Building a PC for my brother. Need help!

[Holesto]

So my little brother wants me to build him a new PC. Basically the thing is going to be a gaming computer, and he wants it to run the new Left for Dead 2 game at max settings. Now I don't even know what the system specs for the game are, but this is what he wants if possible. Now my parents are paying for me to build it, but they want to keep the cost to the minimum.

Basically what I'm asking is for you guys to build the PC for me taking into consideration what he wants. I've been out of the PC loop for too long and I'm just lost when it comes to the new parts.

He needs everything, case, PSU, the works. Just need one CD/DVD drive, and 1 hard drive should be plenty for him. (500 gigs I suppose...thats what I use.)

Any help will be appreciated

[Holesto]

Any help really would be appreciated guys and gals.

**Shameless bump**

[alfie2]

is LFD2 for PC out yet?

anyways,
for game, in general, spend all you can afford in a really really good video card, like ati's 4870.
cpu-wise, e8400 is good enough.( heck, even e5000 series can do it in High Defn. )

PSU, depends on the videocard. ATI cards are less power hungry, so a 500W powersupply is more than enough.

[Masaki 7-11]

Here is a build list for a good gaming computer (tower and OS):


LITE-ON DVD/CD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-08 LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106332
$33.99

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024
$109.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136283
$69.99

ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131381
$79.99

HIS H487FM1GH Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161294
$152.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166
$64.99

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649
$119.00

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116674
$109.99

Subtotal: $740.93

[Holesto]

Thanks for the replies!

Is AMD back on top again? Back when I built my last PC Intel was ahead by a long shot (or so they say), but my PC before that used an AMD processor.

Never had any experience with video cards other than nVidia either. Are the Radeon's reputable?

And the end all question - will this game run Left for Dead 2 on high settings? I'm assuming it won't be a huge leap from Left for Dead 1's graphics, but not real sure. I just don't want him to be disappointed!

Thanks again!

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Holesto Thanks for the replies! Is AMD back on top again? Back when I built my last PC Intel was ahead by a long shot (or so they say), but my PC before that used an AMD processor. Never had any experience with video cards other than nVidia either. Are the Radeon's reputable? And the end all question - will this game run Left for Dead 2 on high settings? I'm assuming it won't be a huge leap from Left for Dead 1's graphics, but not real sure. I just don't want him to be disappointed! Thanks again!

For processors AMD is competitive with Intel up to the $200 mark. Afterwards Intel has better performance, but stability seems to be a bit of a problem with the Core i7 processors (at least the socket 1366 ones) from what I've heard.

Radeon cards are good, have used many of them and haven't had any issues, have also used many Geforce cards as well. Radeon cards are better bang-for-the-buck at the moment than nvidia cards. I am using the HD4870 in a few computers of mine and the performance is very good, I can run games at 1920x1200 with all settings maxed (except for AA) and the frame rate is very high. The computer I posted above will easily run Left for Dead 2 at high settings.