In planning

[InsertNameHere]

I am wanting to build a gaming desktop (obviously), i am not wanting to spend much more than $1000 on the tower (monitor and accessories ill buy what i like). My problem is i am no where really up to date on anything new technology wise, would like some ideas or input on recommendations. I have heard that the newest biggest card isnt always best but out of my research im still confuzed.

I am wanting to run modern games on highest (if not pretty damn close) graphics but dont know what all comes into play. I wont be doing much anything else like photoshop or something.

Any ideas/thoughts that can be provided would very appreciated, i am currently deployed with 2 months(ish) left so i got some time to plan this out.

[Khalil]

A thousand dollars can build you a nice rig.

Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz (3.1GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52300
Newegg.com - HIS H697F2G2M Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

I normally recomend AMD but they are now in the middle of a socket transition, Intel just released these Sandy Bridge processors and they are very powerful.

Hope this helps!

[InsertNameHere]

That helps out alot Khalil, its pretty much what i was looking for but i dont know how you came down to what would work together. I didnt see any extra fans or cooling means so i would assume the items listed would work fine together and not over heat. Its nice to have a list of good (what i assume) products but i dont know why they were chosen. If you can PM me or reply in this (if it isnt too much of a hassle) explaining what is what and why product A was recommended. I am clueless i know but i dont understand what all comes into play building a computer.

[InsertNameHere]

And i may be able to "tactically acquire" a 64-bit windows 7 so if freeing up that $100 makes a difference in something let me know (in pm or reply i dont care) With that being said i can raise the budget a little if a part "B" is better than part "A" but only a little more. But i would like to stick to $1000 due to a jeep i need to restore as well.

[Hippo08]

The reason why he chose most of those parts is to get you the best bang for the buck and great reliability and performance from the best and most proven manufacturers. He planned a great gaming computer for you.

As to how he knew all of the parts would go together, it all flows through the motherboard. Notice how it says ATX motherboard? Your case also says "ATX" case and your power supply says ATX power supply. ATX is a form factor and manufacturers build certain products to fit those form factors.

On your motherboard, it says LGA 1155 which is referring to Intel's CPU socket type(notice, your CPU also says LGA 1155). There are a lot of these and they differ from each line of CPU's within each company and also differ from each company. You cannot put an Intel CPU into AMD motherboard. Nor could you put an Intel LGA 775 into an Intel LGA 1155. They must match.

Also on your motherboard it says which type of memory is supported. Just clicking through to your motherboard shows me - Memory Standard: DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066. So it needs DDR3 with those timings. It will also tell you what type of memory "channel" that is supported(dual channel, triple channel) This is NOT the same as DDR2 and DDR3. They are different things. Yours supports Dual Channel, you can see that by going to "Details" on the motherboard.

Your Video Card is a pci-express 2.1(which is backwards compatible). Your motherboard has pci-express 2.0 slots on it which your video card can go into. Again, you can find this out on your motherboard's "Details" page through newegg.

So usually you pick whether you want to go with Intel or AMD, then select your socket type, and then you can choose from there!

If you have anymore questions I can try to answer them! Remember, a little searching of the stickies and other threads on this forum probably could have yielded this same information so don't be afraid to poke around!

Hope this helps,

Hippo

[Khalil]

With the extra cash I would get 8GB memory instead of 4 and increase the size of the hard drive to 1TB

[rwest]

I just saw that CoolerMaster HAF 912 at MicroCenter yesterday. That really is a nice case for the money. I almsot bought one, 'just because.'

[InsertNameHere]

Stupid question...what do i do about cables and such connecting A to B and power to computer? The power supply says doesnt come with one so i assume any cable will work, and what about wires/connectors that connect the components together?

[glc]

The power supply only needs a standard computer AC power cord. Everything else that you need will come with the motherboard.

[InsertNameHere]

Ok, well glad all i need to supply is a power cord and cable to a monitor, i was worried i had to buy all this circuitry wiring connecting **** inside the tower. What should i expect (and tools to have) when building the computer, is it as simple as a screwdriver or am i not seeing something?


Also any recommendations for monitors? I was looking into a few on Newegg and Bestbuy and now its into resolutions... I cant afford $1000 monitor with 2560 X 1600 resolution, i would love one but i cant... I do want a big monitor though (around 27") i can find a few for $300 with maximum resolution of 1920 X 1080. That and i have a buddy that will sell me his old 27" for $150 (though he doesnt remember the model number or resolution, it's his old gaming monitor). $300 is pretty much pushing my limit on a monitor and i want the best i can get for the money and if $150 for a 27" is the best deal i will just go with that than.

[glc]

No special tools required - a #2 Phillips screwdriver will do almost everything.

1920x1080 is a common resolution - that's 1080p. Some monitors will be 1920x1200. I prefer Asus with LED backlight.