Buying a reasonably priced gaming pc.

[Badger]

Hi forum,
I'm looking to buy a reasonably priced (say 1000 dollars max, cheapest is best.) gaming computer that can play crysis at a decent level of quality.

Here's the recommended system requirements for crysis:
Processor - Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory - 2.0 GB RAM
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 or similar

A few options would be good, and I kind of am up for building my own if it's easy and doesn't involve anything that can easily be messed up.
Remember - cheaper is better.

Thanks.

 

[Muffin Man]

building it is easy, consists of just putting parts together basicly. there are plenty of guides out there to help you out. this is one that has be suggested a couple times here.
Build a PC - Introduction to Building your PC - PCitYourself.com

as far as parts go, what else do you need? a monitor, keyboard, mouse? do you also need an OS?

 

[Badger]

building it is easy, consists of just putting parts together basicly. there are plenty of guides out there to help you out. this is one that has be suggested a couple times here.
Build a PC - Introduction to Building your PC - PCitYourself.com

as far as parts go, what else do you need? a monitor, keyboard, mouse? do you also need an OS?

I would need a monitor & keyboard. I would think of buying vista or upgrading to windows 7. Also, please forgive my ignorance, but is soldering involved in building one yourself? I fail at soldering.

 

[Muffin Man]

nope, unless you start getting into some custom work with your cableing, but its not required. most of the assembly consists of screwing the said part into place, and hooking up any neccesary wires like power coonections to it. just get a screwdriver.

you can buy vista home premium that comes with a free coupon to upgrade to windows 7. you will be able to get a nice setup with your budget.

 

[Badger]

Do you have any idea what the price difference would be if I built it compared to buying a premade one? Also, can I buy the components in bulk and have them shipped together?

 

[Muffin Man]

well, you could see it as getting the same parts youd get in a prebuilt for sometimes $100-$200+ less, or getting better parts for the same amount that youd be spending on a prebuilt. either way, you will be better off building it yourself.

i priced a list of parts for you to see. this comes out to $891, but if you want to spend less, we can always work on it.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - ASUS VW195T Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2000 :1 (ASCR) Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

 

[Badger]

Thank you very much for the links.
Do you know if there is a way to reduce shipping costs? I live in ireland, so shipping from america costs a bit, especially with everything coming in separate boxes. Also, what is the worst thing that could happen if I was to make it myself?

 

[dirkpitt45]

It doesn't work It so easy building it yourself actually. Once you realize that, you also realize how big of a difference it makes to go custom built over pre-made. Far better performance, far less cost.


But if you live in Ireland you can probably order the parts from another website. Won't have as good deals or prices, but the fact thats its already in Euros and you don't have to ship it over the pond makes up for it sorta. I'm not really sure as to which websites are the best, but someone will probably post them soon.

 

[Slaymate]

You'll find our favorite Online Retailer's here

http://www.techist.com/forums/f75/hardware-shopping-megathread-212899/

 

[Muffin Man]

ah, asking where you were planning to buy from never actually crossed my mind because you had said in your first post that you wanted to spend 1000 dollars max, so i assumed you were in the US.

in that case, you can use the build i listed as more of an idea as to what you can get.