Gaming desktop $1,000 or less

[CalRyan]

My gaming laptop just died so I picked up a netbook for travel/work and would like to build a new desktop for home use. I haven't done this in quite a while so I am not exactly up to speed on the new technology. Would appreciate any advice.

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: 1-1,000. Willing to go a bit over if necessary and obviously do not need to spend the whole $1k.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, General Use (Word processing, online poker, etc.) Primarily should be set up for gaming.

Parts Not Required: I have my software key for a 32bit Vista from my old laptop and a mouse.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com (because Amazon Prime member), willing to shop elsewhere for better prices.

Country of Origin: U.S.

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: None

Overclocking: No preference.

SLI or Crossfire: No preference.

Monitor Resolution: No preference

Additional Comments: As you can tell, my only real rules are the price. I am looking to get the most bang for my buck.

 

[Niklas_13]

Maybe look into a build like this one.


Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price



SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151188
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

$19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188


ASUS VE246H Black 24" Full HD HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor w/Speakers
Item #: N82E16824236082
Return Policy: Monitor Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$30.00 Instant $239.99
$209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236082


GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128441
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$10.00 Instant $189.99
$179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128441


SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814102908
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$10.00 Instant $209.99
$199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908


CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...
Item #: N82E16817139006
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$30.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$139.99
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
Item #: N82E16820231303
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303



Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148433
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129066
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$10.00 Combo $139.98
$129.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.543352



AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103808
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long ...
Item #: N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Combo $183.98
$178.98
1
Link Depot C6M-7-GNB 7 ft. Cat 6 Green Network Cable
Item #: N82E16812189077
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.374228

You can look around for the best deals on parts when your ready to build.

 

[CalRyan]

Thank you for the response! A few questions:

1) If I went ahead and bought a second 6850 to run in Crossfire, I would presume that 750W PSU is plenty still, right?

2) Would I need to buy any additional cables for that OEM drive or should the MoBo have them?

3) Would I get a significant performance boost from setting up a RAID array or getting more RAM?




Would still be interested in hearing opinions from other posters!

 

[Atotalnoob]

1)

yes =D

2)

depends, some OEM don't have, some do.... you can always pick cables up at Walmart(sometimes) or any PC store... they are like 5 USD....

3)

Ram: only on htings like picture editing, video editing and 3d rendering. 4 gigs is usually enough. RAID: yes you would. But a SSD is usually first....



He needs an OS, 32 bit isn't going to cut the mustard.


Edit:

Link Depot C6M-7-GNB 7 ft. Cat 6 Green Network Cable
Item #: N82E16812189077
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.374228

????? what is this for???


Also, I'd get the Spintpoint F3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=spintpoint_F3-_-22-152-185-_-Product ~ 69.99

second edit: a Keyboard may be in order, nothing special on keyboards... just pick one out that you like.

 

[CalRyan]

OK, so I am looking at 64bit Vista or Windows 7 and possibly a solid state if possible. Can I just have a SSD in combination with the other HD? I would imagine I want to put the OS and apps/games on the SSD and use the other for storage?

 

[Atotalnoob]

correct, I advise, Mushkin SSD (60gig) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226151 ~ 129.99 but the SSD can wait, if it doesn't fit... oh well, you can always buy it later....

Windows 7 64 bit... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754&cm_re=windows_7_OEM-_-32-116-754-_-Product

 

[Niklas_13]

Edit:

Quote :


Link Depot C6M-7-GNB 7 ft. Cat 6 Green Network Cable
Item #: N82E16812189077
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.374228



????? what is this for???

It came with a combo (SHURGS)

 

[Niklas_13]

Thank you for the response! A few questions:

1) If I went ahead and bought a second 6850 to run in Crossfire, I would presume that 750W PSU is plenty still, right?

2) Would I need to buy any additional cables for that OEM drive or should the MoBo have them?

3) Would I get a significant performance boost from setting up a RAID array or getting more RAM?




Would still be interested in hearing opinions from other posters!

As the OP said
1. yes 750W is more then enough

2. The mobo should come with cable for 2 HDD or more

3. I would get a SSD latter and just use one HDD ATM ( IMO for your needs more ram or a raid ) is not worth the money. If i was going to spend 80 bucks more on ram or a 2nd HDD, I would use the 80 bucks for a better case CM-922 maybe or step up the VC.

Or as the OP said pick up a OEM Windows 7 64 bit OS

 

[CalRyan]

Hmm, so any thoughts on getting an SSD versus getting a 2nd video card? Seems that the SSD would increase performance for everything but gaming, right?

 

[Niklas_13]

Well you would see faster load times on the OS and programs you have on the SSD and map load times in games, but is the speed really worth the time verus the cost per gig your paying for on the SSD Drive ? That i cant answer.

You can add a 2nd VC latter if you think you really need it or just go with the 6870 for 54 more bucks now

 

[vindictive]

the evga gtx 460 1gb FTW outperforms the 6870 and is $220 after MIR.

and theres something called a cat5 utp cable, which is a unshielded twisted pair cable, which can be used for an Ethernet cable (Cisco CCNA Studying ftw?)

I just looked it up and yes, its an Eternet cable. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

CCNA on the way son!

 

[Niklas_13]

the evga gtx 460 1gb FTW outperforms the 6870 and is $220 after MIR.

and theres something called a cat5 utp cable, which is a unshielded twisted pair cable, which can be used for an Ethernet cable (Cisco CCNA Studying ftw?)

I just looked it up and yes, its an Eternet cable. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

CCNA on the way son!

I like to see benchmarks showing that the GTX 460 FTW beasts the 6870. NVM Found some benckmarks on the card, It does look like it does very well, maybe something to think about.

 

[vindictive]

its this version "EVGA GTX460 FTW" just says it under the pic

 

[Niklas_13]

I just read up on that card, it does seem to do very well. Maybe the OP should think about that card as well. You Could always OC the 6870 tho.

 

[vindictive]

which on average will give the 6870 a 14% performance increase.
so on battleforg at 1680x1050 it'd be around - 46ish fps.
I'd still go gtx because its cheaper by $35 after MIR + comes with free game and hdmi cord.

 

[Atotalnoob]

same on the GTX...

I'd get the SSD as a later thing. but not more RAM... 4 gigs is more then enough

 

[vindictive]

the gtx 460 ftw (which is the highest on the chart) is already pre oced to 850 Mhz.

 

[CalRyan]

if I get the GTX460 should I be looking at a different mobo?

 

[vindictive]

what mobo are you looking at?

 

[CalRyan]

Niklas' rec:


GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128441
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$10.00 Instant $189.99
$179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128441

 

[vindictive]

Well yea, but I can't find an AMD mobo that supports SLI and has USB3.0/SataIII.
AMD + Nvidia aren't to great, you'd have to hack the mobo to SLI.
So the options are stick with an AMD (which I'd suggest on a 1k budget), or switch to an intel i5 build.

 

[Atotalnoob]

Yeah... +1 to vind

 

[CalRyan]

Looks like I am ready to buy - I am going with the original recommended equipment. My last question is this: is this a build that I can/should be overclocking given the advantage of the BE processor and if so, about how much can I expect out of this equipment?

I will be brand new to the overclocking process and will post any relevant questions in that forum, but I was just wondering if it is worth the effort for this system/safe to do so.

 

[Niklas_13]

A 3.6 to 3.8GHz OC should be easy and safe, I would just play games at stock settings and if needed in a year or so if you need more speed OC then.

 

[vindictive]

+1