$1500-$2000 Gaming Computer, Need Advice

Looks good for the most part. Here's my advice:

1) Ditch the GTX 285. the 275 is $100 cheaper and overall very close performance wise. Use that $100, and save it for another GTX 275 down the road should you decide you need more power.

2) The case isn't the best choice. It's a very well constructed case, to be sure, but fitting your video card, while possible, will prove problematic and will prevent your cooling options. I'm assuming you don't want something radical in appearance, but you should look as something a little bit bigger with a more open design.

Sorry, I the monitor I do have is very old, with a really bad resolution ( I am not sure exactly) and I am able to use it, but would prefer not too. The other problem is that I am not sure what resolution I want. What is standard? Sorry I can't help more with that question.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137 $79.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006 $109.99 ($99.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P $219.99 | $204.99 after rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

https://www.antaresdigital.com/cust [...] ge=1" $ 280.00
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 Socket 8MB Cache CPU D0 Stepping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130475 $239.99 ($219.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Cryostasis game w/ registration at manufacturer website

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130475 $239.99 ($219.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Cryostasis game w/ registration at manufacturer website

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319 $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151171 $24.99
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236033 $269.99 ($249.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
ASUS MK241H Black 24" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor with 1.3M Pixel Webcam 450 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 3000:1) Built in Speakers - Retail
Color Saturation 92% (NTSC)

Total: $1,679.89 | $1,594.89 w/mail in rebates

* Here's a nice alternative case for a few more dollars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119197 $129.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
New Arrival

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us [...] ID=mscomsc <--- Save yourself some money on an o/s until March 2010 and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128374 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of that Gigabyte UD4P mobo used in this build

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=584 <---short review on that D0 stepping i7. It runs cooler than the older C0 stepping i7's

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php? [...] 3&Itemid=1 <--- that's one way you can tell if you have a D0 stepping cpu or not

I'd wait on the sound card. Unlike other components where you have to decide to buy something, waiting costs you nothing. More than likely you'll find the on-board audio is more than adequate for your needs. If, for some reason, you do not, then buy a sound card and plug it in!

It would be difficult to provide a direct comparison to anything, as so much depends on your audio equipment. Unless you have some relatively high-end speakers or headphones, you probably won't notice a difference.

If you have awesome speakers, get a Xonar. If not, sit on your onboard sound.