I've had my current computer for about four years now. It was a cheap, $500 prebuilt Dell Dimension 5100, it's performance was subpar back then, and it's antiquated now. This is the first time I have ever built a computer by myself before and an expert opinion from an enthusiast would be more than appreciated ! I'm looking for an affordable gaming system that can play most new games like GTA IV, Fallout 3, and Bioshock on at least medium to high settings (Although I'm not expecting anymore than high). The Intel i7's hyper-threading is intriguing, but it seems more powerful than I really need and I am looking for a setup within my budget which is why I'm going with the AMD Phenom II x4 965.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: One or two Days
Current Expense: $1,236.87 ($1,196 after Rebate) --THIS INCLUDES THE MONITOR, OS, Thermal Paste, AND THE OFFICE SUITE SOFTWARE
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, working (word documents, excel documents etc)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, graphics card
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America
PARTS PREFERENCES: AM3 system w/ AMD Phenom II x4 965
OVERCLOCKING: Possibly in the near future
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: My Current graphics card is a Geforce gtx 260, I won't likely try SLI and will likely switch to an ATI Radeon card for Crossfire in the future
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1080P 23.6"
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Most importantly, I want to make sure that my GTX 260 graphics card can physically fit in my Antec 300 case and my motherboard since it is a rather large card. Second, I heard that Windows 7 requires an internet connection for installation. My desktop will be in my own room and it will connect to a wireless router via a wireless linksys card which requires a driver installation. Does registration have to happen before installation or do I need to temporarily hook my comp up to an ethernet cable for installation?
Here is my current newegg shopping cart:
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 - $179.99
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 - $179.99
PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX 650W - $109.99
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $94.99
Case: Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel - $69.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM - $74.99
CPU cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler - $29.98
Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 24x DVD Burner - Bulk SATA Model SH-S243N/BEBS LightScribe Support - OEM - $24.99
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - $9.99
Monitor: ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" - $189.99
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full - $150
Other: Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student 3-User - $121.99
Again, I'm ready to buy this setup. This is a tad on the expensive side though. Most of the cheap < $1000 builds I see here don't include the operating system or necessary software. So I'm assuming that the actual price of those setups is higher in actuality. Any and all advice/ revisions etc. is more than appreciated, thanks in advance! I'd like to see if it's possible to keep this just a little cheaper.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: One or two Days
Current Expense: $1,236.87 ($1,196 after Rebate) --THIS INCLUDES THE MONITOR, OS, Thermal Paste, AND THE OFFICE SUITE SOFTWARE
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, working (word documents, excel documents etc)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, graphics card
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America
PARTS PREFERENCES: AM3 system w/ AMD Phenom II x4 965
OVERCLOCKING: Possibly in the near future
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: My Current graphics card is a Geforce gtx 260, I won't likely try SLI and will likely switch to an ATI Radeon card for Crossfire in the future
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1080P 23.6"
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Most importantly, I want to make sure that my GTX 260 graphics card can physically fit in my Antec 300 case and my motherboard since it is a rather large card. Second, I heard that Windows 7 requires an internet connection for installation. My desktop will be in my own room and it will connect to a wireless router via a wireless linksys card which requires a driver installation. Does registration have to happen before installation or do I need to temporarily hook my comp up to an ethernet cable for installation?
Here is my current newegg shopping cart:
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 - $179.99
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 - $179.99
PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX 650W - $109.99
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $94.99
Case: Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel - $69.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM - $74.99
CPU cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler - $29.98
Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 24x DVD Burner - Bulk SATA Model SH-S243N/BEBS LightScribe Support - OEM - $24.99
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - $9.99
Monitor: ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" - $189.99
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full - $150
Other: Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student 3-User - $121.99
Again, I'm ready to buy this setup. This is a tad on the expensive side though. Most of the cheap < $1000 builds I see here don't include the operating system or necessary software. So I'm assuming that the actual price of those setups is higher in actuality. Any and all advice/ revisions etc. is more than appreciated, thanks in advance! I'd like to see if it's possible to keep this just a little cheaper.