Best current build for $1,000?

B

blindexodus

Weaksauce
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Jan 30, 2007
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Hey guys, my cousin is looking to build a gaming PC for right around $1,000. This includes the case and everything in it, no monitor, no OS. Just all of the hardware.

He's also going to pick up a monitor, which will probably have 1680x1050 resolution but this is not included in that budget.

He's mainly into MMOs, which are CPU intensive but he'll probably play some other games as well.

I haven't done research on this since I built my system about two years ago, so I really need some help. Going to do some research myself right now as well.

Any and all help would be very much appreciated! :D
 
at 1680x1050 you could get away quite a bit under $1000. There are some questions in the stickies that it would be helpful if you could answer.
 
notsane said:
at 1680x1050 you could get away quite a bit under $1000. There are some questions in the stickies that it would be helpful if you could answer.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I guess what I'm mainly stuck on is mobo and CPU. Mainly the CPU. I'm clueless as to what's good for gaming these days in that department. The rest should be fairly easy to piece together.
 
I feel like I've answered the sticky questions in my original post, but if you'd like it in list form, here you go:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming, as I've already stated.
2) What's your budget? $1,000, as I've stated.
3) Where do you live? New York, I buy online anyway.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Everything in, and including, the case, as I stated.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? None.
6) Will you be overclocking? No.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 1680x1050, as I've stated.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? As soon as we figure out which parts to get.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? SLI would be nice, doesn't really matter though.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Yes, as I've stated.
 
Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail and MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail combo $350

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
$80

HIS H487FM1GH Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $153**

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $75

LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50 - OEM $28

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail and COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active ... - Retail combo $140

Total before S&H $826

** I suggest waiting to weeks end to hear about AMD new video cards.
 
New cards are gonna be at least $300 at launch though, and there isn't a MMO that can't run far far far beyond smoothly with today's cards. I'd trade a new card for a SSD.
 
3) Some people live in other countries outside of the US, hence this question. Also, it allows us to recommend a B&M store if one is near you, which may or may not have better prices than online. ;)

6) Therefore, no need for a 3rd party HSF. See how this is beginning to help? FYI, OC'ing is easy and gains are high these days, but eh, up to your cous.

9) SLI is not needed for 1680x1050. Therefore, the cheapest good-quality mobo should do fine.

If anything, the new cards should lower current card's prices, hopefully.
 
It has been a little while since I posted this thread. We are finally going to order this week. I'm assuming some things changed with the new ATI cards. Any build suggestions? I think we are going to choose a monitor first so that we can determine whether he will be playing games at 1680x1050 or 1920x1200/1080.

I live in NY, near a Microcenter. I believe they have the i7 for $199. Should we go for that?
 
He just ordered the parts, here's what we went with.

Antec Nine Hundred
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
Intel i7 920
G.Skill 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
ATI HD-4890
Corsair 750TX PSU
ASUS VH242H monitor 1920x1080

Hopefully it's a beast.
 
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