Here is what I came up with:
[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J9cC]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J9cC/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J9cC/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url]
[b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k]Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($219.99 @ Newegg)
[b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps8900extreme]Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme CPU Cooler[/url] ($41.18 @ Amazon)
[b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77pro4m]ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/url] ($117.55 @ Newegg)
[b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2x1600c8b]Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory[/url] ($54.98 @ NCIX US)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7td250bw]Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk[/url] ($169.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003551gocl]Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card[/url] ($169.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Wireless Network Adapter:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-wireless-network-card-rnxn250pce]Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter[/url] ($21.90 @ Amazon)
[b]Case:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-case-gd06b]Silverstone GD06B HTPC Case[/url] ($104.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m]Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply[/url] ($66.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Optical Drive:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas]Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer[/url] ($19.97 @ Amazon)
[b]Total:[/b] $974.53
[i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i]
[i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-12 01:08 EDT-0400)[/i]
Just a few things to note:
- I assumed overclocking, which means I spent extra in cooling, CPU, and power supply. If you will NOT be overclocking, I can signficantly cut back on cost (more than $60 in savings)
- Storage capacity is limited to 250GB. I'm 100% sure of storage capacity, but 250GB is usually enough for a few games. I can more than up to storage capacity (and possibly cut costs) at the expense of speed, and noise with a mechanical HDD. Or I can add a storage drive, which will also drive up costs, but will not sacrifice speed.
- Windows is NOT included. If you need a copy, it will drive up cost by ~$100, or more, depending on version (OEM/Retail, home, 7 or 8, etc)
Let me know if you are or are not overclocking, and whether or not you're happy with the price. I can definitely tweak a few things.