Gaming PC Up to $1200

[ansionnachcliste]

Expected to build: Beginning of April.

Hey guys, I'm planning to build a computer soon. I'm a huge gamer and like the likes of FPS games such as MW2, Brothers in Arms, Crysis and like strategy games and sometimes I like to buy games that just look damn good so would require them to be lag free with max settings. Can I pull this off with my budget?

I'm also studying in a Sound Tech. course and would need a fast computer for audio recording and editing and also other multimedia such as working with flash and videos.

I've been looking on: http://www.hardware-revolution.com/hardware-revolutions-1000-gaming-build-version-2-0/
and it looks good.

I've read about the i7 - 920 but am not sure if it's worth the little bit extra.

I don't need a mouse, speakers or keyboard.

I think I may require a 64 Bit OS I believe.

Ive got £500 now (798.895 USD) so I could spend a max of $1200 (about £850).

I'm living in the UK now so UK sites preferably; in order to avoid some taxes etc.

Also, I Hope not to go over £850 at the moment if I don't have to but if I must then I'll try my best.
If there are any other recommendations, please let me know as I'm looking for a very high performance computer and hopefully have the cash for it.

Thanks guys,

ansionnachcliste

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Many respondents would reply that planning a machine to be built 2 months from now is an exercise in futility as the marketplace changes week to week. I'm not generally in that camp and plan my own new builds along that same time frame. However, in February, there's a lot of truth to this sentiment for several reasons:

1. Intel prices drop at end of February
2. Intel new CPU's drop in 1st - 2nd quarter
3. Vendor's new MoBos arrive within weeks of the new CPU's
4. This year anyway, the "other shoe drops" as nVidia releases their new GFX cards in March.

You don't wanna buy a hot Rampage II Extreme (R2E) for example for $350 when the R3Eis likely to drop into stores any week now. Though it's just about impossible any time of the year to avoid buyer's remorse so "taking the plunge" is unavoidable, but in February it's quite a bit more sketchy as not only do we expect a slew of new products to arrive but also, the introduction of "the latest and greatest" has the invariable effect of pushing down prices on the "next to latest and greatest".

 

[ansionnachcliste]

Hey,

So it's that time of the year again eh? Well, how much more would you expect the next generation of GPU's etc will be? And if, in this day of computing they'll be worth having compared to the i5 or i7 chips? I wouldn't want to be specing a shed load of money on a something new that would not be worth the big jump in price compared to some things on the market today as their power maybe too much and unecessary at this point in time.

I'm dying to see what nVidea come out with but would worry, again on their price and performance to price ratio compared to the top ATI cards now.

I never mentioned about resolution for a monitor. Well I'm not sure what I'd be using but I suppose some gaming standard for todays high spec pc's would do.

Thanks

 

[coldsleep]

I would be less concerned about what the new tech is going to cost and more concerned about whether or not it's going to drive down the price of the current best tech, which I believe is what JackNaylorPE was saying.

Not that you can't plan your build out anyway, but don't get locked into a particular setup until you're ready to buy, as it's possible that slightly older nVidia (and probably ATI) cards will come down in price, leaving you some extra cash to either upgrade to a better graphics card or more storage, or whatever. It's also possible (though unlikely) that SSDs will become more reasonably priced in that timeframe, if so, it might be a good option.

 

[ansionnachcliste]

Ah I see, I understand now.
I'm just basically looking for the best possible parts for a computer now and would hate to buy something and then realise that I could have gotten something better for cheaper.

What are the expectations for the new chips?.. If any information at all.