My first gaming rig- $1000?

[Wailord31]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Black Friday, hopefully- if not, a bit later

BUDGET RANGE: $1000 after rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming- for now, CoD4, TF2, HL2, MW2, L4D2, WoW (and random schoolwork, internet browsing, etc)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Case, keyboard, mouse, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NewEgg

PARTS PREFERENCES: would like a Core i5 and any Radeon 4890

OVERCLOCKING: Most likely not

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Most likely not

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Whatever goes best with the chosen monitor...

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Yeah, this will be my first rig and I've been very fickle in picking it, having gone through about 15 different setups in the last two weeks. I very much look forward to what you guys can come up with!
I'd also like to thank all of you who took the time to read this/help me out in advance. I appreciate it! I truly know very, very little about computer hardware (which bothers me) and I hope that in the process of building it (with help from my hardware-oriented friends) will get me more in tune with the whole scene... if that doesn't do it, hopefully maintaining one does! Thanks guys.

 

[skora]

Welcome to the forums wailord,

See how you like this. Granted, prices/combos may change by black friday and who knows what kind of crazy deals can be taken advantage of, but this should be a good start. If you want to see how I come up with parts, read through my design guide. Its in the process of being updated, but still good stuff in there.

Monitor: $180 1920x1080 23" Acer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

GPU/PSU combo: $223 amir http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.281870
GPU XFX 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447
PSU 700w modular OCZ ModXstream http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

CPU/Mobo: $325 i5 750 and Gigabyte P55 UD2 mAtx http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.290354
CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401

Ram/OS: $154 amir http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.282188
Ram OCZ Obsidian. I know its only cas 9, but if you're not going to OC, it will do just fine and is a great price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227495
Win7 64 HP OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

HDD: $75 WD Cav Black 640 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
This is only because the samsung spinpoint F3 500gb is out of stock. That would be my first choice.

DVD: $27 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168

$9 S+H

Total $1043 - $50 mir = $993

The only question is speakers? Or if you can save some on Black friday, get a good pair of headphones.

 

[Wailord31]

Thanks for the response! I neglected to mention that I've already got an OS ready to go, but thanks for that. I'll take a second to pore over it all and edit this when I'm done...

Edit: Alright! Looks great so far, and without the OS, the entire build is down to about $880, which is incredible (from what I've seen) for a Core i5/4890 system. Also includes a very nice monitor...

As for the speakers, I guess I'd need some, but it's entirely possible that I have some lying around... I'll eventually get a headset, but I'd like some speakers (not high quality at all) just to be there for casual playing.

 

[skora]

If you have an extra $100 bucks to spend, it could go into a good gaming mouse if you don't have one, headphones, or squeeze a 5850 in there.

 

[Wailord31]

If you have an extra $100 bucks to spend, it could go into a good gaming mouse if you don't have one, headphones, or squeeze a 5850 in there.

I ultimately plan on grabbing a G5, Newegg just happens to be out of stock at the moment and I can wait for however long it takes/Black Friday... the less expensive the better (ie not trying to use all of the budget), though the speakers do seem like a must.

 

[Wailord31]

What would you think of this Asus 21.5" for a bit cheaper? The big pro is that it includes speakers and I'm an Asus fan. Seems like the monitors are pretty much the same aside from the fact that it's a 21.5" as opposed to a 23". Seem like a worthy substitution? However, I should note that I believe monitors will get the biggest BF slash, as they're more publicly-bought than things like video cards...

Edit: $870 after rebates in this case.

 

[skora]

BF splash?

A smaller monitor with the same resolution will actually have a slightly clearer picture. So go for the 21.5 if you want. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Though I wouldn't count on any kind of quality sound for gaming from the built in speakers. Not sure if you'll get enough of a stereo phonic effect to tell where footsteps are coming from.

 

[Wailord31]

No, I'm sure I won't (get the 3d sound), but I intend on getting a headset in the future. The speakers would just be there for those days of casual gaming when I don't need to talk to anyone and simple music playing. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[skora]

NP, thanks for the vote. Enjoy your system when you get it.