Gaming system for $1500 need help

[Cool J]

Picking out parts for a friend to buy and I have been out of the loop for awhile here. What are the hot motherboard, ram, cpu setups right now. I figure about $1200 for the system and another $300 for a 20" lcd. He plays wow but wants to be able to run fps games too and doesnt plan to upgrade for 2-3 years.

 

[AndonSage]

You can start with this Parts Recommendations thread, to get some ideas. It was written before the new ATI video cards came out, though, so consider an HD 4850 ($199).

 

[Toaster Oven]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 $330
Mobo: ASUS P5Q-E $160
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 $85
GPU: VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB $318
PSU: Corsair TX 750W $110
HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB $95

Total: $1098 shipped


Leaves you ~$100 to pick up a case. If you need to fit OS + mouse/keyboard in your budget I would downgrade the PSU/Mobo/CPU in that order to make room.

 

[dandragonrage]

If he's just gaming, go dual-core. No reason to go quad. E8400 or so.

 

[Cool J]

yeah, that computer seems really expensive. how good are the quad core 2.4ghz one i think 6600? or should i just get him an e8500 or something

 

[dandragonrage]

Q6600 is totally unnecessary and draws too much power and won't OC as well.

 

[tiraides]

If you're overclocking, the E8400 and the E8500 both reach the same approximate OC thresholds, so just stick with the cheaper E8400.