Yup, that's the same one I found. That case has more than enough cooling for a new build. The fans are cheap and easily replaced.

So, if you want to proceed with your "Christmas list," I still suggest going to eCollegePC and looking at their gaming computers to get a feel for what you might want to look for at Newegg or Tiger Direct or where ever else you might want to shop for components. It will give you a rough idea of what to expect price-wise. Just remove things like a case and a power supply.

Ok! Problem solved. Thanks.

Edit: I finally finished pricing the components I'd need on Newegg. Sheesh! For $800 dollars I might as well get a new PC at ecollege!

One thing - if you look at Intel processors, be aware that the "K" after the numbers means that it is unlocked for overclocking. So, if you're not planning on overclocking the processor, there's no need to get one like that.

Yup. That's often how it works out.
The advantage of building your own is only if you (or someone in your family) enjoys putting computers together themselves.

That's the thing with eCollegePC - they build them for roughly the same price that you can. But they provide 3 years of parts and labor support at no extra charge.

Newegg will be having great sales leading up to the holidays and if you are vigilant and sign up for their emails, you can probably whack the prices down some.

That Intel Core i5 configured just like it is on their front page for $862 with the GTX 750 Ti is not a bad deal as-is. Shipping is always free.

Here's what I figured: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=26096685

I can't get to your wish list, Melia. They are secure unless you make them public.

I had the worst time getting the list onto the public list, even after clicking the "make public" button several times. So here's the list I copied and pasted.

Qty. Image Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price


Update

GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-Z97X-SLI
Item #:N82E16813128714
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)
$128.99 $128.99


Update

ZOTAC ZT-90101-10P GeForce GTX 970 4GB 256-Bit DDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support G-SYNC Support Video Card

ZOTAC ZT-90101-10P GeForce GTX 970 4GB 256-Bit DDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support G-SYNC Support Video Card
Model #:ZT-90101-10P
Item #:N82E16814500362
Return Policy:VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$329.99 $329.99


Update

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K
Model #:BX80646I74790K
Item #:N82E16819117369
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$349.99 -$20.00 Instant $329.99


Update

HyperX Fury Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model HX316C10F/4

HyperX Fury Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model HX316C10F/4
Model #:HX316C10F/4
Item #:N82E16820104441
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$41.99 $83.98
Subtotal: $872.95
Select All - Select None

As I mentioned in a post above, unless you are going to be overclocking your CPU, get the 4790 without the "K." Another suggestion - go for 8 GB of RAM if you are getting the level of high end components you list here. I don't see a hard drive... Do you plan on wiping your current one and reusing it? If so, it is probably an older SATA II drive. If you are going this high end, I'd sure recommend getting a SATA III drive. The motherboard is backwards compatible, but it would be a shame to put a slow older drive in it. If this is just getting too expensive, you could easily back down on the video card a bit and even go for a high end Core i5 CPU. If you don't plan on getting into the latest shooters and RPGs, that is a good option for an adventure gamer.

But, like I said, get as much computer as you can afford while you're at it.

The 4790 is over $500. I can't afford it. Am looking at an i5 4690 do the job? For the video card, would NVidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti do the trick? The cost is better already. We were planning to use the old hard drives, but can get a new one.

Let's put it this way... I'm using a previous generation Core i5 3470 with an EVGA Overclocked 660Ti and am playing all the newer high-demand RPGs and shooters on higest settings with no problems. I'm sure there will be new shooters I will have to lower the graphics on, but I'm OK with that because it was within my budget. Check out this video card hierarchy chart from Tom's Hardware.

Tom's Hardware GPUs

Of course, these positions in the hierarchy are all relative to each other and don't give performance comparisons. You might want to look at the GTX 760, but the 750Ti is also a very good card for adventure gaming. Inland knows way more than I do about all the details here. I believe Winfrey got a GTX 760 in her computer she had eCollegePC build for her.

As far as the CPU goes, I think you would be very happy with the Core i5 4690. Again, watch those "Ks" if you don't plan on overclocking. Read more here from Tom's Hardware about the Best Gaming CPUs for the Money. I think it's on page 3 or 4 where it says, once you get much above the $250 CPUs, there is a case of diminishing returns. Since you do adventure gaming, I think this might be a good "sweet spot" for you. But read some of the reviews and see what you think.

