Need some suggestions on a build

I'm looking to get a new computer, and from what I've read this is the best place to get one.  I have a 5 year old Alienware laptop (terrible tech support), and it's pretty much on its death bed.

 

That said, I'd like a computer that I'll be able to play the following games (when they come out) on the max settings with a stable 40-50 FPS:

 

World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King

Spore

Starcraft 2

 

Those are the main titles I'd like to play that are coming out this fall with the best possible resolution, and settings maxed out.  I also need it to be as cheap as possible, but would like to be able to upgrade it easily in the future as it needs to be to keep up to date with future games.

 

I plan on buying the monitor, speakers, mouse, and keyboard separately, but need everything else since I'm going from laptop to desktop.

 

So to re-cap, I need it cheap, upgradeable, and able to play those games with a good frame rate with everything turned to max.  Any help would be greatly appreciated since I'm out of the technology loop these days.

 

Thanks

Edited by NoobieHowzerMD - 09 Jul 2008 at 9:58am

Starcraft 2:

GFX: GeForce 8000 or Radeon 2000 series with 512 MB RAM
CPU: Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2.
RAM: 2 GB
Internet: ADSL 3 Mbit

Spore:

WINDOWS XP - 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent - 512 MB RAM - A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 - At least 6 GB of hard drive space. WINDOWS VISTA - 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent - 768 MB RAM - A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 - At least 6 GB of hard drive space

WOW current requirements:

Windows® System 2000/XP OS:

- Intel Pentium® III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon 800 MHz
- 512 MB or more of RAM
- 32 MB 3D graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting, such as NVIDIA® GeForce™ 2 class card or above
- DirectX® 9.0c (included) and latest video drivers
- 6.0 GB available HD space
- 4x CD-ROM drive
- A 56k or better Internet connection
- For voice chat, an SSE enabled CPU is required.

That said, none of these games seem like system killers from what I see here

It looks like Starcraft is the buffest and I would say any new ATI or Nvidia card 9800GTX+ should be able to make any of these games scream for mercy with a decent quad core like the Q9450...

Keep in mind the specs on Starcraft2 and Spore are current specs for what is unreleased software and the final specs may change.

well what's cheap?

guide to read over

You could save so much money and get that "upgradability" if you went with a E8200 and 8800GT...

It would be most helpful if we had an idea of your maximum budget. I do understand the notion of "as cheaply as possible", but if we have a figure to work with, we can try to pack as much performance as possible into the build within that dollar amount.

Edited by Tyler Lowe - 10 Jul 2008 at 12:01am

How bout this? $2072

That CPU will work on that board.

Doc's setup is great for a $2000 rig. Good room for upgrade- you can improve case cooling with the addition of a couple of fans later, and everything needed for a second GPU later as well.

I'd drop the RAM OC and internal lighting and pick up a Q9300 or an E8500 instead.