Mid range Gaming Rig

[1st duke of marlborough]

My friend has recruited me to build him a gaming rig for the Christmas season, meaning he will have the money right after Christmas. I have been doing so research and am really interested in using the new AMD Phenom II X2 dual cores, as they are cheap as hell and, as far as I can tell, pretty darn good for the price. However, I have no idea what the holiday season might bring with it as far as new tech goes, my only thought is to go with ddr3, since ddr2 will be phased out sooner or later.

Should I wait until November to consider what to buy, or will it matter at all?

At the moment I was thinking

AMD Phenom II X2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

ATI Radeon 4870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121291

Asus Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398

DDR3 RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145264

Cheap HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

OK case w 500w psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

totals 667 USD , shipping should be evened out by rebates; becomes 700 after labor--since I'm doing all the work lol.

This is just a preliminary build, but I don't want to get to involved in it if tech prices/ efficiency will change drastically within the next 2ish months.

 

[ubernoobie]

get cheaper ram, dominators aren't that good for budget rig

 

[obsidian86]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279 get this ram instead

 

[dndhatcher]

In 2 weeks the 5770 should start shipping. Why not get a similar priced, similar powered DX11 graphics card.

That Sonata case is actually a nice quiet case. Its inexpensive, not cheap.

You should definitely post again a week or so before you buy to see if anything significant has happened.

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

Aight, I'll post again when Xmas nears, hopefully RAM and GPU prices will have gone down by then, because although ddr2 is alot cheaper RAM wise, I want his comp to be upgradable for the next 2 or so years at least. He doesn't usually play the most graphic intensive games, mostly l4d and enemy territory, with some random rts's and rpg's thrown in. Consequently, I would rather get him a 4870 when the new dx11 chips start to take off, since he shouldn't need the extra power for some time, so hopefully the prices for them will have dropped. With any luck, they will be cheap enough that I can buy one for Xmas and Xfire them!

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

Obisdian, that RAM you suggested says it's designed specifically for Intel systems, will it work on an AMD rig?

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

Hows this RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253

 

[obsidian86]

that ram will work with any ddr3 system the i5/i7 compatible is just a marketing trick.the ram you linked will work but its slower

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

Gotcha. Thanks!