Think I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on a new machine and now seems like a good day to do it. I've never built a computer before or even upgraded an existing one, so I'm a total newbie to the process.
Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs: I currently own a 4 year old Dell desktop with an Intel E6000 line dual core, (can't remember the exact model number, but it's 3.2 ghz) a Nvidia 8800GTX, and 4 gb of RAM. The graphics card regularly idles at 90 degrees Celsius under no load at all which makes actual gaming is unplayable, so I'm looking to replace the computer. (I'm going for a new computer as I wanted a better cpu and more ram, and it's a Dell computer, so I was unsure as to whether their parts would be incompatible with others.)
Budget: US. $1000 is the top end of what I'm looking to spend right now.
Main Use: Light Gaming, Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), Video Editing, 3D work, general usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback): Gaming is the main use. 1080p would be preferable but not necessary
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later? 1080p or 720p
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: I want to be able to run WoW and Diablo 3 maxed if possible. (I know Blizz games don't scale as well at high specs as they do with low, so this is optional) I have the PS3 version of Skyrim, but I'd like to run it on PC much better. Witcher 2 and BF3 are the two games I've held off playing specifically for this upgrade. I also want to be able to run GW2 well when that hits.
Are reusing any parts?: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX 520W): If I knew how, I'd love to use the Blu ray player out of my Dell if possible.
When will you build?: When do you want your computer, do you need it in a week, can you wait a month or two? I would like to take advantage of the sales going on today if the parts on sale would be a good match for the budget of rig I'm looking to get. I don't need the computer itself any time soon, though.
Will you be overclocking?: Not planning on it at the moment, but as I become more familiar with computer tuning and building, I could see myself doing it. Easy or good to OC doesn't need to be a high priority for the parts, though
I'm bringing this up today in the hopes that I can take advantage of any deals going around, so are there specific parts I should pick up today? I see that several of you have mentioned the i5 2500k processor deal as a good one. I'm 2 hours away from my apartment for Thanksgiving, but I'll be heading back up to Atlanta later today where there are 2 microcenters. I dunno if there will still be any in stock by the time I get there, though.