Tom's Hardware CPUs

You can certainly reuse your hard drive, but a Sata III 1 TB Western Digital Black with a 64 MB cache is $75. You could always use your old drive for backup.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236625

New wish list: Wish List:

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128714
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$128.99

1 GIGABYTE GV-N760WF2OC-2GD G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card GIGABYTE GV-N760WF2OC-2GD G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card
Item #: N82E16814125556
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Instant
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$219.99
$214.99

1 Intel Core i5-4690 Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600 BX80646I54690 Intel Core i5-4690 Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600 BX80646I54690
Item #: N82E16819116989
Return Policy: Iron Egg Guarantee Replacement-Only Return Policy $224.99

2 HyperX Fury Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model HX316C10F/4 HyperX Fury Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model HX316C10F/4
Item #: N82E16820104441
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $83.98

$50 mail-in rebates in there.

Much better! The $50 in rebates is almost enough to get one of those WD Black 1 TB hard drives!

If you haven't already done it, double check that the RAM you chose is good for that motherboard.

How? I'll reread the description.

Yes. It has 4 memory slots. I'll be using 2 of them. The specs are the same as the memory I selected...240 pin, ddr3....whatever that means.

No, I meant the speed... The motherboard says this:

Support for DDR3 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz memory modules

Your RAM is compatible with that motherboard. It's all pretty standard, but I almost got caught once with a set of RAM sticks that were not compatible with a motherboard, so I always double check now!

I've been studying whether I can use 4 GB Ram or even more with Win7. ALL of the answers on the Microsoft website say that, no matter the OS, if it's 32 BIT I can't use more than 4 GB. And even that will be less because the system is using some of it automatically for other operations, so I will probably get only 3.1 GB of use.

Seems silly to purchase two memory sticks with 8GB total if I can't use them. Have I this right?

Edit: I mean, do I have this right?

You will have to upgrade to a 64bit OS in order to use the full amount of memory. It's still available on eBay and Amazon.

That's why I said you needed to get a 64-bit operating system if you wanted to have more RAM.

Yes, he has an extra copy of 64-bit win7. He's not too enthused about changing up my system, though, since he just upgraded - with difficulty - from XP to win 7 recently.

You mentioned win 10. Think it would be better to just wait for it and upgrade then?

Windows 10 is still on the horizon, I'd use the extra copy of Windows 7.

I agree with Inland. If you were going to go for Windows 10, you should just get Windows 8.1 and upgrade to 10 next year. If you've already got 64-bit Windows 7, then that's your best bet for this upgrade.

Assuming you get a SATA III hard drive to go along with that new motherboard rather than putting the slower old SATA II drives in it, it will be a breeze to install Windows 7 on a new drive.

If your hubby tried to upgrade from XP, that may have been why he ran into trouble. You can't upgrade - you have to do a clean install. Also if he tried to upgrade (NOT a clean install) from 32-bit XP to a 64-bit Windows 7, he would have run into problems.

Yes, it was a real pain to upgrade. He doesn't want to do it again if he can help it. He said he had the choice, at the time of the upgrade, to pick 32-bit or 64-bit. He chose 32-bit. I don't know what he could do now except get a new win7 64-bit (or a win8.1 64-bit) install program and install to a new disc.

Like I said, if he was upgrading, that's probably where he ran into problems - you can't upgrade from XP to Windows 7. You have to do a clean install.

For your new build, I sure would recommend a new SATA III disc and a new copy of 64-bit Windows 7 or 8.1. Watch the sales at Newegg. I've gotten Windows 7 for $80. Not only would you get a disk that could take advantage of the newer SATA III interface, have an OS that could use 8 GB (or more) of RAM, but the whole process would be SOOO much easier and less frustrating.

I recommend doing a fresh install of 64-bit Windows 7 on a fresh new hard drive.
Not only is it easier, but the result will be more stable than trying to "upgrade."
When Windows tries to "save your settings" during an upgrade, it will save any configuration problems you had on your old Windows and tranfer them to the new one --> a BAD thing. So it's much better to start fresh.

If you have any files you want to save from your 32-bit Windows, copy those particular files manually to an external hard drive. Usually copying the (My) Documents folder is sufficient, but if you save files elsewhere on your hard drive you'd have to copy those over too (for example, you might have some files saved to your desktop). You can copy your saved files to the new Windows 7 after you've installed it. Don't bother trying to copy folders from games installed on 32-bit Windows. What you need to save is the game installer files, not the folders.

You'll lose any "free" "Game of the Day" games you have. That's unavoidable whenever you move to a new hard drive. If any of those "Game of the Day" games are "must haves," you're better off buying them from some website that gives you the option of installing/activating on more than one computer and at any time you want -- sites like Big Fish, Steam, GOG, possibly form the website of the developer...

So -- pretty much the same thing Draclvr said.

Except you said it much better than I did... makes more sense.