Voting Time! Choose This Quarter’s Best Configs

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Wow... a budget gaming build in my mind is sub $800. A high end gaming rig is above $1000. I mean, a $1200 gaming rig IS NOT BUDGET, which I priced most of the Intel rigs around.
 
[citation][nom]AMW1011[/nom]Wow... a budget gaming build in my mind is sub $800. A high end gaming rig is above $1000. I mean, a $1200 gaming rig IS NOT BUDGET, which I priced most of the Intel rigs around.[/citation]
On top of that, none of these include the OS which always costs about $100. Even though no one adds it on, almost everyone buys it so it needs to be considered. Some people already have a mouse/keyboard and a monitor, but OS is bought again for every build. That means a lot of those rigs cost close to $1100. That's not a budget build.
 
[citation][nom]processthis[/nom]On top of that, none of these include the OS which always costs about $100. Even though no one adds it on, almost everyone buys it so it needs to be considered.[/citation]Depends on the OS. Windows has a wide range of prices and it depends if it is retail or OEM. Ubuntu and other Linux distributions are free. It makes sense to not include it because of the variability. Operating costs like power efficiency also affect TCO.
 
I don't like that some of these builds include products CPU's from Microcenter. Microcenter is not available everywhere and these build should be available to purchase by everyone in the price range. Not everyone can get the $199.99 i7 930.....Combos should not be included as well.
 
[citation][nom]processthis[/nom]On top of that, none of these include the OS which always costs about $100. Even though no one adds it on, almost everyone buys it so it needs to be considered. Some people already have a mouse/keyboard and a monitor, but OS is bought again for every build. That means a lot of those rigs cost close to $1100. That's not a budget build.[/citation]
You can always choose to use a linux operating system, its free.
 
[citation][nom]jhansonxi[/nom]Depends on the OS. Windows has a wide range of prices and it depends if it is retail or OEM. Ubuntu and other Linux distributions are free. It makes sense to not include it because of the variability. Operating costs like power efficiency also affect TCO.[/citation]

be honest with yourself, if you are building a gaming machine, it's gonna have windows. as much as people hate M$, the best games on pc are made for windows.
 
[citation][nom]rpgplayer[/nom]be honest with yourself, if you are building a gaming machine, it's gonna have windows. as much as people hate M$, the best games on pc are made for windows.[/citation]Not all of the configurations are gaming machines. Many game servers run on Linux even if the clients are only available on Windows.
 
[citation][nom]jhansonxi[/nom]Not all of the configurations are gaming machines. Many game servers run on Linux even if the clients are only available on Windows.[/citation]I'll make sure my next build is designed to run a game server. You know, because I like to watch others play. =P
 
[citation][nom]jhansonxi[/nom]Not all of the configurations are gaming machines. Many game servers run on Linux even if the clients are only available on Windows.[/citation]
I was mainly referring to the budget gaming PCs. We all know gaming PCs are going to have Windows 7 on them. That means it is a minimum of $100 for OEM Windows 7 and that $100 takes a part of people's budgets. If someone is trying to build a budget gaming PC under X, the OS is still one of his costs. Even if it isn't listed as part of the price in a build, it just puts those $1000 "budget" gaming PCs even farther away from people actually trying to build a budget PC.
 
[citation][nom]processthis[/nom]I was mainly referring to the budget gaming PCs. We all know gaming PCs are going to have Windows 7 on them. That means it is a minimum of $100 for OEM Windows 7 and that $100 takes a part of people's budgets. If someone is trying to build a budget gaming PC under X, the OS is still one of his costs. Even if it isn't listed as part of the price in a build, it just puts those $1000 "budget" gaming PCs even farther away from people actually trying to build a budget PC.[/citation]My gaming system doesn't use Windows. You're also assuming that builders are going to actually buy Windows instead of using the widely available OEM ISOs and SLP/VLK hacks. Then there are those XP holdouts... I still think it was best not to include the OS in the prices (and ISP services as well).
 
guis dese arnt acurate cuz u havent inkluded the price of da desk that u put the computer on and/or the chair u sit on when u play it.
and don't forget about the games themselves. wats da point of having a gaming pc if u don't have at lest a few hundred dollar worth of games. so each budget system is actually like $2000+
 
I also agree that the OS should not be included because Windows comes in many editions. If someone is building a PC they would know to take the OS into account (or they should not be building a PC). It's also quite possible that they will use a copy of Windows from a previous PC.

