Trying to decide whether or not to build a new gaming rig...

whitecloak

Distinguished
Aug 12, 2011
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18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Could be tomorrow, depending on what I see.

Budget Range: up to 1000, the cheaper the better (obviously)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Game development, Gaming

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor x 2, Speakers, Hard drive, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I used to use Tiger Direct alot, but I haven't bought anything from them in the last couple of years because I always seem to find better deals on Newegg

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Full ATX, no micro. I've had good luck with nvidia cards, and I don't know much about AMD stuff so I'm leaning toward Intel.

Overclocking: Yes, but I've never overclocked. So I'd have to figure out how first.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, I'm wondering if the extra video card makes that much of a difference.

Monitor Resolution: My main monitor is 1920 x 1080 and my secondary is 1680 * 1050

Additional Comments: My biggest concern is keeping it cool. Quiet is good, but I can deal with a little noise if necessary.

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My current setup is only 2 years old, I bought it prebuilt from newegg for $850 on sale, it has a Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz and nvidia 9800gtx 512mb. I'm pretty happy with the video card, but the board is micro atx. The video card covers the extra pci slot so I have no room to expand. I'm really not even sure I need a new rig, but my mobo doesn't support more than 4gb and I'm afraid that's holding me back from not only experiencing games to their full potential, but development as well. The Unreal SDK, for example, recommends 8gb for development, which I can't get.

I'm just shopping around to see if the upgrade is really worth the money. Currently, I can play all of my games at just under maxed settings, so I'm not in a rush to upgrade. Although I am worried that with all of the scheduled releases for the next year, I may fall behind pretty quickly, especially with the 4gb Ram limitation.

Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys.
 
I dont think 4GB is going to limit you in games any time soon. The only reason people get 8GB for gaming is because it's so cheap.

I'm guessing your games development programs are RAM hungry though, i bet a quad core would help massively too.

Personally i would build a new PC, you can get a massive upgrade from what you have for $1000. Aim for:

i5-2500k
8GB RAM
Z68 Motherboard with x8/x8 SLI
GTX 560Ti
Fractal Design Define R3 for quietness or HAF 922 for cooling.
Decent ~650-750W PSU