PC Died - Help With Gaming Build

[Dex.Terity]

As the title implies, my PC kicked the bucket.

Non-essential details of computer death:
[So my pc was an Athlon 3200+ XP, 6600GT, 1GB ram @ 3200, and an ASUS A7N8 deluxe mobo. I went to dust it out (disconnected power, touched something metal to lose any static build up), disconnected the ram, cpu fan, vid card, then put it all back together, and discovered that my monitor said "no signal detected", alternating with "no signal cable connected". Everything powers up, but there are no beeps etc, it's not the monitor or vid card as i tried with spares. The pc doesn't boot up, just powers on, so I think the mobo may have shorted somewhere, but I'm no pc expert so I gave it to my local pc expert repair guy to have a look. His first glance at it confirmed what I had thought, and he said that it looks like possibly the AGP slot on the mobo died, or the mobo as a whole shorted out somewhere (although it still delivers power). The pc was in AGP set up still, and I was holding off with an upgrade till PCI-e 2.0 came out in 2 months and cards etc came out in the next year or so. I had spent so long playing on medium and then low(/est) settings that I figured another year wouldn't kill me. Unfortunately I killed my PC before that.]

So the past two days or so I've spent looking around at all the shiny new hardware that's come out since I last looked, and boy have things changed in a year or two. I'm near clueless as to what CPU I should go for, and what PSU I need to run it all.
What I'm interested in currently is an 8800gts, 2GB ram (no idea as to what kind) and a nice fast cpu to go with it.
Assuming I'd go with the 8800gts, could you guys and gals help me build a gaming system around that?
At least short term I'll be continuing to use my 17" Benq fp767-12 (12ms) because of size constraints (depth wise) but I plan on going back to a CRT for my gaming rig shortly.
As far as sound, I purchased a Razer Barracuda headset ( http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Gaming-Audio/Razer-Barracuda-HP1-Gaming-Headphones/ ) a few days ago and think I'm going to pair it with their now released AC-1 gaming card (for the full 7.1 audio experience).
Thanks for the help,
Dex.Terity

 

[KingAustin]

If you want us to help you build a computer, you'll need to give us a budget sir But by the sounds of it, you seem to have enough to fit a nice CPU and components in to your build.

For your CPU, you'll want an E6600

For your mobo you can go with either the DS3 or an ASUS P5B-E or ASUS P5B deluxe/wifi or any other ASUS P5B motherboard that you might want.

If you're looking for some really good RAM, here's a nice choice

For your PSU, I would suggest OCZ 700W That's a pretty good price for a nice and powerful PSU.

By the way, CRTs really aren't that much better these days. Unless you're that "hardcore" I would suggest picking up a new LCD. There are some pretty amazing deals out there right now. You can pick up this

22" LCD or 20.1" LCD better hurry though since I think today or tomorrow they wont be on sale anymore.

 

[Dex.Terity]

Oh sheesh. I *have* been out of the loop for a while. 5ms LCD's were unheard of last I checked (my 12ms lcd was the fastest at the time I believe, though somewhat small).
As far as the other suggestions:
So Intel rules the roost now eh? Last I checked AMD was the hop topic with their 64 line. That's good, I like change. Keeps the competition fierce and the prices tolerable. I see there's a deal too on it to go with an eVGA card. I know they make an 8800gts, are their cards quality?
As far as mobo, the ASUS looks good. I see complaints towards the onboard sound, but since I want to buy a separate sound card, that shouldn't be a problem anyway.
No, I'm not that hardcore, I just like my games to look pretty so I'm not left straining my eyes. My biggest problem with this LCD was the refresh-rate.

Budget: under 2000 would be good, that was the cost for my last PC, that's with a monitor though (the price was 2020 to be exact, lol)

 

[Dex.Terity]

And that was with the 17" LCD costing $400 at the time. lol

 

[KingAustin]

Ok, under $2000 will get you a very nice system.

E6600-$308
ASUS P5B Deluxe/Wifi-$210
RAM-$315-40 MIR=$275
PSU-$135-25=$110
=$903 after rebates

So then we can add the 8800GTS and plus you can get that in a combo deal with the E6600, so that saves you $20 right there.

Also you'll need a case, I would suggest this XCLIO It's quiet and will keep your system pretty cool.

Then you'll still have money to get a nice monitor. I personally would suggest the 22" one That's an amazing deal for such a large monitor.

 

[Dex.Terity]

Yep currently the price total is $1370 for:
E6600+8800GTS combo
RAM
PSU
P5B-E mobo
This is with shipping but before MIR's, and not counting the sound card upgrade for $200.
As far as a case ( and PSU too) I'm looking for something quiet, and for the case to be in white/off-white color. Any ones you'd suggest?
Otherwise, that case looks beast! Airplane+case=that? lol I tend to like my cases simple though (no LED's etc), but maybe it's time for a change there too? lol

 

[Ronnie]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154

thats a really nice quiet case

 

[Graham]

This is pretty much the same build I am thinking of getting, but im waiting a bit to hear official R600 stats and pricing to see how things go. I have a feeling the 8800GTs will be the best monster price-performance Dx10 card for awhile though so im not being too patient.

And **** YEAH to that antec case! My friend got it and the thing keeps everything well under threshold temps and is made so well it kills almost all the sound with fans on medium!

 

[Dex.Terity]

Thanks for the second opinion on the case. Keeping my pc quiet is very important to me, PLUS the color is right on, so this case makes me happy. Now I need to slap in some CDR/DVDRW drives and an HD (suggestions? Looking for >250gb...preferably more like 500gb, but that could be 2x250gb).

 

[Dex.Terity]

Looks like these will be the final stats for my pc:

HD (500gb@7200rpm): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136014
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129154
PSU (700w): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817341002
RAM (2x1GB): http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
MB (P5B-E): http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131070
GPU (8800gts - 640mb): http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130071
CPU (core 2 duo e6600 2.4GHz): http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115003
Lite-on Combo Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106992

Total price after deals/combos for hardware: ~$1700

Any other comments/suggestions (specifically on the HD and combo drive) before I order?
Thanks!