New gaming pc

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So you're saying to keep the $500 for now and spend it on something more useful... right?

Er... it just so happens that he'd like an upgrade though.
 
Yea, it'll be pushing the budget, so he'll need to save up. Theres no point in upgrading when you'll only get like a 2% increase in performance.

I think you should show this thread to our friend, see what he thinks.

IMO, he's dumb if he doesn't replace that video card in a new system.
 
The video card is by far the most important thing you're going to be needing for gaming...how can you not know that? Second most important is the processor.

Ask him what games he'll be playing, please. Depending on what games, I'll either tell him to save up more cash, or we can help you find components that will play well for that specific game.

If he's going to be playing stuff like QuakeWorld or Quake 3 and Counter-Strike 1.6, he's not going to need the latest and greatest stuff. However, if he plans on playing Quake 4 when it comes out, he's going to be in for some bad news.
 
I know the video card is the most important for gaming.

Anyway, I'll ask what types of games. I know he's into World of Warcraft and Halo. What do you think?
 
Hmm, not too sure about WOW, but Halo shouldn't require anything fancy. I bet a 9800 Pro would work excellently for him, and I've seen those go below 100$ shipped for a used one. That shouldn't damage his budget too badly. Hell, a 9800 Pro should be able to handle most games that are out right now pretty decently. I'd say to get the following:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3000+

mobo: either Abit AV8 or MSI NEO2 Platinum or the EpoX one, which ever is the cheapest/has the best rebate at the moment, even though I'm pretty sure the Neo 2 Platinum overclocks best.

video card: ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb, but if he can afford it, a 6800 regular (nonultra/nongt) would be ideal. You can unlock the 16 pipes without artifacts, and it works quite nicely from everyone I've heard. Either that, or a X800 Pro Vivo version that you can unlock to a X800XTPE 256MB. A 6600GT would be fine, but the aforementioned video cards just own it. 9800 pro would be around 100$ shipped used, x800 pro would be around...eh, no idea tbh, but probably too expensive. as for the 6800, I've seen them at 130$ shipped used. Extremely good deal.

ram: 1gb corsair valueram pc3200 ddr


So far that's: CPU~146$, MoBo~95$, Video~100$-150$, RAM~89$

That's between 430$ and 480$ altogether...and he could probably squeeze in a dvd drive if he got the 6800, and just wear headphones instead of speakers like a true gamer should. :p
 
Hey, that sounds great, thanks... just one problem. I personally wouldn't care, but he happens to be a NVIDIA kind of guy. I'll see what there is though. Like mentioned before, a 6600GT wouldn't be all bad.
 
I've heard that some graphics cards work better than others as far as the manufacturer goes. My question is: Are PNY graphics cards good and will they work with the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum motherboard? I only ask this because there is a $25 rebate for a "back to school" special on it making it cost only about $125 and the eVGA is about $145.
 
I know it is better... that is what I have (well, eVGA 6800GT) but anyway, I was just wondering if it is $20 better. Thanks.
 
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