Need Help Building A Computer For My Bro

[MoeBackus]

I've come to you guys because all of you know this stuff really well. Thanks in advance.

So I'm trying to help my brother build a computer. His budget is $1500 including monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. I've already got the speakers figured out and the mouse and keyboard is easy, but the rest I need help from you guys. I think we want at least 2GB of RAM, 2 HDDs (one for OS and games and one for misc. stuff). Is Intel still the way to go right now? He says he wants to be able to OC it a bit. What video card should I be looking at? This computer will be mainly used for gaming. I have no idea which MOBOs are good and which ones I should stay away from. Can someone recommend a good PSU and case too?

I appreciate the help!

Thanks,

Morg

 

[GenHoth]

Just go ahead and look at any of the many, many other computer build threads in the forum. If you have more specific questions, feel free to come back and ask. But you have the resources to find the answers to your question! Just go ahead and do a little reading in this forum.

Edit: We also have specific forums for some of those subjects if you have very detailed questions. Go ahead and look around! In an hour or two you should be ready for a detailed question.

 

[wildjames]

Originally posted by: MoeBackus
I've come to you guys because all of you know this stuff really well. Thanks in advance.

So I'm trying to help my brother build a computer. His budget is $1500 including monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. I've already got the speakers figured out and the mouse and keyboard is easy, but the rest I need help from you guys. I think we want at least 2GB of RAM, 2 HDDs (one for OS and games and one for misc. stuff). Is Intel still the way to go right now? He says he wants to be able to OC it a bit. What video card should I be looking at? This computer will be mainly used for gaming. I have no idea which MOBOs are good and which ones I should stay away from. Can someone recommend a good PSU and case too?

I appreciate the help!

Thanks,

Morg

First time poster here, but I know my stuff and I'll help you out.

Cases can range anywhere from $50 to $200, and even more than that. It all depends on how much bling you want the case to show off. Generally I recommend something like one of these 2 cases for that...

Thermaltake Armor - $150

or the Antec 900 series - $140

These are all personal preferences, and you can go much cheaper if you need to.

For motherboard, you want a decent P35 board. They outperform SLI boards and will support future Intel processors, something like the Gigabyte P35C-DS3R for $160

For RAM, I recommend starting with 2GB, especially if you plan on using Windows Vista. See if that nets the performance you're looking for. If it doesn't, upgrade to another gig or two. Here is some high quality PC800 RAM - OCZ - $120

I highly recommend a Corsair 520HX power supply for $125

Processor wise, I recommend the Quad 6600 which will come down to ~ $266 on July 22nd. It does get outperformed by higher clocked Core 2 Duo solutions, but I believe it is more future proof for when games start utilizing multiple cores.

I recommend a decent CPU cooling solution even if you don't plan on overclocking. Search Anandtech's cooling review section for quality articles on top brands.

Monitor wise, I'd go for a 22" LCD. They're about the best bang for the gaming buck right now, 2 of the top models are the LG L226WTY for $350 and the Samsung 225BW for $290.

The eVGA 8800 GTS 320 MB is the best bang for the buck for your video card for $280

Summing all of those components together, you get to about $1425, which leaves you a bit of room for speakers/mice/keyboard. If you need to cut the costs a bit, cut back to a $50-$100 case. Good luck!

James