Building a new computer - Gaming, Design, and more

[Quenden]

Budget
US$1000 - US$1400
Resolution
Dual-Screen 22" Monitors, 1680x1050 (approx)
Games / Settings Desired
I'd like to run ALL of these on the highest settings, smoothly:
Diablo 3
SW: TOR
WoW
Rift
Skyrim
Various other single player games (RPGS, etc)
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc)
Graphic Designer
Photographer
Blogger
Country
America
Parts that can be reused
N/A - Coming from a Notebook

I'm a graphic designer and a photographer as well as a pretty heavy gamer. I need a computer than can balance my gaming and my design - I will be running Windows 7 64-Bit. I can spend up to US$1400, but it'd have to be something that'll sustain itself for a few years. My idea is to get something with a strong enough video card now that'll carry me through the next few years. I'm a complete idiot when it comes to building a PC, so I apologize. I've been browsing the forums and have been getting ideas, but hopefully I can get some more specific feedback.

My dual-monitor set-up is more for work than gaming. I'm also not really familiar how to overclock. I've been reading http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...r*-Help-please! and it seems to be similar...but again, specific feedback is appreciated!

[chaud]

The thread you linked has some good builds, I would spend a little more on a Gigabyte or ASUS motherboard and buy something like a 6950 or 6970 if you aren't going to wait for the new GPUs in January. A 2500k/compatible motherboard/RAM is the only good base for a build right now.

[Deleted]

I'd advise looking at Chaud's Setup of the month as well as my Sample Builds found here: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-Sample-Builds

Depending on what Software you use for your designs, I'd most likely suggest something along the lines of my 1200 Gaming build:

Gaming 1200

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H – $159.99 Review CPU: Intel i5 2500k – $219.99 RAM: G.Skill Sniper 1600Mhz 2x4GB – $54.99 GPU: ASUS DCII GTX 580 – $499.99 HDD: Samsung Spinpoint 1TB – $59.99 PSU: Corsair TX550M – $99.99 Review Heatsink: CM Hyper 212+ – $27.99 Review Case: CM 690 II Advanced – $89.99 Estimated Total Price – $1213

Recommended for: Very strong gaming build that will take care of most gaming needs. Will handle most newer titles at max or close to max settings given a resolution of 1080p.

*Mind that the HDD is a bit more expensive.

You'd have to add a desirable keyboard and mouse (if needed) as well as a decent monitor but you should end up within your desired budget. If you need a Windows license, it will most likely end up as a bit too expensive with a 580; in that case, drop down to a Radeon 6970 or a GTX 570.

If the Graphical designs are very CPU heavy I'd probably point you towards the 1000 Workstation build but swap out the GPU for a 560 Ti/6950 (or even a 6970/570 if your budget allows). You would need to swap PSU as well for something with more effect.

[Quenden]

Ah, that looks beautiful. Thank you guys, I'll definitely be looking into making those changes and looking at those prices.

[vesseblah]

What you do want for frequent graphics work is 1920x1080 or bigger monitors, preferably one with IPS panel if it needs to be more color accurate. The second monitor can be cheaper thing.