$1000 to build a new PC

[Algan]

Well for Christmas this year, my father told me I have a budget of $1000 to buy components for a new PC. So far I have looked at some stuff and tried to stay as cost-effective I can and get the most bang for the buck, but I'm really out of the hardware news right now. I have some parts picked out, and I am looking for some general feedback. The main thing I'm looking for in this PC is to get the most for $1000. It helps that I don't have to buy the usual accessories like a monitor and speakers and such. The main point of this rig will be for gaming. I don't want it to be bleeding-edge, but I know I can get a really nice computer for 1 grand if I use it wisely.

I realize some of my picks might be foolish, but like I said, I'm a bit out of the hardware loop recently. I'm only going to link the main parts for the time being. By the way, I am also curious of how rebates in general work on items purchased off of NewEgg, specifically how much time you have to mail them in.

Video Card (This seemed like an awesome card for $100; I don't care to waste money on a bleeding-edge card)
XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX Video Card - FREE Company of Heroes PC Game, 256MB DDR3, SLI Ready, PCI Express, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card PVT84JUDD3 at TigerDirect.com

Sound Card (might not be necessary but I'd rather not go with onboard.)
Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Hard Drive (I really want to get a high rpm one instead of high memory, but is it worth the performance increase?)
Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply (really had no idea on this)
Newegg.com - Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W SLI Ready-ATX12V V2.01 Power Supply 115/230 V CSA,UL,TUV,FCC - Retail

Processor (Quad core worth the money over a dual core?)
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Memory (No idea on this either, but I want to get 4GB if possible)
Newegg.com - Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Motherboard (I really just want it to be good enough to support everything I have so far, so I maybe there is a cheaper one out there)
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Case (A bit of a splurge, worth it?)
Cooler Master CM Black Stacker 830 ATX Full-Tower Aluminum Case with Vented Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports RC-830-KKN2-GP at TigerDirect.com

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Nukem]

some critque...

Hard drive is over rated... a good 7200/16mb cache will perform just the same, and if you get 2 will out perform a raptor...

Sound cards are not really needed now-a-days with a good mobo... onboard sound has really come a long way.

rosewill is ok, but for a power supply you get what you pay for... a good branded name is usually better. (rosewill is Neweggs generic name)

it's not bleeding edge to get an 8800GT... good card for a good price.

and if you want I am selling my whole setup... (Just thought I would slip that in) http://www.techist.com/forums/f40/parting-out-162161/

but you can make a killer setup for that price... do you need an OS as well?

 

[Blitersety]

For your mobo, go with:
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail You said you don't want bleeding-edge graphics, so there's not any point in going SLi.

Good choice on the proc, I personally think that quad-core is worth it.

The RAM you chose is alright but I recommend Ballistix. I have it and it's great.
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
You don't really need 4 gigs right now, 2 GB is the gaming standard.

I don't know a lot about power supplies so I unfortunately can't comment on your choice for that.

You don't really need a 10k rpm HDD. They are expensive and don't offer very much of a performance gain over 7200 rpm. You'd be better off with a 250 GB or 320 Gb 7200 rpm HDD, like this one:
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM That's a 250 gig model since you said you don't need a lot of storage. But I'd get the 320 gig if I were you:
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320820A 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

Awesome choice on the case by the way!! I wish I had a Stacker 830.

And finally, you'd probably save a little bit of money on the components I suggested, so if you can still fit it into your budget, consider this graphics card:
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
The 8800 GT is the best bang-for-your-buck graphics card out there right now, and it'll tear through any game available. Except for Crysis which no one can max out, not even people with 1200.00 invested in graphics cards alone.

 

[Algan]

Wow, thanks for the recommendations! I will definitely consider what you have suggested. I was unsure about the hard drive myself, considering 150gb is really pretty low storage by today's standards.

By the way, I do, in fact, need an OS, and I will probably just stick with XP for now. Some of the applications I use have been known to be buggy with Vista, and I really don't feel like fooling around with all that.

 

[Fat.Clown]

Wow, thanks for the recommendations! I will definitely consider what you have suggested. I was unsure about the hard drive myself, considering 150gb is really pretty low storage by today's standards.

you listed 150GB HDD

Blitersety suggested 250GB-320GB

but I'd say go for the raptor just for **** of it if it fits in your budget
enjoy faster boot time

 

[Blitersety]

Yea no problem. As for the HDD, I'd honestly go with the 320 gig if I were you, but if you are running low on funds then get the 250 gig because that will still last you a while and by the time it fills up, you'll probably have enough money saved up to order a new HDD for additional storage if you need to.

but I'd say go for the raptor just for **** of it if it fits in your budget
enjoy faster boot time

Faster boot time? No offense but who cares if the computer boots 4 seconds faster and games load 1-2 seconds quicker? I'd rather have more storage especially on a 1k budget.

 

[Nukem]

INTEL E6750 - 190.00
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Gigabyte P35-DS3R - 127.00
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Crucial 2x1GB DDR2 800 - 75.00 (mir)
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Seagate Barr. 7200/16mb Sata 320GB - 85.00
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
XFX 8800GT 512mb - 270.00
Newegg.com - XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Antec 550W Trio - 100.00
Newegg.com - Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TÃœV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail
LG Super-multi 18x DVD burner - 29.00
Newegg.com - LG Electronics Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write - OEM
Cooler Master Cav 3 - 60.00
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER CAVALIER 3 CAV-T03-UK Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Windows XP home - 90.00
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM

972.00 without shipping

edit: Dual-core will work for a least a couple of more years until they really get quad tweaked out. 2GB memory is good for a while yet as stated above. The case is really good for airflow and cooling, so no real need to get expensive, plus you need an OS so some measures have to be taken to get what you want for 1k.

 

[Invisible]

$90 for xp?
if he's buying i think he should go vista
everything else looks great

 

[Trotter]

Don't need bleeding edge graphics? Well, the 3850 is still on up there, and it is $100 less than the 8800GT. It definitely isn't a slouch, as it will outperform my current card.
Newegg.com - DIAMOND 3850PE3256SB Radeon HD 3850 RV650 55nm 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

You could take the $100 and buy a decent case (no one has mentioned one) and a PSU.

 

[Nukem]

Ahem... yes I did mention a PSU and case... but I do agree with you card choice... better and cheaper... so if he does want to go Vista he can, and still have a couple of bucks left.

Cooler Master Cav 3 - 60.00
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER CAVALIER 3 CAV-T03-UK Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Antec 550W Trio - 100.00
Newegg.com - Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TÃœV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail