I forgot to mention that I want USB 3.0 in my MOBO. I must confess, though, I haven't spent much time looking for the perfect one. I also forgot that my RAM is 1866Mhz, so it'd be nice if the mobo supports faster speeds as well.

On the topic of the case, I actually almost bought the Corsair 500r yesterday for what would have been $80 with the MI/rebate, but the R4 is more alluring. I just really don't want to run into any space issues later, and I'd prefer my tower to be quiet, if at all possible.

Also, I think I can wait to buy an SSD. The performance improvements are alluring, but that price! I can't do it. I don't at all mind re-installing Windows if I have to. I already do it on a bi-yearly basis anyway, so I'll probably just pick up a 250gb SSD once they go down in price some more.

Well,  I've got some bad news for you.

Ivy Bridge Intel processors don't support DDR3 1866 RAM.  1600 is the highest speed they support.  You won't find 1866 support on intel MOBOs.  Some AMD processors can, but they just aren't as good as Intel's so it's not really a worthwhile trade-off IMO.

I'm no RAM expert so I can't tell you if that stick will work or not.

Can you read my sig?  I am using 2133 MHz and I have overclocked to 2400 MHz.  It can suppot up to 3800 genious.    Sorry, nothing annoys me more than someone who posts WITHOUT KNOWING WTF THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!

Example:  ALL CONSOLE FANBOYS!

Grow up.

Will the fact that the PS4/XboxNext are coming out late this year have any impact on the price of pc parts? I'm thinking of building my first pc sometime in the next year or so and I'm looking for advice. When would be the best time to build one which can ideally last me 5 years and be able to run games in the upper-mid to high range. Also I'm wondering how the DDR5 Ram that the ps4 will have on games which are ported to pc. If a game is with utilizing its added speed, how will it affect pcs that are running it? Will it take a significantly better pc to outshine it?

i5? Man those parts would have to be replaced after two to three years. This coming gen it wont even cut it very long. PC is more expensive in the long run, especially when you totally in the multiplats you buy for the PC.

Buy a PC now or durring summer.   Right now you can get a 7870 LE (Which is about as strong as a 7970) for $240 and it comes with Bioshock: Infinite and Crysis 3!  Otherwise prices are always best around summer.   

The current gen of AMD video cards are so strong that they aren't going to relase new ones until late 2013 or early 2014.   Also if you get a 7870 or up, you are fine fo 5 years don't worry lol.

As for how much power it takes to compete with optimized consoles; consoles really don't get much of a boost.  Really they just run them at lower than par resolutions (BF3 is 704p), and get an extra 10% boost in performance.   For instance a 6450 ($30 card) is rated as about the same strength as the card the PS3 was derived from, and still performs just as well in modern games as the PS3.   The real reason Killzone 2 and Uncharted 2 looked awesome is because ND and GG are amazing at what they do!

WRONG!   The i5 is the BEST gaming processor out now.  LOOK IT UP YOU IGNORANT FANBOY!  My i5-3570k is probably at least twice as strong as the PS4's Jaguar. 

-this user was moderated for this post by amp316

i7 is the processor that will outlast the PS4 and 720. Most games running today are running on i3 and i5's. Wont last long for the avid PC gamer. My roommate has already briefed me on this shit long ago. His rig is loaded to the teeth. It will last him another three years before he upgrades it again and its got some amazing parts.

The ram speed doesnt matter too much on memory, difference between 1333mhz vs 1600mhz ram is about 1 FPS in overall performance. I would never recommend going for more than 1600mhz ram, especially if you're just doing a gaming build. Better to put the excess money on GPU or even CPU. Maybe if you do heavy video editing or rendering, faster ram might make a difference.

Don't skimp on mobo/PSU, especially PSU. If you buy a cheapo one it can blow up in your case and take other parts with it.

PC games are cheaper (20-50% cheaper since day 1 depending on publisher) and you dont have to pay for any online service, so you're going to get your money back the more games you buy over consoles.

CPUs last very long, especially for gaming. I still use my 955be phenom from 2009 and it has had no issue with any game so far. You only need to upgrade your GPU if you want to keep up with the graphics arms race of modern gaming.