$1000(USD) Gaming PC

So this is what I came up with after many hours of research for a gaming pc to build during the summer. I'm still a little iffy if I should go with the quad, because the E8400 is cheap and offers damn good performance an OC ability. I also considered an i7 build that would be roughly $150 more than this current build. So let me know what you guys think. Thanks!


LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
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NZXT Apollo BLUE NP Blue SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
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Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
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$69.99


SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
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$199.99
$189.99


CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
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$159.99
$99.99


OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2F10664GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227364
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-$12.00 Instant
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$59.99
$47.99



GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128358
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$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

$134.99


Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115041
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-$10.00 Instant



$279.99
$269.99

Subtotal: $917.92
Total(w/ Tax ans Shipping): $1025

Well if the PC is mainly for gaming, then the E8400 offers very good value over the Core2Q...
But the Core2Q would perform very well in multitasking...

And are you intel specific on your CPU ? Reason am asking you this is because you can get a AMD P II X4 940 setup at the cost of the E8400 setup and it would perform as good or better than the E8400 in games and overall better in other tasks...

How about 640 GB for the same price?

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] wd6400aaks

$150 extra for an i7 build is worth it. You are not only buying into the i7, but also the latest technology and a future upgrade path. The LGA775 will start to go to the way side to make room for the i7 and i5's. Also the next chips will just be a die shrink of the i7 and i5's. You are also buying into DDR3 memory, which is much faster, as well as support for both SLI and Crossfire on the same motherboard. How often do you actually upgrade your mobo and cpu? not as often as a graphics card. Most gamers replace their video cards every year or so, but keep their mobo and cpu for 2-4 years. This way you have the latest board and can upgrade your CPU without a new mobo in the future. Plus... it's FASTER

I would SERIOUSLY consider tweaking your build to accomidate this. Either that or look into the AMD Phenom II's. They offer GREAT value and are the latest tech from AMD. They perform on par with the intel c2q's.