building a new computer

[davemw]

hi everyone i am wanting to construct a new gaming system that i can keep around a 1000 dollar price range. I am interested in any ideas as far as what components to get that will give me the best performance for my money. So far i am not even set as far as what motherboard or processer to get but i have some interest in the 8800gt vidoe card because i have heard it is a great card for the money. Any help you can give me on this would be appreciated. i will be using all new parts for this computer and would like the ability to overclock this system if possible.

 

[lilbabimac]

You should read this post so that people can help you out better.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: davemw
hi everyone i am wanting to construct a new gaming system that i can keep around a 1000 dollar price range.

Have you bothered to read the hundreds of other "help me build a gaming rig" threads?

 

[davemw]

ok guys sorry about the horrible post im a little new to posting on anandtech forums and was a little unsure of how to go about using the forums. After looking at some of the builds and suggestions i have a general idea of what i want to do and would like some suggestions on changes that would improve this build.
motherboard: Gigabyte GA-p35-ds3l lga775
processor: intel core 2 quad Q6600 kentsfield 2.4ghs lga775
Memory: G.skill 4GB 240-pin ddr2 sdram ddr2 800
Harddrive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
Video Card: EVGA 512-p3-n802-a1 geforce 8800GT superclocked 512MB
PS: Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX 500w

Thanks for any help you can give me....

 

[Blain]

You don't need 4 cores for gaming.

 

[davemw]

would you suggest then maybe a core 2 duo e6600 or something faster? I would like the best price to performance ratio...

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: davemw
would you suggest then maybe a core 2 duo e6600 or something faster? I would like the best price to performance ratio...

You mentioned overclocking in your post. If that's the case, you're probably fine with an E4500, which a lot of people are hitting over 3GHz with. Even if you don't want to shoot that low, there's no reason to buy an E6600 right now, as Intel's E6x50 series are less expensive for the same clock speed.

You haven't mentioned anything about a case. Do you already have one, or are there particular features you're looking for?

 

[MyNameHere]

Hello,

I'm in the same situation as davemw. I know a little about computers and have about 1000 to spend. I looked through the forum for similar topics and all I saw were budget systems ($600).

If anyone can provide links to threads that have information about $1k system recommendations I would appreciate it.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming, mostly FPS.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

1k, I could go higher if its worth it.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

I just want the best for the money, brands arent important.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

I won't be using any parts from my old system. (My sister owes me big time!)

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

I did look around but didnt see anything like what I want to build. Most were anywhere from 400-700 dollars.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I dont really know much about overclocking so it might not be a good idea.


Thanks for the help.

 

[DSF]

Here's what I put in a recent $1000 build thread a little while ago:

Originally posted by: DSF
CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 ($175)
This should be plenty of processor until the end of 2008. If he's willing to overclock (or if you're willing to do it for him) he can almost certainly shoot even lower on the CPU. The stock heatsink should be fine for his purposes, but spending a little more dough for a performance cooler is an option too.

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L LGA775 Motherboard ($100)
If he needs high-end features like integrated Wi-fi in his motherboard then this won't be the right choice, but it's an excellent value motherboard. No onboard RAID capabilities, but my recommended build only has one hard drive anyway. If he wants RAID, he can step up to Gigabyte's GA-P35-DS3R for only $30 or so more.

RAM:
2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 ($50)
or
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2-800 ($150)
RAM is cheap right now, and some people would say to just go ahead and grab 2x2GBs. It might not be bad advice, and he could certainly reuse it when he rebuilds/upgrades a year or so down the road.

Video Card:
nVIDIA 8800GT PCI-e 2.0 512MB Video Card ($270)
Any manufacturer is fine, whatever he can get his hands on. It might not be a bad idea to wait a few weeks though - ATi has new cards coming soon which are supposed to be slightly less powerful than the 8800GT but at a significantly reduced price.

Case:
Coolermaster Centurion 5 ($50)
Computer case is one of those things that can boil down to personal preference more than anything else, but if he's on a tight budget this one is generally recommended as a good value. Watch for sharp rebates on more expensive cases though.

