Ok computer people, help me build a gaming computer

I'm planning on building a computer within the next month or so because of the increased pay from the new job. I don't know much about computers so if you could give me a $1,000 limit and give me part by part, I'd REALLY appreciate it! :)
 
$1000 for a gamer pc?

I'm sure someone can do it... but I don't think I can. UNLESS you have time to get the best prices, search for those prices, and wait for components to go on sale. You could probably do it over 5 months of searching and buying equipment that you want piece by piece.


†B†V† :hat
 
Hmm...I've heard alot of people say gaming PC's are better because they're cheaper than consoles...so I thought I could at least keep it under $1,000. :-\

Maybe Homi or Nova?
 
Hmm..expensive then, huh? Well, I think I can hold off on a gaming PC then. I was looking forward to trying some PC only games too. :-\
 
Strubes said:
Hmm..expensive then, huh? Well, I think I can hold off on a gaming PC then. I was looking forward to trying some PC only games too. :-\

you can still do that but, you won't be able to run games like Crysis is all im saying
 
I built my PC for $2,500 5 years ago... I can still run games @ 3/4 settings. Up until about 7 months ago, I could run most at full spec.

BUT that has lasted me 5 years. It has a lot of life left. I have used it for other things over those 5 years including creating graphics, school, business, web design, gaming, and many other tasks.
Your computer also includes your "screen" for viewing, which that is normally not factored into a gaming console price because the TV cost is already sunk.

Add the TV cost to a console (or the appropriate broken out tv cost related to the console)... and the console is not as cheap as it was.

Oh yeah... you save money on PC games too... you have to factor that in. Hell... I just got BattleField 1942 / all expansion packs, Vietnam w/ all expansion packs all for $9.99. Battlefield 2 and all Expansion packs were that same price. Games initially are GENERALLY $10 less than consoles (not considering the Wii in this). So there are cost benefits to buying PC games.

PC games also drop in price faster than console games... (USUALLY, but it's not 100% always the case).
Just food for thought :)

†B†V† :hat
 
CPU- $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

Motherboard-$90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Video-$150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

Power supply-$100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Memory-$70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

Case-$50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Hard drive-$75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

Windows XP-$80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116056

That comes to about $800 unless I added wrong :P This would give you a *very* respectable machine for a really good price. You could spend much more on the motherboard, but I honestly doubt you'd even use half the features. I am assuming you already have a monitor, mouse, etc, that you can use for now. I don't know much about good speakers or monitors so somebody else can help you there. Let me know what you think of that build.

EDIT: This would run Crysis rather well I believe. And just remember, there is no PC out there right now that can run Crysis without a hitch, so don't worry 'bout it too much. This PC would max out games like Oblivion, Prey, etc, though, so keep that in mind. Also remember that games like Crysis are the extreme, and that the majority of PC games are very scalable which really improves longevity.
 
x2 said:
CPU- $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

Motherboard-$90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Video-$150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

Power supply-$100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Memory-$70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

Case-$50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Hard drive-$75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

Windows XP-$80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116056

That comes to about $800 unless I added wrong :P This would give you a *very* respectable machine for a really good price. You could spend much more on the motherboard, but I honestly doubt you'd even use half the features. I am assuming you already have a monitor, mouse, etc, that you can use for now. I don't know much about good speakers or monitors so somebody else can help you there. Let me know what you think of that build.

EDIT: This would run Crysis rather well I believe. And just remember, there is no PC out there right now that can run Crysis without a hitch, so don't worry 'bout it too much. This PC would max out games like Oblivion, Prey, etc, though, so keep that in mind. Also remember that games like Crysis are the extreme, and that the majority of PC games are very scalable which really improves longevity.

Oh, thanks alot x2! That looks really good and for a good price. I'll be looking into getting some of these parts with my first paycheck this Friday. :)
 
I forgot to add my build included Office Professional ... I needed to get that... and a couple other software packages.

BUT... X2 recommended a decent PC there. I am not fond of that brand of motherboard or graphics cards, but I have heard others that do like them.

