Confused about what gaming computer parts to buy .

[THE_MASK]

Yes i agree the power supply is the most important . I am figuring on getting a antec signiature 850 watt psu .

[stabiz]

i5 processors run with dual channel ram and i7 run with tripple channel. (I believe)

The HD5870 is amazing, I have it myself and it eats anything. 8GB ram is not needed for gaming, but I know I get good use of my sticks when rendering HD video. With 4GB I had crashes and sloooow responses.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by sober

Yes i agree the power supply is the most important.

Not really true, the Mobo is....
The Mobo should be the first port of call when either upgrading or building from scratch...
If you have a good Mobo, ie upgradeability/future-proof then you have a good foundation which you can then build upon, ie GPU (Crossfire, Triplefire, Quadfire), RAM (Dual channel), CPU (support for I3/I5 and I7)...
Next step is to really ask yourself, what sort of games do you want to play?
Current and future games?
99% of current games don't address or support Quad core architecture/technology, of course this will change over the next year or two, which then gets back to the Mobo upgradeability factor (support for GPU's, more RAM etc etc).
The big 3 in any PC are Mobo, GPU and PSU.
4gb of RAM are sufficient if only playing games, browsing, watching movies, emailing etc.
Win 7 (64-bit a min. of 4GB is recommended to allow for optimal running).
Dual monitor set-ups, video-editing, multi-tasking, etc, then more than 4 GB will be needed.
With your GPU, always ensure you check the maker's website on what THEY recommend for PSU requirements...
never hurts to have more Watts then recommended.
Beware of "bottlenecking", which can occur if the "big 3" don't or aren't setup for optimization, and working in synch with each other, all too often people have the latest and fastest CPU, GPU or PSU but "scimp" on the other two...
which often leads to "lag", over-heating" or worse system failure...
There are plenty of websites out there which offer4 advice on setting up or customizing systems, do your research before committing and ensure it's a future-proof system, which gives you "room to move" in the coming years...

Edit:
a good link to explain in laymen's terms the difference between an I5 and a I7....

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/h...les/48391.aspx

[CaptainHaplo]

Under general topics is a PC/support forum - ask in there and we can give feeback on specific questions.

However- one I will answer here - if your going to build a GAME machine (not doing video editing, etc) - you get more bang for your buck by using a Phenom II x4 vs an I7. Game wise the performance is very close while the price is not.