HIGH END GAMING RIG - $4,500 Budget
Motherboard
Asus A8N32-SLI Socket 939 Retail - $205 - ZipZoomFly
Asus P5N32-SLI Socket 775 Retail - $205 - ZipZoomFly
Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.40) GHz Socket 939 64-Bit Retail - $630 - ZipZoomFly
Intel Pentium D 950 (3.4) GHz Socket 775 64-Bit Retail - $659 - ZipZoomFly
Heatsink and Fan
Thermatalke CL-P0114 Big Typhoon 4 in 1 Heatpipe Cooler w/Heatpipe Cooling Tech Retail - $50 - ZipZoomFly
Memory
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC 3200 (TWINX2048-3200C2PT) Retail - $218 + $5 SH - NewEgg
Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC25300 (CT2KIT12864AA667) Retail - $240 + $5 SH - NewEgg
Hard Drive(s) - (Both Drives Together)
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB SATA 10,000 RPM w/16MB Buffer - $277 - ZipZoomFly
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB SATA II 7200RPM w/16MB Buffer - $122 - ZipZoomFly
Optical Drive(s) - (Both Drives Together)
Plextor PX-740A 16X Internal Dual Layer DVD+/- R/RW CD-R/RW Drive (Black) Retail - $90 - ZipZoomFly
Liteon SOHC-5236K DVD 16x + CD-RW 52x32x52 Combo Drive (Black) OEM - $34 - ZipZoomFly
Floppy Drive
NEC 1.44MB 3.5in Internal Floppy Disk Drive (Black) - $13 - ZipZoomFly
Network
Asus WL-138g Wireless 54Mbps PCI Network Adapter Retail - $35 - ZipZoomFly
Audio
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Sound Card Retail - $265 - ZipZoomFly
Video (SLI Configuration)
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX PCI-E 512MB DDR3 w/2 Dual-Link DVI-I & HDTV Retail - $560 - ZipZoomFly
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX PCI-E 512MB DDR3 w/2 Dual-Link DVI-I & HDTV Retail - $560 - ZipZoomFly
Case and Power Supply
Thermaltake Shark Series VA7000BWA Full Tower Case (Black) Retail - $149 + $15 SH - ZipZoomFly
Antec NeoHE 550 Watt ATX Retail - $100 - ZipZoomFly
Keyboard and Mouse
Logitech Premium Desktop Optical Keyboard & Mouse Combo (Black) - $30 - ZipZoomFly
Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition (Full Version) Single-Pack OEM - $140 - ZipZoomFly
OR
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (Full Version) Single-Pack OEM - $140 - ZipZoomFly
TOTAL COST:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.4GHz) Dual Core Desktop - $3,478 + $20 SH = $3,498
Intel Pentium D 950 (3.4GHz) Dual Core Desktop - $3,529 + $20 SH = $3,549
****************
HIGH END GAMING PERIPHERAL PACKAGE
Display
Dell UltraSharp 2001FP 20.1-inch Flat Panel Monitor w/HAS - $539 - Dell
OR
Viewsonic VX2025WM 20.1in Wide Screen LCD Monitor Retail - $429 + $19 SH - ZipZoomFly
Speakers
Creative Labs GigaWorks S750 7.1 Retail (700 Watts Total RMS Power) - $400 + $50 SH - ZipZoomFly
TOTAL COST:
Display and Speaker Package - $829 + $69 SH = $898
****************
FINAL THOUGHTS...
I really don't care about having a 24" display, as a 19" or 20" is fine for gaming in general if you get a model with a low enough ms rating. This is all about preference anyways. As you can see, I chose an NVIDIA based card in these two configurations and included both an AMD and Intel Based solution. The pricing difference is less than $55 between the two setups which is quite interesting. I figured an SLI setup would be good to have, but may be overkill especially if something hotter comes out in 6 months. It may be more prudent to get one card instead. I'm considering using this configuration for a suggested gaming rig for a few friends of mine that have outdated machines. Any input?
