Best gaming computer for $2000 (Tax+shipping included)

[Xiael]

Hey guys,
I want to buy a new computer pretty soon, my budget is $2000 shipping and tax included (But not monitor, keyboard, mouse etc) I'm not very experienced with computer specs, I don't know what works well and what doesn't. I was hoping that this forum could help me with that. I would appreciate it greatly if you guys could build me a computer on:

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/gamingdesktops.asp
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

Or anywhere else you think would be best!

I want to be able to get high-max settings in most if not all games, and I want to be able to maintain that by upgrading it as needed (Once a year-2years probably)
thank you for you time

Sorry for not including this template, im a newbie around here!


*Approximate Purchase Date: Likely this week on tuesday. (11/13/11)

*Budget Range: $1500-$2000 (No more than $2000 including tax and shipping)

*System Usage: Gaming by far is the most important thing to me

*Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers (All im looking for is the pc at this time, though if I can get a good bundle I'd take it)

*Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any reliable custom build site, I'm not comfortable building it on my own

*Country: United states

*Parts Preferences: Atleast 8gb ram, everything else I have no real preference

*Overclocking: Maybe

*SLI or Crossfire: Computer spec newbie, I don't know what this is.

*Monitor Resolution: Haven't decided yet (I'll figure this out later and it will have a seperate budget)

*Additional Comments: Not really concerned with how it looks, I want a powerful gaming pc that can handle the most demanding games on high/max settings, or as close to it as I can get for $2000, also I plan on upgrading it myself in the future, so no weird cases ill never be able to work with

 

[striker410]

Well, it depends. First of all, those links just go to the sites, not any builds.

Next, I suggest building yourself. It's a pretty easy task, and you can save a ton of money while using better components. But if you're not comfortable with that, that's cool too!

Please fill this out, gives a better idea of what you need: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice I'll get back to you once you've done that.

Cheers!

 

[Xiael]

Updated

 

[striker410]

Well for a pre-configured solution, I think this one would be alright: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1DMNEH It's alright, but you could probably do better if you built on your own. There's enough money left over for a decent monitor, mouse and keyboard. Keep in mind I didn't include the OS, but be sure to throw that option on there if you want it.

Lemme know what ya think 😉

 

[Xiael]

Looks good Striker! only concerns are.. the power supply is under the recommended watts, and there's power supplys with higher watts for less money.. Being a newbie I don't know why, could you explain? Also.. extra case fan upgrade is on default.. the other ones are rather cheap, would it make a difference if I upgraded them? (Hydro water cooling is available cheap too) And overclocking 10% CPU is cheap too, could I do that without risking stability? Would it make a difference? and when you say this build is alright, will it fit my needs? just based on the FPS on the side I can say it probably will, but your opinion on it?

Thanks for helping me by the way, nice people are rare on the internet

 

[striker410]

Alright, made a bit of a tweak. Thing is, on this site they pricegouge you big time on the PSU. However, try this one out: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1DMNPT I know it's a Raidmax, but it has solid reviews on Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152043&Tpk=raidmax%20850 so I think it's a good choice.

You don't need extra case fans. If you decide you want more, you can buy your own for cheaper and install them yourself (if you can use a screwdriver, you can install a fan.)

10% OC for $20 is BS, you can easily attain a 30% overclock by clicking one button on the motherboard. Seriously, one button! The 2500k is crazy reliable, you don't need to have them do it for you. Yes, it'll be stable as long as you're careful. The risk of killing your chip is pretty small nowadays, especially when using build in OC programs like the one on your board.

Whew, sorry bout that. And yeah, I try to help Believe it or not, I knew less than you a year ago. Came on here to get help building my first pc, never looked back.

 

[andrewcarr]

Busy now but if you can wait until tomorrow I can build you one from a website. Crossfire and SLI are terms that means there are two graphics cards working together instead of one. It makes two cheaper cards more powerful but there is less room for future upgrades unless you start with two cards and get a motherboard were you could add a third or sometimes even fourth card.

 

[Xiael]

Thanks again striker, so assuming I will conquer my fear of the inside of a computer and overclock my CPU to 30%.. everything should be good? you're sure about every part of this build? (paranoid!) I'm not gonna turn it on and have a mini nuke in my bedroom.. or.. have the insides of my computer liquify on the floor? and also.. if I learn more about the insides of a computer with these specs is there room for upgrade? Unless someone else changes my mind this will be what im ordering in 2 days

 

[Xiael]

@Andrewcarr, I'll gladly look at any more builds, I won't be ordering for another 2 days, though striker seems to have made an awesome one.. if you think you can beat it for still under $2000 total (Shipping+Tax included) go for it

 

[striker410]

Honestly, I don't think there's any need to overclock right now. The 2500k at stock is quite sufficient. Just know you have the option!

