Building the ultimate $2000 gaming system?

[snobben]

Hello!

My brother asked me to build him a computer. I've been using a Mac the last years, so I told him to buy one, but he said he should play games on his computer. I've never liked games and since the day I bought my Mac, I havent read the hardware news. Anyhow, I think I'm still capable to build a machine. Therefore I wounder what the ultimate rig looks like.

Thanks in advance.

Greetings from Sweden,
Johan Sandberg

 

[suicidalpigeon]

will this require the purchase of additional peripherals like monitors, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc?

 

[snobben]

Yes! Every screw, every cable. Monitor, keyboard, mouse and loudspeakers too.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

are you into overclocking even though i read you're not up to date?

 

[snobben]

I know the basics, but to be honest I'm not the best overclocker. I've never locked the PCI-bus (swenglish?) for example.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

case $99
cpu $639
optical $44
mobo $88
harddrive$123
keyboard$32
mouse $40
psu$130
os $92
sound$71
speakers$55
video $283
memory$79
monitor$325

do'h went overboard. its $2100 total, not including shipping. downgrade the cpu to a 4000 for $481 which brings it to a $1942 system. holy crap $78 shipping.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

you can downgrade the cpu even more to a 3000+, and the video card to a 6600gt and wait for the new x2 and the g70/r520 video cards to come down to a price of your likings. those should do just fine with current games.

 

[rise]

for a gaming system, he's just as well off with a 3700+ sandy.

 

[rise]

no, at least keep the 800xl, if not save money on the cpu and get a 6800gt. hell, with the leftover money he could get the 7800gt

 

[suicidalpigeon]

did you even read my fourth post

 

[rise]

yeah but it kinda slipped in before mine were posted, i dunno why.

so calm down

 

[suicidalpigeon]

i am calm

 

[suicidalpigeon]

blah you just made me nef, along with this one.

 

[eXx08]

Mobo-$142

CPU-$600

Ram-$121

HDD-$186

Optical-$48

Case-$100

PSU-$120

Monitor-$330

Speakers-$55

Video Card-$236

And then Microsoft Windows Xp Home for $92.

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: wafflesandsyrup
case $99
cpu $639
optical $44
mobo $88
harddrive$123
keyboard$32
mouse $40
psu$130
os $92
sound$71
speakers$55
video $283
memory$79
monitor$325

do'h went overboard. its $2100 total, not including shipping. downgrade the cpu to a 4000 for $481 which brings it to a $1942 system. holy crap $78 shipping.

Don't get that monitor it only has 8MS Response time you will get ghosting in games if you get that.

 

[shoRunner]

LOL you recommend a LCD with a 20ms response time. the HYUNDAI is a great LCD for gaming.

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
LOL you recommend a LCD with a 20ms response time. the HYUNDAI is a great LCD for gaming.

wth is up with that?

 

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: wafflesandsyrup
case $99
cpu $639
optical $44
mobo $88
harddrive$123
keyboard$32
mouse $40
psu$130
os $92
sound$71
speakers$55
video $283
memory$79
monitor$325

do'h went overboard. its $2100 total, not including shipping. downgrade the cpu to a 4000 for $481 which brings it to a $1942 system. holy crap $78 shipping.

i vote for this system. though that is a nice PSU i'd save alittle on it and get this or this one, or this

 

[Farmer]

I would recommend a motherboard brand other than MSI, especially if this is a first build. Go with ASUS.

 

[lytalbayre]

Yeah man, the hyundai has one the fastest response times on the market... ur confused.

Also...The X2 is too overpriced at the moment.
I would get a 3700+ sandy for around $325.
A decent MSI or ASUS Nforce 4 ultra board for around $130.
The Hyundai monitor for $350.
Some 5.1 Logitech speakers for $100.
XP Home for $150.
Case for $60.
Good PSU for $100.
Good and Fast Memory for $150 (This is good for gaming).
DVD burner $60.
Zipzoomfly has a maxto diamond max 10 with 16mb cache 200gig capacity for $105 (Good deal!!!).
6800 GT $325.
Audigy 2 ZS $80
Logitech MX 518 mouse $60
Keyboard $35


This puts you right around the $2000 mark (I tried to make my prices reflect shipping and tax.

General suggestions. Look for out of state stores to avoid taxes.
Good CA stores are Newegg and zipzoomfly
Georgia has monarchcomputers
tx has directron
florida has tigerdirect...

Also check out places like pricewatch.

Good luck.

I don't know if it's still valid, but monarch computer had a special of %10 off orders over $1000 if you use an american express card...

 

[Farmer]

No MSI dammit. Mine came DOA first time, second time with a faulty FDD controller. Makes it a pain in the ass to install SCSI or SATA drives. Im sure there are a lot of others who can atest to MSI's unreliability here on AT.

XP Pro OEM on Newegg is around $120.

If on budget, I recommend nice headphones over 5.1 spkr set. Think Sennheiser.

I also suggest getting stuff from as few retailors as possible (even though it might cost more sans shipping). Really saves on shipping and you dont have to confuse yourself if something goes wrong.

 

[snobben]

Thanks for your suggestions. I take a look a them after breakfast.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

xp pro is for people who wants to use the more built-in capability when it comes to networking and server functionality it has. as well as a few hidden things that may or may not serve of any use to the computer-retarded people. xp home is the more viable choice if you dont need them.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

and for lytalbayre that list is very questionable with prices and components itself. farmer the speakers i listed are fine. 5.1 headphones cost more than the 530s, let alone its sennheiser. and i dont have a clue what you said about the retailers.

 

[joshw10]

IMO, if I were to spend around $2000 for a system, I'd probably put about 1/3 or more into the monitor(s). I certainly get a lot more enjoyment out of a nice screen than I do from a few hundred MHz or a few more FPS. I think a lot of the higher end stuff just isn't worth it these days and you're definitely in that category with a $2000 system.

As far as speakers, I don't consider them part of a system so can't help you there