$1,200 - $1,500 Gaming PC Build

This question is asked a lot here but its a different answer for most people that ask it. This is because most people have different needs and wants for their computer and people here will give you advice to optmize the computer parts that target your needs and want apropiatly.

Here's a shot at a rig for ya...

Monitor:
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen - Theres a great sale going on for these $170

WD Blac 640gb - $75

Windows Vista Home Premium w/ windows 7 upgrade free - $110

I7 920 and EVGA GTX 295 This graphics card has a hdmi port built into it (but comes at a hefty price tag). $765

PSU and Case - corsair 750tx and CM HAF 932 - $238

MB and Ram - Asus p6t and OCZ gold 1600 - 287

This will put you over budget at 1645 - about 45 in rebates.

Now for your optical drive
Sony Blue-ray reader - $95
or pick some cheapo dvd/cd burner ~$25

I know this puts you over budget but it'd be one powerful rig...

Having the HDMI request is a bit difficult to deal with so that's why i went with the vidoe card i selected. If this price range is out of sight, then you'd have to drop the vidoe card and add some sort of TV tuner which of course costs extra money. I would think it'd be better to have one unit that can do it all for you vs have to weaker units. The gtx 295 is the only card that i know of that has support for an hdmi port? (*disclaimer* i might be wrong on this?)

+1 to kubes's suggestions... very well done sir.

When you say you need HDMI for TV connection, what exactly do you mean? Do you want to be able to plug your computer into your TV monitor? My TV has a VGA port for that, so I wouldn't know about anything else.

Most people want HDMI to be able to play their Xbox on their computer monitor, but that requires an HDMI port on the monitor, not on the actual computer.

That's confusing... hahaha

I'd save yourself some hassle, and just get yourself a decent DVD (or BlueRay) player and hook it up to the TV, or keep doing what your doing now, it won't look any better or worse, it'll just be more convenient... and cheaper.

The first step will be getting my wife to allow me to spend the extra money! LOL!

So where exactly does the CPU cooler go? Does that replace the heatsink on the motherboard? Sorry, I never built my own before. So if I were to use the ATI card I could save money and I would be able to purchase 2 for SLI? Only problem there is I think the other card has two gpu's built in and in the case of ArmA 2 which doesn't support SLi at the moment, I kind of lose the power of the second card right?

Either way I appreciate the alternative options.

As noted above i went with the expenesive gtx 295 (aka the best single card solution on the market currently) because it has a built in hdmi port into the card. I was tryign to kill two birds with one stone for you. If shnur is correct about the adapter then I'd go that route as it would then get you under budget.

I understand, but how does the other card stack up against this one? Problem is that ArmA 2 doesn't supports SLI/Crossfire and I'm not sure if that is going to change at some point. So in this case if I went with the cheaper card I'm really only going to get the power of one of those cards and not both. If this cards is no match for the GTX 295 what would be my next best option for a little less money?

Ok, a little googling here and I've found that "some" nVidia video cards have onboard audio, and all 4000 generation ati cards have onboard audio, so the "DVI to HDMI" converter that comes with the ati cards should allow you to hook up your computer with only an HDMI cable (plus the converter that comes w/ the GPU).

Here's a post regarding ati 4890 and HDMI:
http://www.rage3d.com/BOARD/showthread.php?t=33946408

With that, I've come up w/ this (no HDMI cable):

Case:
Antec 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042
$60

PSU:
Corsair 650w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005
$100 - $10 MIR

CPU/mobo combo:
i7 920 + Gigabyte UD4P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.209743
$515 - $20 MIR

Memory/GPU combo:
HIS 4890 + OCZ gold 6GB (3x2gb) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.208651
$283 - $10 MIR

HD:
Samsung Spinpoint 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152102
$85

CD/DVD/Blu-Ray:
Pioneer BD-ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827129015
$97

CPU Heatsink/fan:
Xigmatek Dark Knight
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233029
$45

Thermal Grease:
Arctic Silver 5
$9

Monitor:
Asus 23.6" 1920x1080
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236052
$200 - $10 MIR

Keyboards:
I suggest either go cheap and easy:
Lite On -- $7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823107120
Or go for a quality keyboard:
Logitech G11 -- $59
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823126009

Total w/o Keyboard: $1395 - $50 MIR + shipping

If I was to spend any more money though, I'd probably bump the Antec 300 up to an Antec 900 or 902 or Coolermaster HAF 932 or 922 and get the G11 keyboard, although I found a forum where someone said they were 'upgrading' from a 900 to a 300. That's not to say the 300 isn't a great case, it's just likely to get a little cramped with the Dark Knight and the 4890 and it's not a flashy case by any means. 300 review -- http://forum.****/general/12017-an [...] -case.html

Hope this helps you out.

Edit: I really should follow your preferences...If you are dead set on an nVidia and/or BFG card, I suggest one of these 2 for only a slight increase in cost (although performance should be similar to the 4890 and I haven't looked up DVI/HDMI conversion for these two, but you have google at your disposal as well):

Gigabyte GTX275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125279
$205 - $20 MIR

BFG Tech GTX275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143199
$240 - $20 MIR

If you do drop down to a GTX260, make sure it has 216 stream processors, the 192s just don't cut it.