Half a spec, advice needed on the rest

[moulson_uk]

I am looking to build a gaming rig for $1500 MAX (CAN) which includes monitor and speakers.

So far I have chosen ..

Power Up 5511 Black ATX Mid-Tower Case for $77
Acer AL1916w - flat panel display - TFT - 19" for $260
Creative Inspire P5800 5.1 Speakers System 72W Black for $80
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA2 7200RPM 8MB for $72
LG GSA-H10A 16X DVD+-RW 16X Dual Layer Writer IDE 2MB Black OEM for $50
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 SE PCI 7.1 Surround Sound Card OEM for $55

Which leaves me with $860 after tax and before shipping costs. This is where you guys can hopefully come in.

I have been out of the technology loop for about 3 years so I’m not sure what’s hot and what’s not so to speak. This also means that I haven’t played any of the recent big hit games. My preference is for FPS’s, RTS’s, and MMORPG’s if that makes a difference in choosing the spec.

I need suggestions in the specified price limit for CPU, motherboard, video card and memory. If I have a bit of money left I might buy an additional Seagate drive.

I am not concerned with overclocking heavily because I will also use the computer for business and I do not want to jeopardize its stability. My other stipulation in choosing the components is the capacity to upgrade so please bare that in mind also.

One more thing… Will I need to replace the PSU that comes with the case?

Thanks in advance.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Alright... here's what I would go for....

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+

Motherboard: Asus A8N-E

RAM: OCZ Perfomance Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR-400

Video: eVGA Geforce 7900GT but if that puts you over budget, grab eVGA Geforce 7600GT

 

[ikjadoon]

Forgot the PSU. I wouldn't trust the PSU already in a case, except if 1)It wasn't meant for gaming, i.e. Word, light Internet 2)I wanted to get back at someone 3)It was an Antec

Antec, Thermaltake, Ultra, and a few others are good PSU makers, I'd go with this:

Antec SmartPower 2.0 500W

It IS a little expensive, but I just cannot live without modular.

~Ibrahim~

 

[tyr86]

First of all, dump that Acer LCD and get a better one with the Viewsonic vx922 for about the same price now at newegg. 2ms refresh rate and I trust Viewsonic more than Acer with LCDs.

For $50, I wouldn't take an LG burner, I would pick NEC or Plextor.

I would make the jump to x-fi instead of the Audigy 4, but I don't think you'll find an x-fi below $100.

I suggest a dual-core proc about $300-400, MSI, DFI, or ASUS mobo. Video card, 7800 or x1800. RAM, whatever brand you love (Corsair, OCZ, etc) and get at least 2 GB.

 

[moulson_uk]

Alright... here's what I would go for....

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+

Motherboard: Asus A8N-E

RAM: OCZ Perfomance Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR-400

Video: eVGA Geforce 7900GT but if that puts you over budget, grab eVGA Geforce 7600GT

Thanks for your help.

Question about the memory, should i buy a single 1GB dimm for now with the view of upgrading to 2GB in the near future?

Question about the EVGA Geforce 7900GT, i can't find it on the THG video charts to compare against the competition. Is there another site i can compare it against the competition?

 

[ikjadoon]

I wouldn't buy 1GB now and then another later as they might be uncompatible and there is a good chance they won't work in dual-channel if they aren't EXACTLY the same. Just because you buy two of an item doesn't mean that they will work in Dual-Channel, and that is why they have Dual-Channel kits.

Tom's Hardware hasn't updated their video charts as of yet, but these reviews should provide some insight:

#1

#2

#3 (Full 7-Series Review)

# 4 (7600 & 7900 Review)

# 5

Enough?

~Ibrahim~

 

[Nitro350Z]

I would suggest an amd cpu(as they are better at gaming supposedly), but with conroe just around the corner, maybe wait and see whats the best low cost product.

with maybe an asus board or a gigabyte one, even the lower end boards are very good and stable.

For the monitor, go with a viewsonic like others suggested.

the lg burner is great, i have 3 and they all work perfectly with a minimal burn error rate compared to other dvd burners at that price.

maybe get a larger hd as it comes out cheaper $/GB in larger hd's ( you can get a 200GB sata hd for 100$ off ncix.com)

the SB audigy 4 SE is a good sound card, and for that price its hard to find a better one.

finnaly for your video card a 7600 or X1600 if you want a little cheaper card. possibly also consider an x800

but definetly an X1800/1900 or 7900 if can afford it

 

[moulson_uk]

I am thinking about dropping down from the eVGA Geforce 7900GT to the eVGA Geforce 7600GT so i can afford to increase my memory from 1GB to 2GB.

Is that a good idea or is it more important to get the best GFX card for my money?

Thanks.

 

[TSIllusion]

First of all, dump that Acer LCD and get a better one with the Viewsonic vx922 for about the same price now at newegg. 2ms refresh rate and I trust Viewsonic more than Acer with LCDs.

For $50, I wouldn't take an LG burner, I would pick NEC or Plextor.

I would make the jump to x-fi instead of the Audigy 4, but I don't think you'll find an x-fi below $100.

I suggest a dual-core proc about $300-400, MSI, DFI, or ASUS mobo. Video card, 7800 or x1800. RAM, whatever brand you love (Corsair, OCZ, etc) and get at least 2 GB.

... u truly are a noob.. some pple shouldnt respond sumtimes.

look at where he is... CANADA... you wanna ship him the monitor for newegg?


My opinion:

1. Acer AL1916wb is one of the nicest monitor they've made, I have one myself, planning to get another one. and thing is... do you need 2 ms? tats disgusting if you aren't even gonna use it for hardcore gaming.

2. If you are planning to upgrade, in like the next couple of years, you should go Intel. or AM2.

3. If you arent gonna game in high/ultra RESO and running a gosu GFX card, you wont really need a new power supply. If this is solely for business and a bit of gaming without Overclocking, you should do fine with the case psu... depending on how much the Voltage is and the Wattage.

4. RAM doesnt need to be too nice anymore, because you aren't OCing. You can still go OCZ, just get their value kits.

5. Video Card, stick with a 7900, it'll keep you in line for a while longer than the 7600.... but as i said, if you dont really care about gfx TOO much, and you dont game like some other pple out there, you can get a 7600 GT. I personally wouldnt recommend it

 

[moulson_uk]

Thanks for your input TSIllusion.

In regards to how much gaming? I would hope to run at high resolution...games I intend to play include Doom3, HL2, FarCry, FEAR, Oblivion etc. SO i would need something fairly powerful.

As you rightly pointed out, as i intend to use it for business too i won't be seriously overclocking however for hardcore gaming purposes i may need a new PSU.