Yeah, Sorry about the case. I am not a person who knows what the best cases are right now, but I would get a full tower. Also sorry about the wrong link. Fixed soon. Give me a min to find a good case. There are so many to pick from. The amount of cash is about $200 becasue of the moniter...
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Ok, I reviewed Dr DMoney's build. It was very good already, I just tweaked a couple things. Basically, I selected cheaper RAM (a different, but good brand: G.Skill), a slightly cheaper PSU (not as nice as the other one, but should do) and I downgraded the LCD monitor to 19" (20.1 wide is nice, but it costs!). That way you save like $130, and the build is still good.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 - $187.00
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 Intel G965 Express - $134.99
Memory: G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $204.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon X1950PRO 256MB - $189.99
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s - $69.99
DVD Drive: LG 18X Super-Multi DVD Burner - $29.99
PSU: Rosewill 550W SLI Ready - $59.99
Monitor: Sceptre X9g-Naga V Black 19" LCD - $179.99
Total: $1,056.93 (Missing: case, keyboard & mouse)
For the case, I'd suggest you get a cheap mid-tower, somewhere around $45-$65. Full Towers are nice, but $1000 is a somewhat tight budget. A case that comes to mind is the CoolerMaster Centurion. It's sturdy, cheap and looks nice.
However, as the Dr suggested, the case is pretty much your choice. I would recommend a cheaper mid-tower, though. You can view a few choices at Newegg here. You should know that the case doesn't make that much of a difference. Just pick one you like. It's the same thing with keyboard & mouse (you can get a decent combo for $20).
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 - $187.00
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 Intel G965 Express - $134.99
Memory: G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $204.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon X1950PRO 256MB - $189.99
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s - $69.99
DVD Drive: LG 18X Super-Multi DVD Burner - $29.99
PSU: Rosewill 550W SLI Ready - $59.99
Monitor: Sceptre X9g-Naga V Black 19" LCD - $179.99
Total: $1,056.93 (Missing: case, keyboard & mouse)
For the case, I'd suggest you get a cheap mid-tower, somewhere around $45-$65. Full Towers are nice, but $1000 is a somewhat tight budget. A case that comes to mind is the CoolerMaster Centurion. It's sturdy, cheap and looks nice.
However, as the Dr suggested, the case is pretty much your choice. I would recommend a cheaper mid-tower, though. You can view a few choices at Newegg here. You should know that the case doesn't make that much of a difference. Just pick one you like. It's the same thing with keyboard & mouse (you can get a decent combo for $20).
you said the BEST computer out there. THen you started talking about a budget! haha. your funny man. You want the top, the killer, the stinnger then.. then my friend.. you have to spend at least 3000 dollars. And build it yourself.
I love this thread. Cuz as soon as you talk about CPU's they convince you to build your own. And they're right. THey know what they're talking about. They know where to buy the stuff and get a bang for your buck. and building a CPU is easy as pie my friend. IT IS EASY AS PIE. so.. have no fear.
Just get a better J.O.B if you want the BEST computer out there.
Good luck homes.
I love this thread. Cuz as soon as you talk about CPU's they convince you to build your own. And they're right. THey know what they're talking about. They know where to buy the stuff and get a bang for your buck. and building a CPU is easy as pie my friend. IT IS EASY AS PIE. so.. have no fear.
Just get a better J.O.B if you want the BEST computer out there.
Good luck homes.
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Thank you very very much Meithan. I supremely appreicate your input.
Should I wait a little longer and try to get more cash saved? I don't want to end up with a mediocre pc that is going to be outdated quickly.
Would it be inappropriate to ask you how much you spent on your pc?
Should I wait a little longer and try to get more cash saved? I don't want to end up with a mediocre pc that is going to be outdated quickly.
Would it be inappropriate to ask you how much you spent on your pc?
Poon said:
Mediocre? No, my friend, the computer we're looking at is far from mediocrity. It will run pretty much any game on the market right now with max settings. You can expect it to last 2 years easily.
Now, I'm gonna give you a very useful tip for computer building: unless there are major technological changes coming very soon, the "should I wait and get something better?" question is pointless. Don't ever ask it. Why? Because no matter when you buy, six months after that there'll be new, better technology for essentially the same price.
