Advice on Budget Build

I would really like to not spend more than $1,100 or $1,200 on the entire project.  I will use this computer almost entirely for gaming, as I have another computer for everyday use.  I want to be able to play the latest games (ie. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3) on high settings with a decent frame rate (50+) without lag.  The things I'm concerned about are cooling and compatibility, since I don't know much about either.  I need a monitor, keyboard and mouse with it.  The build is here: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=485763.  Lastly, a dumb question: how many USB ports would this have?

Firstly, why not just get a CPU/motherboard upgrade and a graphics card upgrade and boost your main system? It should only cost you a mere $800 or so to get some kickass hardware in rather than get a whole new freaking computer with another monitor, speakers, keyboard, hard drive, case, power supply, and on and on and on. This is the beauty of the PC.

Anyways, if you really want a second computer.... yes you can make this a reality, you just have to think mainstream consumer, haha. This is NOT a gaming rig, but it might do meh, okay if you set the settings low enough. Want to have a gaming rig? Like I said, spend $800 on parts and upgrade your current one, as long as it's standard. If it's Dell though, screw it.

Anyways, on to the build :

$1230

This is as CLOSE as I am willing to cut it, I cut a ton of corners but it's still technically high-end mainstream. Monitor, keyboard, speakers are in. You can remove the internal lighting if you want, but it really is only $10 and it makes a DRAMATIC difference, believe me. $10 luxury man that makes your rig look $800 better, heh, it's worth the $10 for show seriously.

This rig would have 2 front usb ports, 6 USB 2.0 in the back, and 2 USB 3.0 in the back. Be aware that this rig is arriving with a defect on the SATA ii ports, SATA iii is unaffected though. The system should arrive with everything on the SATA iii ports, so you can choose what you want to do with it. One, you can live with it, and just ignore the SATA ii ports. Two, you can get the motherboard replaced later on by DS, they will ship free (motherboard or the entire thing, your choice whether you want to swap it yourself or not). Three, you can wait till April till motherboards without the defect start rolling out.

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master Elite 430
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i5 2300 2.80GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 500W Digital Storm Certified
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With i5/i7/AMD Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.6GHz to 3.9GHz
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: Samsung 18.5 inch (Widescreen) (Black Edition) (High-Value Display)
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: Logitech 2 Piece (Black Edition) Amplified Speaker Set
Keyboard: Logitech Media Combo MK200 Keyboard and Mouse
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty


Edited by ablahblah - 11 Feb 2011 at 1:50am

In response to the Ablahblah:
I can't upgrade my existing computer because it is a Dell laptop.  Pretty much zero upgradeability on that thing.  I can't select the stuff that you've suggested...  I can't select an Intel processor, it has to be an AMD.  And I can't choose that motherboard either.

I don't know.  If I edit the new configuration, I can do it, but not on my existing one... Oh well, no big deal.  I'll figure it out.

Yeah, that's what I was talking about with editing your config.  Thanks for the info, I didn't know that which one you pick influences hardware choices.  I'm new to this, if you didn't already figure it out.