Advise on Game rig

[Grovebaby]

I'm getting ready to build a couple "lower end" game machines. Since I'm doing 2 machines I can't go with top of line. I read the guide on value gaming rig by Anand. they liked the MSI kt3ultra. I see now that there is an ultra 2 also. I don't know what the difference is yet. I also saw another MSI board, KV7 or something. I'll probably go with an athlon to keep the price down. That board also has onboard sound so that saves me some too. Any suggestions on these MSI boards or if you have a better idea I welcome that. Thanks in advance.

 

[yodayoda]

if you want discount gaming poewr with onboard stuff, i think the best board is the Epox 8RDA+ from newegg. it is under $100 and an awesome overclocker with good nVidia builtin sound. drop in a pair of 256MB sticks in each and you are dual-channel DDRing on the cheap. some 1700+ OCed over 2 GHz round that out nicely (and at $50 a pop you can't go wrong). get a pair of GC69 from SVC for $7.99--they are actually very decent HSFs for the money. for video, i think you missed out on the Ti4200 for $79--that power for that price would have been perfect.

PSU, case, hard drives, optical drives... i think you can get away with under a grand for both rigs if you shop right and use the FS/T forums for some parts and the Hot Deals forums for the rest =)

 

[DieHardware]

What games? What is your budget?

 

[fwtong]

Sharky Extreme recommends the MSI K7N2-L, which is an N-Force 2 board for their value gaming rig.

Sharky Extreme's Value Gaming Rig

 

[Grovebaby]

Kid plays Command and conquer mostly.

 

[Psychosylph]

Yoda is very wise...

Only thing I have to add is do not cheap out on the mobo - a more expensive mobo with a less expensive processor now will increase the life expectancy of the rig in the form of better future upgrades...