Need A Gaming PC, just don't know what to buy

I'm looking into building a PC within the next couple of months That I can do some serious gaming on. I have a laptop but as i'm sure you know, it just doesn't cut it. heres what I've got:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
-Gaming, occasional video rendering, lots and lots of music
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
-around $600-$1000, less is better.
3) Where do you live?
-Texas
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
-Mobo, video card, processor, hdd (maybe ssd if $$ allows), sound card, dvd drive, memory
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
-P182 super mid tower
6) Will you be overclocking?
-.....maybe
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
-30in widescreen lcd
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
-within next few months
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
-RAID, SLI, for the future anyway.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
-yes

This computer basically needs to be able to handle 3d graphic and physics rendering pretty well. Just a small example; I have Fallout 3, and I'd like to be able to handle it on the highest graphic level. Plus who knows, I'm sure i'll get another game here soon that needs way more than that lol. If youve got any good build ideas, I would absolutely LOVE to hear them, and try explain decently well, I'm still kinda getting into this so too many abbreviations and numbers will just be confusing!

Right now I'm looking at:
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
-ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX
-XFX GX260NADFF GeForce GTX 260


Thanks in advance for the ideas!

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1349433 Please answer pin questions.

lt_shiro said:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1349433 Please answer pin questions.

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+1 Please answer these questions so that we can help you better.

Return the 600w Antec if you can. From the sound of things it may not be enough for what you're wanting to do; it is certainly not enough for SLI or CrossfireX, and given you'll be driving a 30" (at 2560x1600 I assume) that could be a very real possibility.

sorry guys, updated it for ya. A little more specific and a couple ideas I'm looking at as well.

I recommend this setup:
$289 - Intel Core i7 920 CPU
$240 - Asus P6T Intel X58 ATX Motherboard
$85 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$205 - XFX GX260NADFF GeForce GTX 260 Core Edition Core 216 896MB PCI-E Video Card
$63 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner
$110 - Corsair 750TX 750W PSU
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Total: $1017 plus tax and shipping

Danny Bui said:

I recommend this setup:
$289 - Intel Core i7 920 CPU
$240 - Asus P6T Intel X58 ATX Motherboard
$85 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$205 - XFX GX260NADFF GeForce GTX 260 Core Edition Core 216 896MB PCI-E Video Card
$63 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner
$110 - Corsair 750TX 750W PSU
-----
Total: $1017 plus tax and shipping

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Danny got it for the most part; a few things I would change:
$210 - GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI
$245 ($225 AR) - XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB

sounds awesome, however, $1000 is the absolute most I can spend, any ideas for something that might be slightly cheaper?

Save up. i7 is worth another ~$50.

Logic Monster said:

sounds awesome, however, $1000 is the absolute most I can spend, any ideas for something that might be slightly cheaper?

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You might be able to shed some $$$ off of that i7 build. You can save a few hundred by going with a 45nm Quad-Core (i.e. Q9400, Q9550) but I think the i7 route is worth it, especially for video rendering.

i7 920 - $289
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R - $200 ($15 rebate)
6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $85
Radeon 4850 512mb - $125 ($20 rebate)
Western Digital 640GB WD6400AAKS - $63
BFG LS 550W - $80 ($20 rebate)
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - $21


TOTAL: $863 before shipping, taxes, rebates

CPU i7 920

Asus P6T DE

GF295 SLI

Ocz 12 /1600 Triple Channel DDR3

Seagate 1TB

ThermalTake ToughPower 1200

SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Serie

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000

Logitech MX5500 Combo

Vista Ultimate 64bit

nicky.82uk said:

CPU i7 920

Asus P6T DE

GF295 SLI

Ocz 12 /1600 Triple Channel DDR3

Seagate 1TB

ThermalTake ToughPower 1200

SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Serie

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000

Logitech MX5500 Combo

Vista Ultimate 64bit

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Uh...what's that all about? That will definitely exceed the OP's budget.

PC_User said:

Uh...what's that all about? That will definitely exceed the OP's budget.

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He posted it in several threads. Who knows.

silent-circuit said:

He posted it in several threads. Who knows.

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Yeah dude is going insane with those posts.

Seems like he is just posting absurd setups that don't match any of the original criteria/needs.

Seems like he's posting to get intot he FS forums, maybe?

Anyhow, if you wanted a really good X38 motherboard, I have a DFI X38 T2R for $120 shipped OBO. Cheaper than the Asus and as reputable of a mobo, if not more.

Also, I just wanted to point out that a 4850 is a bit weak on a 30". Need at least a 4870 1GB or 260 216. And Logitech 5500 are lame for audio quality. And you guys are missing a good soundcard for the OP. The Asus or Auzentech or HT Omega cards are really awesome. And he said he wants to store a ton of music which means something bigger than a 640GB, imo. I would say minimum 1TB from Samsung or something.