Help Believer build a PC for his wife!

Believer

Believer

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Feb 10, 2009
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My fellow gamers,

Tisn't often one comes across a worthy cause, but this most certainly is one: to help me build a PC for my wife! Here's the kicker: she is going to join eGO afterwards! So the sooner we get a PC built and running, the sooner she and I can kick your tails in-game! :)

I've already picked out a case and monitor:
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146082
Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

..but everything else is open game! I'm trying to hit around $900~1,000 for the budget, but everything else is good. I'm open to Intel or AMD builds, but I want to hear your advice on which is best and what is best.

Go ahead, shoot! And thanks in advance. :thumbup1: ;)
 
Ive got an AMD Dual core processor 3.00 GHz and it runs this game and others better than it with ease. If your looking on going all out you could get an i7 processor, but that alone costs what you want to spend on your whole computer lol. Whatever you decide, i would really suggest that you invest in a couple fans for that case if it doesnt already come with some, that has made a huge difference in my rebuilt computer.
 
I would help you out but as dollars aren't my currency I wouldn't be able to get as much bang for your buck. I would say that looks like Radeon 6870/6950, AMD Phenom II Quad Core, Socket AM3 Mobo of your choice, 500GB HDD, 4-6GB RAM, 650Watt PSU and a disk drive of your choice.
Oh yeah, and Windows 7

I'm saying AMD because they will shave off some money to spend on other things like a better GPU etc plus the socket AM3 can support hex cores and the new bulldozer CPUs coming out if I'm correct so it's great for upgrading.
 
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I would wait for Reflex or Phobus to respond before making any decisions, but this is what I came up with.



Gives you the option to do sli down the road. Could go cheaper on the CPU and motherboard and get a graphics card.
Those Xigmatek fans are so darn pretty :)
 
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I would swap out the cpu/motherboard in that recommendation for a Z68 chipset and an Intel i5 2500k. The only reason I would consider a current generation AMD chip for a gaming machine is if I already had the motherboard for one. I also feel that you may want more than 1GB of vram now that games are starting to use 1.5GB+ at 1920x1080 (I've hit 1.7GB in Battlefield 3). That would make me lean toward recommending a 2GB Radeon 6950.
 
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I'd get the 2gb 6950 as well. I would also get the i5 2500k. I have that power supply t bone mentioned and its great. However I also own the dvd drive, and its as loud as a blender.
 
Ok, I know:
1. There is no HDD
2. With a HDD, it will be over budget.

BUT! hear me out on this one. You have $15 left in the budget. The GPU has a thirty dollar rebate, so 30+15= 45.

Right now, there is a flood in Taipei, so HDD prices are through the roof. It does not make sense to buy hard drives right now. What i would do, is re use an old HDD for now, and then, once prices come back down, buy her something better with that $45 you saved.

Alternitively, you could just take the $45 and buy like a 160GB drive right now.

i8LIwbSXYEDMT.png
 
When I mentioned ~$1000, I should've specified that included the case and monitor I listed in my first post, sorry! :P

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I definitely want to do the Sandy Bridge build (what I have myself), as having anything about that in a CPU seems not worth it.

For the video card, I wonder if I could hit quite a bit lower in the price range, maybe somewhere closer to ~$300 but with great performance for the buck. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys. :)
 
Believer said:
When I mentioned ~$1000, I should've specified that included the case and monitor I listed in my first post, sorry! :P

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I definitely want to do the Sandy Bridge build (what I have myself), as having anything about that in a CPU seems not worth it.

For the video card, I wonder if I could hit quite a bit lower in the price range, maybe somewhere closer to ~$300 but with great performance for the buck. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys. :)
Click to expand...

In that case, I'd suggest taking Reflex's build with a cheaper case and using the stock cooler. Then you should be able to drop to a Radeon 6950 2GB or GTX 560Ti in budget. Frankly the stock cooler is just fine until you start OC'ing which isn't even necessary (just awesome).
 
Believer said:
When I mentioned ~$1000, I should've specified that included the case and monitor I listed in my first post, sorry! :P

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I definitely want to do the Sandy Bridge build (what I have myself), as having anything about that in a CPU seems not worth it.

For the video card, I wonder if I could hit quite a bit lower in the price range, maybe somewhere closer to ~$300 but with great performance for the buck. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys. :)
Click to expand...

ok, just drop it down to a 6950, remove the CPU cooler, and that should be pretty close i think.
 
Thanks guys. Jubei, I used to have that picture printed out and taped on the wall at my old IT job... :D
 
In regards to the HDD, I agree that you should wait till prices go down as there is a flood right now.

However, once prices go down, this is what I would suggest. Get two HDDs. Get a smaller drive (say 500 or 250 GB) and install your OS on it. Then, get another drive (say 1TB maybe) and install your games on it. Also, get an enterprise class drive for the OS. They cost a little more but don't normally burn out too fast.

I use that setup for two reasons. It can give you a little speed boost in games. (you're reading from one HDD for the OS and another for the game). Also, I normally re-install my OS every semester here at school. Instead of having to backup all my stuff and then re-install, all I have to do is keep anything non-os on the 2nd drive. Then, when I go to re-install, I just simply tell the OS to install on the drive that my personal files are not on.

Just a suggestion.

Good luck on the build!
 
In 1990 I bought a KLH (Brand - long since out of buisness) with:

386SX 16MHz
1 MB RAM on the mother board, 4 70ns 30pin RAM slots
20MB HD
3.5 and 5.25 floppies
VGA gfx
14" VGA monitor

All for $500 - it was on clearance at the local Pharmor store (think Walgreens/Target combo, also out of buisness). It was about 1/4 of the price it should have been.

I upgraded the RAM - to 5MB.
Added a 387 math coprocessor.
Installed a 4MB ISA SVGA video card.

Just so I could install and run AUTOCAD rel 10 (way before they went to yearly versions).

That thing back then is like having a Xeon workstation now - hell of a beast and most people thought it was way too powerful and more PC than I'd ever need. My parents still have the box it came in - it has old clothes in it.
 
hey jubei, i would love to have that ad & have it looking like an old newspaper clipping. that would be great to have.
 
Well Definitly dont get a Zotac card or Motherboard. They are horrible. Mine died on me in like 2 weeks. :/
 
using your logic, eVGA, Gigabyte, ASUS, and MSI are crap brands since I have had DOA products or products that died within a couple weeks from them.....
 
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