Opinions needed?

OK...I've decided to build my own PC and avoid using Dell again..

I have been looking at some barebones kits, but with so many to choose from, I just need some help..lol..OK, 1st off, is a barebones kit the way to go? Also, this computer will be used to surf the net, email, saving/emailing pictures, microsoft office(word, excel, ect.), and some gaming (some games i play: BF2, BF bad company, COD4). It will be connected to the invernet via DSL and have a wireless router for my laptop. So, AMD or Intel, Nvidia or Radeon, how much wattage on the power supply, liquid cooling or not? I'm just not that "keen" on all the new componets out there so any help would be great.

Thanks for any/all feed back...

 

First things first. What's your budget? 500 is unrealistic. 800-1000 is more realistic. Also, do you feel comfortable putting together a PC from scratch?
Also, do you need a monitor, keyboard and mouse?

 

Budget is no big deal..just looking for some input on componets..if I can keep it under a grand, then fine...Monitor, keyboard, and mouse I have although may end up getting a little bigger monitor later (19" now)...I can go from scratch if needed, I just thought the barebone kits were pretty handy!!

 

I don't think $500 is unrealistic unless you want to play all those games at max settings. For example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.611154 Basically $300 gets you a case, PSU, motherboard, CPU, and RAM.

Match that with a Radeon 6850 which is a pretty decent card (you can always go better, even if you spend $300 on a card, and you can go cheaper if you don't have to have high graphic settings). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348&cm_re=6850-_-14-161-348-_-Product

That brings the total to ~$480... you may already have an OS and harddrive, at which point you'd be good to go. Even if you need to buy a new hard drive and OS, that will still only have you at just above $600.

Barebone kits are fine if they have what you want, but I think you'll get a better deal (and potentially have more flexibility) buying a combo. Just my opinion

 

Here is my perfect mid priced build. I say perfect, only because it uses components that I know and have tested for compatibility, and strikes a good balance between price and performance, while still being expandable.
Total price before shipping is 903.93

 

I'd go with askantic on this one; the 555BE/Gigabyte combo is very good, 5 minutes should see cores unlocked and 'clocked to 4GHZ on the stock cooler (an aftermarket cooler will be needed for prolonged gaming or to keep the noise/temps down). Future upgrades will be cheap and easy too. Most users would be very pleased with gaming on a single monitor with a card like the 6850. The Earthwatts PSU's are well-respected, the one in the kit will be fine. 4GB RAM should be enough, given the PC usage in the OP.

I'd consider using an SSD for boot/programs plus HDD for My Docs/storage, it'll improve responsiveness a lot.