$1000 to spend on gaming system, no monitor or case need though

[acidvoodoo]

can anyone suggest some parts that will fit into this price range? i was thinking go amd as it's cheaper, buy if anyone can sugggest a decent intel system i will look into that also
oh yea, need to include OS, i was thiking win xp pro OEM for 139 (newegg), or would anyone go to suggest windows 2000?

thanks for anyone that can help me out

 

[BD231]

XP for sure if your gaming.

 

[acidvoodoo]

ok heres what i have come up with so far

CPU:athlon xp 2000 OEM $126
Memory:Samsung pc2700 512mb ddr 333 $165
Graphics:gainward golden sample ti 4200 128mb retail $168
hdrive:western digital caviar 80gb w/8mb cache oem $110
motherboard:giga byte GA-7VRXP retail $103
cd: lite on cdrw 40x12x48 $66
generic floppy $9
OSfor now) windows xp pro OEM $139

comes to around 900, without shipping, and i was thiking of using the onboard sound in case there wasn't enough left over for an audigy

 

[CrazySaint]

Looks good. Consider a TBSC for your sound card instead of Audigy. Unless you actually need the extra features of XP Pro, just get XP Home and savea bout $50. A compromise between using the onboard 7VRXP sound and spending $60 on an Audigy, would be to get an Asus A7V333 which comes with very nice onboard sound that's approx. comparable to a SB Live! but without things like EAX and A3D or even get the Abit NV7-133R which is based on the nForce 415-D chipset and has near-audigy level onboard sound. Also don't forget to add $6 for a SVC GC68 HSF from svcompucycle. Here's the Alternate Intel Rig:

CPU: P4 1.8A - ~$161 from newegg
Motherboard: Abit BG7 - ~$120 from newegg -or- EPoX 4G4A/+ - ~$90/$115 from mwave.com
RAM: 512MB Corsair XMS PC2700 CAS3 - ~$171.50 shipped from googlegear.com

Will cost ~$30-40 more than the AMD rig, but is nearly "guaranteed" to hit 2.4GHz at or near default, with a possible 2.5-2.7GHz potential.

The AMD rig will be a bit faster at stock settings than the Intel rig, but the Intel rig will be faster if you OC, but both are very solid rigs and you will probably be happy with either. It basically comes down to personal preference.

 

[Amused]

Here's my opinion for a $1000 gaming system:

From Googlegear.com

P4 2.0A - $188.00

Asus P4T-E mobo - $153.00

2x 16 device Samsung 256MB RDRAM - $196.00

Subtotal - $537.00

Shipping - $2.50 (special deal going on)

Total: $539.50


From Newegg.com

Lite-On 40x12x48x CDRW - $64.00

WD 80 GB 8MB buffer HD (model #WD800JB) - $110.00

Leadtek GeForce 4 TI4200 64MB OEM - $145.00

Windows XP Pro OEM - $139.00

subtotal $462.00

Shipping $4.00

Total: $466.00

Grand total - $1005.50 shipped.

If no sound card, the Asus has on board sound that is stable, and sounds OK. If you want a sound card, I strongly suggest the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. It's a very good sound card for $59.00 at Newegg.com

I highly recommend this system. I have one just like it (I have more RAM and and IDE RAID setup, but you probably don't need all that) and have built a few just like it for friends and family (the vid card varies) and couldn't be happier with how everything went together. It will play every game out there at more than acceptable resolutions and framerates. It's very snappy and stable as a rock with no tweaking whatsoever.

Putting this combo together is bulletproof. It goes together and sets up so easily and trouble free, it's almost boring.

Remember that P4s require the new power supplies. If you are thinking of replacing your PS, I suggest the Antec True Power PSes. You can get an Antec True Power 330W at Newegg for $50.00. GREAT power supplies, and VERY quiet.

May I ask why you are wanting Windows XP Pro? Does it have something you need that XP Home does not? If not, save $50 and get XP Home.

 

[acidvoodoo]

oh well, i dunno why i wanted pro, just sounded cool, as i already have a rig with home on, but i guess it is a better idea to use the $50 i save and get a soundcard hehe


how are the shipping prices at newegg? what u expect them to be?

 

[acidvoodoo]

well, i'm buildin this pc for myself in my like room, rather then sharing a pc

 

[JackBurton]

Here you go man, an AWESOME gaming machine for under a grand:

Newegg.com

$166 P4 1.8A GHz
$145 ASUS P4B533
$59 Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
$108 Western Digital 80GB SE hard drive (8MB cache)
$170 LEADTEK GF4 TI4200 128MB OEM
$64 Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW
$9 floppy
$90 Windows XP Home full OEM
--------------------------------------------------
$811 + shipping

Mushkin.com

$179 512MB Hi Perf LEVEL 2 2100 222 <= Freakin' AWESOME memory! It will run at DDR400 with no problem
--------------------------------------------------
$179 + shipping

Grand total = $990 + shipping

When the system is finally put togther and tweaked, you should have a nice 1.8A@2.4GHz+. Sweet system for ~$1000.

 

[acidvoodoo]

i've never overclocked a p4 system before, but how much would the fan be that i needed to overclock?

that system does look pretty sweet

 

[Wingznut]

You'll probably do just fine with the retail fan that comes with the cpu.

