First Time Builder AMD or Intel Gaming Rig $1000US

for 1,000 dollars go with an amd build you should be able to get a phenom quad core and possably a ati hd5770 graphics card. you can get a decent gaming computer for 1,000 dollars but you will get more for your money with amd.

AMD.

CPU/Mobo: X3 425 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $197
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55
Optical: Cheapest SATA DVD burner $20
OS: Windows 7 $105
Case: HAF 922 $90 after rebate
PSU/GPU: Antec 750W and HD 5870 $463 after rebate

Tota: $1,045

and there you go MadAdmiral is a genius!! thats what i call system on demand he can put together great systems quicker than anybody i know!

Alright.. Love the PSU/GPU combo, you talked me into it. Like the case, OS, HDD. Is there a little better Optical. Some of the reviews on that one scares me.

I would like to see how much of a difference there would be in price to a X4 955 and would I need a different MOBO with that CPU? I'm assuming that the MOBO is crossfire ready? Would I even notice a difference in performance from the X3 to a X4 and if so which X4 to get 955,965 etc?

Some reviews on the memory say its not compatible with AMD and you need to do a lot in the bios. I really know nothing about the bios and would like some plug and play memory where I don't need to do much with it. 4 GB is good though.

i would go pioneer for optical if you can they are a great brand! My pioneer burner i have had for 5 years now still runs like a champ! My friend has a pioneer he had for 8 years and still works great!!!! i had a plexwritor once and never again will i stray away from pioneer! All i did with the plexwritor was make coasters. Also i just bought a new pioneer this year so I have 2 pioneers in my system and no problems yet!!! one is SATA and my older one is IDE

There are a lot of DVD burners that are around $25. It just doesn't matter that much.

You will not need to switch the board for any AM3 CPU (all Athlon IIs and Phenom IIs). You might not get a combo though. To be honest, the only X4 in your range (without sacrificing something else) is the X4 620. It's $25 more.

As for performance, you won't notice a difference in gaming. Games are bottlenecked by the GPU, so increasing anything other than that won't be noticeable.

You won't have to do much with the RAM. Most user reviews are written by people who shouldn't touch technology. You might need to adjust the settings in the BIOS, but it's really easy, and you should do that anyway.

Yea there are alot of reviews out there that i read and am like "wow they wrote that?" seriously some people should just say no!

Alright this might be the one: Is there anything I can do cheaper but not lose what performance I have with this build? Will not going to a crossfire system for the future be cheaper? I think one card will be enough for what I plan on doing. The only thing I see is maybe less of a CPU, but how much lower and how much of a difference in performance would I notice?

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU/GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Total: 1,205

All good from what i see....

Do you really need the anti static wrist strap? I just make sure i am touching the side of the case..

I have the Phenom II x4 deneb edition 3.0 ghz 95w version for lower power consumption and i get great performance so what ever you decide.. what you have on there is great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

also i have the same exact board and i have this ram

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

and it works great!!!!

I'm not too familiar with iracing, but in gaming builds in general you can easily drop the CPU to the X4 620 ($221 in combo with the board) or X3 425 ($197 in combo with the board) and not have a noticeable effect on gaming.

Crossfire isn't necessary for future proofing, but it's a good idea. The 5870 should be powerful enough to play almost everything for the next 3-4 years without an upgrade. At that point, it's likely to be a better idea to replace it with a new card instead of Crossfiring it, but I typically like to leave the option open. If you do choose not to have Crossfire, you can get the Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 for $85 (after rebate). It's also in combos with the above CPUs.

EDIT: The RAM darkjuggalo linked to is quite a bit slower and only saves $15. I'd stick with the Ripjaws.

Well I ordered the build I posted just above, and it was like $1225 to the door. I'm happy with all the parts and everyone's help. Pretty fast CPU, and a great GPU and plenty of room for upgrades or crossfire if I choose.

Now I'm going to read about building a PC because this is my first and tecmo34 has a nice write up so I hope everything goes well.

Now with this memory I'm getting, is it just install and thats it or do I need to learn about the bios and adjust timings etc? I will need some help with that.

Anyways thanks..

Pete

Chances are that it's just plug and play, but you shouldn't use that as an excuse to be lazy. The #1 "problem" people ask about here boils down to them not checking the RAM's settings in BIOS...

Ill give you piece of advice and charge you nothing for it....  

Make sure you put the Ram in the correct slots.....That Mobo is similar to mine and to hit the right timings and speed they need to go in slots 3 and 4 not 1 and 2.

You need to read up on changing the Bios just so you can check and make sure the timing is correct. Mine defaulted at CL9 and a speed of 1333 instead of CL7 and 1600.