Higher End Gaming Rig

[EGuT125]

Hey guys just stumbled upon these forums and they look nice and had read some post on here and you guys seem like a very knowledgable(SP?) group, so I figured I would ask here.

I have been looking around for a few weeks now trying to decide on either a new computer or a laptop. I've moved towards updated my computer as oposed to a laptop.
I have a low mid ranged desktop computer at the minute(AMD Athlon 2800, ATI AIW 9600, 1GB ram, 40GB HDD) with a 19' LCD monitor wireless keyboard and mouse, but I'm looking to upgrade to a higher end gaming quality desktop that will last a while.

Im looking at around $1000 budget hopefully lower.

Processor - As for the Intel/AMD side I don't have much of a preference either way, just one that has the best bang for my buck.

Motherboard - wideopen for suggestions.

Graphics cards - I'm looking towards another AIW but higher end, maybe x800-1800 range.

Ram - looking for atleast 1GB more towards 2GB no preference on brand.

HDD - need much more than my previous 40GB, mayb 200-300 GBish.

Sound - is not a high priority I don't have any high quality speakers or anything so built-in sound cards will work.

I have a general idea of what I want, I'm just hoping to get some feed back on what specifics will work and performe the best.


Any help is greatly appreciated

GuT

[Kov-Ice]

Welcome to PCMech. These are very informative forums, and the people here are an excellent resource.

For a new build, you may want to just search this forum for $1000 budget. You'll find a ton of threads you could read through and get a feel for what parts are recommended most often. After you have an idea of what parts you think you'd like, list them here to get a green light on their compatability.

Check out www.newegg.com for great price/service/selection.

[EGuT125]

Ok, I searched around the forums and think I've come up with a pretty good rig.

MotherBoard - ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131569)
$89.99

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz HT 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103539)
$212.00

Videocard - ATI ALL-IN-WONDER Radeon X800XL 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102582)
$299.00

Memory - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145579)
$140.00

Harddrive - Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6V300F0 300GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822144014)
$116.00

Power Supply - ASPIRE CONCORD ATX-MR500W ATX12V v2.03 500W Power Supply 115/230 V cUL, FCC, CSA, CB, TUV, CE, NEMCO, DEMCO, SEMCO, TC (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148010)
$59.99

DVD Burner - LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106014)
$37.99

Total - $945.97


Any thoughts suggestions?

[glc]

If you don't need the TV tuner and all the other toys, you can do better than that for a $300 gaming card. Otherwise, it's actually not a BAD gamer.

If you like Aspire cases, I'd find one without a power supply and put a decent power supply in it. Aspire power supplies are not quality units.

[EGuT125]

Yea the tv tuner will be used as my primary tv(no tv in my room so my computer works) so the AIW is pretty high on my list of things to include. But other than that is the X800XL a decet card that will run most games fairly well with decent visuals?

As for the aspire power supply, I already have a AeroCool JETMASTER JR SS Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window case, so I don't need that and the Aspire was fairly cheap for the power. Do you think I could find anther for around the same price, or will the Aspire work?

[glc]

Oops - I misread it - that's just a power supply. You can do a lot better than an Aspire for not much more than 60 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

[EGuT125]

Alright thanks alot. Looks like a good powersupply and it should be anough to run the system right?

Well thanks for all your help from this forum I really appreciate it.

[glc]

500 watts is MORE than enough to run that system - a 350 would probably do it.