$1000 gaming rig

[RyanMcD]

I plan on buying and building my first gaming rig, and have about $1000 to spend. Here is the current build I have.

CPU:
Athlon 64 3500+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533
$201

Motherboard
Chaintech VNF4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813152053
$69.00

Graphics Card
DIAMOND GX800XLPCIEWB Radeon X800XL 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814103169
$265

RAM
Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820141423
$79.25

Optical Drive
BenQ Beige IDE DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101003
$38

HD
Seagate Barracuda 7200 80GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148040
$60.50

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811124087
$44.50

Monitor
Acer Black 17" 12ms LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009062
$206

Total Money = $963.25

Any suggestions on anything would be great. I just want to play HL2 + mods, AoE3 and most other new games (quality of graphics isn't a huge issue as long as the game has playable framerates). I used newegg as a base for how much the system would cost. I'll be shopping around a few sites to see if i can get some better deals. Any help would be excellent.

 

[Dragoon42]

why not get a 7800gt instead of the xl? Last time i read the reviews, the 7800gt was a better performer

 

[poisonthewell]

Looks good at a glance. I suggest getting one stick of a gig of ram instead of the 2x512. That way you can go up to 4gb of ram instead maxing out at 2gigs with 4x512 sticks.

 

[ShadowBlade]

:thumbsdown: mobo, I hate that thing
Im pretty sure I could OC my left testicle more

 

[Cinna696]

go with a 6800GS, its about on par with an X800XL (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2593&p=6) and it costs alot less

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130258 (about 194$)

Don't go with that motherboard either, friend of mine has it and the ethernet doesn't work. (actually s1 on the review on newegg said the same thing)

try an asus board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131571 (about 72$, 3$ more but you already saved that by getting a 6800gs)

O yea that case, it doesn't even have an exhaust fan and that psu looks mighty ******, Try an Antec SLK1650B, comes with one of their PSU's and has an exhaust fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129150 (63$, 20$ more than the case you chose but better quality PSU and again you saved the money already from the video card)

 

[RyanMcD]

Thanks for all of the great tips so far. Keep them coming.

 

[Cinna696]

ignore what posion said about the ram, if your using 939 go with Dual channel ram, meaning two sticks, not a single 1gb stick, 2x512mb is the way to go or if you want 2gb get 2x1gb

 

[poisonthewell]

O yea that case, it doesn't even have an exhaust fan and that psu looks mighty ******, Try an Antec SLK1650B, comes with one of their PSU's and has an exhaust fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129150 (63$, 20$ more than the case you chose but better quality PSU and again you saved the money already from the video card)

Luckily newegg isn't the only place to purchase computer components:

SLK1650B

 

[poisonthewell]

Originally posted by: Cinna696
ignore what posion said about the ram, if your using 939 go with Dual channel ram, meaning two sticks, not a single 1gb stick, 2x512mb is the way to go or if you want 2gb get 2x1gb

Good point, totally forgot about running dual chan.

 

[Cinna696]

..its more expensive at amazon...

 

[poisonthewell]

shipping? or does that not count?

 

[Cinna696]

didn't look at shipping, its definatly cheaper then by like 10$

 

[Munku]

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322728 With that you can go ahead and knock out the motherboard and graphics card (7800 GT) as well as a free Quake 4.

 

[Cinna696]

the mb and thing he has is about 270$, thats 370$ (350$ after rebate), so 70$ more,
atm his costs is 927$ or so
+ 70$ and your actually just shy of 1000 so its an option

doesn't take into account keyboard/mouse/speakers/os

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

Get more ram, 2 gigs if your building a rig now,

 

[Cinna696]

its all about cost, under 1000$, going with the 7800gt theres not enough $ left over for 2gb of ram, with a 6800GS there is but there is still the issue of is he counting the keyboard/mouse/speakers/os seperate or is he resuing them from his previous build

 

[eXx08]

Just get evrything I got in my sig It cost me about 1K for the box and it'a really fast.

 

[Reiniku]

You might want to go with the x800gto 16 pipe version from powercolor instead of that xl. It's essentially identical other than an increase in $85 on the price tag.

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Nice setup. Some suggestions.

Get the AMD 64 3700+ San Dieago. Its only like 10 bucks more, and worth the performance increase.

Get the 7800GT, cheaper and better. (Or get the 6800GS for about $200)

Ditch the LCD. The resoultion sucks. Get a nicer CRT for same price.

If you have more than 2 sticks of ram, the timing with go up to 2T. Which from what Ive heard is slower. (How much slower is debateable.)

Have fun.

 

[spc hink]

For cpu, either go with the 3700+ san diego for the extra L2 cashe or stick with a 3200+ or 3000+ venice.

I would also look for a new motherboard. EVGA sometimes has a sale of the 7800gt bundled with a motherboard. The mobo is no dfi ultra-d or asus sli-premium, but it would be a better choice than the one in the op.

For the video card, I would try to make a 7800gt fit in your budget, but the 6800gs is also a very good choice. I have heard many good things about it.

For the ram, I would plan on putting 2Gb in your system for the future. I know you won't be able to utilize dual channel with one stick, but if you ever do want to upgrade, having 4 sticks will hurt you in the long run.

And last, best of luck with your build!

 

[Crescent13]

Get an Opteron, they overclock like mad. For example, I got my 1.8GHz opteron 144 to 2.7GHz on stock voltage.