Need Advice on System Build

[vikingblade]

Hey guys, its been several months since ive researched pc hardware. Ive got a buddy whos looking to build a new gaming pc and came to me for advice. Im coming to you guys..hehe. Please give me a quick build suggestion... Not an overclocker. Something stable, simple and fast. Thanks

Around $1200 spending...pc / $400 or less...Monitor
Motherboard
CPU
Video Card
Ram
Hard Drive
Powersupply
Monitor

ADDED MONITOR...INCREASED SPENDING LIMIT

 

[xanis]

Important question for deciding on the mobo: Do you want SLI?

 

[vikingblade]

probably not. simpler the better. and leaning towards an ati x1900xt video card

 

[Howard]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 - $152
ASUS M2N-E - $93
mushkin 2x1GB DDR2-667 5-5-5-12 1.9V - $166 (memory cartels, I tell ya)
Sapphire Radeon X1900XT 512MB - $316
Western Digital WD2500KS 250GB - $78, $10 MIR
NEC ND-3550A /w free 1GB SD flash card as combo deal - $29
Masscool PS-PSU460 - $58

Total - $892 + $17-25 UPS 3 Day shipping, before tax, before $10 MIR

You could bump the CPU up to a Core 2 Duo E6300, but that'd put you close to the $1000 limit or over. Plus, almost all games will be GPU-bound with the X1900XT.

 

[vikingblade]

THNX

How does this look.... Any problems, conflicts, suggestions...

ASUS M2N-E AM2 NFORCE 570 ULTRA

AMD X2 4200 WINDSOR AM2

SAPPHIRE X1900XTX

FSP FORTRON POWER SUPPLY - 700W QUAD

CORSAIR VALUE SELECT - 2GB - 240-PIN DDR2 533

WEST DIGITAL - SATA 3.0 - 250GB

NEC 3550A DVD DRIVE

ADDED... MONITOR - SAMSUNG 204B

 

[brianlam425]

looks good!!! wish i had a computer like that

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
THNX

How does this look.... Any problems, conflicts, suggestions...

ASUS M2N-E AM2 NFORCE 570 ULTRA

AMD X2 4200 WINDSOR AM2

SAPPHIRE X1900XTX

FSP FORTRON POWER SUPPLY - 700W QUAD

CORSAIR VALUE SELECT - 2GB - 240-PIN DDR2 533

WEST DIGITAL - SATA 3.0 - 250GB

NEC 3550A DVD DRIVE

That looks good but why a 700 watt PSU;? at most such a system will draw 150-200 watts.

I would go with a 380-430 watt Seasonic S12. You can but the money saved in a better case or quieter aftermarket cooling for the CPU or 1900XT.

 

[vikingblade]

THNX...so a dual core cpu and xtx video card doesnt require a very powerful power supply.. any suggestions..

how about my motherboard and cpu...

 

[Conky]

You could do an Intel E6300 and an ASRock 775-Dual-ASTA motherboard for $193 and $55 respectively and it would smoke the above mentioned AMD systems with all the other parts being the same. Check newegg for the prices.

There are serious non-AMD options available these days.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
THNX...so a dual core cpu and xtx video card doesnt require a very powerful power supply.. any suggestions..

how about my motherboard and cpu...

Fortron PSUs are good

Like this for example http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104934

500watts with dual +12v rails for $90. I'm sure this isn't the best price either.

 

[vikingblade]

Man things have changed in the last 6-7 months. AMD was the only way to go for gaming then. I know very little about intel rigs... is the performance really that much better for a similar price. ill have to do more research.

hows the samsung 204b monitor... opinions

 

[Howard]

What's wrong with the build I suggested?

 

[vikingblade]

Not a thing.. i just decided i could swing a couple hundred more. So, moved up to an xtx and a 4200 cpu. Ive had good luck with corsair ram... However, im open to all suggestions. Thnx for your input.

 

[StevenNevets]

Here's a nice gaming, overclocking PC and monitor.
I'd suggest this (my build) but a better video card and cpu sense you can affoard it

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735
$152.00

Ram: Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820220095
$179.99

Video Card: ATI 100-435840 Radeon X1800XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814195019
$209.99

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341001
($119.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148144
$79.99

Monitor: BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 600:1 0.258mm Pixel Pitch
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014105
($259.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)