The Office PCs can just run a Linux distro 😀
 
[citation][nom]jenkem[/nom]wats da point of having a gaming pc if u don't have at lest a few hundred dollar worth of games. so each budget system is actually like $2000+[/citation]Good point. Unless you only want to play Farmville you'll need money for games (or at least buy an account on a server).
 
I find only two of the selections in the high end Intel gaming PC category satisfactory.I'm not saying this because my recommendation was not chosen, but because Tom's did not choose them properly.
 
Big, slow, cheap hard drives are increasingly popular because folks have a lot of data much of which may result from 24X7 P2P activity. Why is there no category for frugal home file server with redundant disks (i.e. software raid 5 or better)?
 
Most people do not use nor understand the concept of a Home Server. They will rather install seperate hard disks and pile their data onto these. Redundant disks is just that to the general public, redundant and therefore they would rather spend their money elsewhere.
 
that budget X3 445 + 5770 build is what i was shooting for on my future build. but with a slightly larger PS so i can xfire 5770's at a later date. they do have it right with the price tho. 1000$ is not budget and most people cant swing that. but the 490$ one was sweet. especially considering i have a leftover intel 80gb ssd from my laptop to use.
 
I'm a self-proclaimed expert build planner who has monitored the market for one and a half years. With that comes a lot of wisdom, and also ability to perfect builds.

While I reckon Tomshardware along with Arstechnica doing proper builds, they have rarely if ever been ideal packages. It is surprising, whether you opt for Crossfire and SLi without considering microstuttering and the likes, or when you go with something new because you felt like being original.

Reality is in fact that monthly builds can never become perfect. Newegg runs combo packs which expire one after another, and you have to grab the moment there and then to get the best offer. Most of the time, 50 dollars or more can be saved.
 
the budget gaming rigs was rather dissapointing, i just recently built a rig with the following:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX Item #: N82E16819103808 $139.99
ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard Item #: N82E16813131646 $119.99
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339
Item #: N82E16820148262 $89.99
WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Item #: N82E16822136319 $64.99
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply Item #: N82E16817151094 $59.99
1 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Item #: N82E16827135204 $18.99
Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler Item #: N82E16835185142 $39.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM Item #: N82E16832116754 $99.99
XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150447 $144.99
Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811147023 $39.99

After a $55 worth of newegg combo deals, Subtotal $763.90. $784.33 shipped to my door. yeah, doesn't own as much as a similar rig with ssd's and a 5870, but seriously if i dropped another 500 on graphics and hard drives it wouldn't be a "budget" build
 
2vhxamu.jpg


Case: Thermaltake V9 Black Edition
Motherboard: MSI 870A-G54
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955
Graphics: Zotac GeForce GTX 460
Memory: OCZ Black Edition 1600MHz CL8 4GB
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB
Burner: Sony Optiarc AD-7261-S
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream 600W Modular

Combo 1 = PSU + Burner
Combo 2 = Processor + RAM
Combo 3 = Case + HDD (16$ coupon code too)
Standalone 1 = Motherboard
Standalone 2 = Graphics Card

Cost: 590 USD (saved 160 dollars on rabates & combos)

Here you got a build with USB3 and SATA3, a fast quad core, a slightly overclocked GTX 460 which will play most games exceptionally well on 1920x1080, fast RAM, the fastest 7200RPM drive, a modular PSU and a sexy case that has granted great reviews.

Beat that, Tomshardware. ;-)
 
[citation][nom]kazuha vinland[/nom]I'm a self-proclaimed expert...
[/citation]
One of the most useful things one of my high school teachers said (over 30 years ago), is that someone who calls himself an "expert" is not one.
 
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