My current setup is:

AMD Sempron 3000+
1GB Ram
500W Psu
nVidia 9800GT

The rest (apart from motherboard, can't remember what that is) is from the PC my parents' bought about 7 years ago, emachines lol

So, it all works okayish but i want to build my ideal PC. What setup do you think i should buy? I play graphics intensive games but also use programs like photoshop and general internet browsing. I don't know whats the best motherboard, processor etc. i can get.

Any ideas appreciated.

PARTS LIST(So Far):

GPU - GeForce 9800GT (Maybe)
CPU - Intel Corei7 Nehalem 920

Haha. Budget my friend, and we can all clamor to help you pick your dream machine parts.

With a proper budget, the specs will come =P

The thing is, i dont really have a budget. Just the best parts for common sense.

Such as i don't want to spend £3,000 on two quad core processors if one (or two) £150 ones are going to be about 1-2 seconds slower

I think i might keep my 9800GT from my current PC, but the 9800GTX is out... hmm...

Thanks

Wow. No budget. Every computer builders' dream.

As a suggestion, you could perhaps look at the GTX series? They're much more powerful and I don't think that they're considered expensive either. But then if you have a 9800GT... it should work perfectly fine.

I'd recommend the Intel Corei7 Nehalem 920 (priced at about 200-250 USD). I think it's a good idea simply because it uses the new 1366 socket, so future upgrades would be easier.

Intel Corei7 Nehalem 920 looks like the one, ive had a quick look over the specs, it's definately not overpriced, so on the list it goes!

Now for a motherboard..ram..DVD/CD drive (maybe with bluray?), HDD(s), and PSU

Did i forget anything?

If you're not picky about Open Box items... Or a company that from what I have heard has stopped producing motherboards (but their products still have a warranty and are still out in the market)...

Newegg.com - Foxconn Renaissance LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Foxconn FlamingBlade GTI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Edit: These are "gamer" motherboards running the X58 chipsets. They're amongst the cheapest as well if I am not mistaken, ranging from $100-$200.

I'd recommend going for triple channel, since most new motherboards are triple channel anyway. Install a 64bit OS so that it can use the extra RAM as well. I'd recommend AGAINST Bluray for now, simply because it's still quite costly. Though of course, I don't watch BluRay movies in the traditional sense so it might be something you will want to consider.

I've found that when I last (which was recently) picked parts for a friend, a PSU+Casing combo wasn't as good as it sounds, especially if you need the extra juice. Those combos are at times even more expensive. Will fill you in on more of the other parts later lol.

With photo shop and games you'll want 3 gb of ram which will get you triple channeling. This is especially true if you use vista. There is no need for anything more and XP doesn't recognize 4 gb or more. You'll need to pick out a motherboard first and match the ram requirements.

On Townsbg's note, the 32bit version of Vista and XP does not recognize anything more than 4GB. In more detail, it actually can recognize at most 3.5GB. Why? There's a long explanation for that and I'll link you to a thread if you wish to find out more about it later on.

However, if you plan on installing the 64bit version of Vista or XP (which I've seen many people now doing), don't worry about the 3GB as the 64bit OS can support much more than that.

Also, regarding triple channel, Townsbg accidentally left out a small but important point. Not just ANY 3GB ram will result in triple channel. Triple channel is the result of 3 ram sticks of the same speed and frequency on a motherboard that supports triple channel.

Which means you can do 3x1GB = 3GB
or even 3x2GB = 6GB

But not 2+1GB = 3GB.

That's all quite useful info, so now i'm gonna be looking at triple channel motherboards, 3GB (or 6) ram all of the same frequency and size, and some power.

I'll get looking when i'm home from work later.

ALSO: I'm going for XP but i think i'll have the 64bit one

Originally Posted by Kaistar

Also, regarding triple channel, Townsbg accidentally left out a small but important point. Not just ANY 3GB ram will result in triple channel. Triple channel is the result of 3 ram sticks of the same speed and frequency on a motherboard that supports triple channel.

True, thank you. Yes I should have pointed out that 32 bit doesn't but that 64 bit does. There is a 64-bit version of XP but in using it I've run into numerous driver compatibility issues so it is useless to me. There is suppose to be better compatibility with Vista 64 bit but I don't know about that.

It doesn't have to be 3 gb or 6 gb you could get 3 512 mb sticks and have 1.5 gb of ram if thats all that you need but the easiest way to make sure that the ram matches is to get exactly the same model for all of them.