Need Quick Refresher: cheap gaming rig

[TheNewGuy8]

So I did lots of building about 2 years ago. But I've been away, and clearly things change at lightspeed in this world, so I've got a few questions.

I'm interested in building a system that would pretty much only be used for gaming. My ideal system would be small, very quiet, and very cheap. What I'm mostly interested in is a system that will let me play all the current games on a 24" 1900x1200 monitor. Last time I was here that was nearing the top end of resolutions - is that still the case?

Something else that has changed, I get the feeling, is the viability of pre-made systems from groups like Gateway and such. Would I be better off getting one of them and switching out the graphics card? Keep in mind all I need is the box - no peripherals or monitor or anything.

So - I'm getting my feet wet again. What are some thoughts?

 

[tiraides]

Pre-made systems from mainstream vendors like Gateway and Dell still aren't such a good solution. The low-end models have power supplies that are usually incapable of handling the load of a (high-end) video card (which, at the resolution you have, you would want), and the high-end models are generally overpriced compared to a DIY system.

You could build a decent system for under/around $1000, but a large part of the cost will go towards the video card. At a minimum, you should be looking at a card along the lines of a GeForce GTX 260 or a Radeon HD4870.

How much (at most) are you willing to spend? Which games do you want to play?

 

[Alai]

Yeah, we need budget, as tiraides says...

Also, the highest resolution right now is 2560 x 1600, but 1900 x 1200 is still relatively high end.

For good amounts of eye candy while maintaining 1900 x 1200, get either the GTX 280 or the 4870 X2 for single card solutions. For dual, get the 260 in SLI (not ideal if you are going to overclock because Intel boards are ideal for OCing, but they don't support SLI) or the 4850 in XFire.

And more will come if you tell us your budget.