I need a new comp, custom build I guess, thats cheap and good! :D

[Spades22]

Well I'm looking for the best comp I can get, which I guess would be made custom built rather than bought at a retailer like FS or BB, and I want it to be able to play games like Halo 2 and Gears (which I'm assuming are top-of the line games in terms of requirements) as well hopefully for PC with minimal to no lag, and I'll also be doing my school homework on it. I'd be willing to spend like 1000 Canadian WITH a monitor, which I'd like to be fairly large at like 19" plus cause I wouldnt mind using it for 360 games either, and I dont really wanna go over 1100 if I dont have to.
I'm not sure whether to go standard or widescreen...so suggestions on that as well...but I'd preferably have it LCD and I dont want ghosting or anything.

So...basically I want a comp that will actually play PC games good and that I can do my homework on lol and I neeeeeeed suggestions. I don't care about sound cards really...as long as I can actually HAVE sound and it doesn't sound like scratching on a chalkboard.

Thanks!

[Spades22]

bump!!

[flizmo007]

Here is a post on SD that gives you a kick butt system for about $600, minus the monitor of course. If you read through the post you will get alot of feedback of what others think/recommend.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=429854

[Snake2715]

Nice link flizmo007

[projecteightysix]

halo 2 and gears of war for pc? huh?

[Spades22]

Ya Halo 2 is already out I think and Gears is announced...

Anyway thats a pretty awesome link, thanks!!!! It still holds for now as the cheapest, right? Even though it's 2 months old? So basically you guys all think thats the cheapest I could build and yet play all the great pc games and have a great comp at the same time? 600 bucks american...probably cost me like 800 Canadian when its all said and done. Oh wait though...how much do the computer companies take TO BUILD the computer?

Anyway now that I think this is what I'll be getting for my comp if its the best I can get for that price, where do I start? Do I have to order each part separately and bring it to a computer shop, do I just tell them which parts I want and they'll get em for me? Not sure what to do...or if it's simple to build I could even do it myself. I've opened my computer and put and taken out a few things a couple time to change em around, like video cards and stuff...

Thannks

[Snake2715]

Ya Halo 2 is already out I think and Gears is announced...

Anyway thats a pretty awesome link, thanks!!!! It still holds for now as the cheapest, right? Even though it's 2 months old? So basically you guys all think thats the cheapest I could build and yet play all the great pc games and have a great comp at the same time? 600 bucks american...probably cost me like 800 Canadian when its all said and done. Oh wait though...how much do the computer companies take TO BUILD the computer?

Anyway now that I think this is what I'll be getting for my comp if its the best I can get for that price, where do I start? Do I have to order each part separately and bring it to a computer shop, do I just tell them which parts I want and they'll get em for me? Not sure what to do...or if it's simple to build I could even do it myself. I've opened my computer and put and taken out a few things a couple time to change em around, like video cards and stuff...

Thannks

If you have taken video cards out and stuff then you are ready to build... My suiggestion have some way of getting online while you other PC is being built.
Once its all together then you may have to trouble shoot or get the lastest drivers for some of the items.

Good luck. My suggestion is to hit up PCmech.com and register before building those guys are great over there.

[flizmo007]

Here is an article from Toms Hardware that is the first of three parts that goes step by step in building a PC, from picking components to putting them together. This link is to all three articles. Hope it helps.


http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/11/20/how_to_build_part_1/
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/12/04/choosing-the-right-vender/
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/12/14/how-to-build-a-pc-part-3/

[Spades22]

cool thanks I'm gunna give it a shot myself! But I was just thinking and looking at some DX10 shots...do you guys think I should just wait till DX 10 cards fall in price a bit? I mean, otherwise I'll have to upgrade in a few months when all the games require DX10. How fast do you think the price will drop? I don't want to have to buy a new 300 dollar card when this 200 dollar one, for ex., goes out of date in a few months. I'd sooner just wait and buy one good card.

[Technique]

cool thanks I'm gunna give it a shot myself! But I was just thinking and looking at some DX10 shots...do you guys think I should just wait till DX 10 cards fall in price a bit? I mean, otherwise I'll have to upgrade in a few months when all the games require DX10. How fast do you think the price will drop? I don't want to have to buy a new 300 dollar card when this 200 dollar one, for ex., goes out of date in a few months. I'd sooner just wait and buy one good card.

I agree with what another CAG said (Vinny I think?), it's better to buy more of a mid-range video card like the GeForce 7 Series now than to buy a top of the line video card. Unless you have money to burn (which I assume you don't judging from your OP), I would just wait for those DX10 cards to drop in price. Personally, this is what I'm going to be doing. I wouldn't be worrying about your video card going out of date in a matter of months, although new ones do come out fairly fast. I bought my GeForce 6800 GT about 2 years ago and it's still giving me power, but these new 8800 cards obviously blow the 6800 out of the water. Do some research about this stuff. I saw flizmo recommended www.tomshardware.com , try www.anandtech.com (great forums).

About Halo 2 and Gears of War -- It looks like Halo 2 is coming out in May, but I don't recall Gears of War ever being announced. I remember they found evidence of GoW in a video driver or something, but they denied that it will be released for the PC.

[Spades22]

Oh well I saw it on some thread on CAG and it said "Gears coming to PC" ...mm dunno...

and ya I think I'll wait till summer and hopefully DX10 cards are down in price and more info is out about them.

[Dwapook]

Here is a post on SD that gives you a kick butt system for about $600, minus the monitor of course. If you read through the post you will get alot of feedback of what others think/recommend.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=429854

Ooh, danke! I've been looking for something like this as well!

[crazyj]

Here are some things you should consider: Intel is doing a price drop for most of its CPUs in April and you should consider waiting a bit.

Their E4300 will be $133, which is 1.8ghz can usually be overclocked to 2.9-3.0 ghz on standard air cooling.

Also the Geforce 7 cards are still pretty pricey, you can get an ATI 1950 for around $200 without rebate.

Unless you plan on doing SLI Fry's has a good deal on a 500W Antec power supply for $30 after rebate.

As for case, hdd, and the rest you just have to keep your eyes open. The hotdeals section on Hardforum.com usually has deals on most of the stuff you need

[Vinny]

Here are some things you should consider: Intel is doing a price drop for most of its CPUs in April and you should consider waiting a bit.

Their E4300 will be $133, which is 1.8ghz can usually be overclocked to 2.9-3.0 ghz on standard air cooling.

Also the Geforce 7 cards are still pretty pricey, you can get an ATI 1950 for around $200 without rebate.

Unless you plan on doing SLI Fry's has a good deal on a 500W Antec power supply for $30 after rebate.

As for case, hdd, and the rest you just have to keep your eyes open. The hotdeals section on Hardforum.com usually has deals on most of the stuff you need

I agree... those C2D's OC like crazy. A E4300 should be plenty for now and you can OC it later.

That link at SD cuts a lot of corners. It has a nice processor but the actual $600 system uses a lot of crappy parts (Ultra PS, 1Gb of memory, small HD).

[crazyj]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102022

this is a good graphics card that will suit you for over a year until maybe DirectX10 games become more affordable.

[MikeX44]

If you want a DX10 video card, you should wait a month for the mid range Geforce 8 cards to come out, they're much cheaper than 8800 cards. Even if you decide to go with 7 series card, these new ones will put a big dent in those prices. Check it out- http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=4834