fan). I am curious though, why the 64-bit vista? sure you get the extra 512MB of ram that you pay for but be sure to check that your programs will still work with a 64-bit operating system.

Hope I could help. Kudos on the new PC.

pick 4850 instead of 9800gtx... it's better

The 9800 seems like a card that will last me for awhile, as well as something that will play newer games at a decent frame rate.
That case you linked to is very nice looking. I'll have to definitely consider that one.
As for the 64-bit Vista, I want that in case I ever decide to upgrade past 4gb in the future when I have a bit more money to burn on this thing. As far as I know, everything that I use on a regular basis will work with 64-bit, but I'll make sure to double check on that.

Foxhound - Care to specify your sources?

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_4850/

The HD 4850 and the 9800GTX are pretty close. For example the HD 4850 wins in CoD4 at all resolutions, and in Crysis the HD 4850 wins only at the higher resolutions.

If you're looking for a 2-card solution, you're better off with the HD 4850 because
(1) Crossfire scales better than SLI, usually
(2) an x38/x48 MB is more stable and overclocks better than a 680i/750i

I'm thinking about going to ATi, now, because I'm hearing lots of bad things about the nVidia 7xxi chipsets...

Thanks for that link, by the way, that cleared up quite a few of my questions. I haven't bought an ATi card for awhile(Last one was a 32mb dedicated card).