A long term question

Hey All,
I'm deploying in about 6 months or so, I was trying to figure out how much money I should set aside while I'm over there to build myself a new comp. I figure when I come back, my current comp will be a bit outdated ( I should hope ), so I was going to just set aside a certain amount to build myself another gaming system while I'm over there. Certain things I won't need to replace ( case, radiator, fans, etc ) but what do you think?

My current estimate is about 3 grand. I figure that will give me a top of the line mobo and GFX card, almost top of the line CPU, SSD, and ram. I may get a nice big 24-30" monitor, depending on how much the other stuff runs, although my 19" suits me just fine at the moment. Suggestions?
-Drew

3 GRAND????? More than enough, IMO

Wow, 3 grand! Currently 3 grand is way more than enough to build an amazing computer. Once you return Nehalem should have been released, so 3 grand probably won't go as far as socket 775 does now. You are looking at DD3(6 slots), Nehalem Mobo's/chips and new graphics cards(almost undoubtedly, and who knows what other new tech. To say that 3 grand will be enough for an almost top of the line Nehalem would be a guess at best, but it should at least be a solid start This is all if you decide to stick with Intel. One thing for sure though, it'd be one heck of a beast.

First off, Good luck with the deployment, If it's just a normal non extended deployment I think 2K will be plenty, If your deployemnt goes the way they seem to be going right now you might need 5k by the time you get back J/K (somewhat).
Anyway, Thanks for serving and take care!

Thank you for your service & Godspeed to you.

With the looming advances in tech considered, 3K should still build you a nice puter. So set aside 5K.

Hope things don't get too expensive in the future! I would recommend around 3k, maybe a little more just in case you want to buy yourself some extra goodies .

Although nobody can accurately know what prices will be when you come back, looking at the fact you could build a beast rig with $2000 right now, including a nice 24", $3000 should be enough to account for the new hardware coming out and inflation.

If your doing a 12 month deployment nehalem should be close to 775 prices(45m quad) by the time you return.