£1200 ($2100) for new computer. Throw some ideas at me!

[loic2003]

No ricey crap; no windows/lights needed. Just the box with no peripherals. Naturally it's going to be used for gaming, so the GPU is where I'd like to see the majority of the cash go. 5.1 sound most likely. No point getting dual CPU's if games aren't going to use them effectively, etc...

It's been soem time since I built a gaming rig for someone, cheers for your suggestions!

 

[Crescent13]

vid card
mobo
ram
case
psu
hard drive('s)
cpu

If you know how to overclock, you can get this cpu much higher than stock speed (~fx-57 or so). put in as many hard drives as you want.

 

[jpeyton]

Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
DFI LanParty UT NF4 SLI-D
2GB (2x1GB) Crucial PC3200
Hitachi 250GB SATAII HD
NEC ND-3540A DVD+/-RW
Antec P180 Case
OCZ 480W PSU
ThermalTake Big Typhoon Heatsink/Fan
BFG 7800GTX OC
SB Audigy2 ZS
Floppy/KB/Mouse/OS

[/thread]

 

[svi]

Tricky. I'm lazy, so I'll just give fairly broad recommendations.


- Get an A64 3500+, 3700+, or 3800+. The 3700+ is preferred for a high-end rig like this, because it's a San Diego and reasonably priced (for a high-end CPU, at least). You don't need an X2 if it's just a games box. It'd be neat to have one, but you wouldn't need it.

- Sound card.. probably an Audigy 2. Also an easy recommendation for a games box.

- Get 2GB of RAM. It's kind of overkill right now, but it won't be that way forever, and your budget has the room. Get something with some overclocking headroom, too.

- 250GB is the current sweet spot for hard drives. Beyond that, there are lots of choices, and it doesn't particularly matter which ones you make.

- You can afford a shiny case, so get a shiny case. The Antec P180 is a really nice case if you want to build a quiet or silent computer, and even if you don't it still has that classy expensive refridgerator look to it. There are many, many, many other choices.

- You probably already know this, but I don't want to take any chances, so: get a high-quality, reasonably quiet PSU. There are many good choices. I'll recommend Seasonic, because 1. Seasonic PSUs are nice, 2. quiet is nice, and 3. I recommended Seasonic earlier and I like recommending the same thing several times in a row. Naturally, there are many other choices out there, and others will be happy to toss their two cents (pence?) in here. Just don't bother with anything rated for more than 450W.

- Get good fans. Panaflo L1s offer a good balance between airflow and noise level.

- DVD burners are cheap enough that there's no reason not to put them even in gaming systems. Also, put in a floppy drive. Obsolete things, but there's no reason not to have one in a standard tower PC, and you never know when you might need one. (Yeah, so this is the bottom of the recommendations barrel. That's why it's near the bottom.)


Last thing: I know you said "no peripherals", but... what monitor are you using? The monitor IS among the most important parts of any gaming rig.

 

[loic2003]

Looks like the DFI Lan Parties are the most popular of high end MOBO's. Anything hot from ABIT these days? I'm quite a fan of their gear, never had any problems with it.

 

[Lonyo]

1GB TwinMOS PC4300 from Komplett.co.uk £100
Venice 3200+ OEM overclockers.co.uk £130
DFI Lanparty overclockers.co.uk £130
X800XL for £190 from overclockers OR 7800GTX if you want a lot more power for £400 or so.
Case/PSU/cooling £150
HDDs: 2x200GB ebuyer.com £130
Sound card £80
Speakers Whatever's left.

 

[Gurck]

If you tend to multitask a lot or have multiple proggies running in the background, might it not be a better idea to wait for dual cores to become more of a standard? That's my plan, anyway. As far as the video card, why not go all out and get a 7800? And if your budget allows, feel free to buy a second and send it my way

 

[loic2003]

The impression I get from dual cores or multiple processors is that software support is still lacking. With PC's it always seems to be the way that if you wait for a few months, the next big thing is just around the corner. You can end up perpetually waiting for these updates/new features.

Also, it's not actually for me, I'm sticking with my 2GHz athlon coupled with an overclocked 9800 pro. It's coping ok with battlefield 2 with the settings at medium and the res cranked up a fair amount. I friend said in the pub that he's got 1200 quid to blow and wanted a super-duper computer from it. I'm guessing the machine he gets will be more than ample for the next couple of years in terms of gaming.

just checked out the 7800.... holy crap they're expensive, but the specs look hot!

 

[imported_Phil]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
1GB TwinMOS PC4300 from Komplett.co.uk £100
Venice 3200+ OEM overclockers.co.uk £130
DFI Lanparty overclockers.co.uk £130
X800XL for £190 from overclockers OR 7800GTX if you want a lot more power for £400 or so.
Case/PSU/cooling £150
HDDs: 2x200GB ebuyer.com £130
Sound card £80
Speakers Whatever's left.

Good, but be warned that OverClockers have some seriously bad ratings on one of those consumer ratings sites (I forget the name) simply because (apparently) they're impossible to return anything to.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: Phil

Originally posted by: Lonyo
1GB TwinMOS PC4300 from Komplett.co.uk £100
Venice 3200+ OEM overclockers.co.uk £130
DFI Lanparty overclockers.co.uk £130
X800XL for £190 from overclockers OR 7800GTX if you want a lot more power for £400 or so.
Case/PSU/cooling £150
HDDs: 2x200GB ebuyer.com £130
Sound card £80
Speakers Whatever's left.

Good, but be warned that OverClockers have some seriously bad ratings on one of those consumer ratings sites (I forget the name) simply because (apparently) they're impossible to return anything to.

Lots of people have complaints about Ebuyer as well, but my 2 returns to them have been fine.
Not tried (had to) return anything to Overclockers, but that was the site I knew had those things at those prices, I think that's the cheapest X800 around, but similar prices can probably be found at Ebuyer.

 

[imported_Phil]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: Phil

Originally posted by: Lonyo
1GB TwinMOS PC4300 from Komplett.co.uk £100
Venice 3200+ OEM overclockers.co.uk £130
DFI Lanparty overclockers.co.uk £130
X800XL for £190 from overclockers OR 7800GTX if you want a lot more power for £400 or so.
Case/PSU/cooling £150
HDDs: 2x200GB ebuyer.com £130
Sound card £80
Speakers Whatever's left.

Good, but be warned that OverClockers have some seriously bad ratings on one of those consumer ratings sites (I forget the name) simply because (apparently) they're impossible to return anything to.

Lots of people have complaints about Ebuyer as well, but my 2 returns to them have been fine.
Not tried (had to) return anything to Overclockers, but that was the site I knew had those things at those prices, I think that's the cheapest X800 around, but similar prices can probably be found at Ebuyer.

This is true- I've been fortunate that I haven't needed to return anything, and I'd probably go through the manufacturer anyway. However, this bit's important:

The company I work for not only refuses to trade with them anymore (problems with taking faulty stuff back), but they were close to taking them to court just to get their money back for said faulty goods.

My experiences have been good, but this kinda thing worries me.

 

[loic2003]

Yeah I tried to return something to overclockers. You need some return number before they'll allow it, but there's no e-mail address to mail and the phone just rings and rings and rings.

A friend went to uni nearby and actually went to OCUK in person. Apparently it's a really small operation and they are basically overwhelmed. Hopefully they have expanded recently.


I've always had a great service getting stuff from them (once within 24 hours and I'm OVERSEAS!), but I've only heard bad things about returning products.


Thanks to all for their help in this thread!