-- MaSoP
Motherboard
Asus A8N32-SLI Socket 939 Retail - $205 - ZipZoomFly
Asus P5N32-SLI Socket 775 Retail - $205 - ZipZoomFly
Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.40) GHz Socket 939 64-Bit Retail - $630 - ZipZoomFly
Intel Pentium D 950 (3.4) GHz Socket 775 64-Bit Retail - $659 - ZipZoomFly
Heatsink and Fan
Thermatalke CL-P0114 Big Typhoon 4 in 1 Heatpipe Cooler w/Heatpipe Cooling Tech Retail - $50 - ZipZoomFly
Memory
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC 3200 (TWINX2048-3200C2PT) Retail - $218 + $5 SH - NewEgg
Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC25300 (CT2KIT12864AA667) Retail - $240 + $5 SH - NewEgg
Hard Drive(s) - (Both Drives Together)
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB SATA 10,000 RPM w/16MB Buffer - $277 - ZipZoomFly
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB SATA II 7200RPM w/16MB Buffer - $122 - ZipZoomFly
Optical Drive(s) - (Both Drives Together)
Plextor PX-740A 16X Internal Dual Layer DVD+/- R/RW CD-R/RW Drive (Black) Retail - $90 - ZipZoomFly
Liteon SOHC-5236K DVD 16x + CD-RW 52x32x52 Combo Drive (Black) OEM - $34 - ZipZoomFly
Floppy Drive
NEC 1.44MB 3.5in Internal Floppy Disk Drive (Black) - $13 - ZipZoomFly
Network
Asus WL-138g Wireless 54Mbps PCI Network Adapter Retail - $35 - ZipZoomFly
Audio
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Sound Card Retail - $265 - ZipZoomFly
Video (SLI Configuration)
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX PCI-E 512MB DDR3 w/2 Dual-Link DVI-I & HDTV Retail - $560 - ZipZoomFly
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX PCI-E 512MB DDR3 w/2 Dual-Link DVI-I & HDTV Retail - $560 - ZipZoomFly
Case and Power Supply
Thermaltake Shark Series VA7000BWA Full Tower Case (Black) Retail - $149 + $15 SH - ZipZoomFly
Antec NeoHE 550 Watt ATX Retail - $100 - ZipZoomFly
Keyboard and Mouse
Logitech Premium Desktop Optical Keyboard & Mouse Combo (Black) - $30 - ZipZoomFly
Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition (Full Version) Single-Pack OEM - $140 - ZipZoomFly
OR
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (Full Version) Single-Pack OEM - $140 - ZipZoomFly
TOTAL COST:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.4GHz) Dual Core Desktop - $3,478 + $20 SH = $3,498
Intel Pentium D 950 (3.4GHz) Dual Core Desktop - $3,529 + $20 SH = $3,549
****************
HIGH END GAMING PERIPHERAL PACKAGE
Display
Dell UltraSharp 2001FP 20.1-inch Flat Panel Monitor w/HAS - $539 - Dell
OR
Viewsonic VX2025WM 20.1in Wide Screen LCD Monitor Retail - $429 + $19 SH - ZipZoomFly
Speakers
Creative Labs GigaWorks S750 7.1 Retail (700 Watts Total RMS Power) - $400 + $50 SH - ZipZoomFly
TOTAL COST:
Display and Speaker Package - $829 + $69 SH = $898
****************
FINAL THOUGHTS...
I really don't care about having a 24" display, as a 19" or 20" is fine for gaming in general if you get a model with a low enough ms rating. This is all about preference anyways. As you can see, I chose an NVIDIA based card in these two configurations and included both an AMD and Intel Based solution. The pricing difference is less than $55 between the two setups which is quite interesting. I figured an SLI setup would be good to have, but may be overkill especially if something hotter comes out in 6 months. It may be more prudent to get one card instead. I'm considering using this configuration for a suggested gaming rig for a few friends of mine that have outdated machines. Any input?
-- MaSoP