Help with gaming build

[kmadams23]

So, I've never built my own PC before, but I think this fall is finally time for me to do it. I have seen the guts of machines a number of times doing silly little upgrades like RAM and PCI slot cards and so on, and I'm confident with all the photo heavy tutorials online I can handle getting everything where it needs to go. I'm a little more lost when it comes to picking parts, though. I'm looking for a nice gaming rig, reputable company parts that aren't going to die on me in a few months and have me wondering what the flock is wrong and how to fix it.

If it's relevant, you can view the specs of what I've got here: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...roduct=3437575 It has also been upgraded to 4GB RAM and an NVIDIA GEForce 7600 GT installed.

So, budget? I'm shooting for $1k to $1500 or so. I'm still in grad school, so cheaper is nice, but I do want to see nice gaming performance and I don't want parts that are going to crap out. This last PC I've had for about 2 years, it's still working just fine, but it's no longer upgradable. So whatever my build is, I'd like it to last at least that long and be upgradable to extend the life if I want to.

I've always been an Intel girl, so I've been wanting an i7, but I'm willing to try AMD. I also have been leaning towards an SLI build. I don't need any accessories, just a fully done tower (including OS).

Any thoughts ya'll have are appreciated.

[Khalil]

1k to 1500 can build you a very good gaming computer. If you like Intel stick to Intel, they are both good but AMD costs less.
Here is my recommendation for an Intel build
Intel Q9550
Asus P5Q Pro
4GB DDR2 800 Memory Corsair, Crucial, Kingston or Gskill will do well
Asus ATI 4890 video card
Corsair, Sea Sonic or Antec 750W PSU
WD black hard drive at your desired capacity
DVD Burner, only ones I don't recommend are HP, Samsung and Plaxtor
and you have yourself a powerful stable gaming machine.

i7 is a crap shoot, I do not recommend it for a first time builder. The new P55 chipset is proving unreliable and I recommend staying away from it for a few weeks till they fix things.

[Dirt Farmer]

Kahlil,

Why do you reccomend staying away from HP dvd players?