Building a gaming machine

[hpkeeper]

Hey everyone...

I have about a $800-$1000 to spend on a new machine.

I don't have to buy a case, power supply or hard drive... but I do need all the goodies that go along with it such as a videocard, Motherboard, RAM, CPU etc... I'd also like to see if I can get a copy of vista in there and an LCD monitor, but those are just perks if I can get those in there. I'm not looking to overclock. Just the best raw power I can get.

Anyone got any ideas? I was modeling it after the HP blackbird, but that got expensive real quick... I'm looking to get back into FPS games, if that's any indication of where I want to be.

thanks for the help...



(P.S. - sorry if this is in the wrong forum)

 

[Falloutboy]

I would go something like:

Biostar 790gx MB $90
BE-2400 $40
4gb of Ram $60
HD4850 $175
Benq 24" LCD $400 (can get it for $300 using the ebay 25% off deal)
so thats 675sh still need a os though, nice budget rig

 

[hpkeeper]

Originally posted by: Falloutboy
I would go something like:

Biostar 790gx MB $90
BE-2400 $40
4gb of Ram $60
HD4850 $175
Benq 24" LCD $400 (can get it for $300 using the ebay 25% off deal)
so thats 675sh still need a os though, nice budget rig

it doesn't have to be that cheap, I'd rather go for quality than simply just functionality. I'd rather dump the money of the LCD into parts.

 

[akugami]

A Radeon 4850 should run about $150'ish after rebate.
I think that Athlon 64 X2 BE-2400 for $40 is an OEM meaning no HSF. If that's the case, might as well jump up to an Athlon 64 X2 5600+ for $80.
An OEM copy of Vista will run you about $100. If you have a student email you can grab a copy of Windows Server 2008 (essentially Vista) for free.

If you want to splurge a bit more you can move up to a Radeon 4870 for about $230'ish after rebate.

 

[disports]

E8400 - $164.99 or E8500 - $179.99
G.Skill DDR2-800 - $54.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L - $89.99 AR
HD4850 or HD4870 or GTX260 Core 216

 

[DSF]

I wouldn't spend 40-50% of my budget on a monitor and not have enough cash left over for a video card to drive it properly. Stick with a 22" monitor and go with a more powerful Intel setup.

 

[hpkeeper]

Originally posted by: DSF
I wouldn't spend 40-50% of my budget on a monitor and not have enough cash left over for a video card to drive it properly. Stick with a 22" monitor and go with a more powerful Intel setup.

such as?

 

[DSF]

Processor: E8400

Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L or ASUS P5Q/P5Q Pro - Since you're not overclocking, you could even look at an EP43-DS3L or P5QL

RAM: 2x2GB Mushkin or G.Skill DDR2-800, whichever's on sale

Video Card: HD4850 or HD4870 1GB if you have room in the budget

What's your current PSU? How old is it?

 

[Falloutboy]

i've always been of the opin to spend more on a monitor because that will stay with you alot longer than the hardware you spend that money on if you skimp

 

[PHeller]

Originally posted by: akugami
An OEM copy of Vista will run you about $100. If you have a student email you can grab a copy of Windows Server 2008 (essentially Vista) for free.

Can you burn Window Server 2008 to a disc?

I'm thinking about upgrading soon, but I'm confused at how I'd restart the system. (Don't want to deal with the driver issues of a old drive on new motherboard/processor.)

 

[akugami]

I've downloaded Windows from MS before, they come in image files (forget exactly what format) but if you'll be able to burn it using most burning utilities.

What you'll likely need to do after putting all your hardware parts together is to go into the bios to set it so that it boots from any optical drive (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray) first, then hard drive, then any removable drives (USB, etc). I'd go ahead and disable floppy drive support at this time. Most people don't need or use it and it slows boot up times. Insert your copy of XP or Vista and follow the prompts.

Check out this thread for info on the free Windows Server 2008 offer.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2234767&enterthread=y

Check out the EXCELLENT resource below for info and precautions on building your first computer. Obviously the parts he uses in his example will differ from your choices. Another thing to point out is that the case he uses will 99% likely differ from yours. Make sure you know how to open your case and access the different parts of it for installation.
http://www.mechbgon.com/

One thing I recommend is to see what motherboard and video card you are buying and then go to the manufacturers web site and download all the latest BIOS updates as well as drivers. Video cards usually do not require BIOS updates though motherboards can. I burn any BIOS updates to a CDRW since many BIOS updates mandate an upgrade from floppy or CD. The CDRW is also useful for burning any updated testing software such as memtest86.

When you install the Operating System you should be able to get in and to the desktop but many times it may not include the necessary network drivers so you can't access the internet. While the CD or DVD that comes with the motherboard and video card often contain drivers they are more likely than not outdated by the time they reach you. Downloading the latest drivers beforehand and have them on a CD or USB drive for installation.

Budget some time for the many numerous updates. Enjoy your new computer.

 

[hpkeeper]

Originally posted by: DSF
Processor: E8400

Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L or ASUS P5Q/P5Q Pro - Since you're not overclocking, you could even look at an EP43-DS3L or P5QL

RAM: 2x2GB Mushkin or G.Skill DDR2-800, whichever's on sale

Video Card: HD4850 or HD4870 1GB if you have room in the budget

What's your current PSU? How old is it?

Ooo... That's not bad, that comes to just over $700 even with the 8500 processor through newegg. The G.Skill Ram is like an instant $40 off, The 1GB videocard is 10.00 off, processor $5 off, nad there is a mail in rebate for the motherboard of $15.00, so I can buy all that for essentially less than $700. Plus I added a $20 or so heat sink.

Not a bad deal.. let's see if anyone else can beat that.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Falloutboy
i've always been of the opin to spend more on a monitor because that will stay with you alot longer than the hardware you spend that money on if you skimp

That's all well and good, but the monitor shouldn't come at the expense of the rest of the components. It does you no good to be gaming on a 24" monitor if your video card can't handle it. 1920x1200 is a lot of pixels.

 

[hpkeeper]

Originally posted by: akugami
A Radeon 4850 should run about $150'ish after rebate.
I think that Athlon 64 X2 BE-2400 for $40 is an OEM meaning no HSF. If that's the case, might as well jump up to an Athlon 64 X2 5600+ for $80.
An OEM copy of Vista will run you about $100. If you have a student email you can grab a copy of Windows Server 2008 (essentially Vista) for free.

If you want to splurge a bit more you can move up to a Radeon 4870 for about $230'ish after rebate.

Where can one obtain an OEM version of Vista?

 

[hpkeeper]

Originally posted by: hpkeeper

Originally posted by: DSF
Processor: E8400

Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L or ASUS P5Q/P5Q Pro - Since you're not overclocking, you could even look at an EP43-DS3L or P5QL

RAM: 2x2GB Mushkin or G.Skill DDR2-800, whichever's on sale

Video Card: HD4850 or HD4870 1GB if you have room in the budget

What's your current PSU? How old is it?

Ooo... That's not bad, that comes to just over $700 even with the 8500 processor through newegg. The G.Skill Ram is like an instant $40 off, The 1GB videocard is 10.00 off, processor $5 off, nad there is a mail in rebate for the motherboard of $15.00, so I can buy all that for essentially less than $700. Plus I added a $20 or so heat sink.

Not a bad deal.. let's see if anyone else can beat that.

Damn it, this same system I built today and it's now just under $700 without rebates included.