Looking to build my first comp

[CWolfer]

In anticipation of the arrival of games such as Diablo III and Battlefield 3, I'm thinking of building my own computer. I'd like to be able to run these games at near max settings (I know the system specs for these haven't been released yet, but they're probably predictable, no?)

Budget is around $1500. Not hard and fast (I'm willing to budge a bit higher if absolutely necessary), but I would like to stay reasonably close.

Upgradability would be nice, and I'd like the system to last at least a couple years before people start considering it a dinosaur.

If anyone wants to toss out a suggested build or give me a link that has some, I'm all ears (eyes?).

Thanks!

[Flashback2012]

I built a comp about a year and a half ago, Intel based, used mostly Corsair and Gigabyte products except for the case which was a Cooler Master (it had a handle, I couldn't resist ) and I used the same video card from my old comp, a 1GB Sparkle. Not the best by a mile but it does a decent enough job for what I play.

People I'm sure will debate endlessly that AMD would be the better route for a gaming processor and to go with a Radeon card over Nvidia. The Intel/Nvidia set up has always been good to me so I've never seen a reason to switch.

As far as things like RAM go, I went with Corsair for that along with my PSU and CPU cooling. I imagine you'd be okay with Kingston or Crucial for RAM. My board is Gigabyte but I hear a lot of people saying Asus is good as well. I don't know if any of that helps but hopefully it'll point you in the right direction on which brands to look at.

[FxMercenary]

Go Intel/nVidia.

Intel 2500k processor.
nVidia GTX 580 (EVGA)
8gb or more of G.Skill
Decent Mobo, Decent Hard Drive, Decent Case.

Diablo 3 and BF3 will run flawlessly.

[Gamevet]

I built a comp about a year and a half ago, Intel based, used mostly Corsair and Gigabyte products except for the case which was a Cooler Master (it had a handle, I couldn't resist ) and I used the same video card from my old comp, a 1GB Sparkle. Not the best by a mile but it does a decent enough job for what I play.

People I'm sure will debate endlessly that AMD would be the better route for a gaming processor and to go with a Radeon card over Nvidia. The Intel/Nvidia set up has always been good to me so I've never seen a reason to switch.

As far as things like RAM go, I went with Corsair for that along with my PSU and CPU cooling. I imagine you'd be okay with Kingston or Crucial for RAM. My board is Gigabyte but I hear a lot of people saying Asus is good as well. I don't know if any of that helps but hopefully it'll point you in the right direction on which brands to look at.

AMD is way behind Intel and until they release the rumored Bulldozer chips, it just isn't worth the cash. AMD's top 6 core, the 1100t is the same price as Intel's i5-2500k and the Intel chip is way better.

Go Intel/nVidia.

Intel 2500k processor.

Yeah, the i5-2500k is the best bang for the buck right now.

nVidia GTX 580 (EVGA)

That's a pretty expensive ($500+) video card. Why not get the less expensive($325) 570, that performs better than the old 480, and sli that card later on when the prices drop. I started out with a 1024MB GTX 460 and when the prices dropped down to about $170, I bought a second card for sli. I'm now getting better performance than a single GTX 480.

8gb or more of G.Skill

3 sticks of 2gb for triple channel memory.

Decent Mobo, Decent Hard Drive, Decent Case.

Pairing the i5-2500k with a P67 motherboard would be the ideal solution.

[Trebuken]

Look for SATA III and maybe USB 3 on the mobo. Intel also some noew connector to look out for.

Intel's next round of CPU's (end of 2011 early 2012) are expected to be a nice leap forward in features and performance; the current line-up is transitional.

I have not taked the plunge into Solid State Drives yet, but I would put it in your build. Large enough to boot from and hold a couple of games.

[calthaer]

I'm just going to throw out there something that's a personal preference for me, and that's the factor of "how much noise the system fans put out."

I built a super-system about a decade ago to play the best new games, but the system fans made the thing sound pretty loud. At first, I thought this was cool. Then, as I started to play the games and become engrossed, I found it a distraction / irritation. Then I just got sick of it.

My current box is less-powerful than "state-of-the-art," but it has noise-baffling built in to the case, "silent" fans on the case and power supply, a fairly massive and more passive heat-sink on the CPU (refrigerated liquid cooling concerned me a bit; the compressor on the cooling unit might make lots of noise, I hear), and fan-less video cards. I enjoy the games much more these days. Just my two cents.