Need help building $2000 gaming rig

[lasro]

Please help if you can.

BUDGET: $1500-2000
CPU: prefer AMD
No more jet engines, please make this one quiet
MOBO: OCing is great, but not essential
HDD: make it fast, then make it large
RAM: make it fast, then make it large
SOUND CARD: the best, within reason
VIDEO CARD: the best deal, not necessarily top of the line
MONITOR: 17' LCD without ghosting - should be good for games specifically
SPEAKERS: I now have cambridge soundworks 4.1 - could recycle unless something much better available
OS: If it will run all current games, I would gladly use anything over Winblows

Thanks for your help,
Lasro

 

[Wayniac]

Well, I do not want to recommend a bunch of things that are bad ideas, so I'll just tell you what I do know.

I know that for motherboards, the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum is EXCELLENT for overclocking... that is why I got it.

I know for RAM, some good overclocking stuff is the dual pack of OCZ 3200 Platinum Rev. 2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146890

Video cards... I know that a GeForce 6600 GT is good, 6800 GT is better if you have the cash, and a 6800 Ultra is fantastic if you have money to spare.

As for the processor, I am not sure exactly what would be best, but I'd go with maybe an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ with a Venice core so you can overclock it. There are probably better ideas floating around out there though.

 

[Joeisalsocool]

DFI, Venice, Zalman, Seagate SATA

Good for a quiet overclocking system.

 

[Trifid]

You could search for a identicle one for the links, but here is my sugestion:

DFI lanparty SLI D
AMD 64 3500 venice
G. skill ram, if it fits if not than the OCZ rev. 2
6800gt preferable from EVGA
2X 80gb seagate hdd - RAID0 - sata (very quiet, very reliable and very fast)
NEC DVD burner
Antec, thermaltake, OCZ or enermax psu
A case you like.

 

[Elbatrop1]

Here's a link to another $2000 build:
http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54546&highlight=$2000

 

[Counter-Strike]

DFI nF4 Lanparty Ultra AMD Athlon 64/FX MoBo <--Great Overclocker
Nvidia 6600GT, it's great, and a lower cost for a next-gen card
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Aspire X Navigator Case
1GB Geil PC3200/4000 RAM
2x 74GB Western Digital Raptors 10k RPM in RAID 0
Windows XP Pro, then get 64 when it comes out
Any Turtle Beach sound card

That should do it. If you have about 150$ left to spare, get another 6600GT and put it in SLI, the beauty of DFI nF4.

 

[Codeine]

For your main hardware i suggest this. OCZ Platinum Rev or Rev2. This RAM is absolutely great for OC. Get a 3200 Venice, not a 3500. The 3200 and 3500 will OC the same. DFI nF4 Lanparty Ultra. Some type of PCI Express video card. A 6800 GT would be ideal. You can OC a 6800 GT past Ultra speeds. Im pretty sure OCZ Platinum Rev is around 215$ for 2x512mb. The 3200 Venice is 200$. Im thinking that DFI is around 160-180. 6800 GT is around 360$. So your just around 1000$. This is a very hot setup.

So now you have 1000$ to spend on minor hardware. You can get a nice sound card for 100$, and a PSU for 80$. I suggest getting an aftermarket heatsink and cpu fan. That would be around 60$. I suggest getting a single HDD at this moment. Some type of seagate or western digital. You can pick up a nice 100GB HDD with a, 8MB buffer, 7200rpm, serial SATA, for around 100$. 2000$ is the perfect amount man. Thats the type of system i would get.