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What would $1,000 buy me?

T

Thoth093

Member
I'm looking to build a gaming PC for around $1,000. If I needed to, I could wait a couple of months and easily have $1,500 to spend. But I'm feeling impatient. 😉

I'm running a 22-inch LCD with a native resolution of 1680x1050. Something with an upgrade path built-in would be nice, but at that price point total replacement in 18 months or so isn't out of the question.

Brian
 
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
What would $1,000 buy me?
Click to expand...

I guess I'm a rare breed that enjoys the research. I take "enjoy your accomplishments as well as your plans" from Desiderata to heart.
Click to expand...

Well, if you'll entertain "even ... the dull and the ignorant" for a time:

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

Gaming mostly. Rarely video encoding.

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

$1,000-$1,200

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

USA, probably Newegg

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.

Intel

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

New build from scratch.

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

A few, but none seemed to fit well.

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

Default.

Here's a cart I whipped up at Newegg that is $1 below my preferred maximum.

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black PATA Model SH-S202N - OEM $29.99
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer $25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$134.99
1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive - $104.99
1 XFX PVT88PYHE4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP $239.99
1 OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
$35.00 Mail-in Rebate
$134.99
1 ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate
$174.99
1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$269.99
1 Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
$109.99
Subtotal: $1,199.92

Edit. Oops. Memory would be nice, I suppose. How about:

A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$83.99
($63.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Not too badly over. But I have every faith that I'll be told this is ALL WRONG, anyway. 😉
 
It's not to shabby, but if it's going to be mainly a gaming rig, get the e8400, it's faster in games then a q6600. Consider this cheaper 8800gt, with a better cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127329

The PSU is overkill. I'd get this instead, it's still has plenty of headroom left: http://www.buy.com/retail/sear...e&display=col&dclksa=1

Why the abit pro ? If you don't know why, you might as well get this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128059

The ram will be just fine but to see all 4gb of it, you have to go with Vista 64x. And there's really no reason not to go with Vista 64x.

Oh, and the case, you like it ? There's more options, but if it does it for you, go ahead, you could save some money on it though.
 
I'd say cut some of the fat, i.e. the mobo and the quad core processor and apply that cash to a better vid card. The 8800 GTS are really a nice boost for about 50 bucks or so more.
 
If you want that kind of case, you might consider the Antec Nine Hundred since it's less expensive and has free shipping.

As Marc said, get the E8400, which will be more effective for what you want to do. The only problem is that it's out of stock practically everywhere. If you find the Xeon E3110, that's the same processor. Also second the P35-DS3L over the IP35-Pro. Go with Marc's PSU choice, it's a great deal and you don't need 700W anyway. Instead of the 202N, get the 203N which is SATA. No reason to get a PATA burner right now.

With all the savings, buy an 8800GTS instead of the GT.

Finally, I just want to make sure you're aware that if you buy a "system builder" or "OEM" version of Windows Vista you can't transfer it from one computer to another. If you build a new one in a couple years I think you'll have to buy the OS all over again.
 
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