Gaming build for $1700

[Istasi]

Gaming build for ~$1800

Alright, I've finally managed to scrounge up the dough for a decent gaming build, and well, it's go time. I've been researching a gaming build for a few good months, and I think I know what I want. What say you? Below I'll list the parts that I MUST have in this system, but the rest is up to you. Remember, this is my first build, so please be gentle.

NECESSITIES:
Decent mobo (one that can at least handle mild overclocking)
2 Gigs of RAM
At least a 7800GT or it's ATi equivalent (preferably better)
X-Fi sound card (Yes, this is a necessity)
19" or larger LCD that's good for gaming
A sturdy case (nothing too flashy, I really like the P180 and Lian-Li offerings)
Reliable PSU
AMD Athlon 64 CPU (Dual-Core is prefferable)
200 gig HDD or bigger (SATA II, 16mb cache would be awesome)
I want this thing to be future-proof!

I think that's everything. The rest is gravy. I don't need an OS or speakers.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Drigonas]

http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=700407#post700407

Check out my thread for most of that. Sounds like we got about the same budget to.

 

[Waphlez]

With that budget though you really should get an X1900 XT.

 

[Ste]

As for the Power supply I would reccomend this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817711001
OCZ 600Watt

For Cases look Around at these two sites, A Case is your personnel Preference.

http://www.xoxide.com/allcases.html
http://www.sundialmicro.com/Tower-Computer-Cases_1689.html
The only thing is that it has to be ATX.

Make sure to find one with alot of fan slots, Cooling is important for High end builds.

 

[Istasi]

Turns out my budget is actually a little closer to $1800.

Here's a potential build that I threw together:

Mobo: DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813136152

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX
$233.00
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103539

GPU: POWERCOLOR 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
$489.00
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814131006

RAM: OCZ Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ4002048PFDC-K
$194.00
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146970

HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$110
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822144701

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
$121.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102188

Case: Antec Performance I P180 Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$124.99 (-$10.00 instant savings) = $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129154

Monitor: BenQ FP91G+ Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor
$289.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824014090

PSU: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
$89.99 (-$5.00 instant savings) = 84.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103931

Total: $1767.95

How does that look? Remember, I'm a first-time builder, so if any of this stuff is difficult for a first-timer, please tell me.

 

[Ridlyn]

Drop the sound card and put it into the CPU.

Overclocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103588

Not Overclocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

 

[Waphlez]

I also wouldn't go with a 19" LCD. Go with a 17" cause it's much cheaper and you can play games on 1024 X 768 if new games down the line start stressing you system. Or you can go with a 19" CRT but that is if you are willing to deal with the size. But I perfer CRTs anyways. To me they look the same except the CRT gives deeper blacks and it is nice to play on 1600 X 1200 especially with a X1900 XT. I think other then it's size and less power usage LCD's don't have much other pros. Some say it give more vibrant colors which may be true but I've seen CRT and LCD side by side and they look the same to me.

But if your going to overclock go with the opteron 165 because they give pretty much the same results as all the other dual core opterons. Or you could go with the 3800+ or 4400+. But definatly go with the X1900 XT cause the video card is the most important part of a gaming rig.

 

[Istasi]

Drop the sound card and put it into the CPU.

Overclocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103588

Not Overclocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

Sound is VERY important to me in games. I'll also be listening to music through high-end headphones on this computer, so I need a sound card that is awesome for gaming and also handles music on hi-fi cans well.

Also, about using a 17" instead of a 19", going to a 17" on this rig would seem like a downgrade for me because right now I'm using an 18.1" Dell 1800FP. However, I will consider it.

 

[Waphlez]

19" LCDs are very expensive for a good one for gaming. Go with the 17" LCD, my dad has one and it looks just fine for gaming. The price difference between 17" and 19" is pretty big I think.

If you already have a monitor I say just stick with that for now and put the rest to your computer. The rig itself is the most important thing.

Go with the Logitech MX518 gaming mouse.

Also the X1900 XT you picked is OEM, which means it won't come with: the retail box, the cords, driver software on the disk. But that is up to you. You also should go with the X1900 XT manufactured from ATI and you can find ATI retail X1900 XT from other places then Newegg for cheaper.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=AT...a8c1be7935284ed2fc9825367a9c46859540c963a814a

I know it's not Newegg, but I bought something off them and never had a problem plus it's a retail ATI X1900 XT for $497!

 

[Istasi]

19" LCDs are very expensive for a good one for gaming. Go with the 17" LCD, my dad has one and it looks just fine for gaming. The price difference between 17" and 19" is pretty big I think.

If you already have a monitor I say just stick with that for now and put the rest to your computer. The rig itself is the most important thing.

Go with the Logitech MX518 gaming mouse.

The monitor I have now doesn't have nearly low enough response time for gaming. Plus it will be moving, along with the rest of the crappy system we have now, upstairs.

Does anyone have suggestions for a good 17" LCD monitor for gaming?