Need Advice for a $700 budget gaming pc

[thepook]

Hello! This is my first post ever on PCMech and I might as well make it my most important one to begin with. I'm new to computer building and I do have a good sense of what parts I need but not sure of which to select to maximize performance for price

with the fluctuating Cad dollar, my budget is now $700 Cad. Lower cost is better of course if I can get away with it. I would like to do a little gaming of new games, like the new Prince of Persia game slated to come out in December, as well as Mirror's Edge. Any advice on what parts I should get for a budget gamer.

*note* I do have a CM690 case plus 2 CoolerMaster 120mm Blue LED fans from a friend so I need everything but the case.

To anyone who replies, you have my deepest gratitude.

[flanzig1]

motherboard: Asus P5K
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 if budget runs tight/E8400 would be the sweet spot
Ram: Corsair XMS DDR2 800 2gigs
PSU: Corsair 620 or an FSP in a comparable size
HD: Seagate 7200.11 pick the size you want
Videocard: Nvidia 9800 GT or ATI HD 4850 both are around $150-$160 US/good mid range cards.
DVD: Lite-On/Asus SATA retail package

[Alaron]

flanzig has a great list, but bump up the motherboard to the Asus P5Q, it is the updated version of the P5K.

[Doom]

I think you can get away with a Corsair 520w power supply (since the mobo isn't SLI) and use the savings there to help finance the best CPU or mobo for your dough. A 9600GT is also a little less expensive...but don't go cheaper on the graphics card unless you absolutely need to. That's what will help your gaming the most.

[Khalil]

Any Intel Core 2 Duo and I mean any, will rock and roll for you in gaming. I would definately get a newer board as Alaron suggested. I have built gaming machines for people with Pentium Dual Cores (E2220) and they smoke games with them as long as we put in a solid video card!
I would go with an ATI 4870 over that Nvidia, they are much better cards in my opinion!
So what I am saying is save some money on the CPU and buy a better video card if you can make it fit your budget. You do not need an E8400 to game like a champ!

[Rev_pizzaguy]

I wouldn't go with the E2200, get the E5200 instead (Wolfdale core with 2MB cache) then overclock. E7300 would be very nice. I also would go for an HD4850. The HD4870 is too expensive and power hungry.

[Khalil]

Whats wrong with the E2200? Have you ever used one in a gaming build?

[The Village Idiot]

It is a higher clock speed and higher cache, 1mb cache in a processor these days is a little small. I'd probably agree with Rev if you're willing to spend the extra $10.