~$1000 Upgradeable Gaming Rig

Asus P6X58D Premium? There is no plain version, it's either -e or premium. Pretty good deal for the Premium.

Rather than asking you a lot of questions, I'll just ask you to answer these:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advic...

Approximate Purchase Date: Over time, within the next month. I plan on getting the CPU/Mobo bundle this week, though.


Budget Range: $1000-1500


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, streaming to TV, internet, other light usage.


Parts Not Required: Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers. I COULD reuse case and monitor, but I'd rather not.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg or Microcenter


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: Pretty much set on the following deal from Microcenter: i7-950 and ASUS P6X58D Premium


Overclocking: Probably


SLI or Crossfire: Yes, but not immediately. Probably will get one top-end GPU now, and buy the 2nd later.


Monitor Resolution: Not sure, but the one I have now runs at 1680x1050, but I'd like to upgrade.


Additional Comments: The price for the bundle is $455. Probably looking to only get one GPU right now. I'd like an SSD, and I could reuse one of my current harddrives for larger storage if I can't afford a better one immediately.



Parts decided on:

Intel i7-950
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

ASUS P6X58D Premium
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

(these two together are $455)

That's a great deal on the i7-950; I got my i7-930 3 months ago for $200 from Microcenter.

RAM: You'll want 3x2GB @ 1333MHz or 1600MHz with a Cas Latency of 7 or 8 (lower is better). I have the Patriot Viper II Sector 7 1600MHz CL8 RAM, and it's gotten about $30 cheaper since this summer (plus a MIR, which would only make it $115): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD: The OCZ Vertex and the Crucial C300 are the two fastest boot drives, but are a little expensive per GB. I have the WD SiliconEdge, which is a "slow" SSD, and I still boot in 30s.

GPU: I would recommend the EVGA GTX 460s: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
The OCed version is the same price, but it's easy to OC the stock ones. If you plan on needing more performance, go with the GTX 470.

PSU: You'll need a 650W Continuous power (750W max power) for SLIed 460s, and a 750W continuous (850W max) for 2 SLIed GTX 470s (more for 3 SLIed 470s). I'd go with a Corsair, Antec, or Seasonic. XFX's Black Edition is OEMed by Seasonic, which is the best PSU maker out there.

Case: The high end GPUs are going to get hot, so you'll need a case with good airflow. I have the Raven RV02 full tower, and it only has 4 fans, which are really efficient and extremely quiet (it's almost soothing). Plus, you'll be able to wire the cables behind the motherboard to improve airflow. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

If you can find any combo deals, you may be able to save a bit here and there, but don't expect to be saving $100s at a time.

Well, get some memory . . . and maybe you can install it, depending on what kind of OS disk you have  

Actually, for top memory in your rig I'd recommend 1600 CL7 from Mushkin for $110 after MIR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Since the cheapest you could get away with is $100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
it seems the good stuff is a no-brainer.

Next up might be the cooler - either excellent cooling on a budget:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

or quite likely the best air available: Thermalright Silver Arrow
http://www.rwlabs.com/article.php?cat=&id=300&pagenumbe...
http://www.amazon.com/THERMALRIGHT-SILVER-ARROW-DUAL14C...

SSD? Last thing to llok at on a budget.

Gaming at 1680? With future plans for 1920? AMD 6850 or this faster OC'd Gigabyte 460 both at $180:

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

PSU? Minimum 650, 750W max:

650W Seasonic $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

750W Corsair $90 after MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case: Hard to argue with Silverstone Raven 2 - so cool it makes cpu/gpu fans run slower, quieter. But expensive. Cooler Master HAF 912 would be my budget choice.