help me build a 1337 PC

J

JoePits

n00b
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
7
heh. I haven't built a PC since like 2004. Last purchase was a dell laptop that i figured would be "OK" for casual gaming and it was OK for Counterstrike and low-res WoW.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I want a pc that would run sick new games.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Probably $1000 or so.
3) Where do you live?
Upstate NY 12183
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
IDK which is better i7 vs Phenom XII ATI vs Nvidia IDK
hard drive - 250gb should be fine. currently have only 100 and thats been enough. i like to reformat a lot.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Antec Full Tower Case with a lot of extra fans
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe a little but not if I have to add tons of cooling.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
need to get a 22-24"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 2 weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Well 4GB of ram should be enough I think. I was thinking dual video cards like 5770x2 or would it be better to get a single 5870 or 5850 so IDK if i need 2 PCIe slots.
i really just want 1 display at high res. never cared for multiple displays
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Win 7 64 Bit
 
yeah so like...whats better nvidia or ati...2 lesser cards or 1 better card (if im only doing one monitor)
 
Do you have a MicroCenter or Frys nearby?
I'd recommend keeping an eye for a cpu/motherboard combo from them or a cheap cpu.

Does $1000 include the price of an LCD? This is very important. What size? This determines $$ on video card. You could spend the entire $1000 on a 30" lcd. 24" might be your limit though. Then there's the question of ips vs. TN. A 23/24" ips panel will be $350-$500. A cheap 24" TN should be around $230.
I would recommend getting a solid state hard drive (SSD) since you said 100GB is plenty.
 
thanks for replying j macker.

Where do i find IPS monitors. i've heard they are better. If i could get a 19" ips maybe that would be in my price range?

we already have a 22" hanns g that is pretty nice so i could always use that and buy my mom a smaller one to use like 19"...
 
The only available e-ips is the Dell 2209wa. There is much discussion about it here.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1387587

I really like my three Dell 2209wa panels. They may be purchased for about $230-$250 each (including tax & shipping) if you contact the right sales representatives. I would suggest either getting one of those now and getting a Radeon 5850. Then you can buy 2 more when you get some more money.

*edit* $1000 really isn't much if you want a nice machine with an lcd. I'll post a suggested build in a few hours.
 
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well i could possibly go up to $1300 i guess.

i mean ive been playing on a mobile ati x1400 with 128 MB so anything i get is going to blow it away haha.
 
You can probably get a solid monitor for less than $200, but getting the rest with an Intel i processor and dual GPU is gonna be tough. I wouldnt even bother looking into SSD's at this point as an 80GB will cost you $250.


For the $1000 limit I would recommend going with something like an i5-750 CPU and the 5770 GPU. Those with a decent LGA 1156 Motherboard will get you to $400-500. Throw in the monitor and other basics (7200 rpm hard drive, DVD drive, etc)



take a look at my build:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1499442

this was for around $1700. You wouldnt need Bluray or all the HDD so that puts it at $1300. You can save an extra $300 or so by going with the i5/LGA1156 combo. Another $100 off since you have case and less memory. You should be close to your limit of $1000, but it will be tight.
 
ok well im officialy overwhelmed. was trying to paste my cart in here but it seems id have to copy each thing seperately. well ill bbl.

thx for advice though.
 
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