recommendations?

[lorizzle]

I would like to build a gaming pc as nice as possible for about $1200, including everything (monitor, etc.)

I play games like Sims, Half-Life, etc.

Can someone help? Thanks so much!

[RickyTick]

Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058) Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $120

Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358) GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 $115

CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037) Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz $168

Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009) CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V $120

Ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166) G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $55

GPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433) EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition $170

Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319) Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB $75

Optical Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188) SAMSUNG Black DVD Burner SH-S223L $27

Monitor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145) Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor $150

Operating System (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488) Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit $100

Total is $1100. So that leaves $100 to find a keyboard and mouse, and you'll be ready to go.

However, today is not a great time to be building a new pc. There are always new things on the horizon, but right now there are several very big things just over the horizon. If you can wait a couple of months, there will be newer and better options at very similar prices. For example, Microsoft's new operating system Win7, Intel i5 cpu's, Nvidia's GT300 series video cards, and P55 motherboards. These are all due out by the end of the year.

With that said, if you need to build now, the system I just listed out above is a killer system, and will play all your games at maximum settings. You won't be disappointed in it's performance, and you'll get several years of enjoyment out of it.

Some others might have differing opinions. I'd be interested in hearing some remarks.
What do you think lorizzle?