MWF seeking Gamer PC for husbands B-day

[nightgem]

Hey gang,

I'm looking for some good recomendations about getting a new computer to build for my husband:

Budget:
around $600 - $1,000 - lesser is better

Current Game Obbsession:
Plays Lord of the Rings Online (mainly) - not an overclocker or hard core gamer but secretly wants to be....wants exceptional graphics and performance to keep up with the game and anything else that may come down the line.

Expandability:
Ability to upgrade later if needed/wanted

Parts needed:
CPU & Motherboard ....memory...graphics card...power supply

Software aquiring: OS - Windows 7

Both are computer tekkies, more so him than myself because I've been out of the field for a couple of years now, so I can build it with minimal issues. Been reading over soooo many articles that I'm having an overload.

Looking to make him drool...give some bragging rights (if possible) and think I'm the greatest wife ever.
😍

 

[saaiello]

Do you know if you want to go intel or AMD route?

 

[nightgem]

We've been the AMD family for a while now...but anymore it really doesn't matter.

 

[saaiello]

Ok well you have two choices

1 Intel I5
2 AMD Phenom II X4

The Intel system will bring you rite up to the 1000 Limit. As where the AMD will be around 800 now do you need mouse monitor keyboard, and Operateing System because i will have to factor that into what im going to list for you.

 

[nightgem]

OS - windows 7 is the only other thing I need...everything else we have.

Thanks

 

[Bluescreendeath]

You can also go the i7 860 socket 1156 route and still keep it under $1000. The i7 860 will be about $70 more than the i5.

 

[mi1ez]

Stick with the i5 if going intel route.

I reckon AMD will suit your needs though.

Phenom II x4 965 $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
AMD AM3 Mobo with 790X chipset from repuable manufacturer (sorry, slightly less knowledgeable on the AMD side)
AMD HD5850 from $310 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067949753&name=Radeon%20HD%205850
4GB DDR3 RAM (again from a reputable company) $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227479
PSU- something like a Corsair 650W $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
case-wise, depends what looks you like!
Win7 $105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

$775 but needs case and advice on mobo. Graphics card could also be knocked down to meet budget. HD5830 depending on date and prices or HD5770.

 

[saaiello]

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129024
$99.99


Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EARS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$99.99


GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128416
$139.99


SAPPHIRE 100297L Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102878
$239.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231277

$104.99


AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ965FBGMBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103727
$179.99


Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116758
$139.99

This will bring you too a little over 950 shop around you might be able to find cheaper if you have a microcenter around you they always have great deal. This system will give you plenty of gameing performance, and ant AMD black edtions overclock great CPU to start overclocking on

 

[Hellboy]

Hey gang,

I'm looking for some good recomendations about getting a new computer to build for my husband:

Budget:
around $600 - $1,000 - lesser is better

Current Game Obbsession:
Plays Lord of the Rings Online (mainly) - not an overclocker or hard core gamer but secretly wants to be....wants exceptional graphics and performance to keep up with the game and anything else that may come down the line.

Expandability:
Ability to upgrade later if needed/wanted

Parts needed:
CPU & Motherboard ....memory...graphics card...power supply

Software aquiring: OS - Windows 7

Both are computer tekkies, more so him than myself because I've been out of the field for a couple of years now, so I can build it with minimal issues. Been reading over soooo many articles that I'm having an overload.

Looking to make him drool...give some bragging rights (if possible) and think I'm the greatest wife ever.
😍

Sounds like your a mans dream...

all we need now is to add his favourite beer, nightware and boys night out being adheared to and the rest would be luxury..


most of us get moaned at for buying a cd let alone a computer.

 

[fazers_on_stun]

Hmm, & here I thought "MWF" stood for Monday-Wednesday-Friday, like a whoopie-making schedule 😀... Guess I don't read those Craigslist Personals enough! 😛

@ Hellboy: LOL - and here I thought you wore the pants in your family!! 😛

 

[nightgem]

lol - guys you are too funny. Thanks 😍

Links and prices listed as well - you guys are the greatest.

Again, thanks for the suggestions, gives me a road to head down instead mowing through article after article.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I would recommend a SSD but thats way out of budget. If the budget does allow though, I would say go for two HDDs and throw them in a RAID 0 for the extra speed in read and writes which would make Windows 7 load faster as would programs.

 

[nightgem]

Not a bad idea. I'll have to do some research on that and see if a possible tweak in the budge it allowed.

Also - after some digging last night he talked alot more about the intels not AMD.

Any thoughts for an Intel set up?

 

[scott60]

the main reason I'm still single...I haven't found A gamer wife and one that not only accepts my passion but builds me a bitchin rig to boot!!! lemme know if things don't work out..I'm building too right now

 

[Hellboy]

Hmm, & here I thought "MWF" stood for Monday-Wednesday-Friday, like a whoopie-making schedule 😀... Guess I don't read those Craigslist Personals enough! 😛

@ Hellboy: LOL - and here I thought you wore the pants in your family!! 😛

Oh I wear the pants alright, but theres holes in the pockets and its go no backside either...

Men start off tough then we get worn down over the years.

 

[nightgem]

OK gang..this is what I finally put together...What do you guys think?
i7-860
GA P55A-UD3
700W power supply
WIN7 64bit PRO
4gb DDR3 memory
nvidia 9800GT 1 GB
WD Caviar Black 500GB Hard drive
Sony Sata DVD burner

 

[saaiello]

Everything but the video card looks good you would of been better off going with a HD5770 or better. That 9800GT will bottleneck that I7 bad. I have a 9800GT myself and i feel it bottlenecks my E8200 a little but if you already bought it no problem will still play most games maxed out up to 1680 x 1050 res tell your man he better enjoy that rig not many women can and would do what you did.

 

[VABuckeye]

I agree about the video card. LOTRO is supposed to be able to handle DX11 in the near future and the ATI 5700 series and beyond will get your gamer guy that technology.

 

[nightgem]

lol -Thanks Saaiello. He deserves it...he's been running on a Gforce 6200 running through a 4X AGP slot. I ran over my budget by a couple hundred and ran out of time. His b-day was yesterday. I rushed over to our microcenter and he recommended this video card. Ugh...I hope it does OK for him.
The next project is to empty a previous tower and give it a new look with some paint, stencils or decals. Then piece it all together.

 

[nightgem]

DX11 - supposed to be sweet..wonder when its going to be released.

 

[saaiello]

next month nvidias dx 11 card will be out but ATI has had DX 11 support for awhile. Or do you mean games with DX1.

I miss liveing near a microcenter i used to live a mile from one in PA now I am in new jersey not a computer store to be had around here it sucks. Anyways enjoy your new rig have fun 😀