 

[acidvoodoo]

oh, for that p4 system, is there an alternative for memory, that is available from newegg? i want to orded all from the same place

 

[JackBurton]

i've never overclocked a p4 system before, but how much would the fan be that i needed to overclock?

that system does look pretty sweet

All you need is what I listed above. The P4 retail heatsink/fan is GREAT! You can hit 2.4GHz+ with that hsf and still keep your CPU pretty cool. Since you haven't overclocked a P4 before, when you get everything put together we'll help you out. It's pretty dang easy. Oh, and make sure you have some ArcticSilver 3 and be sure to scape off that thermal pad on the P4 when you get it.

 

[acidvoodoo]

whats AC3, and how much is it

 

[JackBurton]

oh, for that p4 system, is there an alternative for memory, that is available from newegg? i want to orded all from the same place

BOOM! Mushkin's PC2100 Hi Perf Level 2 is now available at newegg for $179!

 

[JackBurton]

Arctic Silver 3 is a HIGH grade thermal compound used between the heatsink and CPU.

 

[acidvoodoo]

wait, i just added aload of components into my cart on new egg and used the shipping calculator, and it's only like $36 for 2 day delivery. seems a dam good deal to me, i'm sure i heard someone bitching about the crap shipping prices

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: acidvoodoo
oh well, i dunno why i wanted pro, just sounded cool, as i already have a rig with home on, but i guess it is a better idea to use the $50 i save and get a soundcard hehe


how are the shipping prices at newegg? what u expect them to be?

I listed the shipping for the parts from Newegg. Look again. For all the stuff I listed form Newegg (everything but the mobo, CPU and memory), shipping is only $4.00.

(I can only tell you shipping to IL, I don't know what state you're in.)

The shipping for the mobo, CPU and memory from Googlegear is only $2.50

Both Newegg and Googlegear have very good shipping prices on certain parts. Googlegear is, IMHO the best place to buy mobo/CPU/memory right now. Their prices are consistantly low, and their shipping specials on these items are hard to beat.

Newegg is, IMHO the best place for the rest of the parts.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: acidvoodoo
wait, i just added aload of components into my cart on new egg and used the shipping calculator, and it's only like $36 for 2 day delivery. seems a dam good deal to me, i'm sure i heard someone bitching about the crap shipping prices

You can save even more if you choose your mobo, CPU and memory at Googlegear.com and buy rest of the parts I listed at Newegg.

In my list, the shipping from Newegg is only 4.00 and the shipping from Googlegear is only 2.50.

 

[acidvoodoo]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
Arctic Silver 3 is a HIGH grade thermal compound used between the heatsink and CPU.

would u have to use that on a amd cpu at stock?





and can anyone suggest a good keyboard and mouse? i was thinking the microsoft optical mouse that costs like 20 bucks, and maybe the microsoft internet keyboard (both of which i have on another rig and i think they're quite good), but if anyone can suggest something different that is better for gamin (i want optical BTW) then i'll look into it.


one last thing, are chieftec cases anygood, and do the power supplies they come with be quiet, doesn't have to be silent, but i'd like to be able to sleep and leave the comp downloading

 

[Amused]

For your budget, the case at the top of this list is an excellent choice. It has Antec's Smart Power PS in it.

For a mouse, I'd suggest MS's Intellimouse Explorer.

 

[ddwbi0]

if its just for gaming, do you really need a 40x burner?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Chieftec cases are great. I'm not sure about the power supplies that they're shipping with now, but the cases are the best I've ever worked with. I'm on my 4th for systems I've built. They have great airflow and and extremely sturdy. The only downside is they're a bit heavy. Not exactly the type of case you'd want to carry to a lan party all the time, but if it's not one you'd move around a whole lot, i'd definately go with it. The weight also has to do with which one you get, so maybe disregard that.

I wish I had a grand to spend on a gaming system, sounds like you're going to have a sweet system whatever you decide to get.

 

[JackBurton]

would u have to use that on a amd cpu at stock?

I use it with ANY CPU I install, whether it be stock or overclocked.

And AmusedOne is right on the case. The case he suggested is VERY nice! And for $67, you can't go wrong. If you want to get "the sh!t" in cases though, I like the Antec 1080AMG. I think it is a little more than you want to spend but I just wanted to give you options.

As for keyboard, I like Logitech keyboards but get whichever one looks good to you. Just make sure they are not wireless. For games, a corded keyboard and mouse are the best. For the mouse I'd get a Logitech Mouseman Dual Optical mouse or Microsoft's Intelli-Mouse Explorer Version 3.0 or 3.0a .

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

would u have to use that on a amd cpu at stock?

I use it with ANY CPU I install, whether it be stock or overclocked.

And AmusedOne is right on the case. The case he suggested is VERY nice! And for $67, you can't go wrong.

Ain't it sweet? I discovered this case not long ago and am very impressed with it for systems on a budget. It has everything the Performance/Performance Plus series cases do, except the snap in fan holders. It even has the HDD cage that is removed with a flick of a lever just like the SX series and front USB.

If you want to get "the sh!t" in cases though, I like the Antec 1080AMG. I think it is a little more than you want to spend but I just wanted to give you options.

Man, talk about blowing the budget.

The 10 series are sweet cases, I've got one myself (SX1040). For him, though, I went with a cheaper, but almost as nice case so he could get better stuff inside it

 

[bulldawg]

Originally posted by: Wingznut PEZ
You'll probably do just fine with the retail fan that comes with the cpu.

Yep, my 1.6 is running at 2.43 and is amazingly cool with the retail fan. Quiet too. It has taken me a while to get used to the heat difference since I sold my old Athlon.