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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I'm aiming for a system that will hold its own in modern shooters, but I realize that I'll have to upgrade it over time. I'm not the type who goes all out. I don't need all the eye candy or insane FPS. I'm really just looking for acceptable performance on modern games. If that can't really be accomplished in the $750 range, I can move upward. The game that is making me consider a new desktop is Bad Company 2. TF2 and Killing Floor (two of my other most often played games) run fine on my laptop. But Bad Company 2 has made me realize that I won't be happy for the next 2 years gaming on it since I'm only getting 20 fps at the lowest settings.
One thing that is a huge turn off though is a case that has lots of lights. I'd prefer no windows, no lit fans, etc. I am willing to pay a bit more for that. I also like quiet computers, but I'm not willing to pay a lot for it as I'll probably have headphones on. I've run Intel in the past, but I can see the budget advantages of getting an AMD. Their processor performance is VERY foreign to me -- I just can't keep track of it. Since this is gaming only, I'm not really worried how long video encodes or Photoshop filters or whatever other benchmarks will take. I'm also open to either nVidia or ATI.
So, any suggestions?
Exclusively gaming. I'm not the kind of guy who needs all the eye candy turned on, but I do want acceptable framerates with some future proofing. I have a very recent laptop that I do all my other computing on but it doesn't cut it for gaming.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?Without a monitor, approx $750 including tax and shipping. I have the funds to go higher, but I'd need convincing. If the company will accept a FedEx account number for shipping, I have one available that will make shipping a lot cheaper for me, though I'm fairly certain NewEgg won't do that.
3) Where do you live?Omaha, NE. Only B&Ms are Best Buy and NFM.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.CPU, Motherboard, RAM, video card, case, PSU, hard drive, DVD burner, keyboard (not mouse.) I did have a friend offer to sell me a GeForce 8800 GTX for $50 if that helps, but I'm not sure that would get me where I want to be now, let alone the future.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.My last desktop has a Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, with DDR and AGP. Suffice to say, I pretty much need to start from scratch. I do have a Logitech G5 that I'm happy with though. I have a headset and mic as well. Oh, and I have a grouding/static wrist strap 
6) Will you be overclocking?Not the goal, but if it makes things easier for you guys, I can.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?I was thinking a 1920x1080 monitor in the 23" to 24" range. I'm currently considering http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002524 but I'm open to suggestions. Also, monitor price isn't included in the budget!
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?In the next month or two. I can buy parts tomorrow if there's a great sale to jump on, but I'm patient. I'm fine with building or purchasing the PC. I've built 3 desktops for myself in the past, and helped friends build 4 or 5 others. I'm comfortable with just about anything except soldering (never done it on a circuit board.) If there's some prebuilt computer that can be hacked into what I'm looking for I'm open to that as well, but looking around I didn't see anything I thought would be cheaper/better than building myself.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.Don't need RAID, Firewire isn't necessary either (I have it on my laptop.) Crossfire or SLI would be nice, but my natural inclination is to go with a single card and upgrade it as necessary. I wouldn't pay extra for it. Pretty much the only thing I need is integrated sound.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?I have a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Pro.
I'm aiming for a system that will hold its own in modern shooters, but I realize that I'll have to upgrade it over time. I'm not the type who goes all out. I don't need all the eye candy or insane FPS. I'm really just looking for acceptable performance on modern games. If that can't really be accomplished in the $750 range, I can move upward. The game that is making me consider a new desktop is Bad Company 2. TF2 and Killing Floor (two of my other most often played games) run fine on my laptop. But Bad Company 2 has made me realize that I won't be happy for the next 2 years gaming on it since I'm only getting 20 fps at the lowest settings.
One thing that is a huge turn off though is a case that has lots of lights. I'd prefer no windows, no lit fans, etc. I am willing to pay a bit more for that. I also like quiet computers, but I'm not willing to pay a lot for it as I'll probably have headphones on. I've run Intel in the past, but I can see the budget advantages of getting an AMD. Their processor performance is VERY foreign to me -- I just can't keep track of it. Since this is gaming only, I'm not really worried how long video encodes or Photoshop filters or whatever other benchmarks will take. I'm also open to either nVidia or ATI.
So, any suggestions?
