Gaming PC

[AnAutisticDog]

Hey, I might be getting a really good job soon and I was thinking of getting a PC thats a gaming machine. Basically I need to know some good reputable websites that I choose the components and they build it and ship it to me.{at a good price}
I know what i need somewhat, but i was wondering if someone could list some of the components I should have installed.

I would like to keep it under $3,000{if possible}

[Jale]

New Egg is an excellent site.

[Zach]

I only ever really shop at Newegg, also. It's been a great site with great prices for many years.. Only problem is I don't know of Newegg having any assembly service. Chances are any company you go to that WILL build it for you, will give you a limited option of what you can put in the machine, and will charge you a lot of money for the parts themselves, and then charge you more for the assembly.

W/Newegg you get low prices and the freedom to choose whatever you want. You just have to assemble it yourself. If you have a PC savvy friend (I mean someone who really knows, not someone who thinks they know because they changed a CD-ROM drive), ask if they'll help you assemble it. For $3,000 you could definitely afford a high powered prefab, it's just a question of how much money you DON'T want to spend.

Or you can ask us, or I know a forum or two where you can get advice and help.

As to what to put into your PC.. It's kind of hard to say unless you're building it right this instant. Technology and prices can change so fast that what you want to buy for what you're spending may not be the best choice out there when you do get around to building your PC..

You'll definitely want a Core 2 Duo, as Intel is taking the performance crown from AMD right now. Some people would argue for quad core, but there is no real practical use for it right now - and you can always buy it later anyway. At least with Intel you don't need to buy a whole need motherboard when you upgrade your CPU in short time spans 99% of the time.

You'll probably also want to pick a Nvidia Geforce based card.. Not sure what the best out right now is, but undoubtedly something like the Geforce 8800 Ultra or something..

You can use these two charts to help out with CPU and Graphics Card research, as they compare many models in many tests.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html

Intel is a no brainer with the CPU's as the chart will show. The selections are easy to read if you know how..
The Values go - Clock Speed / Bus Speed / Motherboard Chipset / DDR Speed

[onewecallgod]

Wait for the nVidia 9800 series as it's just around the corner.

Build it yourself. It's so much more rewarding.

[AnAutisticDog]

I was justa thinking of something like this.

$1932.75 for Package 536: >> Configuration: # 2

Warranty : Fully assembled and tested. Shipout in 3 Days. 3-Year limited warranty plus lifetime tech support. QTY: 1
Case : aBX ATX: [ CA-ST402B ] ( Front USB, Audio ), Black w/ 350W PSU QTY: 1
Power Supply [ PSU ] : Power my PC with a 750W Power Supply - PSU [ NSP-750V2.2BF14PFC ] QTY: 1
CPU Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, LGA 775, 2.4GHz, 64-Bit Quad-Core, 2x4MB Cache; { 1066MHz FSB } QTY: 1
System Board : Abit nForce 650i SLI, Quad-1333, SLI, RAID, w/Audio, GbLAN. [ Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLI ] QTY: 1
Memory 1 Slot : DDR2: 2048MB 800MHz / PC6400 QTY: 1
Memory 2 Slot : DDR2: 2048MB 800MHz / PC6400 QTY: 1
Memory 3 Slot : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Memory 4 Slot : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
VGA Card 1 : PCI-E16: Geforce 8600GTS: 512MB QTY: 1
VGA Card 2 : PCI-E16: Geforce 8800GTS: 640MB QTY: 1
Monitor LCD : LCD: 19": 1440x900, Widescreen LCD Monitor QTY: 1
Hard Drive 1 : 400GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/16MB Buffer QTY: 1
Hard Drive 2 : 160GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer QTY: 1
Hard Drive 3 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Hard Drive 4 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Optical Drive 1 : ROMVDRW: 20x Dual-Format/Dual-Layer w/LightScribe, Ivory Color QTY: 1
Optical Drive 2 : ROMVDRW: 20x Dual-Format/Dual-Layer w/LightScribe, Ivory Color QTY: 1
Media Readers : 1.44MB Floppy Drive w/ 7 in 1 Card Reader, Black Color QTY: 1
TV Tuner : MSI TV@nywhere Plus, TV Tuner, w/Remote Control QTY: 1
Sound Card : High Definition 7.1 Digtial Surround Sound QTY: 1
Speakers : 2.0 Systems: aBX MM2. [ 669-8817 ] QTY: 1
Network : Integrated onBoard 10/100/(1000) Port(s) QTY: 1
Wireless Net : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Modem : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Operating System : Windows Vista Home Premium - 32 Bit Edition - w/ DVD set QTY: 1
Software : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Keyboard : Wireless: Logitech Cordless Desktop LX 710 Laser: Keyboard + Mouse, [ 967670-0403 ] QTY: 1
Mouse : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
URL Link : http://www.pcusa.com/shopKitConfig.a...0,0,0,4,0,13,0,

Does this seem okay. I basically want to be able to play games like Gears of War, Crysis, the new Farcry. at decent quality.

[Jale]

Get GeForce 8800 Ultra. Also, get the 64 bit version of Vista if you want to use it with 64 bit processors such as Core 2 Duo/Quad.

Oh, and yeah, building it by yourself is a must.

[AnAutisticDog]

Wahts the difference between 64bit and 32bit. BTW thats pre-built and tested. then they ship it

[Jale]

64 bit operative systems can run 64 bit applications. 64 bit applications can take advantage of the multicore processors.

[AnAutisticDog]

Ill keep that in mind. But wil that work okay since it has 2 graphics cards but thaay are nt the same type.


BTW I gotta get this job before i can get one of these so keep your fingers crossed.

[Jale]

The video card thin you want to do is called cross over (SLi/Crossfire). If you want optimum performance, both cards must be the of the same type (model).

ie:

2X GeForce 8800 Ultra.
2X GeForce 8600 GTS.

and so on...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. My card is Crossfire (Radeon) compatible, but I haven't tried that. I have two X1600 cards, but my motherboard has only 1 AGP slot.