With tax return season right around the corner I am coming done down with the PC upgrade bug, so I was wondering what kind of hardware everyone has under the hood on there gaming PC and what hardware recommendations you gamers might have. I have build my own PCs for the last ten years. I find the hardest thing about building PC is cable management when using full tower boxes. Most the standard cabling that comes with the hardware is to short to properly arrange the cabling.

Here are the specs on my current PC which will become little MsKarow's as long as the wife approves the upgrade.

Operating System; Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 2 (build 6002)
Processor; 3.00 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
Motherboard; Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 VER 2.1
Memory; 4 gig CORSAIR 2GB KIT TWIN2X2048-8500C5 (x2)
Video; Dual ATI 4850
Harddrive; 2x 300 gig (Raid 0 stripped)
Sound; Creative X-Fi PCI
Monitors; Samsung SyncMaster SE198WFP  1680x1050
               Dell SE198WFP
Power Supply; 600 Watt Coolmax
Case; Antec 900 (everything air cooled)

Share your thoughts on the cabling problem and any hardware recommendations you all might have.

Thanks

Kinda old but still rockin.
Mobo- MB ASUS STRIKER II EXTREME 790I
CPU- CPU INTEL|C2Q Q6600 2.40G 775 8M
GPU- VGA ASUS EN8800GTS/HTDP/512M
Ram- MEM 2GX2|PATRIOT PVS34G1600LLK
Hard Drive1- HD 150G|WD 10K SATA WD1500AHFDRTL
Hard Drive2- HD 400G|WD 7K 16M SATA2 WD4000AAKS
DVD Drive- ASUS DVD Burner with LightScribe
PSU- PSU COOLMAX|CUQ-1200B 1200W
Case- CASE GIGABYTE|GZ-FA2CA-AJB BK

i use garbage ties to keep wires to together and close to the sides of the case so there is maximum airflow. It is a cheap easy way for your problems.

Manufacturer: Custom Built
Processor: AMD Phenom 8750 Triple-Core Processor 2.4GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
*Hard Drive: 250 GB
*Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
*Monitor: HP vs17 flat panel monitor
Sound Card: HD Audio
Speakers/Headphones: Logitech 5.1
Keyboard: HP Media Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech Precision Point
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP3
Motherboard: Asus M3A78-CM
Computer Case: Cooler Master Centurion 538
Power Supply: PC Power&Cooling Silencer 750w

* Upgrading in near future

Manufacturer: Me
Processor: Intel Quad Core 6600
Memory: 4 GB RAM GSkill
*Hard Drive: 580 GB (3 drives)
*Video Card: Gigabyte ATI HD 4870, 512 Mb DDR 5
*Monitor: Samsung T220  
Sound Card: Realtek HD (onboard)
Speakers/Headphones: Creative FATAL1TY when gaming (headphones)
                                      SONY  400W over my sound system when listening music or watching movies
Keyboard: Trust wireless for typing
                 ZBoard for gaming
Mouse: Genius Navigator 535
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP2
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L
Computer Case: Codegen BRIZA
Power Supply: Corsair 650W

Windows 7 Ultimate 64
AMD Phenom 9650 Quad
Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe
4 GB Corrair XMS
Dual 8800gts
Raptor 10,000rpm x2 raid 0 (os)
WD 500gb (programs)
Exteranl 500gb (backups and extra storrage)
Thermaltake 3-rail 600w power supply
G5 and G15 mouse and keyboard
19" Samsung syncmaster 932bw 2ms 3000:1
Antec server case
6 fans

I used zip ties to control all the cables running them down the side of the case.  Only non sata connection is the Dvd burner.

Manufacturer: Me
Processor: AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor 2.5GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 500 GB
Video Card: ATI Radeon 4870HD
Monitor: Samsung 22" flat panel monitor
Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse Keyboard
Operating System: Windows Vista Professional
Motherboard: Asus M3A78T
Computer Case: Lian Li ATX mid tower
Power Supply: PC Power&Cooling Silencer 500w

Im thinking of doing an upgrade soon, but I cant decide between a new hard drive, new processor, or another graphics card to Crossfire with the existing one...

also with the cabling, I install everything with the cabling loose and then use zip-ties to clear space away from moving or hot parts.

