$1,500 First Time Build

[Oldskooltoyz]

I need a new computer and I've decided to build it to get the most for my money.

My budget is $1,500 and I want to be able to play new games on high settings. I have to buy a new monitor, mouse, and keyboard too.

Can you guys put together a build for me please because I don't know that much about computers.

 

[biohazard701]

I'm not so good at this but... here i go!

Intel I7 920 CPU
EVGA 121-BL-E756-TR mobo (Not so sure on this, don't take my word)
Corsair 850TX Power Supply
Radeon hd 5870 GPU
Windows 7 Pro OEM
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full tower case
Do you want a Blu-Ray Drive? are you going to be watching TV on this? do you want an HD monitor? do you need speakers?

$1500 should be enough to get a decent rig, and based on your description, you may want to spend a bit more on a Graphics Card and CPU, probably SLI or Crossfire for best performance. I don't always have the best advice, but there are others on the forum who can definitely help you further.

 

[Oldskooltoyz]

I don't want a blu-ray drive because i have a ps3, won't use it for tv either. I think I want an HD monitor, didn't know there was a difference to be honest and I have speakers already.

 

[biohazard701]

I don't want a blu-ray drive because i have a ps3, won't use it for tv either. I think I want an HD monitor, didn't know there was a difference to be honest and I have speakers already.

Well, the reason i ask if you want a blu-ray drive is because if you do, and you get a TV tuner card also you can burn HD shows (such as football games on basic cable channels) and watch them on a TV, and pretty much all monitors are HD now so that was probably a stupid question on my part.
It's hard to choose a monitor without looking at one in a store, but you could go based solely on specs and ratings. If you're not going to go all fancy with it, a monitor is personal preference so i can't help you there. While touch screen can be nice, it still has a long way to go before it's perfected, but it's still pretty nice if you have the money. As far as a CD Drive, you could easily find a decent one for under $50, depending on what you're gonna be using it for.A blu-ray could go for 200-ish, so it's up to you.

Do you intend on overclocking at all?

 

[aliasaid]

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 - Acer P235Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000:1(ACM) Built-in Speakers - LCD Monitors
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case - Computer Cases

total: $1488.91 + $10.63 shipping = $1499.54

you didn't say whether you needed an OS, but i've included one since it doesn't seem like you have anything towards this build. Only things missing are mouse + keyboard + opticals. It would hurt me to downgrade the 5870 to a 5850 just to include those minor parts... or from i7 to an i5... If you can't afford more than $1500 than i suggest you buy some used and really cheap mouse/keyboard/cd-drive until you have enough for decent stuff.

edit: forgot to mention there are $65 worth of mail-in rebates, so maybe you can buy those things when your rebates come

 

[Oldskooltoyz]

Thanks for the suggestions aliasaid, I did need an OS btw. Also, I can spend a little extra for the mouse, etc. My budget is fairly flexible.

P.S. I forgot to mention, how much extra is a wireless adapter for wifi? If it's not too much I'd like to include that.

edit: Which optical drive do you recommend?

 

[Druid]

Wireless cards aren't much: Newegg.com - wireless card

Optical drives pretty much all do the job. Just make sure it is a dvd drive and that it is sata not ide. It would probably be hard to find something ide anymore anyway.

 

[aliasaid]

optical:
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners

mouse: it really depends on your personal choice here.. here are a few..
Newegg.com - Logitech LX3 Gray/Black 3 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB or PS/2 Wired Optical 1000 dpi Mouse - Mice
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GM-M6880 Metal Black USB Wired Laser 1600 dpi Gaming Mouse - Mice
Newegg.com - Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1800 dpi Gaming Mouse - Mice
Newegg.com - RAZER ABYSSUS Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 3500 dpi High Precision Gaming Mouse - Mice
Newegg.com - NZXT AVATAR AVTR-001BL Black 7 Buttons USB Wired Optical 2600 dpi Gaming Mouse - Mice

keyboards: you can go through the list at newegg and pick the one that looks nicest. They're all generally good. Wired accessories are generally better for gaming. here's a couple basic keyboards you can look at.

Newegg.com - Microsoft BX1-00005 Silver/Black 105 Normal Keys 22 + 1 Zoom Slider Function Keys USB or PS/2 Wired Standard Digital Media Pro Keyboard - Keyboards
Newegg.com - Logitech 920-000021 Black 103 Normal Keys 11 Function Keys USB Standard Access Keyboard 600 - Keyboards

there are some accessories that are geared towards gaming that are quite expensive, but they're not necessary. Doesn't make much sense to be spending a whole lot on something like a keyboard.. unless you're a really hardcore gamer and you want to setup custom keys and things like that... other than that any basic keyboard will be good.

as for wireless adapter... do you want a USB one or a PCI one?

 

[Oldskooltoyz]

I chose the Logitech MX518 mouse and the Logitech keyboard.

I think I prefer the PCI adapter and I even picked out one:
Newegg.com - EDIMAX EW-7128G IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, AES - Wireless Adapters Is it alright?

And about the case, can it be any mid tower? Because I thought the Raidmax one was kind of ugly and prefer this one:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases It's cheaper too which is another reason I like it

 

[S0ULphIRE]

The only thing you need to check with the cases is that they'll fit all your parts (mainly gotta worry about your Graphics card and your Motherboard).

I think you'll be fine with that case though.