$1000 for internal parts only. Gaming primarily

We'll talk in general right now since we have no idea about sales 1 month away.

For your budget, you'll be able to get the following

i5 750 ~$200
CF mobo ~$150
5850 ~$260
PSU ~$100
Ram ~$90
HDD ~$50 (500gb) - $80 (1tb)
HSF ~$40

After sales factor in, you should have enough left for Windows 7 if you don't have it already.

The 5850 will dominate a 1680x1050 for a very long time. Having a CF board and PSU will let you add a second later if you upgrade your monitor and a single 5850 isn't up to snuff. But with how long you get out of your systems, unless your monitor dies, shouldn't be a need.

Here is a build I had put together for a friend. Not finalized yet, as I have to see what state his current computer is in (He's been having issue's with his 2 year old dell crashing).



Wish List:

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ
Item #: N82E16820231225
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $134.99

1 ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157163
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy $169.99

1 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
Item #: N82E16832116758
Return Policy: Software Return Policy $149.99

1 ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835186134
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$3.00 Instant
$36.98
$33.98

1 Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136218
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $69.99

1 Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920
Item #: N82E16819115202
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy -$9.00 Instant
$288.99
$279.99

Then I had added on a GTX 275 video card for about $250 which took it just over $1080. Video card could be exchanged for an ATI or higher level Nvidia.

All the items are from Newegg, I made the list on Sunday. I have to see how much of his computer is salvageable or if it just needs some TLC and maintenance. He's not a big computer geek.

Thanks for the replies:

skora: Do you have any specific parts you could recommend for the mobo, PSU, and RAM? Also, why the i5 instead of an i7?

Wolvan: I haven't heard of SKILL or ASRock before, but I've been out of the loop for a while. Are those the best I can get for the money right now?

Gskill is one of the major memory makers now days. They make very good performance memory, typically a bit cheaper then corsair/kingston. Check out the reviews for it on Newegg. I have it in my current computer.

ASRock is the 'budget' brand of Asus I believe. The motherboard I listed is a Tomshardware recommended buy. They make really good boards for less then some of the board companies. I have the ASRock x48 twin turbo board in my personal computer. Other mobo's by ASrock have gotten favorable reviews by this site and other's.

Here are some links to the items I listed:

Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

The harddrive is pretty much personal reference. I did some research on this site for HD performance etc, and Western Digital ones came up strong.

CPU cooler is preference.

I will always use intel cores over AMD. Personal preference and I still believe the I7 920 is a great core capable of LOTS of overclocking if you read the reports here on Tomshardware.

The i5 is more than enough CPU for gaming. The only reason to go to the i7 is if you need extra performance from multi threaded apps. While Photoshop is one of them, if its just casual editing your doing, spending the extra $80 on the CPU and $20 on a mobo and $20 for the ram for the X58 boards doesn't make sense. That's a huge GPU upgrade that will effect gaming much more than adding more power to a component that is already overpowered for gaming.

As for parts picking, best bang for the buck is based off the sales at the time of purchase. I can give a quick pics for each.

Mobo: If you want CF as an option, Gigabyte UD4 or above. If not any flavor. Asus is the other main board manufacturer and I'm not sure what model starts with the dual x8/x8 option. Asrock, as mentioned above is a subsidiary of Asus. They do some test bed stuff there and overall have good products for a little less. MSI, Biostar, Foxconn all make decent enough boards but not as high quality as the big two.

PSU: My general rules for PSUs are active (no red voltage switch on the back) and 3 year warranty. You're starting to see some companies make a run at the 3 year warranty, so I'd stick with these main ones: Antec (except the early BP line) Corsair, Silverstone, Seasonic, PC Power & Cooling.

Ram, anything with a name brand is fine. Its the extreme budget manufactures to avoid.