# Ultimate Gaming Computer for $1500??



## KingofLodis (Jun 18, 2005)

Alright, well, I was looking on a website for a Star Wars game, and someone posted the specs for a computer they were getting. Compared to my computer right now, the computer that was mentioned is an INSANELY HARDCORE COMPUTER. Like, woooow. And it was only $1,500?...

Apparently they had a really good processor and a good mobo, and a good video card, with 8 gigs of over 1 ghz per stick of ram... But it seems that I can't find that post again... I was going to use it as my building template, so I need some help finding the latest and best things for a gaming computer. I think I'm far behind the times in terms of technology with computers. Where can I find all the information regarding the basics of everything nowadays? XD (What's a video card good for? What does each specification mean? Compatability, core clock speed? A website with all that information and the basic stuff again...)

So here we go. Remember, I want parts, not a computer from Alienware or something... Too much money for something I can do myself. I know how to put it together etc, just not what all the new crazy stuff is.

1. Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build? $1,000 - $1,500 (I don't want something incredibly new to where it costs 800$ and then the price goes down exponentially... I just want the good stuff)

2. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want? I like ASUS motherboards for some reason... I don't know why.

3. Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much? AIM, Music, A game, and a website.

4. Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games? All the time, and the games are brand spankin' new. Think fallout 3 at it's best. Or maybe even better than that. 

5. Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding? Ermm... Not really sure... I just wanna watch some dvds sometimes :ZZ

6. Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?

I'd prefer not to mess around with that, really.

7. Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?

500gb +


8. Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?

No.

9. Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?

Vista would be nice. But I'd be alright with windows 2k pro... Been using it for so long -.-

10. Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?

Sure, I don't want it to be huge, but not tiny, nothing too fancy either, don't need all the glowy lights.

11. Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?

No.



14. Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?

Newegg.com
Outpost.com

15. Location: What country do you live in?

USA


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Do you need a Monitor or do you have one? And either way what size?


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## KingofLodis (Jun 18, 2005)

I have a monitor, I don't need one.

All I need is the stuff in the tower, and a lame frame.


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## cami (Sep 24, 2006)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148212
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

What monitor do you plan to use size/resolution? 

You said you are not interested in overclocking, so you will not need ram any faster than ddr2 800. 8gb is excessive imo, you wont use it all but if you want that much get 2 sets.


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

That case is lame GET THIS 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
- Antec 900 
$109

get a 4870 with 1 gb memory 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 
$239 
after rebate $225

Nice PSU Cami! - use that
$120
after rebate $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011

games don't use quad cores yet
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo
8500
$187
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

Keep that same motherboard Cami recommended 
$130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

good ram choice Cami
$55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148212

good Os choice Cami
$100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Samsung is fine for DVD burning
$25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

you'll need an Anti virus program
NOD32
$30

and you'll need a nice Hard Drive
Western Digital 750 gb hard drive
$90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283


get a nice CPU cooler
Heat sink
Zalman 110mm heatsink fan
$54
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019

Thermal Paste
Artic Silver 5
$6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Total $1146

After rebates $1091

The CPU can be overclocked to around 3.8ghz

4 gigs is plenty anything over that and the will just be a waste of power

if you want more speed I can recommend a better video card and PSU


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## KingofLodis (Jun 18, 2005)

Sorry about not responding till now. Been really busy with life.

I'll check out your stuff and letchu know in a day or so.

Thanks for the help


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

yes I agree living is important lol

I hope you like the setup


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## KingofLodis (Jun 18, 2005)

Mcninjaguy said:


> if you want more speed I can recommend a better video card and PSU


The setup is nice  Out of curiosity, what video card and PSU would you recommend if you were to recommend a better one?

Do you think that in order to "keep up with the times" a quad core would be better to go with so I don't have to upgrade sooner than with a duo? Or will it matter?

Oh, and case wise... I just want a cheap case, no lights, no fancy stuff. Just something to put the hardware in. No one can see the case anyway. So is there a cheaper one?

Why specifically that anti-virus software, out of curiousity? I'm not putting it down, just curious... Do all the free ones not compare to that one?


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

Anti Virus Protection question

I've been using NOD32 for about a year now 
on full usage it uses around 35- 45mb of ram
its got probably the best virus real time detection
its scanning speed is around 20mb/s (double speed compared to the next best one)
I don't really care what I download because I use NOD32 and spybot and it's never gone through them. 
spybot I have to scan my comp eveyonce in a while but it always just finds my internet history and stuff like that 

plus NOD32 is really cheap ($$$ wise) and won't slow down your system ever
at my local PC shop they have it on sale (1 year version) for $15

THE CASE! question
this case comes with 4 fans already installed and you can fit 2 more fans in after
this will keep your computer super cool
(installed already)
2 x 120mm front fans (sucking)
1 x 120mm rear fan (blowing
1 x 200mm top fan (blowing

I have a ANTEC 900 case too

Now I know my case looks fancy but its mostly for the fans (each fan by themselves cost around $10 to $30 (120mm fans being around $15 and 200mm fans being around $25 - $30)

CPU question

if you want go for the quad-core you can always overclock a 2.6 ghz quad core to around 3.2ghz and most games won't be using the full 3ghz x 2 for a dual core. SOme games do use quad cores like GTA 4 so umm its your choice but I'd say jkust get a quad core (INTEL, AMD has trouble overclocking) and make sure to get a good CPU heatsink.

PSU recommendation

this is what I like to call FUTURE PROOFING yourself!
(I always look for a good quality PSU on sale, so its cheap because its a great deal. I like to think I'm always shopping for myself first, so I care which product I pick)

PSU
SILVERSTONE 1000w PSU
single rail at 80amps
$210
after rebate $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256043

K now I'll give you the reason I picked this PSU.

It seems like overkill right? 2 3 years down the road you decide to upgrade to the next best Graphics card this will support it. Instead of buying a 750w PSU now and another later on down the road this one should kepp you going for around 4-6 years. right now SLI and Crossfire aren't even near their full potential, so its important to recognize the need for 1 really good graphics card instead of 2 slightly worse cards and SLI only allows the second card to give around 60% of its max performance depending on the game. Some games don't support SLI very well.

so yea hopefully I answered your questions


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