Looking for $1800 worth of help :D

Hello all!  This will by my first post here as a soon to be Digital Storm computer system owner.  I've looked in to many companies, but Digital Storm has been an amazing stand-out, and due to the amazing customer service I've heard(not to mention awesome machines) I'm going to buy from DS with the utmost confidence.

The main question is, however, what to get with my meager monies.  I have about 1800 dollars to blow on this beast and would like to be able to play games with some decency.  Mostly I was looking at getting Bioshock, COD4, and some of the other usual suspects as well as a large amount or RTS and RPG games.  I really haven't dealt with computers much in the last few years, not since I built my last computer, actually.  I used to be into them much more when I had the time and preferred AMD processors and ATI Video cards, looks like a great deal has changed with the AMD/Intel wars how ever, and I figure all my knowledge is 100% out dated.  I can't even really get a good start on configuring my system and wasn't sure if any of you had a machine that you would love to have for 1800, or at least some key components.  I also do a lot of photography and would be using photoshop a decent amount (I acutally do most of my work in a darkroomGASPso I won't be using it a ton) but don't need large hard drives upfront as I have many on hand as it is that I use for back ups and other things. 

Well, hopefully that post isn't totally jumbled and useless, I was just kind of typing from the hip and in a slight hurry.  Thanks for any advice you can give me, and sorry I'm not more informed than I am.  I'm reading much more every day about the advances in computers, but still feel quite overwhelmed.

-Will

I can't believe Kelly is $3.00 off the mark...!

here you go $1958

Chassis: Antec 900
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: NVIDIA 780i Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 780i SLI)
System Memory: 4GB DDR2 OCZ at 800MHz
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 160GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT 512MB (Includes PhysX Technology)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 3 WindTunnel (Copper Heatpipe Heatsink & Additional Case Fans)
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Modifications: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

$150 more, but you got 4GB of ram, stage 3 cooling, (not sure how that stage one cooling is gonna help you, vista 64 bit so later if you like to add more ram it will be all used, and an oc processor so your pc will be much faster, all that only for $150



Edited by DST4ME - 12 Sep 2008 at 4:46pm