The processor price is not bad either... don't forget a decent keyboard and mouse for gaming though... That will probably run you about another $80-$100 for both. You can buy cheaper products @ $15-20 each, but I don't recommend some of the basic mice and keyboards. And you need a monitor.

I recommend the following monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001094
It's a 19" widescreen samsung and looks great. This is what I have. If you go 20", you will pay about $50-70 more.

THere are a couple others (19" and 20") cheaper open box items here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020+50001077+131061713&name=2ms-3ms

:lol I might have X2 give me specs for my next pc ;) :lol I am at $2,500 for my next PC already, but I have it running 2 graphics cards to run 2-3 monitors. I use 2 monitors at work, once you go dual or triple monitors, you never go back.

Bv :hat
 
Bluevoodu said:
:lol I might have X2 give me specs for my next pc ;) :lol I am at $2,500 for my next PC already, but I have it running 2 graphics cards to run 2-3 monitors. I use 2 monitors at work, once you go dual or triple monitors, you never go back.
My god, no wonder why it cost you $2500. XD

What kind of graphics cards are you putting in, anyways?
 
As much as I'd love to upgrade, I think I've pretty much maxed this one out. I may have to save up and build something epic when I graduate, complete with liquid or phase change cooling built-in.
 
Bluevoodu said:
I forgot to add my build included Office Professional ... I needed to get that... and a couple other software packages.

BUT... X2 recommended a decent PC there. I am not fond of that brand of motherboard or graphics cards, but I have heard others that do like them.

The processor price is not bad either... don't forget a decent keyboard and mouse for gaming though... That will probably run you about another $80-$100 for both. You can buy cheaper products @ $15-20 each, but I don't recommend some of the basic mice and keyboards. And you need a monitor.

I recommend the following monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001094
It's a 19" widescreen samsung and looks great. This is what I have. If you go 20", you will pay about $50-70 more.

THere are a couple others (19" and 20") cheaper open box items here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020+50001077+131061713&name=2ms-3ms

:lol I might have X2 give me specs for my next pc ;) :lol I am at $2,500 for my next PC already, but I have it running 2 graphics cards to run 2-3 monitors. I use 2 monitors at work, once you go dual or triple monitors, you never go back.

Bv :hat

Hehe, yeah, BV, I know you're an ASUS guy yourself. I have not had any issues with my Gigabyte board and nobody else I know has either, but you really can't go wrong with either brand. For the video I recommended EVGA because they typically have great support and they honour their lifetime warranty if anything goes wrong. Anyhow, so you're going to go with SLI on your next PC, Blue? This is great if you have dual monitors otherwise I wouldn't recommend it. Oh, and Strubes, if you do get a new monitor make sure it's widescreen :)

P.S. Thanks for the nice words, Spartan! How's your PC holding up these days?
 
yeah, I am going SLI :) I'll post up the case I am getting... it is pretty slick and comes with a killer power supply for about $389. I do love my Asus boards... and I didn't mean to sound like I was coming down on the 2 brands you like (if I did). I've known people that had good luck with them. I am just not that familiar with those 2 brands. I am actually going to sway from Antec cases this time around to the one I am going to buy.

But alas, I need to save up for awhile... it's not going to be within the next couple months... and it will be piece by piece.

@ hom - I haven't decided yet, but I think I am going to stick with ATI.

BV :hat
 
Oh and Blue, SLI will only work with Nvidia cards and Crossfire will only work with ATI cards. Just a heads up :)
 
x2 said:
Oh and Blue, SLI will only work with Nvidia cards and Crossfire will only work with ATI cards. Just a heads up :)
MEh... I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder :lol
The 2 cards I was looking at were Nvidia because I was looking for going SLI... I have an SLI specific case I am looking at getting.
I haven't really heard anything on ATI's Crossfire though... do you have an opinion on it?

@ Strubes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120208
If you need a surge protector, I recommend this. They are built like tanks,k work well, and you can get 8 block size AC adapters on it. There are cheaper ones out there, I am fond of this surge protector.


Bv :hat
 
Wow guys. Thanks for all the help. I'm throwing all of your suggestions together and will hopefully figure everything out by the end of the week. Thanks again! :)
 
Back
Top