$2,000 gaming computer

xslimmiejimmiex

Distinguished
Dec 3, 2005
186
0
18,680
hey all,
it's been a while since i've been on here/researching/etc...well i used this place for building my 1st computer (which was successful & turned out fantastic! thanks for all the help and support!), now since i've been out for quite some months now i'm trying to play some catch-up with all the new hardware and reviews and all that good stuff.

my buddy wants to spend $2,000 (roughly) on a new PC that i gotta build for him (should be fun)... he wants it for gaming and here's what he wants:

- Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty for best sound for gaming
- DDR2 memory
- $500 max CPU
- $400 max Video card that's PCI Xpress
- possibly liquid cooling (so the parts, or just a prebuilt case or something...)

i know i'm supposed to do my own research, i just figured some of you guys would be willing to throw out some ideas (keep in mind i will do my extensive reserach through THG/HardFmz/Anandtech/etc)... thanks in advance all and take care, good luck with all your builds and shit!
 

xslimmiejimmiex

Distinguished
Dec 3, 2005
186
0
18,680
so far i've found:

GeForce 7950 GX2
Intel 590 nForce SLi
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty
(no liquid cooling, just good HSF/fans/GPU fan? save little money)
 
This should be about perfect....

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (I've lost the link on where to order one... someone please post it... I remember the price was $350 though.)

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 - Estimated retail price: $250 USD

RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800

Video: eVGA Geforce 7950GX2

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2

Sound: Creative SB X-Fi Fatal1ty

CPU Heatsink: Zalman CNPS9500

VGA Heatsink: Zalman VF900

Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5

Estimated total before taxes and shipping: $1784.94

With the money left from your friend's $2000 budget, tell him to buy another set of that OCZ ram I picked out when Vista arrives, unless he decides to stick with XP. If he does decide to go for Vista, he'll be thankful he has 4GB. If he feels the urge for more hard drive space, pick up a second one of those Seagate hard drives I suggested. I should note that I left out the power supply intentionally. I am not very good at recommending power supplies, so i'll let someone more experienced in that area make a suggestion.