PC Gamers I Need Help Please

reddawn5297

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I am looking at spending a thousand dollars on a gaming computer, I do however have $3000 saved. So investing in upgrades shouldn’t be a problem. I am looking at one with these specs. Will this be enough to run games such as GTA IV, Call of Duty World at War, Call of Duty Black Ops, and The Sims 3 and Halo out of the box? How good would the graphics be for each card.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Quad-Core 3.4GHz
8 GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
1.0TB Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce HD N550 GTX-TI 1GB GDDR5 Video Card
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full Version CD - 64 bit

This PC will only be used for gaming.

Here’s a link http://www.amazon.com/Microtel-Computer%C2%AE-Quad-Core-processor-Microsoft/dp/B003IR93HS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322620987&sr=8-2
 

namelessonez

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With that much moolah on your hands, I'd strongly recommend that you do not go for a prebuilt system! You can easily get a kicka** rig with that much! Here's how:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Quad-Core 3.4GHz
Change to an i7 2600 (3.4GHz)
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-2600-Processor-3-4GHz-LGA1155/dp/B004EBUXSU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322635209&sr=8-2

OR:

An i5 2500K (3.3GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

8 GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
Change to GSkill Ripjaws@1600MHZ

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

1.0TB Hard Drive
As long as its running at 7200RPM and is of a good brand (Seagate or Western Digital), its cool! But consider getting a separate HDD for your operating system in addition!

NVIDIA GeForce HD N550 GTX-TI 1GB GDDR5 Video Card
Ok, whoa!! You're spending a grand and going with that??? :) No ways man! You can get something far better! There are two options you have:

Option1: Get a single high-end graphics card to handle everything you can throw at it. The top choice, imho, should be the GTX580 from nVidia. Here's one from MSI for $525 ($500 after mail in rebate):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127579

Don't wanna spend that much on a single card? No worries! Get the 6970 from HD for $389 ($359 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127581

Or you could get the GTX 570 from nVidia for $369 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582


Option2:
Depending on your motherboard, you can also go for a dual card setup. For this, I'd recommend you go with 2 GTX 570's or 2 HD6870's. However, keep in mind that dual setups are known to have issues with many games so it may not be the best option! Personally, I'd go with a single more powerful card...but that's just me! :)

MSI is a great brand and gives you great value for money!

What about other peripherals? Have you identified:
1. Motherboard
2. Power supply
3. Keyboard, mouse
4. Monitor

Without 1-4 above, you're spending between $600-$800 depending on your choices. Remember: a good Power Supply is a must!!

Give it a thought!
 

tjosborne

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+1
 

Gothams Finest

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+2.

Some good recommendations by namelessonez. IMO I would go for 1155 and get a 2500k.
 

diellur

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+3. No sense in getting a pre-built with the money you're prepared to spend. You could get yourself a very good system with that money. Just a note...it's generally not the most cost-efficient route to consider some of your budget for future upgrades (for core components, anyway). Get the best you can afford and are happy spending money on now, you may not need to upgrade for 3-4 years in some cases.
 

namelessonez

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The thing with motherboards, imho, is that they're based on very personal preferences of each individual. Today, with such a variety of motherboards (and a good one at that!), there's really a lot of options out there based on one's preferences/ likes and dislikes. I would personally narrow own my search to Asus, ASRock and MSI.

Having said that, if money is not an issue (which, unfortunately for me is!! :( ), the Asus ASRock Z68 Extreme7 would be my pick! It costs about $280!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269


Otherwise, these are pretty good too!

ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0) for $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702

ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131771

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 for $159
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265

MSI P67A-G43(B3) for $114
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583


Like I said, its pretty much dependant on what your preferences are and what your budget is. For eg; for a single GPU setup, you really wouldn't need more than 1 PCIE2.0 slot (maybe with the exception of certain GPU's which require 2 slots....like the 5970 for eg!), but I'd still go with a dual PCIE 2 setup, just in case for tomorrow! Then, the RAM slots also play a role....whether you want a 2x2gb setup, or a 2x4gb, etc setup. Then there are additional features like turbo boost 2 technology (Asus is pretty good at that).

Too confusing? ;) That's the beauty of it! At the end of the day, you'll end up making the right choice once you have your preferences in order. True, you'll always feel like "Darn, maybe I should have picked up that one!" but there's always a better choice out there! :)