As for budget, $1000 is enough to build a great computer. In my opinion the "right" amount to pay for a computer (that you're building) is around $1200. That budget encompasses the computer parts that give you more bang for your buck, as they say. Spending significantly more than $1200 is a matter of luxury.
Not at all. However mine is a special case, since I live in Mexico. The computer industry here is severely lagging behind the US, which means "new" parts (like Conroes) cost a fortune here.
What I did was buying the essential parts of my computer (CPU, motherboard, RAM and video card) with a reseller that lives near the US border. He bought at US prices and charged me around 15% extra. I still got way better prices than in local stores. The rest I bought locally, though (I paid around $100 for my Raidmax Sagitta case).
What was the total price I paid? Almost 14,000 pesos, which are around US$1,270. Ouch. I know. In the US that would've costed around $950 (at the time I purchased it).
Meithan said:
No, no, It will not run all the games at max settings. It will definitely last 2 years but, you will be using medium to high settings in games Now and low settings in the future. Well....... I guess it will run them at MAX settings now, But games like FEAR, Farcry, Oblivion, BF2142, COD2, Etc. Will run choppy/crappy (low frames per second) with that video card.
If you are a GAMER, Buy the best video card you can. All the games will be directx10 in the near future, So you better buy a DX10 video card, Like the 8800gts.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130080
You will also need a OS (operating system) Like Windows Vista, Linux or whatever. Windows vista = $150-$450 depending on what version.
You should also look into sata DVD drives, Sata is the new small cable, IDE is the old big flat grey cable, But I don't know if you can install windows from a "sata" drive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Subcategory=5&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=
DBD said:
First of all that is a great Video card (x1950pro), he can play mostly all games will playable frame rate at max settings. Second of all the 8800 series iis hot right now but he is on a budget. If I was him I would get Xp pro now (if he doesn't already have it) because vista is way to expensive. The ultimate version is the only way to go but the price isn't justified. Unless he wants to spend more and have a little less clutter in his case i wouldn't get sata drives. They do nothing in performance. Just make your core smaller. Yeah and also like the other guy saided, $1000 is a tight budget. I would spend about $1200. Anything over that is just for the hardcore. But what me and him picked out would be great for you, just not to maximum potential. The PC that you are building will be a Higher ranged PC so you are getting your moneys worth.
DBD, I have played through FEAR with everything on max except soft shadows with my 7600GT (at 1024x768). An X1950Pro ranks between a 7900GT and a 7950GT, so it easily outperforms my card by a fair margin. It shouldn't have a problem running those games with very high quality settings.
Let's be realistic: do you really need Anisotropic Filtering at 16X? There are tons of settings that do not bring a marked improvement in graphic quality but cost a lot of GPU resources. Of course one can always get unreasonable and ask most any card to deliver good frame rates at crazy resolutions with the absolute max settings, and it would certainly fail. That doesn't mean it's not a good card.
What matters here is that an X1950Pro will run every game on the market right now with high quality settings, and will probably run most games (some with low settings perhaps) in two years time. In other words, this card represents a very good investment.
(Granted, the DirectX 10 compatibility issue might change the life expectancy of current DX9 card, but he could simply upgrade to another sub-$200 card in a year, and he'll be set, having spent less than buying a $500 card now).
An 8800GTS is way out of budget, so let's not even bring it into the discussion. I also second D Money's opinion on SATA optical drives. It's another of those things that are nice to have but find no essential place in a build designed to optimize the performance/cost ratio. Let's face it: these things are luxuries.
Let's be realistic: do you really need Anisotropic Filtering at 16X? There are tons of settings that do not bring a marked improvement in graphic quality but cost a lot of GPU resources. Of course one can always get unreasonable and ask most any card to deliver good frame rates at crazy resolutions with the absolute max settings, and it would certainly fail. That doesn't mean it's not a good card.
What matters here is that an X1950Pro will run every game on the market right now with high quality settings, and will probably run most games (some with low settings perhaps) in two years time. In other words, this card represents a very good investment.
(Granted, the DirectX 10 compatibility issue might change the life expectancy of current DX9 card, but he could simply upgrade to another sub-$200 card in a year, and he'll be set, having spent less than buying a $500 card now).
An 8800GTS is way out of budget, so let's not even bring it into the discussion. I also second D Money's opinion on SATA optical drives. It's another of those things that are nice to have but find no essential place in a build designed to optimize the performance/cost ratio. Let's face it: these things are luxuries.
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