Cheapest high end gaming rig

[happy medium]

e4300 cpu 170.00$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...13&ATT=19-115-013&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

2 gigs of cheap ram that should let the e4300 clock to 2.9 or so. 115.00$
Heres the thread on the ram in hot deals.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=2003479&enterthread=y

Gigabyte ds3 for 125.00$ here

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA4830994

EVGA 8800gts 640mb for 349.00$ here

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A9602826&cmp=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

This 500 watt enhance psu should be fine for this set up. 69.00$

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5150GH

I'll be gaming at 1600x1200.

Total 830.00$

If theres something better/cheaper thats higher performance let me know.

 

[Roguestar]

"Will an E4300 last 2 years?" Frankly, I can't say. I'd say no, to be safe. It's more of a mid-range system now, and in two years probably won't be able to run games at their highest settings at your resolution. I doubt if they'd even run Crysis at 1600*1200 with everything up full, but we've yet to see. It's hard to predict these things but what I personally like doing for the best lifespan whilst keeping good performance throughout, it to go to the one-below-top (or thereabouts) for each pick of components because the top is usually price skimming and the next will offer better value for money. The 8800GTS is a good choice but with the way the graphics card market moves it might be nothing in two years' time; two years ago I got an X800 Pro and that'll run stuff now at mid/high-ish settings but it'll do.

 

[happy medium]

I figured the cpu in my system now is 4/5 years old and still runs most games fine. A e4300 at e6800 speeds would last at least 2 years. I see your point on the video card. You never really know,but should be good for at least a year. I'm on my third card now in 5 years.
I figured in 2 years I could upgrade to a 8900 gtx (or whatever) , a quad core cpu ,and another gig of ram for about 600.00$ total. And get another 2 years out of this set up?
1500.00$ for 4 years of med/highend gaming........ priceless.

Edit: if this is not high end what is? besides a 8800gtx? At 1600x1200 you can't get faster,right?

 

[deadseasquirrel]

It looks like a perfect price/performance kind of build. Having it last exactly as-is for 2-3 years might be asking a lot. But being able to upgrade to a quad-core, faster video, adding more ram in the future, you'd be extending its life quite a bit. The main idea would be to build with a foundation that can last a few years with upgrades. I'm in a completely different situation, since my systems always get handed down to the kids in a round-robin fashion (machine #3 at the house is a Tualatin Celeron at 1.4ghz with a 5900ultra in it!). So when I build, I know I personally will use it for about 2 years, then my son another 2 before it gets handed down to my daughter, who'll have it for 2 before the whole process begins again. It's getting harder to keep systems running for 6+ years now that the kids are old enough to be into gaming (and couple that with the fact that I now have a 3rd child who'll likely one day want his own rig... oy vey).

 

[Roguestar]

It's a good choice if what you want to do in a year's time is tack on another year of riding the top of the performance wave with a few upgrades, but like we've said it's hard to predict; maybe two years from now a quad-core will be saturated in games. Who knows? I reckon you're always going to have to bite the bullet, expect buyer's remorse and be happy with what you settle on . To be honest those are some really good selections so I reckon you should just go for it and if anything major comes out in the next year you can always sell an old component to make money for an upgrade.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: deadseasquirrel
It looks like a perfect price/performance kind of build. Having it last exactly as-is for 2-3 years might be asking a lot. But being able to upgrade to a quad-core, faster video, adding more ram in the future, you'd be extending its life quite a bit. The main idea would be to build with a foundation that can last a few years with upgrades. I'm in a completely different situation, since my systems always get handed down to the kids in a round-robin fashion (machine #3 at the house is a Tualatin Celeron at 1.4ghz with a 5900ultra in it!). So when I build, I know I personally will use it for about 2 years, then my son another 2 before it gets handed down to my daughter, who'll have it for 2 before the whole process begins again. It's getting harder to keep systems running for 6+ years now that the kids are old enough to be into gaming (and couple that with the fact that I now have a 3rd child who'll likely one day want his own rig... oy vey).

Yea, my 13 year old daughter gets this system for The Sims,Aim /internet, and homework.

 

[Linux23]

Did you actually build this yet? I am researching a build now and want to know if this worked for you?

 

[stoma]

I paid $1,000 for my last cpu...that was just over 2years ago...an FX-55. I just upgraded...

 

[tvdang7]

Originally posted by: stoma
I paid $1,000 for my last cpu...that was just over 2years ago...an FX-55. I just upgraded...

damn man. sorry but u didnt ur moneys worth. i would say dont buy top dollar cpu's get a quad core at the price drop and ull be good for 2 years .

 

[BladeVenom]

I think the processor will easily last 2 to 3 years. In two years you might want a new video card; it will probably still run new games, but maybe not at the setting you want.

I agree with Happy Medium. The 3 Ghz P4 came out at the end of 2002. That will still run most games fine. Look how long it took game companies to start coming out with games that took advantage of dual core. Even now that's still not a requirement for any game.

 

[lenjack]

Of course it will be fine in 2 years...it will be just as fast then as it would be now. If you continually want bleeding edge, it will cost you a forune.

 

[Don66]

Cheap and highend don't live on the same block:laugh: