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Thread: Help me build a $1500.00 gaming pc

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    Talking Help me build a $1500.00 gaming pc

    Haven't been keeping up with what's new out there so I need help! I need a system that's quiet, Vista capable and can handle must of the games out there.

    What would you guys suggest?

    Oh, that's $1500.00 without monitor.
    Last edited by ugotahondaeh?; 04-03-2007 at 10:10 AM.

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    Memory express tell them want you want .thats it!!!

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    I should also mention I'm also looking for the most best bang for the buck components!

    Example:

    Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 w/ 4MB Cache 2.4Ghz - $379.95
    Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E6700 w/ 4MB Cache 2.66Ghz - $649.95

    Is the E6700 worth the extra $270.00 for that little extra performance?

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    Default Re: Help me build a $1500.00 gaming pc

    Originally posted by ugotahondaeh?
    Haven't been keeping up with what's new out there so I need help! I need a system that's quiet, Vista capable and can handle must of the games out there.

    What would you guys suggestion?

    Oh, that's $1500.00 without monitor.
    ASUS M2N32 - SLI Capable, PCI-E - $200
    AMD 5200+ - $189
    2GB DDR2 - $200
    GeForce 7950 512MB - $379
    550 Watt PSU - $129
    Tower - $100
    1 TB Maxtor 7200 SATA HD - $300

    Enjoy

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    Stick with the 6600 - the price isn't worth the tiny bit of performance. Also, if you want a gaming system - forget about Vista for AT LEAST a year. That should give them enough time to make sure it works properly with EVERYTHING.

    Make sure the MOBO you get has Dual Channel RAM slots and PCI-X slots... SLi isn't as glorified as they've made it - if you find a great 512MB vid card, you'll still have a great gaming system at a fraction of the cost of SLi.

    Other than that; don't settle for anything less than SATA 7200RPM or greater. Don't really care about how much space there is on it - just make sure the RPMs are high - sure theres a LITTLE more noise, but the performance should out-weight that fact.
    • KAOS

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    ^^ I agree with everything he said. Definitely stick to the Core 2 Duo as its far faster than the AMD processors.

    What I have to add, is that you should definitely go with one of the new Nvidia 8800 cards, faster than any of the 7*** series of cards and will allow you to play the new Dx10 games whenever they are released. You should probably go with the 320mb 8800GTS cards that come factory overclocked, so the Superclock edition from EVGA or the Extreme edition from XFX. Either of these cards should give you the best performance per dollar.

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    This is what I recommend (except for the case... you can choose whatever you like):



    Honestly, most games these days are dependent on the GPU, so I find very little reason to go for an E6600, especially when C2Ds are very overclockable.

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    Do not, DO NOT build anything right now that is not a Core 2 Duo. AMD processors used to be the king shit for gaming but that is not even close to being the case anymore.

    Just get something like a Core 2 Duo E6400 and overclock it, or even the E6300 will work but then you will need a more expensive motherboard to get the same kind of overclock out of it. Get a nice air cooler - a Zalman or Thermaltake will work. The stock cooler will not let you overclock as much and they are much louder. My comp (Core 2 Duo E6400 with Thermaltake Big Typhoon @ 3ghz on air) is extremely quiet and runs cool all the time.

    The best card going right now is the 8800GTS 320mb. It destroys anything I can throw at it, even at my monitor's native resolution (1650x1050). It too is quite quiet and I haven't managed to get the fan going full speed yet.

    You will need PC-6400 RAM at a minimum to get a good overclock on the PC, and you should also get a 500 watt power supply as a minimum.

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    I know and love MemEx just like everyone else, but check out NCIX.com... i pieced together my last pc there and they have way more selection than MemEx if you want a quiet PC.

    This config leaves you a little room for options and can still be under $1500 (and it has an OS):
    Computer Cases Antec NSK4400 New Solution ATX Mid Tower Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 3X3.5INT 380W ATX12V V2.0 Silver Black 1 $93.81
    Processors (CPUs) Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail 1 $399.99
    Motherboards ASUS P5NSLI ATX LGA775 Conroe Nforce 570 SLI DDR2 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E 2PCI SATA RAID LAN Motherboard 1 $128.23
    CPU Heatsinks Scythe Ninja Plus REV.B Heatpipe Fanless Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S478 S754 S939 W/ 120MM Fan Adjuster 1 $48.40
    Memory (RAM) Corsair XMS2 PC2-5400 1GB 2X512MB DDR2-675 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit 1 $84.49
    Video Cards Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT 256MB 128BIT GDDR3 PCI-E TV-OUT Dual DVI-I Silent Pipe II HSF Video Card 1 $192.66
    Hard Drives Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive 1 $118.45
    DVD Writers Samsung SH-S182F DVD+RW 18X8X18 DVD-RW 18X6X18 DL 8X 2MB IDE OEM Black DVD Writer 1 $46.71
    Operating Systems Microsoft Windows XP Professional OEM 1 $176.35

    Reg. Price: $1,289.08
    Instant Discount: -$0.00
    Your Price: $1,289.08

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    dude, your OS - pointless. don't need pro for a gaming system. not enough RAM, nor is it fast enough. graphics card is not fast enough. processor is too fast, save the money and get a E6400. using a SLI motherboard but don't need the SLI slot. Cool heatsink but will seriously limit overclocking potential and a big 120mm aftermarket fan cooler is very quiet anyway.
    Last edited by b_t; 04-02-2007 at 09:59 PM.

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    Originally posted by bookem
    I know and love MemEx just like everyone else, but check out NCIX.com... i pieced together my last pc there and they have way more selection than MemEx if you want a quiet PC.

    This config leaves you a little room for options and can still be under $1500 (and it has an OS):
    Computer Cases Antec NSK4400 New Solution ATX Mid Tower Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 3X3.5INT 380W ATX12V V2.0 Silver Black 1 $93.81
    Processors (CPUs) Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail 1 $399.99
    Motherboards ASUS P5NSLI ATX LGA775 Conroe Nforce 570 SLI DDR2 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E 2PCI SATA RAID LAN Motherboard 1 $128.23
    CPU Heatsinks Scythe Ninja Plus REV.B Heatpipe Fanless Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S478 S754 S939 W/ 120MM Fan Adjuster 1 $48.40
    Memory (RAM) Corsair XMS2 PC2-5400 1GB 2X512MB DDR2-675 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit 1 $84.49
    Video Cards Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT 256MB 128BIT GDDR3 PCI-E TV-OUT Dual DVI-I Silent Pipe II HSF Video Card 1 $192.66
    Hard Drives Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive 1 $118.45
    DVD Writers Samsung SH-S182F DVD+RW 18X8X18 DVD-RW 18X6X18 DL 8X 2MB IDE OEM Black DVD Writer 1 $46.71
    Operating Systems Microsoft Windows XP Professional OEM 1 $176.35

    Reg. Price: $1,289.08
    Instant Discount: -$0.00
    Your Price: $1,289.08
    for a 1500 gaming pc, you picked a 7600gt... i would go 8800gts - might as well go that route. I'd also pickup the Micron 2x 1GB DDR2 667 modules. Memory is cheap now, might as well get it! Also if you are on a budget, i would recommend waiting a bit.

    Buy Vista Business, and then do the downgrade license and install XP Pro (no additional cost!!). That way if you later want Vista, then you already own it. Just wipe XP Pro off the drive and load Vista! Sure it's more work and a bit of a pain in the ass - but you'll get the best of both worlds.
    Last edited by hampstor; 04-02-2007 at 10:18 PM.

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    wow, thanks for all the help guys... some very nice configurations out there. Not very big on overclocking so I'm leaning towards Xaroxantu's setup cause it looks like a very solid setup without tweaking anything.

    Would anyone change anything on Xaroxantu's setup with the most best bang for the buck components in mind?
    Last edited by ugotahondaeh?; 04-03-2007 at 01:22 AM.

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    Default new or used matter

    if used is ok pm me

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    DO NOT BUY OLDER vid cards. If you want a gaming rig, you'll want a DX10 compatible video card.... Go with one or two 8800s, or just buy a used video card from someone on beyond and upgrade later when vista is stable.

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    In all honesty, you're better to wait 6 to 8 months and let the hardware catch up with the technology.

    By the time it does you'll be able to get some high end stuff that will run Vista + DX10 games smoothly, as opposed to running current games and well and having to upgrade later.

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    I'll be doing this through the company's computer purchase program and only have a 2 month window to make this purchase.

    A little birdie also told me I should wait another month before making any type or purchasing, now I should wait until the hardware catches up with the technology. I'm so confused!






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    I bought a 7600GT 512mb, very nice card for the price. I went with that one because there is no point in the 8800's yet. Like everyone said, wait until DirectX10 is finished and vista is more stable, then upgrade. As for my vid card setup, I might just stack the 7600x2 for a nice GB card or ill sell it in the future when I build my new gaming rig.

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    In all honesty... wait until after April 22 to build. April 22 is when the C2D chips are gonna get slashed 20-40% in price. (Intel has confirmed this as AMD releases their quad core CPU in May, and Intel is going for the undercut)

    If you plan on being single card only, I would highly recommend the Asus P5N-E mobo. If you want future SLI capability... then get the XFX 680 LT SLi... it's a little more ($225) but it has full dual x16/x16 lanes for SLi vs a shared x16 (ie x8/x8) for the 650 chip on the P5N-E.
    Geek

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    Don't bother with the 7600GT. Either get a 8800GTS, or don't get anything and just run with onboard video until the 8900 parts come out. If its anything like last generation, the 8900GT will be just as fast as the 8800GTX but for $300 less.

    You can always wait for prices to come down or new stuff to come out, because with computers the prices are dropping constantly and new stuff comes out at regular intervals so it'd be easy to excuse waiting forever. If you want something now, just get it now and don't bother kicking yourself for not waiting to save $80 or 90 on your system.

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    Originally posted by hampstor
    for a 1500 gaming pc, you picked a 7600gt...
    The reason I chose that card is because of the emphasis on quiet in the original post, otherwise I'd agree on upgrading for vid card to something more powerful.

    BTW I have that silent gigabyte card and it does have it's limits but I'm not a big gamer so it's fine by me.

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