Gaming computer for <1000

[andresvrl]

Ok, i've never built a computer before but i really want to try building one. Can someone tell me what is the best possible gaming computer i can build for under $1000?

Approximate Purchase Date: This month

Budget Range: $900-$1100

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website for Parts: Newegg, but anything works, cheaper is better

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution:1680x1050

 

[crewton]

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $224.99

motherboard: ASUS P8P67 PRO $179.99

Graphics Card: MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II $249.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB $99

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W $164.99

Case: up to you $60-180
heatsink: up to you $30-80
DVD drive: up to you $20ish

I think that's all unless I'm missing something

 

[wenqi]

i don't now if these bits are available on newegg but i would go with (based on RRP in AUS $):
CPU: AMD Phenom 975 if not overclocking, 955 if overclocking
GRAPHICS: HIS ATI 6850
MOBO: Asrock 890GX Extreme (if you don't mind cheap brands)
CASE: Thermaltake Armor Full Tower (http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=1060)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower-XT 875w PSU
HD: W.D Blue SATA3 1TB (i think 1TB is enough)

Total: $950
i think that this right now should be what you want

 

[wenqi]

opps, sorry but patriot gamer DDR3 ram 4G $60 8G $120 and DVD drive should be around $30

 

[Why_Me]

This build down below allows you to add another one of those factory over clocked gtx 560's later on for SLI.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-SGC-2000-KKN1-GP-Storm-Scout/dp/B00243HHNY/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304100044&sr=1-5 $82.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Storm Scout ATX/MATX/ITX Mid Tower Case (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004MYFODI/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304101555&sr=1-8 $104.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms 750TX v2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488 $154.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.632379 $459.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $439.98 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303777065&sr=1-1 $29.51 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427 $49.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $54.99 FREE SHIPPING
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $20.99 FREE SHIPPING
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Total: $938.44 *not including shipping, and mail in rebates

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_gtx560_twinfrozr_2/ <--- review/benchmarks of that MSI card

 

[crewton]

Hmmm was thinking the UD3 didn't come with SLI ability...didn't know they came out with a p67X version. Has more SATAs than my UD4!

 

[Why_Me]

Hmmm was thinking the UD3 didn't come with SLI ability...didn't know they came out with a p67X version. Has more SATAs than my UD4!

http://motherboardnews.com/2011/04/02/gigabyte-introduces-two-p67x-motherboards-ud3-and-ud3r/ <----- The P67X UD3R is bad to the bone by the looks of it. That board should be released in the US market sometime next week.

http://gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3816#sp <--- A better look at that board

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1183&products_id=17118 <---- It's already available in Australia

I'm going to guess that board will run anywhere from $165 - $175 USD. If that's the case...the Asus Pro and MSI GD 65 boards are all but cooked, and it won't look good for the Asrock extreme4 either. Either they bring the price of those boards down or that Gigabyte board is going to pulverize them on the sales.

 

[redgarl]

I would go with the components I know the most and I recommend you to buy for your budget.

Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 2TB
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Heat Sink
AMD Phenom II X4 955
Radeon 6950 1GB
OCZ Fatal1ty 750W

A PC case is IMO one of the most important piece of hardware for your PC, so I would recommend spending on it. If you buy a good case that is silent, easy to deal with, esthetic, with plenty of space and with good airflow, the chances are that you will probably keep it for easily 10 years. I got 2 suggestion depending on your will to spend on it.

Silverstone Fortress FT02B or
Corsair Graphite Series 600T

My favorite is the Fortress easily... probably the most impressive case I have seen in a while. It will be my next PC case if nothing as impressive is release in the next couple of years. If you want to save a couple here to, yu can check the Cooler Master HAF series, a good case to and less expensive.

As for motherboard,

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

The rest is pretty much ups to you.

 

[genghiskron]

Antec 600 - $60 w/promo - $35 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=antec+600&x=0&y=0

REALLY? youre recommending a $279 case to someone with a $1000 budget? If you are building a pure gaming computer right now with a $1000 budget and you dont use a sandy bridge i5, you are spending your money poorly.

 

[redgarl]

A piece of crap of a case is a bad choice. And no, the Case retail for 210$ in Canada. And yeah, putting around 200$ for a case is a good investment.

And yeah, it fit into his budget so why not actually. If he want he can add another 6950 later without any forced upgrade.

Also, for a single card setup, going AMD or Intel basically have no damn difference because the card is the bottleneck.

 

[genghiskron]

edit: ok.

 

[Why_Me]

I would go with the components I know the most and I recommend you to buy for your budget.

Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 2TB
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Heat Sink
AMD Phenom II X4 955
Radeon 6950 1GB
OCZ Fatal1ty 750W

A PC case is IMO one of the most important piece of hardware for your PC, so I would recommend spending on it. If you buy a good case that is silent, easy to deal with, esthetic, with plenty of space and with good airflow, the chances are that you will probably keep it for easily 10 years. I got 2 suggestion depending on your will to spend on it.

Silverstone Fortress FT02B or
Corsair Graphite Series 600T

My favorite is the Fortress easily... probably the most impressive case I have seen in a while. It will be my next PC case if nothing as impressive is release in the next couple of years. If you want to save a couple here to, yu can check the Cooler Master HAF series, a good case to and less expensive.

As for motherboard,

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

The rest is pretty much ups to you.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=288 <------- AMD Phenom II X4 955 vs Intel Core i5 2500K benchmarks

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I miss by 11 bucks at $1,011. Pushed the budget a tiny bit but it allowed for a substantial step up across the board and a well balanced system.

Case - $105 - Antec 902 V3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097
PSU - $110 - XFX 750 WBlack Edition PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003
MoBo - $395 - ASUS P8P67 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622007
CPU - incl above - Intel Core i5-2500K
Cooler - Later - Scythe SCMG 2100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142
TIM - later - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
RAM - $84 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair CAS 9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324
GFX - $230 - Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti 900 Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
GFX - Later - Same
HD - $65 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD Writer - $22 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135221

Case and PSU sized for addition of 2nd card at later date. PSU gets 10.0 rating at jonnyguru.com....which means overclocking and 2nd card no issue. If ya can sp\ring for anudder few bucks, I'd get the cooler, TIM at same time. However, case will allow later installation of HS no problem.