Hmmm, I don't quite want to go i7, but I do want to go i5 2500K just to be on the safe side.

What would say on graphics cards? I'm pretty much decided on the AMD Radeon 7870, but should I consider on an Nvidia for the PhysX? I noticed that Trine and a few other games use and i'm just wondering will other games that use PhysX suffer in performance without an Nvidia card like the game Cyrostasis does or is that game another case of poor optimization?

OMG the edit function is really messed up!

AMD vs NVidia comes down to a few factors: AMD offers the best price-performance ratio but NVidia offers better performance in games overall since most games are optimized to run on NVidia cards. Rage was unplayable at release on AMD cards because the game was designed for NVidia. Many other games simply offer better performance on NVidia cards and all I can say is that my old trusty GeForce 8800GT has worded like a charm for the past 4 years and is still going strong and can run most games at decent settings.

Most games only use 2 GB RAM because they are designed for 32bit OS. Newer games can some times use 2 extra GB RAM as video memory for your graphics card but that's still only 4 GB plus something extra for your OS so 8 GB RAM is more than fine. Do go with 1600 MHz RAM and not the cheaper 1333 MHz.

The thing to keep in mind is how much you want to future-proof your system. The more FP your PC needs to be, the more expensive it gets. 8GB RAM is fine now but 16 GB is to future-proof it. A 6950 or 560Ti is fine now but the AMD 7000-line and GTX 6000-line is to future-proof it and is hence more expensive.

So it comes down to how much money you have to spend. Also as for building it yourself that comes down to how handy you are with tools. I'm fucking terrible with tools so no way in hell would I start building one myself and instead buy in a computer store where I can pick the parts I want and then have them put it together for me.

So it's up to you, really.

I would like to get an Nvidia, but the newest GeForce 680 is quite pricey. AMD is supposed to release another new card soon, I wonder if the Nvidia 680 will come down in price after that?

can't comment on that. i know nothing about those companies. but good call not doing it yourself if you don't feel comfortable with it. you can't really go wrong with either company, as long as you select a higher-end card, though that depends on what you're willing to spend. i've always gone with ATI and i have no regrets. generally, their cards consume less power and don't get as hot.

as of right now, i'd recommend an AMD 7900 series card. alternatively, wait for NVidia's upcoming 600 series.

don't bother with PhysX. there's only a handful of games that actually use it, and even there it's just a waste of performance.

don't worry about compatibility. games aren't optimized for one card or another. occasionally there might be launch-day problems with certain cards, but those always get patched out quickly. you can play all games without problems with an ATI card. the i5 probably offers the best performance for the money. the i7 offers hyperthreading which, while not commonly used by games, can come in handy with certain applications and those few games supporting it (like Anno 1404). go with what you need. you need 4GB. but memory is cheap. go with 8GB if you can. make sure to select a good brand and some decent modules. whatever you do don't save money here! take one with a good power output (600W or more, but it depends on the other hardware, particularly the GPU), by a reliable brand (Corsair or Enermax). don't bother with liquid. but do make sure you get a decent size tower (full towers are best, like the Coolermaster HAF32) equipped with several fans. buy additional fans if the case comes with too few of them. you should have at least 1 in the front, 1 in the back and 1 on the side. go with something mid-range. depending on your needs, it should probably support USB3 and SATA3. i recommend an Asus board. tons of features and reference quality. no. you can check all that with (free) Windows tools.

consider buying a custom CPU cooler, though. and don't forget a DVD drive (incredibly cheap!) and enough hard drive space (1TB or more if you're a Steam user).

good luck.

Not a problem there as Digital Storm has a variety of CPU Cooler options.

Things in terms of GPU requirements have been pretty stable for the past few years, but the next generation consoles are around the corner. Expect a requirements jump.

As a side note, I just sidegraded from ATI 4870 to AMD 7770, it's a bit faster (easily enough for current games) but mainly it needs half the power. Meaning less heat, meaning less fan noise. Might or might not be an issue to you, but I really, really appreciate a machine that doesn't make noise like a dyson vacuum cleaner when on.

