600 US dollar gaming PC all I need is your approval...

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835185125
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$7.00 Instant
-$8.98 Saving
$36.98
$21.00

ARCTIC COOLING ACF8PWM Case Fan
Item #:N82E16835186022
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$8.98

LOGISYS Computer Area 51 CS51WBK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 480W Power Supply - Retail
Item #:N82E16811148030
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$3.00 Instant
$39.99
$36.99

Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #:N82E16824009145
Return Policy: Monitor Replacement Only Return Policy
-$40.00 Instant
$189.99
$149.99

EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512-P3-N841-AR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130325
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$109.99

AMD Athlon X2 7550 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor
Item #: N82E16819103628
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy




CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory
Item #: N82E16820145241
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy




ECS A780GM-A ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813135075
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy




Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive
Item #: N82E16822136098
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
-$40.00 Combo
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$229.96
$184.96
Grand Total: $511.91


Now I'm not sure about the OS. Someone told me I can get Windows 7 for free until the end of the year and only then purchase Windows 7... Don't really want to spend 100 bucks just to pre-order Windows 7 again in a few months for another 50 bucks...

Right now, Newegg and ZipZoomFly have a deal going where if you buy Vista, they'll throw the Win 7 upgrade in for free. I haven't looked into it at all because I plan on doing the Windows 7 RC until 2010 and then going with an OEM copy after that.

Having just put together a $500-600 system myself, the only other pointer I have is make sure that the company that is making your PSU is one that is reputable for quality goods. However, good and bad companies can make bad and good PSU's respectively. But a good PSU from a good company is important.

Make sure that your CPU cooler can fit your case!

You can still download windows 7 RC for now, started it a little while ago.

I would be wary of that case and PSU, no decent PSU sells for that little let alone with a case included. I would suggest looking into this combo instead, as you dont want your PSU to blow up on you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.208561

Rather than the 8800GTS or the ATI 4850, I recommend the GTS 250 such as this one from nVidia for $110AR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130468

It is essentially an updated version of the 8800GTS and performs on par with to a little better than the 4850 - depending on the game and settings. I think the cuda acceleration technology that nVidia has will become an inreasingly valuable tool in the near future.

This is a sweet, sweeeet build. I think you would be a lot happier with this.

not sure why to download it via torrents i downloaded it from the ms site and it was pretty quick for 2.4 gigs only took me half an hour @ 1.5 mb/s. My connection is 2.5 mb down but that's fine I almost never can dl at full speed. took WAY longer to install the damn thing than to actually download it. took me nearly 2 hours on my crappy laptop

I really just need the PC to play WoW so I don't want to spend all this money. I Don't mind playing it on high settings and even for high settings I don't need all that. Does anyone have a cheaper alternative? I want to be looking at 400-500 with monitor and OS included. Just a PC that is as cheap as possible and can handle WoW.

Inexpensive purchased system to play basic games:

Gateway with E5200 (and note it is 64 bit) $399

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6883113094

Insert HIS Hightech H467QT512P Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Turbo $60AR
(Note some of the reviews on newegg that specially address using this card for WoW)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161252

Total $359 plus shipping on PC (video card is free shipping) for a very basic gaming system. Just add your monitor.

I would suggest adding a little faster graphics card in case you want to play many games - the next step up would be a 9600GT for about $15 more. Note however that neither is as fast as the 8800 GTS you originally speced. If this is the standard you want, then I suggest instead getting the 4850 for about $105, or only $45 more. For this kind of fine tuning you need to better define your budget. Have you reviewed this THG article on best cards for the money?:

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2323.html

Like I said I don't need any 16x AF or running it at max resolution. I'd be more than happy running it on medium settings. I do not believe I would need to spend so much on it. I also don't even raid I play mostly arenas. If it can handle 30 FPS constantly on WoW the PC is good enough for me, the graphics are more distracting than helpful in arenas so I would turn most of them down even with a 4000 dollar PC.

I agree that the above is a better card and a good value, and I too like the cuda feature and recommend it. The GTS 250 is actually a better card than the 8800GTS. According to nVidia reference stats, the texture fill rate on the former is 47.2B per sec compared to a pokey 41.6B on the latter. (It's amazing how today 41.6 billion is pokey.)

Just depends on how much he wants to spend. For a few dollars more, he can get a card even better then the GTS 250.

Thanks for pointing out the issue on the PSU. I missed that. The 300w PSU is large enough for the 9600GT as long as it is not overclocked. However I would feel more comfortable with a larger, brand name PSU also. At the prices I have seen, he might be better off with the option I showed then adding about $60AR for a PSU upgrade such as the Antec Earthwatts 430w which would power any card he might want.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371006

Thinking seriously about buying this. Not sure about the monitor yet, probably going to buy a used LCD one for 50 bucks off someone:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6883113094

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161252

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371005


I doubt I'll need more than 380 W with that system, I won't be connecting more than one HD either and I don't plan to upgrade anytime soon.

That's US$ 577 with taxes and shipping (no monitor)

Looks good to me - but I am the one that identified that system to start with. I agree the 380w is ample for that system. But if it were me I would still go with the 430w for a little more as it might save you from a more expensive complete replacement - time and money - down the road if you want a more power video card or other upgrades. You are right at the range that 50w could make a significant difference. But you know your budget constraints better than me.

I am hoping this response might bump up the thread so someone else responds.

Wow that's a diamond PSU you found right there. For only 12 dollars more that is a huge upgrade. Definately going with that PSU... Think I'm going to order tomorrow after I (hopefully) get more responses.


Thanks

Great. PLease let us know how it works out for you after you have it all set up.

I built it together it seems to be working great so far

WoW is running very smoothly @ 1680x1050 (100 fps or more) but that is not in dalaran or other crowded cities.