Yet Another "New System" Thread

godfire

Member
Aug 5, 2002
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Ok, so I know this board is inundated with "building new system" posts, but I figure I only do it every few years so I want to get it right. I've read through a bunch of them and have some ideas in mind but I want to hear what your opinions are. I'll try to give as much info as possible, so hopefully you guys can help me make the right decisions.

I'm not looking to overlock my system in some extreme way or tweak it to squeeze all the juice out of it. What's most important to me about it is that it's stable and doesn't overheat, and the components all like each other (or at least don't hate each other). I would also like high-end stuff, but not the "extreme" high-end that costs twice as much for an ounce of improvement. My hopeful budget is $1000-$1500, but that's flexible if it's worth the extra cost.

CPU/Mobo - A reliable combo that doesn't have issues, and of course a fast processor that isn't insanely priced. :)
PS - I have an Antec TruePower right now, and it's been pretty good to me...so I would get this again unless there's something better?
Case - Basically just something that looks good, isn't made of plastic, and has a good design. Preferably in black.
RAM - I probably want 2 gigs of quality here. I don't want to skimp on an important part of the system.
Video card - I probably play games ~4 hours a day, so this one's somewhat vital. My current poison is WoW, but there will be others in the future as well. I don't want to break the bank (i.e. I don't need the best), but I want something that's very good.
Monitor - Ideally dual 19" monitors with decent refresh times, but I don't want this part to cost more than the rest of my system.

Any other parts or suggestions are welcome. Thanks for any help.
 

godfire

Member
Aug 5, 2002
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Forgot hard drives - I want something around 30 gigs, IDE, and fast. Is 10,000 rpm worth it? I already have 2 other drives lying around for storage.

I would also need a small cheap hard drive for my old box...this one basically just has to run, will only have windows/office on it.
 

hurtstotalktoyou

Platinum Member
Mar 24, 2005
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Good CPUs in your budget include the following:
Athlon 64 3800+ (~$298)
Opteron 165 for s939 ($329 at newegg.com)

A solid but surprisingly inexpensive motherboard is the Epox EP-9NPAJ ($83 at newegg.com).

For a case, you're going to have to figure that one out on your own. You can get a black LCT 8201C for $37 from supergooddeal.com, which is about as inexpensive as it gets. I have an LCT case, and I like it very much. It's nothing fancy, but I don't really care about looks. Your TruePower should be fine for this setup.

For the RAM, 2GB is a good idea. With your budget, stick to the cheap stuff. You can get 2GB (2x1GB) generic RAM from newegg.com for about $148. If you want to go name brand, it will cost about $168 (Corsair ValueSelect).

For a video card, you can get an eVGA 7800GT for $290. Not sure what ATI is offering, nowadays.

I'm not good with LCD displays. You'll have to figure that one out without me.