~1300 Gaming PC Build

well, as stated, i cant see the list. but, if you are building in a few months, then you should ask about a week or so before, that way the combos are still there, and no new tech comes out. it isnt really worth waiting that long, since the main things coming ar ethe intel i9 980x (atleast 1000$ cpu) and the nvidia 300 series (looks like it will be very expensive), so i would recommend to buy sooner, since neither would fit in your budget...also, is the 1300$ including everything, as in os and monitor, or just the hardware? also, you say gaming, but what exactly do you play, if i knew this all, i could give you a build in 3 seconds, but if not, then there isnt much i can do...

The build that I have going right now includes OS and a 21'' 1920x1080 monitor , i7 2.6processor, 6gb ram, MSI N260GTX video card. all the other components i selected based on newegg reviews and price
I only play WoW right now but only because my current system is a terrible mac and I want to be able to play that at pretty much max settings
I would like to play Dragon Age Origins on high settings,battlefield bad company 2 and modern warfare2 on relatively high settings, and The Old Republic MMO on high settings, when it comes out
The main thing I am concerned with is using components that will allow me to upgrade and expand the system over the next couple years without having to build from scratch in like 2 years

based on what you play and want, i would recommend the am3 setup. the am3 is equally if not more future proof than the 1366 setup. also, the amd 965/955 is not quite as fast as the in synthetics, but it is just as fast in gaming. it is also about 300-400$ less (factoring in mobo, ram, and cpu) cheaper, therefore you can get a better video card, and all the other parts. in most games, it is more important to have a better vid card, rather than a better cpu, which is why in most games, a 965+5850 would beat a i7+5770 hands down. the games you listed also arent that demanding, most are relatively moderate ( MW2 might be the most demanding). all that said, heres my build:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

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

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

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... (wait for the f3s to come back)

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

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

final price is 1172.88$, and it has a better monitor, way better video card (5850>285>280>275>4890>5770>4870>260), it has 8 gigs of ram, and probably lots of other better things...and theres still 130$ left over to play with...this is a much better gaming build, and i highly recommend it  

thanks for the help man, that fits for what i am looking for much better!

QFT, other than am3 being potentially more future-proof than lga 1366. Everything there seems fine as a 5850 will run every must play pc game at max, and you'll see better performance at your resolution with a better video card and overall slower cpu. x4 955or965+5850 > i7 920+5770 or GTX 260. Just make sure you get the c3 revision if you get an x4 955.

To also add, even with the psu+gpu combo, I still wouldn't trust an OCZ ModX power supply as FSP is the oem that makes them.

Sorry I am new to all this, what do you mean by the 'c3 revision?'

Cpus will sometimes come in different revisions, usually with improvements in manufacturing. The c3 revision of the x4 955 runs a little cooler and overclocks better than the c2 revision, which has been around since the release of the cpu. With the x4 965 you only get the c3 revision on newegg as they no longer have the c2.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
This is the c3
HDZ955FBGMBOX << shows a different model number than the older version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
This is the c2
HDZ955FBGIBOX << older model number

You might want to look at the intel i5 lga 1156 option. Comparing this cpu-to-clock to the amd quad cores, it's slight faster for around the same price. $1239 shipped to my address

CPU+GPU combo $474: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Motherboard $134: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

This motherboard is why I didn't bother with a solid state drive, since a SSD sata 6.0 is much faster than a SSD sata 3.0. This will allow you to add a solid state drive later when the prices drop a little and they release the SATA 6.0 drives.

4GB RAM $104: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU $119: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
even though the motherboard doesn't do crossfire, you could always drop a multi gpu video card in with this power supply.

HDD $89: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CASE $89: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

DVD burner $24: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU HEATSINK $68 shipped to me: http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/prmeforinso7.html
includes 1156 kit this heatsink is one of the best air coolers for overclocking, if you don't plan to overclock you could go with this other heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


HEATSINK FAN 9$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

TIM 8$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
never leave home without it?

windows 7 104$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

If there's a chance you're like me, try to get it through your college. I bought my copy of windows 7 ultimate for $35.

Biggest thing to remember is Nvidia is coming out with their new DX11 cards at the end of March or early April. This will in all reality drive the prices down of the ATi cards.