What specs would I want if...

[metuutem]

...I wanted a computer capable of running xbox360 games and ps3 level games like bioshock, fable 2/3, etc. You know, current gen consoles. I am not so much concerned with upgrading again till the PS4 and xbox 3 come out; if bioshock 2 has a little more eye candy for the pc over the xbox360 i dont care.

so what specs would i be looking for in
psu (wattage)
cooling (number of fans recommended)
mobo
ram (quantity, mem standard)
cpu (speed, dual core is fine)
hard (speed, quantity)
sound card if i need one
vid card (gpu, mem, those things that replaced pipelines)
monitor (res recommendation)

since i dont wanna over spend, the exact equivilant of and xbox/ps3 is preferrable; and at the same time, it should be able to play any of their games, regardless of whether the pc variant has more potential.

 

[nevermind1534]

A decent one will be better than a PS3 or xbox. If you give me some time, I can put together a list of parts for you. How much are you looking to spend?

 

[metuutem]

i agree that a decent is better, but the upgrades come so quick, i just wanted to use the consoles at a standard

about 800 for the above components; 300 or so for the monitor

 

[worshipme]

How about this?

I just ripped it straight from my thread

CPU: Phenom II 940

Motherboard: 790GX mobo

Memory: 2x2GB DDR2 1066
4GB of DDR2 is so cheap, so there's no reason not to.

PSU: OCZ 500W modular
500W is fine as I take it you don't overclock. Modular cables means you only need to use the cables you need, helps with cable management.

HDD: Here it is entirely up to the user's storage requirements, there are a few things to look out for though:
-SATA 3.0GB/s interface. This is the new interface standard and is a lot faster than the older PATA/IDE connection.
-Brand, there are lots of quality manufacturers: Seagate, Western Digital, Samsung, Hitachi etc
-Cache, even with a low capacity hard drive, I would recommend at least a 16MB cache for a build like this.
As for the space, that is entirely dependant on the user's requirements.

Disk drive: LG SATA

Case: CM RC-690
The case come with all the fans you need to provide good ventilation/airflow.

GPU: HIS HD 4870

Monitor: A 22" should be fine, this is a good deal.

I'll get the links setup.

All that comes to $720, which leaves you with $80 for the HDD, we can help you with this as well but it depends on how much space you need.

EDIT: Done!

 

[metuutem]

beautiful, simply perfect! the hard drive would be about 80gb, and fairly quick (does 7500rpm vs 15000 make a difference?)

two questions on that monitor i couldn't define in the specs;
1) Would it be a problem to add speakers since the monitor has some?
2) Does the monitor have an input, so I could hook up a Wii to it, and then switch back and forth from computer to line in? That is important i should have mentioned that earlier.

 

[nevermind1534]

beautiful, simply perfect! the hard drive would be about 80gb, and fairly quick (does 7500rpm vs 15000 make a difference?)

two questions on that monitor i couldn't define in the specs;
1) Would it be a problem to add speakers since the monitor has some?
2) Does the monitor have an input, so I could hook up a Wii to it, and then switch back and forth from computer to line in? That is important i should have mentioned that earlier.

You do get a noticeable speed difference by getting a drive with more RPMs.

1)Go ahead; you just hook up the other speakers you have to the computer, instead of the monitor's speakers. The logitech 540 (5.1) speakers are an innexpensive surround system, if you want something like that.

2)that monitor does not have composite or component inputs (which are what the Wii uses). Very few monitors do, although pretty much any TV will have them.

 

[wol-va-rine]

beautiful, simply perfect! the hard drive would be about 80gb, and fairly quick (does 7500rpm vs 15000 make a difference?)

two questions on that monitor i couldn't define in the specs;
1) Would it be a problem to add speakers since the monitor has some?
2) Does the monitor have an input, so I could hook up a Wii to it, and then switch back and forth from computer to line in? That is important i should have mentioned that earlier.

I would suggest a 320GB or 500GB hard drive, any lower and your GB:$ ratio will suffer, lower GB hard drives are way overpriced compared to their larger brethren...