I need a brand new PC for gaming and school

[aluc13]

Priamrily, what I will be using this PC for is gaming and school. I need a computer that can game with the best of them and I also need it to be around $1200 or less, preferably less because I need to save money for school. I plan on buying this much later so there is no rush I just want to know if there is anything worth waiting for. I plan to buy this around October or so and I haven't seen anything new coming out so I thought this was the perfect time to ask.

I am a big gamer not so much on PC but I like games like Aion, Crysis, Call of Duty, Rage (I know this isn't coming out yet but would like for it to run smooth when it does), Everquest 2, and would like them all to run at the best possible settings. I love eyecandy!

Now for the school part, I am planning to be a computer/gaming programmer and I need the computer to be able to number crunch really well and do all the things i ask of it. I am guessing that a multi-tasker would be a good place to start since I will be browsing net and working on programs for games and computers.

Also, I have a smartphone so if there is any chance for bluetooth capability and wireless net cards than that would be great as well.


Keyboard:
Mouse:
Monitor:
OS: (Will probably have Windows 7 by then)
Case:
Gpu: (will probably SLI)
CPUWould prefer a I7 build)
Motherboard:
RAM:
HDD:
Optical Drive:
PSU:
Network card:

The highest I'll go is probably $1500 if push comes to shove but I would rather stay in the range of $1000-1200. Anyway thanks for all the replies and help and hopefully I'll be getting this as soon as I can, Oct or Nov.

 

[theubersmurf]

Are you looking for a desktop, or laptop? I'm presuming laptop, but you seem to feel like there will be a lot of customizability with it, so maybe not? Anyway, laptop or desktop?

 

[hunter315]

If you arent getting it until october or november, check back in about 2 weeks before you are considering getting it as intel has the i5's coming out in september, windows 7 and DX11 cards are due out in october, all three of those will change the part and price lineup greatly.

 

[kokin]

Are you looking for a desktop, or laptop? I'm presuming laptop, but you seem to feel like there will be a lot of customizability with it, so maybe not? Anyway, laptop or desktop?

Seeing as he/she listed parts like the case, mobo, etc., he/she will probably be going for a desktop. Desktop is the way to go if you want higher end performance for less money.

@OP I'm actually planning to build a system mostly for gaming with the budget range of $1000ish without MIR and Tax/Shipping. I've chosen an ATI+AMD high-end build simply because I prefer the budget marketing that ATI/AMD is going for and it gives me the option of spending the saved cash on extras. Here's my build:

Keyboard: Saitek PZ30AU Black USB Standard Eclipse Keyboard $45
Mouse: Not needed
Monitor: Not needed
OS: Trying out Win7 RC
Case: Antec 902 (I can get it for $120 in my local electronics store)
Gpu: SAPPHIRE Toxic 100269TXSR Radeon HD 4890 $259
CPU:AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition
Motherboard: Asus M4A79T Deluxe (Combos with CPU for $320)
RAM: G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3 1600mhz $75
HDD: Western Digital Black Caviar 1TB $95
Optical Drive: DVD Burner approx. $25
PSU: Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W $120
Network card: N/A

This totals to approx. $1060 and depending on the combo deals and a few part changes, I can probably get it for the same price when I purchase. If you can wait until later this year, you can probably find things for cheaper.

Going i7 will take away half your budget, seeing as the i7 920(lowest i7) sells for $280 and a decent motherboard goes for $200-$300. It will be hard to squeeze $400-$600 for 6GB RAM($100-$150 minimum, makes use of i7's triple channel memory), SLIing 2 Geforce 200series cards can cost you anywhere from $250-$600 (for the Geforce 250-275 cards) and that's already past the limit of your budget. If you do want to push it to $1500, you'll be able to afford a case and a power supply (probably $100-$150 for the case and at least a 750W $100-150 for a decent one). At this point if you don't plan to SLI and go with a single gpu, probably a 275 or 285, you'll have some head room for a decent HDD and optical drive. At $1500, there isn't any room for at least a 22-24 inch monitor.

Not to promote ATI+AMD, but with a build similar to mine, you can crossfire 2 reference/stock ATI 4870s for about the price of $300+ and already compete/beat with the Geforce 285 ($300-$450) OR go with a stock 4870 (~$150)/4890 (~$200). This allows you to have about $400-$600 for getting a 24in monitor (to get 1920x1080 resolution) and also a nice mouse, keyboard, network card, and sound card. You might even be able to squeeze out money for a nice set of headphones or speakers.

Although the 955 isn't as great as the i7 for the number crunching, it's really just seconds behind the i7 in terms of benchmarks. It's like a 1 minute task for the i7 would take maybe 15 to 45 seconds longer for the 955. As a third option, you can go ATI+Intel for the best of price and performance and it will probably cost you around $1200-$1300. You'll have minimum amount of money for a monitor and nothing else.

**If you insist on the i7 plus a Nvidia GPU** I did find a good deal for the i7+mobo+6gb DDR3 1600 RAM+Geforce 260 for $800. With this, you can build a nice Intel+Nvidia system and have leftovers for everything else, but it might push your budget close to $1500. You'd have to cut back on having a nice mouse, keyboard, and monitor + other extras. Anyway, I hope I helped if even just a little. Good luck.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.213960

 

[Nik_I]

bluetooth in desktops is not something that you see too often. I know that at some point dell offered a gazillion-in-one card reader with a bluetooth module built in, but in terms of parts you could buy yourself, you're pretty much limited to USB dongles.

 

[daship]

Come back in october, prices change day to day.

 

[aluc13]

I need the number crunching for programming aspects of my career so I kinda need the extra power that the I7's give..I probably won't buy I5 only cause I think it's stupid to have another new socket and if Intel is going to be money hungry like that then the i7 will be my last intel pc. I also don't very much like the ATI's they're known to not perform as well at higher resolutions