Hey everyone!

This is my first post and I'm so glad I finally found a forum that is as comparable as this one is. I will be the first to tell you I'm not the most educated in building my first computer, but I'm definitely willing to learn and take some advice. I'm not completely computer illiterate.. I like to think I know most of my stuff. But when it comes to the 'how to'.. I could use some help.

So to start it off, basically what I want is a high performance gaming computer for the price I can accept. I'm willing to spend around 1200 bucks on just the computer itself. I just simply get so confused when there are so many options of things to choose from. I'd just like a little guidance in all of this. So, generally, I want the most efficient, awesome graphicked (lol), quick machine I can get... all with the idea of upgrading more and more over time. I've gotten so fed up with pre-assembled, big name brands. Its frustrating. So, if we could just get the ball rolling? Start feeding me ideas? ANY help is so appreciated. I'm super excited to put together my first serious computer.

If you get a socket 775 motherboard, and something like a q9450, you pretty much will have to live with it until your next full system build. By the end of next year, Nehalem CPUs, Motherboards, and DDR3 RAM should hit a nice level for most consumers, and will probably offer a very healthy upgrade from what we have now.

I'm fairly sure that Core 2 Duo/Quad processors are reaching EOL, and we won't be seeing any new iterations of it after the e8600/q9650 and low end ones like the e7300/e5xxx.

So with that in mind, you could build a system now, but by Winter next year, 'upgrading' will entail a lot of new components. You could get a cheap motherboard, cpu, and ram to hold you off for a year. You can still use the same hdd, case, psu, gfx card, and stuff for an upgrade next year, but you won't feel so bad about some of your purchases at this time.

So, you could get something like, an e7200, P35 board for ~$80, and some $40 Ram to hold you off for next year.

lol

Generally what I got out of that is that next year there will be some serious new equipment out there? Would it really be worth it to wait an entire year? opinions?

You can still build a nice system before then, Keep reading what these guys post over the next few days and you will notice whats hot on the market and then you take it from there.Alot of these guys use the same hardware i notice because they like to keep up on whats hot out there.I suggest you get what you like from what you hear, and number one when picking parts for your build, read ratings and reviews on other sites also.I am not one to tell you the parts to put in your system thats up to you.Like i said listen to alot of these guys that been on this forum for awhile and read reviews and ratings.

That is most definitely the plan. I've already done a bit of looking around and I might as well get this started. I've been looking first at cases, considering I don't feel like trying my luck at much else yet. And every where I read the Antec 900 seems to be a pretty well liked overall. It seems like it is very upgradeable and I don't mind the look one bit. Opinions? Can we get me started on specifics.. like lets go down the list o' things.

Motherboard

Processor

Case

CD/DVD Drive

Hard Drive

Graphics Card

Power Supply

Memory

OS

SBaxterok By the way i would choose your motherboard and CPU first then choose your video card and memory next, and then get a solid power supply 600 watts plus at least if you are gonna be gaming alot, then choose dvd cd writer, case, etc. Ok!

There are alot of good cases get a nice mid to bigger size case , but i wouldn't worry about that first. Choose your mobo and processor first like i mentioned trust me.

You are going to keep hearing alot of the same products mentioned alot you choose what you like and what has good ratings and price unless you have some money to spend.

Danke! Since this is my first build I really would appreciated anyone pointing me in the right direction when it comes to each of these things. Throw your opinions, personal favorites, and just what you think rocks. Then I can sift through it and you can all help make the decisions. Remember, close around $1200 if we can. I don't know how much it matters, but I really want to focus on graphics and speed. Especially multi-tasking. I've been so thoroughly pissed about slowing computers I've had it.

Good points by effel, but it may be a year or more before prices stabilize, bugs get worked out, the price of DDR3 to drop.... etc. In the computer world there's always something new/better/faster/cooler just over the horizon, an example of this is the HD4870 x2 only a week or 2 away. A good place to start on a system now would be a P43/45 motherboard if you're going with a single graphic card solution or a X48 motherboard if you want to crossfire 2 cards. Here's a sample single GPU build at about your budget.

Motherboard- Asus P45Q pro $140 offers limited crossfire at 8x-8x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131299
alternate motherboard at $106 after rebate Biostar P45 TP45HP same limited crossfire of 8x-8x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138123
for best performance in crossfire a X48- Asus P5E at $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131317
CPU- Intel E8500 at $190 (price compression is your friend)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115036
RAM- Mushkin DDR2 800 2x2 GB for $60 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731
Case- several nice mid tower cases, pick the one you like
antec 900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021
Antec 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042
Coolermaster 590
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119152
Coolermaster 690
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137
run from $60 to $120, you can usually shop around for better deals
Power supply- a Corsair 750w $100 it'll be more than you need unless you're crossfiring 4870s or getting the HD4870 x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006
Hard drive- WD 640 SATA $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218
DVD RW- Lite on $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106263
GPU - a HD4870 x2 said to be about $500- $550, but still not out yet.
or a HD4870 $275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814129113

these are just basic suggestions, i didn't shop around much and look for combo deals etc. good luck

Can i recommend the Q6600 for a processor for a start.

Asus also makes some good motherboards check them out too.

All of that added up minus the operating system.. which runs for like 150 ya? .. I was almost at 1100. And from what you said that is simply basic. How good of graphics would that GPU give me? And would the motherboard give me enough room for upgrading later? What would YOU want if it was yours.

And what if I crossfired those two cards? Is that just ridiculous or is something to invest in? Like apparently Crysis is the game to test right now. Would I get near very high on Crysis with just one GPU. Or is crossfiring needed to obtain something like that? With the better mobo how does that work?