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$1000 Gaming Computer - First time builder

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - $1000 Gaming Computer - First time builder

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Late October/Early November

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, gaming, gaming, gaming!

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg would be preferable, but if there's a much better deal at a reputable site then that is fine as well

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU

OVERCLOCKING: Not sure

MONITOR RESOLUTION: N/A

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As cheap as possible would be better! $1000 is the absolute maximum I want to spend, but would much rather go cheaper if I'm not taking a big performance hit.

This is what I put together so far. Could anyone go over this and make sure everything is compatible and make recommended changes please. This is my first system building project and I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing since I don't have that much experience with computers. Would this be absolutely everything I need? Or do I need to order extra cables and other stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128400

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130434

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231279

DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118032

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129066

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371015

Operating System: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677

All of this equals to about $1000 exactly. I'd love to get it cheaper if possible.

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Don't forget to use combo deals to lower the price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.270434 (CPU + motherboard combo) saves $15

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.265980 (Case + PSU combo) saves $15

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] 22-152-181 (HD + OS combo) saves $10

You could also save some money by going with a HD4870 1GB GPU.

SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $154.99

You don't need to worry about cables or anything. Your case will come with a bunch of screws and stuff and your motherboard will come with SATA cables.

Message edited by shortstuff_mt on 10-06-2009 at 09:01:57 PM

Reply to shortstuff_mt

If you are a student or have a .edu email address use http://www.win741.com/ to get windows 7 for like $30 to help save some cash.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to battlemarz

How's the performance of the HD4870 vs the GTX 260? After rebate they are roughly the same in price.

Thank you for linking those combo deals and thank you for the Win7 info. Saves me $70!!!! Didn't even know something like that existed haha.

Reply to nbender29

The 4870 1GB and GTX 260 core 216 go back and forth in the benchmarks. I would say the 4870 1GB is the overall better card. The fact that it's cheaper without having to deal with a MIR is just icing on the cake IMO.

Reply to shortstuff_mt

i think the 4870 tends to do better at AAiliasing?? The extra ram will also help at higher resolutions I think. I have the gtx260 216, runs fine on a 24inch 1080p monitor. I like eVGA for the step up program, and XFX for their double lifetime warranties. Hope that helps!

~mrcrybaby

Reply to mrcrybaby

Thanks for all the help so far guys. With the changes that were suggested I have the total price down to $850 now without losing any performance and even gaining some with the better GPU.

Awesome

If anyone else has any suggestions, let me know.

Reply to nbender29

Also, do you think it'd be worth it to shell out the extra $100 and upgrade to the 5850?

Ahhhh, so tempting, but even more money.

Reply to nbender29

honestly the 4870 should be good to play pretty much anything out right now, but if I had the money I would opt for the 5850. The 100 now will give you maybe 6mos-year more playtime than the 4870... I always splurge on GPU's, they make a huge impact on your system.

~mrcrybaby

Reply to mrcrybaby

Yeah, I feel as if I'll regret not getting the 5850, lol. Too bad the availability is currently non-existent.

Reply to nbender29

battlemarz wrote :

If you are a student or have a .edu email address use http://www.win741.com/ to get windows 7 for like $30 to help save some cash.

it's my understanding that this is only for the upgrade to windows 7 and you need to have a version of windows installed.

i hope i'm wrong though, because i'm about to do a build myself.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to xln

xln wrote :

it's my understanding that this is only for the upgrade to windows 7 and you need to have a version of windows installed.

i hope i'm wrong though, because i'm about to do a build myself.

Hmm, I'm not sure either. I have not used it yet as I am not building for about another month but figured I would point people that way.

Reply to battlemarz

Oh damn. Hopefully it's not just an upgrade only.

Reply to nbender29

Anyone able to find out if that $30 Windows 7 for students is in fact upgrade only?

Reply to nbender29

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$1000 Gaming Computer - First time builder

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - $1000 Gaming Computer - First time builder