And if you would like, we can certainly up the specs and keep it in budget. I just chose the ones I did because it's the best "bang for buck".

Well, when you turn it on, it should work since THEY built it 😛 Just remember to select windows 7 (64-bit) or buy a copy yourself.

Yup, you have tons of room to upgrade. this board: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1DMNXR (this one includes windows in the price) is Ivy Bridge ready, so you can upgrade the CPU. It's PCI-e 32x ready, so it can handle the toughest graphics cards. That said, you shouldn't have to upgrade for at least 2 years. I suspect the dual 6970's can tackle just about anything at 1920x1200 or below. When you wanna upgrade, no problem! Just slap some new cards in there and a new CPU and you're good to go.

Don't be afraid to ask about ANYTHING, better to find the problems now than when you get the PC 😛

 

[Xiael]

I am going to include the OS, and yes if you feel there's any upgrades you can make that keep it within budget (Still keeping it as upgradable in the future as you've made it too) I'd appreciate it. I checked shipping to NY And supposedly it would be $75.. there doesn't appear to be any taxes either, so that would leave $58 for any small upgrades, don't feel compelled though if not I'll just put that money towards something else. something like... fancy lighting! I'm really just going with your opinion here.. I don't know nearly enough about computer specs

 

[striker410]

Yeah... With $58, there's not much you can do xD I'd just keep the money! Spend it on a nice mouse instead.

 

[Xiael]

Thanks alot for helping me with this, you helped me get this build exactly the way I wanted it.. I do have a question though, why wouldn't you overclock? is it because the fps is already at the point where you won't see a difference? or is there some other reason? also, if in the future I decided I wanted to overclock.. how would I go about doing that? would it be found in the bios or is there a physical button on the motherboard?

 

[striker410]

Ah, excellent question.

Here's the thing. Nowadays, most games are GPU bottlenecked. That means most of the workload is being placed on the graphics, not the processor for games. If you were to overclock the CPU, you would not see a significant increase in frames per second. However if you overclocked the GPU, you would see a significant change. That's because like I said before, the GPU's are doing most of the work.

With the MSI board I had before ( I changed in my last revision to an ASRock board, since it has Ivy Bridge compatibility) you could simply click a button. With the ASRock Gen3 board, it's as simple as selecting an option from a dropdown menu in the BIOS. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/automatic-overclock-motherboard-cpu,3048-2.html

So while it's not as simple as clicking a button, it's pretty damn simple. If you have any other questions, go ahead and ask!

 

[Xiael]

Ah.. so that website lied to me! When you select the overclock 30% option the fps on the side goes up by 40, interesting.. and I'm going to assume that you can't easily overclock the GPU like you could with the CPU? or.. it makes it unstable? Otherwise.. It would have been an option there as well?

And yeah, I feel kind of bad for asking you so many questions that probably seem so simple to you haha

 

[striker410]

Haha no problem, it's a reasonable question. But the proof is in the pudding. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=142&i=61.62.50.49.48.47 This is a gaming comparison chart between the Intel 980x (a $1000 processor) and an i5-2500k (a $200 processor) Funnily enough, the 2500k actually outperforms the 980x! However, it's by around ~4fps, which is barely outside the margin of error. As you can see, it really doesn't matter what CPU you have above a certain threshold FOR GAMING. The results would be quite different in a video rendering enviroment.

Overclocking the GPU's is pretty easy. I'm not going to go into detail, but there's various guides on how to overclock. GPU's are not handled in the BIOS, they are handled inside the OS since you need the drivers! It's pretty similar, though...

Honestly, overclocking is for people who want every ounce of power they can get out of their system. This rig is going to KILL no matter what, so I'd get familiar with it before you start tinkering 😉

 

[Xiael]

Alright, thank you so much! It's decided.. the last one you linked me is what I'll be getting and I don't have any other questions to bother you with. though.. next time I have an issue.. you can be sure I'll find you and cry in your inbox :lol:

See ya!

 

[Xiael]

Best answer selected by Xiael.