Visiting U.S. from Japan, want to build a system to take back

Okay, the dilemma I have starts with the thread title. This would be my first build.

In December, I'll be returning to the US from Japan for about 3 weeks, and I want to build a rig to take back with me. That's what I'm going to do. If anything is not worth buying at home, I'll buy it here, but odds are the entire system will be significantly cheaper in the U.S.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: The week before December 12. Anytime between now and then I will place the order.

BUDGET RANGE: $700 - I am sticking to this pretty firmly. I cannot really afford to go over. I can upgrade down the line.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, photo editing, some video encoding (I'm not time sensitive on this one), general purpose

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: OS, Monitor, Mouse. I have some old family PCs lying around the house - HP, Dell, Etc. - that have been collected over the years. Would it make sense to reuse the DVD drive and card reader stuff?

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, I'd like to purchase everything from one place in one go. I'm charging it to my Japanese credit card, and want the purchase to be as straightforward as possible

PARTS PREFERENCES: Okay, so here is what I keep going back and forth on when I start picking out a system, and I why I would appreciate some sage advice.

1. Biggest problem - Since I plan to take this back with me, I will need to take it with me on the airplane. I had first considered going with a micro-ATX build, and would take it as a carry-on item. If I can take a mid tower with me safely, I'd do that as well, but I'd need advice on logistics if anyone has happened to do it before. Bottom line is, I don't want to sacrifice too much if I don't have to.

2. I want the system to be upgradeable, not replaceable. I want the most for my money now, while not being a dead end.


OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200 - buying in Japan. 24 or 27 inch. Probably 24.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Voltage difference make a difference? Japan has less power flowin' through their electrical veins than does the U.S.
Electricity in Japan - I'm in the West

I was leaning towards a Phenom II X3 720 + HD4890, though I'd considered an i5 build with a 4850. I don't plan on upgrading for at least a year or two. DX 11?

Well, I've done a lot of pricing and trust me, it makes sense. I don't think it's a bad idea. Plus I don't speak Japanese and there are few resources for me to use to find out about a build. And no, they won't make me pay taxes or stop me at the border. I'll worry about logistics if you don't know about airplane travel.

At the very least, I can purchase some components at home and save money while I am here, then buy a case and stuff in Japan. It's a bad idea to not take advantage of that I think. But that still leaves me with needing build advice....

Do you have any build ideas?

I appreciate the help!

Oh, and about the 100w switch, I didn't think to check those specs on power supplies. It seems they have "Input Voltage" (100-240v) and "Input Frequency" (~45-65) within the ranges of Japanese standards. What exactly would the switch do?

Err, I thought your budget was 800, Revised : $731
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This, just a bit over the budget, has a great graphics card now and the potential for crossfire in the future. To overclock it would cost you $30 more for a cooler.