Building gaming rig for GTS 250 and CM extreme 600W - suggestions?

[bippukt]

Hi, I bought (as per suggestions here ) a GTS 250 512MB and CoolerMaster Extreme 600W about a month ago and now I am upgrading my system, a 4 year old P4 based. I will mainly use it for gaming and image processing. My current PC can't even give me 100 fps in CS and I won't use my gfx card with it as there is no point to it.

I will keep the following from my current system:
-GTS 250 512 MB
-PSU CM Extreme 600W (contrary to its name, it is just passable, it seems)
-LG 14" LCD display with max resolution@1440X900
-160 GB SATA HDD. I might junk the old 80GB though.
-Logitech keyboard and mouse.

My budget is around 20-23k, which should be sufficient, but some additions are possible

Preferences - I prefer Intel but if the price advantage for an AMD is sufficient, I will go for it too. I am thinking of the following:

- CPU - I am thinking of going for a Q9550, as it has 12 MB cache and good clock speed. It will be perfect for gaming, but I am not sure of the price. Other Q9000 series porcessors could be opted for if cheaper/necessary.
-A compatible motherboard. Not sure how much it will cost and if I should go for a cheap one or a better one. NO OVERCLOCKING for me!
-A good but cheap cabinet without a good PSU.
-4 GB DDR3 RAM, but if necessary (and compatible with a Quad Core mobo), I can settle for a 4GB DDR2 RAM as well.
-A good 500GB HDD. No point in having a fast system with an old HDD.

If necessary and if budget left, I could also go for:
- A new and cheap DVD-R drive
- Decent speakers (1-1.5k only!) (I have a good Philips headphone for my games, BTW
- A sound card?

BTW, will my PSU be sufficient to run a system like this?

Also, should I wait for some time for the i3/i5 to come out? Will they be cheaper/better than the quad core?

I know that this is a long post, but I don't want to make a mistake with this one. I am regretting buying the CM 600W extreme PSU. All suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to make drastic changes to any of my mentioned preferences

 

[desiibond]

your rig can drive games at 1440x900 for few more months. Just wait for Core i5 and get it. Don't do any upgrade in a hurry now.

 

[bippukt]

Would the i5 be better than the Q9000 series? It will only have 8MB cache as compared to Q9000's 12 MB and similar clock speeds.

If you have a good link for information about i5, please post it. I couldn't come up with anything solid by Googling.

 

[Krow]

The Q9000 series will lack further support. The i5 will be upgradeable in the future as the P55 socket will stick around for a while. So if you feel like upgrading in the future, you will have to buy both a proc and a mobo if you buy a Q9xxx proc now.

What are your needs? If gaming only, settle for the Phenom II X3 720 BE @ 7.5k or even the Phenom II X2 545 @ 5k. If you are into video encoding, image processing etc go for the Phenom II X4 940 @9.7k or the 920 @ arnd 9k(if you dnt want OCing)

Mobo: MSI 770-C35@5k

Cabinet: CM Elite 334 @ 2k

HDD: Seagate 7200.12 1TB @ 4.4k/500GB @2.7k

LG/Samsung DVD RW - 1k

Onboard sound - free

Ask Desiibond for the speakers. He's the guru.
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Posted again:
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If you upgrading now, get AMD. But i think you should wait for core i5 as that will start another price war and thou shall benefit.

 

[bippukt]

Ah yes, the price wars! I had forgotten about that. I am definitely waiting for a few more months as it will almost certainly give me better value for money.

I hear rumours of i5 coming out in September but I don't think that it will be available in India before October/November. I will wait

 

[Krow]

^ A wise choice.