Manufacturer:   self
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory:  8192MB RAM
Hard Drive:  Samsung Spinrite 500(3.5TB total)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
Monitor:  Acer H233H 23 in. Widescreen HDTV Monitor
Sound Card:  Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
Speakers/Headphones:  Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headphones
Keyboard: Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse
Mouse Surface: Steelseries Cloth mousepad
Operating System:   Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Motherboard:   ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
Computer Case: NZXT Beta

taken from my xfire profile

Manufacturer:   Self Built
Processor: Intel I7 920 2.66 GHz O.C. to 4.2 GHz using Corsair Hydro H50 liquid cooler
Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI
Memory:  6 GB Patriot Viper tri-channel PC1333
Hard Drive:  2 X 300 GB WD VelociRaptors  raid 0 - 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green  
Video Card: 2  BFG Geforce GTX 285 OC SLI
Monitor:  LG  23 in. Widescreen HD Monitor 1920x1080 - Samsung 19 in. 1280x1024
Sound Card:  On board
Power Supply: Coolmaster 700 watt modular
Keyboard: Merc Stealth
Mouse: Logitech MX 1100
Operating System:   Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Computer Case: Antec 900

CPU:Intel Core2 Duo E8500 3,16Ghz
Mainboard:P5B Deluxe 775 ASUS
Memory:4GB Kingston
Graphiccard:NVIDA GeForce GTX275 896mb
Mouse:Microsoft sidewinder X5
Keyboard:Logitech G15
Headset:Creative Fatal1ty
Monitor: Benq 19inch (a 24 is soon comin)
Soundcard: X-Fi
Power:Corsair 750W

Dude, I got a Dell.

It's a Studio XPS and that's all I know because I'm computer illiterate. My brother knows all about computers and he said this was the best in my price range (under $850). We got it a microcenter  (you can check out the specs on their website) when it was $799.

Hope this is helpful.
McFurley

p.s. This was without the monitor.

er, we got a dual core, 2gig ram, 2x 8800 gt nvidias......er and it runs the game great! lol thats about it......

well mine can be fast some times but after a while it slows down

and i think i know why

Ha Ha funny Mr T.

I aswell build my own computers.

Motherboard: DFI LP Dark 790FX
CPU: AMD 64X2 5000 B.E. @ 2.60 stock, @ 3.08ghz (13.5x multi, 1237mhz FSB, +0.50mv increase)  
HDD: WD 250GB
Memory: Mushkin 99603 800mhz @ 4-4-4-12, current is 880 @ 4-5-4-12
Video: HIS Radeon 4850 @ 680/1125 (650/1000 stock)
Sound: Realtek HD audio onboard 7.1.  have it connected to my big  hometheater, get yelled at alot to turn down the big booms...lol, got a sweet loud sub.
Power: Kingwin Mach 1 520W SLI/CROSSFIRE ready
Monitor: Acer X223w 22", Samsung B530 40" LCD 1080P, i use the TV sometimes..but i play better when using my monitor.
DVD: LG dvd burner.
Cooling: Zalman 7600 cpu cooler, 2x120mm, 2x80mm, 2x90mm. Lots of airflow case doesn't go above 31C
Mods: I built my case, i cut out a side window and installed a few UV lights to enhance all the UV reactant features on my mobo,  powersupply cables, and video card.
Reagular ol' laser mouse and microsoft keyboard

Asus P5-D Mobo
Dual Core 8500
4gb Crucial Ram
8800GT vid
3tb of various drives
Pioneer Burner
integrated audio
xClio 850watt PSU
HP 2335 monitor
junk mouse
MS Media wave keyboard
Gamecon 777 headset
Win XP pro
Rack mount case