My Obersturmbannführer has cried havoc and released the purse strings so I can build a new system! My current one was built seven years ago and I have been hobbling it along ever since (evil kids take all the money).

I have $1000 and would like something that will run CoD as best as it can till further optimization occurs.

I have heard the I7 is not really necessary so I will probably go with an I5, I am thinking about this card but I would like some input on a motherboard and memory. I will upgrade to Windows 7 with this new system, as I have it on my laptop and like it.

I am also considering this case.

Current system:
AMD 9750 quad 2.41 GHz
Nvidia GTX 260
500gb seagate HDD
2 gb ram Kingston
610 watts psu power&cooler
XP Home

Thanks
Scott

Hi Muzzlehead and welcome to SimHQ.

I recently upgraded along the same lines (but with a bit more of a budget).
My new rig:

i5 2500k (get the unlocked k version, easy to OC to 4.3 Ghz on stock cooler)
Asus P8P67 pro
2X4 GB DDR3 Ram (google recent Anandtech article re: diminishing returns past DDR3 PC1600- get the cheaper ones)
AMD 6970
450 GB Velociraptor
Win 7

I'm very happy with it

Pricing it out at New Egg:

i5 2500k = $220
Asus P8P67 pro (or equivalent)= $180
the GTX 570 1GB (depending on sim you may want to consider a 1.5 or 2 GB card) = $325
2X4 GB= $80
Brings you to roughly 800$ +/- with shipping on top.
about $150 left for an HDD, a case and PSU... not a whole lot of room left.
EDIT: Forgot that you'll need WIN7 = $100 so more like $50-$100 left...

If you have trouble staying in the 1K budget I would suggest re-using your current case and PSU (I *think* 610W should be enough; my 650W is OK for the 6970)
You could also start with one stick of 4GB RAM and add another down the road, though if you absolutely have to you could re-use the 2 GB you currently have.
The HDD could be re-used in the new build too.

Remember, the Obersturmbannführer won't know if a new stick of RAM bought on sale has been added in the middle of the night in a month or two

Hope this helps you come to your decision,
C_G

Since you did not mention SLI or Crossfire
Normally I'd recomend either Asus or Gigabyte because they tend to have better VRM, I humbly submit the Asrock board (Asus subsidiary)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251
Z68 Chipset - $120
Core i5-2500K - 220 (give or take a few bucks where you get it
GTX-570 1.5 is a fine performer ($320) its what I use.
PSU - Antec Earthwatts 650. You can usually find it on sale for about $50
8gb ram can run anywhere from 50-70
Case - another 30-60
Hard drive ($80? for ) ....stick with a traditional 7200 WD black for now. You can always upgrade later and reinstall to a SSD.
You should be able to squeeze in a copy of win7 64 upgrade disc with whats left if you find the right deals out there on you components

Yup,

what the guys said. System in my sig was 1300 € including Win7 in February, so with 1000 $ you should be fine I think.

As for the case, I have this one, looks good, two fans pre-installed, was around 50 €, so quite a bit cheaper than your choice

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=2985

I regularly see that i5 2500k Sandy Bridge proc on sale at Frys for 185. That's a bare proc with no cooler.

Obersturmbannfuhrer! LOL. I call mine the Finance Minister..

What parts will you be carrying over?
Will you retire the old one or will you be using it for other purposes?

If you find an OEM cpu and need a cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus is highly regarded and can be found for $25

Thanks Guys for all the suggestions! I am not carrying anything over from my old system is moving to the workshop. The Obersturmbannführer can be kind, she just gave an additional $200... so I have $1200 to build the system.

Should be enough for your build have you settled on components?

I recently was just released from a 'Financial Re-education camp' and I am now hoping to upgrade my brontosaurus system (along with the fact that there appears to be a serious hardware issue in either my mb or vid card causing all 3d games to strutter after a few minutes and crash)

How do the stats in my initial post look now, 6 months later?

Intel "Ivy Bridge" 22nm desktop CPUs will be released in April. They are the "next big thing". If possible wait until then -- or the Intel system you buy will be out of date only weeks after you put it together.

About the same time, Nvidia will release the new GTX6xx series of 28nm graphics cards. It will be a "whole new ballgame".

In the mean time, as an AMD fan, I would buy AMD stuff. They already have a great 28nm graphics card on the market. And, there will be a higher power one in April to compete with Nvidia

However, for those with the means to wait until April, now is the time to wait. Technology will improve substantially, and prices will drop.

Not that much has changed in the past 6 months, but here's a quick rundown:

HDD prices have gone up (flooding of factories in Thailand)

AMD 7970 has been released; a moderate bump up in performance over the 6970 but not (imo) enough to justify the $ premium attached. We haven't (to my knowledge) seen that much of a drop in prices for the 6970s or nVidia equivalents... yet. They're still hovering in the $325 area.

Intel's Ivy Bridge (the "tock") is set to launch on April 8th. This really isn't much of a consideration for several reasons:
-most games are more GPU than CPU limited (and if you're running a single monitor the 6970 or 570 should be able to handle your needs)
-Ivy Bridge will fit on any Sandy Bridge 1155 socket mobo, so you can upgrade later on the same mobo later
-the Sandy Bridge i5 is still a champ, and can OC easily on air to 4.3 or more (I've been doing so for 8 months without hiccups)

Maybe someone more knowledgeable will weigh in, but my view is that there hasn't been anything new to change my advice. For your price range, the previous advice stands.

Ivy bridge procs bring a 10% improvement over current SB procs and normally I would say don't sweat it too much BUT the a feature it does bring is PCIE3 support.
While current Z68 makers say "Oh sure it should work after a bios update", if I'm building a system for long term use I'd build it using parts that are designed and tested on a spec vs having an old platform updated to "probably" support a new spec.