PC games and PC builds

I recommend AMD graphics cards. If you build now, go Sandy 2600K + a Radeon 6970. Ultimately it comes down to budget.

My build:

i7 920 OC/4GHZ
12GB Corsair DDR3
Rampage II Extreme
Radeon 6950 Unlocked Crossfire

Well since this will probably be my one and only build for a long arse time, I will probably be able to spend anywhere between 1500-2000

ok

well he's going ivy bridge, so he's probably looking at the i7 3770k or i5 3570k. the 3570k will probably be the most bang for your buck if the price point looks anything like the 2500k did.

Best value for a video card right now is probably the 560Ti or the Radeon 6850 depending on what brand you prefer for video cards. The 560 TI has better benchmarks, while 6850 is lower priced.

Geforce 570 is probably the best value of any "elite" card (580/570/Radeon 69XX) but it's a significant price jump from the 560Ti. Pretty significant benchmark increase, though. LINK

Honestly, Skyrim runs ultra graphics just fine on my build, with a 560Ti, so I don't know if the extra money is all that necessary.

If you're building the computer for the long haul, make sure to get a motherboard that will allow lots of memory expansion (at least 4 dimms, preferably 6-8) and dual video card support so you can slide in another 560/570 when you think you need to upgrade a little bit later. I'd recommend you a board but I'm sure when ivy bridges are released there will be new mobo chipsets as well.. so any recommendations I give now won't be a huge deal.

Unless you're looking to overclock, the stock fan that comes with the chip will probably be good enough. Lots of people hate on stock coolers but I've never had a problem with them.

Assuming a $225 price point on the i5 3570k (which I'm unsure about, although the i7 3770k price looks to be $335ish), you're looking at a barebones pricing like this:

$225 CPU (+110 for i7 upgrade)
$220 560 Ti (+110 for 570 upgrade)
$100-125 motherboard (to be decided later, but a safe bet for price range)
$040 for 8 gigs of RAM to start out with (shite goes on sale all the time, don't break the bank for it LINK )
$020 for a DVD Burner (any generic one will work, there's no benefit to paying more)
$100 or so for a HDD
$050-100 for a case, depending on your preferences
$080-100 for a PSU.. you'll want at least 500W with your video card, but I'm not sure how much power ivy bridges are going to pull so a 650W may be necessary.. but anything bigger than that is overkill)

These estimates put you at 735-1050.. and then Windows 7 will add $140 (or $190 for Ultimate) on top of that. That gives you a lot of flexibility in your budget to add an SSD and still come in below your $1500 budget. The prices on those seem to change every day but I'd wager you could pay close to $1/gigabyte by the time ivy bridges roll out... meaning you'll be able to afford a 128gb one at least.

I spent $650 and have a computer that exceeds expectations. I run Skyrim at ultra. (1440x900 resolution.. shitty monitor can't handle higher)

3 ghz quad core AMD Athlon II processor
4 GB RAM
Radeon HD 6850 video card
750w PS

eta

I didn't have to buy Win7 though.

What resolution is your monitor ? You have to work back from there.

Raid 0 = faster

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and I'm not sure why you'd need to pay that much premium to have 256gb of SSD in the first place.. just get 128 and save money

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A decked out Windows7 install gets to 120GB pretty easily.

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also: a 2TB drive is only about $150 LINK

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A shitty Ecogreen Seagate 2TB is $150. A badass WD Black 2TB is not $150.

I definitely recommend an i7 and an ssd. I think trying to run a raid with two ssds is a waste of money though. Just get a nice ssd and a cheap hd for storage. Not sure you need 12 gigs of ram either, but if the price is right then go for it.

Buy a Mac

I just built a fairly robust system (minus video card and HDD) for $440.

Don't overspend just for the sake of overspending. I did that with a build a few years ago, and got nothing out of it.