Custom PC for under 1400

[Dritnul]

i posted this in ATOT but heres the link to taht thread that describes what we're looking for

Original Thread

 

[bob4432]

first, you should quote the original here so we don't have to go back and fourth, but i will do it for you:

my sisters boyfriend wants a nice PC for gaming for $1400 at the very most if its a bit less that would be great
basica idea of what hes thinking
Thermaltek Armor series case(no if's and's or but's about that part)
dual core CPU
probly a x1800 x1900 or 7900series gfx card
probly 300-500GB HDD or 2 smaller ones(~150-250)
2048MB of RAM low latnecy (mostly for gaming)
some sort of audigy card(Audigy 2 thru Xfi doesnt matter (xfi if price allows i would say)
didnt say for optical drives but at least a DVD burner
w/e mobo is compatable with the ****** above works

i dunno if he wants new speakers or monitors since he has 2 LCDs already not sure bout his speaker system


the ? has been asked could u build a system like this for <1.4K

who will prove up to the challenge...?

1. wait until after july 24 when the price drops come and then make a decision as to whether you want to go amd or intel. after the price drops, dc will be a no brainer as they will be just a bit more than a sc.

2. don't waste the $$$ on a soundcard unless you have good speakers as onboard sound is decent and you don't gain any performance with a additional soundcard contrary to what certain manf want you to believe

3. 2GB ram is good, but don't be too obsessed with the timings, doesn't really make a big difference with the power of today's gpu

4. you are comparing 3 different gpus - what game and what resolution is going to be played? the prices are pretty equal atm for comparable cards (x1800xt vs 7900gt, x1900xt vs 7900gtx), i just picked up a x1800xt for 219AR about 2wks ago and now the 7900gts are the same price. my last 3 cards have been ati, before that it was nvidia, and before that, well that was some time ago and that company is no longer around. i have had no issues with either brand, if you go ati you will get either a msi, ati or sapphire, if you go nvidia i would go evga as they have a good warranty and usually come factory o/ced

5. you will need a good brand - enhance, seasonic, fsp(fotron), enermax, antec power supply in the 450-500W category

6. hdds, pick up one of the new seagates 7200.10 500GB units, nice drives from what i have read and have a good warranty, no reason to mix up other hdds unless you do the raptor main drive with a large storage hdd. then again there is usually a small gain when you add another equal speed hdd to a system that has one hdd for pagefile usage. i have a pagefile on both or all hdds, this seems to work the best.

7. can't pick out a m/b until you know what cpu you are going to go with

8. thousands of people are up to the task, but these threads are like 3-4x day anymore. use the search and if that doesn't work look at the first page of the general hardware forums.

9. for 1400 you should very easily be able to build a good, single lcd machine

 

[Jules]

I wouldnt count on Conroe being cheap when it first comes out.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
I wouldnt count on Conroe being cheap when it first comes out.

we probably won't be able to get our hands on one for less than msrp +50%, but at least it will drive all the other processors down

 

[Jules]

hehe true. Im waiting for Core Duo 2 i think thats what its called for my lappy. Wont be going back to desktops for awhile as ill stick with my 360 for gaming.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
hehe true. Im waiting for Core Duo 2 i think thats what its called for my lappy. Wont be going back to desktops for awhile as ill stick with my 360 for gaming.

when they crack the 360 (or should i say make it public if it isn't already), you going to put linux on it???

 

[Jules]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
hehe true. Im waiting for Core Duo 2 i think thats what its called for my lappy. Wont be going back to desktops for awhile as ill stick with my 360 for gaming.

when they crack the 360 (or should i say make it public if it isn't already), you going to put linux on it???

If it doesnt screw up xbox live then why not?

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
hehe true. Im waiting for Core Duo 2 i think thats what its called for my lappy. Wont be going back to desktops for awhile as ill stick with my 360 for gaming.

when they crack the 360 (or should i say make it public if it isn't already), you going to put linux on it???

If it doesnt screw up xbox live then why not?

that's probably where m$ will f*ck you

 

[Jules]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
hehe true. Im waiting for Core Duo 2 i think thats what its called for my lappy. Wont be going back to desktops for awhile as ill stick with my 360 for gaming.

when they crack the 360 (or should i say make it public if it isn't already), you going to put linux on it???

If it doesnt screw up xbox live then why not?

that's probably where m$ will f*ck you

Yeah i know. Gotta have my Live