I've been out of the market for a couple years, so I've put together a list of components I think will work. I do plan on going mATX and using the Fractal Arc Mini. This rig will be mostly for gaming. As it stands, my budget is going to start with my list and we'll see if we can chip away at it with quality components I may have missed.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.86 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1009.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-27 18:00 EST-0500)
I appreciated you guys taking the time to poke around at this.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.86 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1009.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-27 18:00 EST-0500)
I appreciated you guys taking the time to poke around at this.