Building a gaming PC for around $1,000-$1,200?

Sulaco

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2003
3,825
46
91
I've been out of the hardware loop since about 2 years ago when I built the system in my signature.
After doing some research, searching forums, and reading reviews, I've assembled a *preliminary* list of components I plan to buy to build, but again, I'm very flexible and would appreciate any and all opinions anyone has to offer.

NOTE

My budget is pretty firm around $1100-$1200. This will mainly be a gaming system with standard internet/office use as well.
I have the monitor and all smaller peripherals already. I will be playing at modest resolutions on this system.
I also plan on using the motherboard's onboard sound.


PROCESSOR
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115036"]Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail = $189.99

MOTHERBOARD
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131299"]ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail =$119.99
OR
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128359"]GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail =$119.99

VIDEO CARD
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121276"]ASUS HDRadeon 4870 256-bit 512Mb GDDR5-Retail=$249.99
OR
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150310"]XFX GeForce 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3-Retail=$249.99 (price at my local MicroCenter)

RAM
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231166"]G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail =$75
OR
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227298"]OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail =$85

HARD DRIVE
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148335"]Seagate 640gb 7200RPM 32Mb Cache SATA 3.0gb/s OEM=$80.00

OPTICAL DRIVE
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151171"]Samsung 22x DVD+R 8x DVD-RW 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM =$25

CASE
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129025"]Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail =$130

POWER SUPPLY
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005"]CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail=$100
OR
"http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371011"]Antec NeoPower 650 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail =$90


OPERATING SYSTEM
Plan on upgrading my copy of Vista Business 32-bit to 64bit for $10


TOTAL: ~$1,000 (I realize I'm under budget, and I hope to keep it that way;))

...that's about it. I'm especially unsure about the Power Supply (I'd like to keep it around $100 if at all possible), RAM, and motherboard.

Any and all input is more than welcome! Thanks!
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
Pretty standard list. If you don't intended to overclock the CPU past 3.8GHz you can downgrade the RAM to DDR2-800.

How big is your monitor?
 

Mr Fox

Senior member
Sep 24, 2006
876
0
76
The case that you have chosen has no Speaker.... I personally think for over $100.00 it should have a Case Speaker..

Antec is getting a bad name for "cheap" Not Cheap cases....


TT, and Silverstone still build decent stuff.. but a Case is a personal thing....


If you end up with a 4870... you should buy PowerColor, or Visiontek... they have better warranty...

OCZ... Memory.. Don't plan on getting your rebate read the fine print..