i am looking to build a pc for 600-700 bucks in USD. my specs for my current pc are in my signature, so as you can see, i need an upgrade badly, because i solely game on my pc(and my psp). anyway, all the parts in my previous pc are going to be used as a family computer, except the hard drive. i already have my monitor, printer, speakers, operating system, mouse, and keyboard. so all im looking for is some good gaming parts for a pc gamer around 700 bucks tops. i will be needing a new mobo,cpu( i prefer amd, but if you think intel is better, let me know), new RAM, a new case, new psu, and a new videocard.

please let me know what you think i should do, as i am pretty experienced in building pcs, but before you post make sure all the parts are compatible with the mobo, as i had a problem before with that sort of thing.

hoopsman

What is this new system going to be used for? Do you plan to over clock? If yes to both than Intel I would say is the way to go...For $700 bucks just for the internal parts, you can get a pretty nasty machine. Make sure that you get proper cooling, I dont think that Xion case is going to do the trick. Things get much hotter now a days with the increased voltages. I would check out the Gigabyte GA-EP35 mobo along with an E8400 CPU. Video card is really up in the air, it really depends what you want to get out of your system. You want to go high performance then check out the 8800GT. As for ram, you can either get DDR2 1066 or DDR2 800. That mobo only accepts certain brands of memory, so check the specs on the website. Also, you are going to want to grab a good PSU. Check out the Corsair 550w. All these parts you can find on www.newegg.com

i am going to be using it as a gaming pc, and i dont plan to overclock because i dont have any overclocking experience and i have heard that it degrades your parts slowly. as i said before, i will be needing a mobo, ram, a videocard, a new case(a quiet one), a new psu, and a new cd/dvd drive. as i said, i have 700-800(a little more is good) to spend, and i already have the hard drive, speakers, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. i have more experience with amd processors, but if you recommend intel than i will go with intel.
please let me know, because i need to let my relatives know because they are going to be paying for this, not me, and i need to give them an idea of how much it is going to be
thanks
hoopsman

Ok well, that's not a prob. it is just that many of the amd mother boards are micro atx, not many good rated atx ones. I made this list up for you, check it out.






Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: Nine Hundred
Item #: N82E16811129021

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$139.99 -$20.00 Instant $119.99


ASUS M3A-H/HDMI AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: M3A-H/HDMI
Item #: N82E16813131289

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$109.99 $109.99


XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: PVT88PYDF4
Item #: N82E16814150252

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$191.99 -$12.00 Instant $179.99


CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CMPSU-520HX
Item #: N82E16817139001

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$139.99 -$10.00 Instant $129.99


AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
Model #: ADX6000CZBOX
Item #: N82E16819103773

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$153.00 $153.00


[b]Kingston HyperX NVIDIA SLI-Ready 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2K2/2GN[/b] - Retail
Model #: KHX8500D2K2/2GN
Item #: N82E16820104008

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$139.99 -$70.00 Instant $69.99


Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-115DBK - OEM
Model #: DVR-115DBK
Item #: N82E16827129018

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$29.99 $29.99

Subtotal: $792.94

looks like a great list! a couple things: if you think intel is the way to go, then i am fine going intel. is the motherboard sli, and are all these parts compatible with another?(i have had problems in the past with compatibility) lastly, is it upgradable, so that a year from now it will still be a good machine?
thanks
hoopsman

Yes they should be compatible, but you can double check. Should be upgradeable...but I am studying to be an electrical engineer and let me tell you, in two years things will be even more advanced that, upgrading will mean starting from scratch. Two years ago when i built the machine Im using now, I used a socket 939 cpu and mobo. Those things are like non existent these days. I garentee that 8 core CPU's will come up sometime soon, and hard drives with moving parts will no longer be in use. So if your aren't overclocking at all and you take care of your computer, you would be able to get something like.. 4-5 years out of it. By that time...upgrading something like a video card from like a 8800gt to a 9800 Gx2 will probably be obsolete. But to really answer the question, yes it is all upgradeable if you found parts that matched. I hope I helped you out, either way you go..intel or AMD..it is going to be better than what you have now, haha.

good list, but i dont you think i should go with a quad core cpu and a sli mobo? i dont need a fancy case or anything, just a quiet one. it also seems that the 520w power supply is priced a little high dont you think? i got a 500w one for a friend for like 50 bucks. i think your other choices are fine though, but let me know what you think

Good thoughts, but I didn't list for you in the original build a quad core. Most games these days don't even need all four cores.. and the motherboard I listed wasn't sli either. And trust me you really do not want to cheap out on your psu. That is a solid psu that will prob. never fail on you for as long as you use it, esp. if you are using it for gaming. That 50 dollar one you got may be good for a low grade pc, even if you game..but if like you said that you want to be a serious gamer, you can ask any good techie, you will want a solid psu, and unfortunately they cost a little bit of cash, but its worth it.

You could tell them:

"Oh dear, it's going to be much more expensive than I realised..."

And we'll build you a $1500 screamer!

Cheers

Troy

i will need to check with them on that, but im not sure i could get by with building a $1500 pc and not paying anything. i think by originally telling them that it was 6-700 bucks was a mistake, but anyway, if its not too much to ask can you possibly make me a 1500 dollar list and a better $800 list? that would be great because if i cant get them to pay 1500 then i will have another option.
thanks for the help
hoopsman

i think that the $800 pc is going to be the realstic choice, because my father said there is no way that my relatives and him are paying for a $1500 pc, so sorry, but if you could still prepare the best possible $800 gaming pc list, that would be great.
hoopman

This post has been edited by hoopsman: May 12 2008, 09:54 PM

Hi there,

It was just a joke, really... But good on you for trying!

Okay, so you have $800 to spend for the tower and components? ziggy's list is off to a good start, but just confirm from here and we'll see what we can do.

Cheers

Troy

i already have my monitor, printer, speakers, hard drive, mouse, and keyboard. i have $800 to spend on the tower, and its for a gaming pc. so, once again for clarification i have $800 to spend for just the internal mobo, gpu, cpu, psu, ram, and case. i wasnt really satified with ziggys list(thanks for trying) because it had a non-sli mobo, a pricey psu, and a dual core processor, and i know for like 30 more bones i can get a fast triple or quad core. but let me know what you think, i just think i need a better $800 list
thanks

Hi again,

Actually, I thought ziggy's list was definitely off to a good start.

Nonetheless, an Intel Core 2 Quad would be a nice choice, I should think we'd be able to work one of these into the budget.

I've gotta run now, I'll take a few minutes tonight to choose a few parts and list them here. Is linking to Newegg okay for you?

Cheers

Troy

Hi there,

This build pretty much hits $800 and would be a nice choice. If you had any extra, I would grab an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro to put on that Quad Core processor to keep it running nice and cool, and perhaps allow for a little overclocking if you're interested.

For this budget, you should not be worrying about SLI. Also, I agree with ziggy about the power supply, you do not want to skimp out on this part! Like I have written in my signature, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link it contains - why would you want to risk powering all these nice parts?

Case
Extra Case Fan
Motherboard
Processor
RAM (Memory)
DVD Burner
Video Card
Power Supply

Let me know what you think.

Cheers

Troy