Average Gaming Rig w/ True 5.1

[atx350]

So heres the thing... I'm a Microsoft Administrator and honestly the last thing I want to do when I get home is research the latest hardware so if anyone has some free time to build a box for me I'd appreciate it.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Money in hand & ready to go

BUDGET RANGE: <$900

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (BFBC2, SC2, Fallout 3, HL2), Movies, Browsing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
Case
Keyboard
Mouse
Monitor
OS: Win7 64
Power supply:Thermaltake W0093RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153028
Harddrives:
Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136062
2x (Raid 1) Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

PREFERRED WEBSITE FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD or Intel. No preference

OVERCLOCKING: Slightly if any

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm sick of using 5.1/7.1 simulated headsets. For this rig I'd like emphasis on the Audio and obtaining TRUE 5.1 surround sound with a headset to support it. I don't use speakers as I live in an apartment.

======================================
Here is my current rig if you think any of it's salvageable:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029

RAM:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

MoBo:
EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188017

Graphics Card:
EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

Power supply:
Thermaltake W0093RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153028

Harddrives:
Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136062
2x (Raid 1) Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

 

[gkay09]

Maybe this setup -
ASUS Maximus III Gene + Corsair 4GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.469567

i5 760 + Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.460466

Corsair 650TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
$10 off w/ promo code EMCYWYP25, ends 8/9

CM 690 Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

 

[gkay09]

Well you can get AMD based PC for less, but not sure how the audio quality will compare to the one above...

 

[atx350]

^gkay09

Make note that I will also need a sound card which supports true 5.1 surround sound. Also, a computer case and power supply is not needed as I already have one. Thanks!

 

[gkay09]

^ Well did you check that Intel board ? It comes with Premium onboard sound card...

And as for the PSU, how old is the one that you have ? Might be time to buy a newer more efficient one...

 

[atx350]

Great point gkay. I'll look into it further. Thank you for your input.

 

[gkay09]

^ But there are newer boards that come with SATA 6GB/s and USB3.0 such as the ASUS P557D PRO-E, but would again cost more...Also am not sure how well it would fare compared to the above board...
And also if you are OK with AMD, then you could get a cheaper builds...

 

[atx350]

I don't have a bias towards Intel so if you have an AMD build in mind then post it up. As I said before, I'm specifically looking for the best Audio option. I stopped following hardware awhile back so I'm assuming AMD's still run a bit hotter? I can't imagine the performance being much less.

 

[gkay09]

If you go with AMD, the you wont get SLI support...
X4 955 + HD 5850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.460526

ASRock 870A Extreme - Supports crossfire but no SLI and sound card needed to get True 5.1...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102024

Though the 500W maybe be able to power the HD 5850, but you cannot go Crossfire and also would be a good idea to change the PSU...

 

[atx350]

Checking em out now. Thanks again.