Motherboard ASUS P5K-V (G33) $142.00
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=542&l4=0&model=1652&modelmenu=1

CPU Core2Duo E8200 2.66 6M/1333 ($190) $190.00
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLAPP

Video Card ASUS HD 3870 (209) $209.00
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1967&l1=2&l2=8&l3=603&l4=0

Sound Card Integrated

RAM Crucial 2x1gig @ 800 $59

Hard Disk 1 SG 250 SATA 7200 16mb (HD-ST3250620A) $83.00
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?lo...D&reqPage=Model

DVD Burner Pioneer 212D Black (SATA) $39.00
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/P...riters/DVR-212D

Case Antec Sonatta III w/ PSU $120.00

PSU Antec Earthwatts 500 w/case
Case Fan $20.00

Bluetooth Mouse/keyboard $106.99

Monitor LG 19 wide (L196WTY-BF) $187.00

Total with Tax $1,429.43

Budget:
~$1400 Canadian (taxes in) (2 CAN$ to a Pound, thus ~ 700 pounds).
This computer store serves as a good basis for pricing here: http://pccyber.com/).

Demanding tasks:
High-Quality video conferencing, Blu-Ray playback (down the line), music server, and some gaming – however, I don’t expect to have the best gaming rig around on this budget. If I can get around 30-40 FPS at Medium settings in Crysis I would be happy.

Thoughts:
- I do not plan to overclock, or at least not aggressively.

- I am open to the odd upgrade over time but not too frequently. I may upgrade to a Quad CPU in 12-18 months when they come down in price and maybe a new video card. RAM and a sound card are possibilities in the future as well.

- Motherboard: I don’t want to have to upgrade this component as it would require a new OS purchase and would like to stick with Intel or Asus as I want stability and as few headaches as possible.

Questions:
- How important is the new PCIe standard for me?
- Guess I should go with 800 ram since it’s not that much extra?

I really appreciate your feedback.

Jordan