I'm building a new PC and I dramatically need help

[NickCalder14]

It's my first time assembling a computer and I want to do it right.

I'm seeking to make this a gaming PC- dedicated entirely to gaming. Of course I could use it for other stuff- internet, homework etc.

Now I wanna make this for the lowest possible price, but at the highest specs available. My budget is $550 (australian dollars btw). I can possibly add $100 next fortnight if I'm lucky.

So can anyone recommend the best motherboard, processor, graphics and sound card etc.

 

[jj463rd]

O.K. first of all I am from the U.S.A. so I have no idea what the prices are in Australia.However it seems as though the difference in U.S. Dollars as compared to Australian Dollars is not that much.However I can't judge what things cost over there or what your component prices are.I will be a shot at it though.
First of all lets do some research.Obviously you desire the best bang per buck as much as possible within your limited budget.If you say you have $550 lets allocate that for the hardware and lets allocate the $100 for the Windows Operating System (some version of Windows 7).You will of course have to compare prices over there in Australia to get the best deal.
I'll present you with articles that have prices in USD.
Here is the last Tom's Hardware System Builder Marathon PC.
The article is a little outdated as it was for June 2010.
None the less with some change in components it gives you some ideas.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-gpu-overclock,2659.html
O.K. now here is another article about the best gaming CPU's for the money August 2010.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i5-760-core-i7-970,2698.html
Also AMD has had some recent price drops in their CPU's
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/processors-price-slash-Athlon-Phenom,11120.html
For your budget it looks as if the Athlon II X3 445 would be a good choice.
So let's start there.I'll stop here and ask you what you think about this choice of CPU.I doubt that a Phenom II X4 945 to a Core i5 750 is within your budget as you will need to buy a reasonable beefy Graphics Card for gaming.

 

[jj463rd]

If your budget was say around $150 to $200 higher I would go for a Intel Core i5 750 CPU based system as it would show better performance.Either way you will be using the onboard sound system of the motherboards so no extra sound card will be needed.
BTW here is an article on the best graphics cards for the money for August 2010.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697.html
I think that the Radeon HD 5770 1 GB would be a good choice (for around as it states ($155).

 

[evongugg]

AMD Athlon II X3 445
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB
SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770
Antec Three Hundred + BP430
LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner