Help a CAG find a good game PC for cheap.

[Dragonsbane]

Hi all.

I am currently writing this from my eMachine laptop, nuff said. It can play starcraft and other low end titles but I would like to move on up. I am looking for a good gaming comp setup (need a monitor, if it is cheaper to buy seperate then never mind). I only have like $800.00 to spend. Mind you I only want to play RTS titles and little else. So can any one help me out?

Thanks for any help I get.

[Zer0X1999]

Do you plan on building it yourself or buying a pre-made machine?

[psiufoxx2]

Do you plan on building it yourself or buying a pre-made machine?

Indeed. Because I can recommend a nice stock HP computer and suggest a video card upgrade -

HP a1130e series PC - $619.00

Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2 edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27SOFTWARE_OS0%27% 29;)
Processor AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ operating at 2.0GHz edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27PROCESSOR0%27%29 ;)
Memory 512MB DDR-400MHz SDRAM (1x512) edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27MEMORY0%27%29;)
Hard Drive SAVE $30! 160GB 7200 rpm SATA Hard Drive edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27HARD_DRIVE0%27%2 9;)
Primary CD/DVD Drive SAVE $30! Double Layer 16X DVD +/-R/RW drive edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27MULTIMEDIA_10%27 %29;)
Front Productivity Ports 2 USB 2.0, 1 FireWire ports edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27PORTS0%27%29;)
Monitors HP mx705 17" Flat-Screen CRT Monitor edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27monitors_desktop _hp0%27%29;) rebate form (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:openWin%28%27http://www.shopping.hp.com/shopping/pdf/rebate_hp_sto_mon.pdf%27,640,500%29) TV & Entertainment Experience None edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27TV_ENT_R0%27%29; )
Graphics Card Integrated ATI Radeon Xpress HyperMemory edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27GRAPHICS_CARD0%2 7%29;)
Sound Card Integrated 5.1 Capable Sound w/ front audio ports edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27SOUND_CARD0%27%2 9;)
Keyboard and Mouse HP Keyboard, HP Scroller Mouse edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27INPUT_DEVICE0%27 %29;)
Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works 8.0/Money/MSN Encarta Plus edit (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:%20submitEditConfigForm%28%27SOFTWARE_APP_R0% 27%29;)

(I chose customize from the main screen and added the above options)

Add on a Leadtek Winfast GeForce 6600GT (for about $140) and you got yourself a winner!

[comapro]

Which RTS? You should get a comp with specs that exceed the "recommended system requirements."

[Swift900]

$500 gaming rig (http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.html)

How to build your $500 gaming rig (http://www.pchowtos.co.uk/byo.html)

Dell UltraSharp 1905FP 19" LCD Monitor with Stand + $21 Worth of Goods for $299 (http://www.dealdetectives.com/index.php?b=1417)

Note: The moniter deal is a one day thing so buy it ASAP.

[psiufoxx2]

$500 gaming rig (http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.html)

How to build your $500 gaming rig (http://www.pchowtos.co.uk/byo.html)

Dell UltraSharp 1905FP 19" LCD Monitor with Stand + $21 Worth of Goods for $299 (http://www.dealdetectives.com/index.php?b=1417)

Note: The moniter deal is a one day thing so buy it ASAP.'

Not bad not bad:
Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ $146
Motherboard ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 $69
Memory Corsair Value Select 512 MB (2x 256 MB) $52
VGA eVGA 256-A8-N340-TX Geforce 6600 256 MB $113
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB $57.50
Optical Drive LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM $19.99
Power Supply SeaSonic S12-330 ATX12V 330W $59.00

Total $516.49

[Admiral Ackbar]

Get the Sapphire GTO2. The best price is at Newegg but it isn't in stock. Maybe auto notify or call because they may not get more in.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102595

It can be software hacked to a Radeon x850 with 16 pipes. Which was the high end of the last generation of cards.

[Dragonsbane]

I have local computer place that can build one for 850.00. I wanted to knock some money off,they want to sell me a 17'' monitor for 145.00 its a AOC. I was looking for a cheaper monitor, so fellow cags help a brother out.