I'd expect nVidia to bring out 6xx mid-level parts pretty soon, this'll lower the prices all around. Said that, AMD 6850, 6870 and nVidia 680 are all good choices for a few years. Won't be needing the extra power of i7 for games in near future. The 8-threads advantage comes in heavily multithreaded apps, which games are usually not. i3 is also fine, but it's not really a smart save when building a $1000+ machine. 8 GB's, you'll get by with 4 as long as publishers also cater to 32bit windows crowd, but thing's will run better with more. Won't need (or benefit of) more than 8GB's for games any time soon. Nope, those are for overclockers (and even then basically just to show off).

There's no way of telling because they don't make the cards themselves; they are built by third parties such as MSI, Gigabyte and Asus, and different manufacturers might skimp on different things. I haven't heard that anyone would make particularly rubbish GPUs, and all of them probably have three-year warranties these days so I wouldn't be too worried about reliability. A big case will be easier to work with (if you plan to upgrade) and usually has more mounting points for fans at the cost of size and price. However, some mid-towers do have plenty of fan mounts - the BitFenix Outlaw and Shinobi spring to mind - if you don't feel like spending too much money or if there are space constraints. I went through two Asus P8P67 LE's in six months. Call me paranoid, but... I can't see why you should. There's free software that should fit your needs, and at least ASRock motherboards come with overclocking software that you can use to monitor and adjust fan speeds and see how your CPU is cooking.

One thing you might want to consider is a WLAN card, but I guess my affection to those things mostly stems from the curious internet setup of my apartment (one ethernet cable going straight from the wall to the PC, no routers or anything). WLAN cards are inexpensive (something like 20 euros) and easy to install, so you could just buy one later if you buy a wireless printer or something.

NVidia PhysX sometimes has issues (Batman: Arkham Asylum, had to turn PhysX off) but on the whole they work well and when a game uses it (more and more these days) it'll look great. They're also more stable. NVidia will run your games, any other graphics card will run your games after a patch or three. Rage, Fallout 3, Witcher 2, every game that's had issues at it's release has been fine with NVidia cards. It's the best part of my system. :P

In regards to harddrives, consider multiple drives. An SSD for your Windows/Steam install, a regular HDD for your music/GOG games/etc. Your computer will boot fast and everything will work better. Also, if something goes wrong with your Windows install you can format without losing too much. :D

FWIW, ATI cards have the better hardware over NVidia, but ATI drivers generally suck monkey balls :/ (ATI card owner)

For a uber pc you wish to get at that res, with witcher 2, just wait till ivy bridge is out and nvidia kepler line is fully released.

Card prices are high, which will lower quite a bit over the coming months, and so will cpu prices once ivy bridge is out.

Then you have a range of price reductions and savings which will help you buy or save for other components.

Also, seriously consider building it yourself. It's very easy to do with modern hardware and why pay a premium for around 6-10 hours work you can do yourself??

For myself, I'd value 6-10 hours of free time easily worth $150 or so.
Especially if it turns out something just doesn't work with something.
Not more than that though.

That's including research, and that $150 can buy you a load of games, a new case, new video card, more hard drives, more ram or whatever you want to spend that money on.Not to mention 150$ head start in your computer savings is totally worth it.

Building your own computer is immeasurably enjoyable, rewarding and proactive. The sense of ownership is incredible.

I thought about grabbing a SSD because of the faster loading of the OS and games, but they're just too expensive for too little storage. Plus, i'm concerned about the longevity of SSDs as i've heard they wear down faster from heavy use than HDDs. Maybe i'll add one later.

Got a few more questions on extras. What about Sound Cards? Do I really need one or will the default integrated one do fine? Also, Digital Storm lists a USB 3.0 4-Port PCI Express Card add-on card. Should I consider that as well?

For my money, I'd stick with the onboard sound for now. You can always add a sound card if you're dissatisfied with the mobo's chip. As far as I'm concerned, onboard sound has come a looong way over the years and it's a completely viable option.

USB 3.0 add-on... how many USB devices do you plan to use at any given time, and how often do you unplug them? Does the add-on card put the ports on the front or top instead of the back? My laptop has four ports (2x 3.0, 2x 2.0) and that is plenty for mouse, external drive, charging my phone, and one other item. Don't overlook the convenience of having some ports at the top or front, if you remove your USB devices frequently.