Gaming build for around $2000-$2500.00

[reflexcomp]

I'm in IT and know plenty about w/s, servers, etc. but gaming computers is not my specialty. I need to help a friend build a good gaming computer not to exceed $2500.00. Ideally, more like around $2000.00 (box only).

From his current gaming computer, he wants to stay away from AMD processors and would prefer to go with an Intel Dual Core processor. Here's where I know nothing...

1. What's a good performing mobo that's also dependable?
2. What chipset is ideal for gaming (the latest Intel 975 good for gaming)?
3. Which Nvidia graphics card works best or should he be considering an ATI?
4. Is 2 GB of ram sufficient or should he go with 4. Most likely, DDR2 667 or 800 MHz.
5. Most likely a SATA RAID-0 system. Hopefully in the 400 GB capacity and 10K rpm.
6. What's a good medium tower gaming chassis which runs cool but yet, doesn't sound like a jet taking off.

I think that about does it. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Heyyou27]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, E6400 or E6600
GPU: ATI X1900XT or Geforce 7950GX2 if he plays at a very high resolution.
2GB of RAM is more than enough for now; 4GB isn't supported in Windows XP 32-bit, but would be better for Vista if he plans on going to that.

 

[IcY18]

I'm in IT and know plenty about w/s, servers, etc. but gaming computers is not my specialty. I need to help a friend build a good gaming computer not to exceed $2500.00. Ideally, more like around $2000.00 (box only).

From his current gaming computer, he wants to stay away from AMD processors and would prefer to go with an Intel Dual Core processor. Here's where I know nothing...

1. What's a good performing mobo that's also dependable?
2. What chipset is ideal for gaming (the latest Intel 975 good for gaming)?
3. Which Nvidia graphics card works best or should he be considering an ATI?
4. Is 2 GB of ram sufficient or should he go with 4. Most likely, DDR2 667 or 800 MHz.
5. Most likely a SATA RAID-0 system. Hopefully in the 400 GB capacity and 10K rpm.
6. What's a good medium tower gaming chassis which runs cool but yet, doesn't sound like a jet taking off.

I think that about does it. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you!

i'll try and keep this simple as possible,

with your budget you shouldn't be limited in many areas...
CPU: E6600

MOBO: Asus P5W DH Deluxe ( 975x chipset or you can save a few bucks for about the same performance Asus P5B Deluxe (965 chipset) if your overclocking the 975x is the choice if not then the 965 will do you fine...

RAM: 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 (5-5-5-12) or if you have the money you can get 4-4-4-12 timings, not that big of a performance increase

GPU: if you only prefer nvidia then the 7950GX2 would be the best card overall but it only performs well at or above 1600x1200 resolutions, if he plays below that level get a 7900GTX, but in truth the for gaming below 1600x1200 would be a ATi X1900XT either would smoke most games out today

Hard drives: unless you or your friend are very familiar with a RAID 0 setup i wouldn't recommend it, the performance increase isn't worth the chance of losing all the data, also no need for a 10k rpm hd(since seagate now has perpendicular recording which offers near or sometimes better performance. so get a Seagate 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) 320GB, if you really want 400+ gigs then get an additional Seagate 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) 250GB, or if you want to raid get 2x Seagate 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) 250GB,

CASE: its more about taste i would say but this one has great airflow that draws in from the front and pushes it out the back, it also has a side window, if you dont want the side window just look for other version
Lian Li PC-60BPLUSII

ok taht wasnt simple but you got your info...

 

[rwaritsdario]

This goes in general homebuilt...

 

[mayouuu]

sorry, but i´ve read you and i surprised of the data lost you said in RAID 0, is it serious risk?? why should it fail? becouse 1 HD brakes? or its for something else? i know it is easer to have a disk fail having two of them than having only one, is only for this reason? thanks and sorry for my english

 

[Sean618]

From what I can gather there isn't a greater chance that a disk will fail under raid 0, it's just that if one does fail then your data is completely screwed. They say that the data they do manage to get back from the hd is corrupt and unusable. But I have no experience in these matters, luckily

 

[Xonitex]

Agree with everything but for $2,000 to $2,500 you could definitely get the 7950GX2 without going over budget. That's a pretty big budget.

 

[Eurasianman]

Why get a 7950 when Vista is to be out within a year? Why not get a cheaper card and wait for DX10 then blow money off on high performance card. Like previously stated, uner 1600x1200 ATI X1900XT (preferred) or 7900GT.

But wth, if you want, wait for the ATI X1950XTs that come out in a few weeks. Processor... E6600 with a ASUS P5W DH Deluxe since quad core is coming out and is rumored that it'll run on a 975X mobo, which the ASUS board is. There you have it...

 

[Xonitex]

Your argument against the 7950 GX2 applies to the X1950 XTX, which is a bit slower but probably the better choice overall (depending on its price). If he wants to save money and wait for Vista, though, I'd just get an overclocked 7600GT and really blow the money when the DX10 cards come out. If you did that, you could probably get a system for around $1,500 (or less, even)...that gives you $500 to $1,000 (!) to blow on a DX10 video card in a few months. SLI/Crossfire, anyone?

 

[Eurasianman]

Agreed. I should have probably done that =/

My rig got close to $2000 and I didn't even think I got top of the line parts :?

 

[Xonitex]

You're only one or two steps away from top-of-the-line parts, and at least you got it for a lot less for it than if you paid someone to build it for you. You're also using name-brand parts, which usually eliminates annoying compatibility/quality issues. Besides, if you game a lot then it's probably worth it to get a 7900GT/X1900XT now and a DX10 card when they come out. 8) Aaah, there's nothing like blowing your hard-earned money on the ability to shoot people's heads off at 100 frames per second.