Power Supply:
Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450 Watt Power Supply ($65)
Corsair's new power supply line comes highly recommended by just about everyone. This one should have plenty of power for a mid-range gaming computer.

Hard Drive:
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($120)
500GB is right about the sweet spot at the present time for $/GB. If he wants to save some money and doesn't need the capacity, he can go a little lower here. Generally speaking though, a larger drive will give him better performance due to higher data density. I picked the Samsung here, but any 500GB drive from a major manufacturer should be good, and shopping around might give you a better deal than $120.

Optical Drive:
LITE-ON Black CD/DVD Burner ($31)
I went without LightScribe here, but you can get LightScribe capabilities for only a few dollars more. Note that both the HDD and DVD drive are OEM, which means they won't have SATA cables included. However, your motherboard will come with a couple. If you want the retail boxed version of either, it will cost a little bit extra.

That's pretty much everything you need. Using the 2x1 GB RAM choice, not counting shipping, and with no operating system, I'm at about $870. I used newegg to show you the parts for simplicity's sake, but shopping around will give you a better price on some of them.

If you don't need an OS, there are a few things you might do with the extra $100 headroom, in no particular order:
-Dedicated sound card
-2nd optical drive or hard drive
-Upgrade the case
-Buy a better CPU heatsink/better case fans
-Upgrade to a PSU with modular cables like the Corsair 520HX
-Go with 4GB RAM
-Put it in the bank

Edit: Fixed messed up link.

Prices of some of the components in that list are even lower now than they were.

For what it's worth, here's the build I just ordered, but be aware that it includes some deals which have expired.

Antec SOLO Mid-Tower ATX Case (I got mine for $30 AR from Fry's)
Check the Hot Deals section though, there are some good Coolermaster cases with steep rebates at the moment as I recall.

Intel Core2Duo E4500 2.2 Ghz 2MB L2 Cache CPU ($125)
I'm planning to overclock. Even if I weren't, this CPU would be enough for light gaming. If you don't want to overclock and you want more speed, look at the E6550 or E6750.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Motherboard ($90)
This is the mobo listed above.

2x2GB Super Talent DDR2-800 ($90 shipped)
This RAM is supposed to be very good for the price, but there are a lot of 4GB kits that are dropping to $100 or below nowadays.

XFX 8800GT 512MB PCI-e x16 Video Card ($280)
More money than I wanted to spend, but at least it comes with a free game. The good news is, even spending about $50-60 more than I wanted to on the graphics card didn't put me over $1000.

Samsung Spinpoint 500GB HDD ($105)
Same as above.

LITE-ON Black CD/DVD Burner ($30)
Same as above.

Corsair 520HX Modular ATX 2.2 Power Supply ($100 AR at ClubIT)
I went with this over other very good but slightly less expensive power supplies because I wanted the modular cables. Sometimes it's offered at an even lower price ~$80 at buy.com.

ZeroTherm BTF90 92mm CPU Cooler ($30 AR)
Despite its goofy shape, it gets very good reviews both in terms of cooling power and low noise. I don't know anyone personally who's used it yet, but I'm interested to try it out, and my girlfriend actually bought it for me.

Yate Loon D12SL-12 Case Fan ($5)
Yate Loons have a good reputation as quiet budget performers. The SOLO comes with an exhaust fan, but my understanding is that it's louder than it needs to be.

Scythe Kaze-Jyu 100mm/92mm Case Fan ($10)
This fan is also supposed to be very quiet, and fits either 100mm or 92mm mounting holes. Will be the intake for the SOLO. (The SOLO doesn't come with one.)

I'm keeping my monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers, and I have an OS disk, so that's all I needed to spend. I thought about getting an X-Fi XtremeGamer soundcard, but I'll probably wait until I see how good the motherboard's onboard sound is.

Edit: The parts I bought totalled about $900 with shipping, by the way.