Gaming Pc Worth about 4k?

[Jared Mriad]

Amtec 80mm case fans (x2)
Antech Performace Plus1080AMG Case
ATI RADEON 9700 PRO with 128MB DDR SDRAM
Belkin Nostromo N30 Game Mouse
Delkin Nostromo n45 Dual Analog USB GamePad
Belkin Nostromo n50 SpeedPad
Cretvie Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer Sound Card
Intes 2.8-GHz Pentium 4 Processor
Intel D850EMV2L Motherboard
Kingston KVR1066X-8/256 256MB PC1066 RIMMs (x2)
Kilpsch Promedia 5.1 Speaker System
Lite-On black 16x DvD-ROM drive
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2 Joystick
Microsoft Sidewinder Force feedback wheel
Mitsumi black 1.44mb floppy drive
Plextor PlexWrite black 40X12X40X CD-RW drive
Veiwsonic p225fb black 22-inch CRT monitor with usb hub
Western digital 120GB Cabiar Speical edition 1200jb hard drive
Microsoft Windows XP Home


You think that baby's worth $3,454 USD to construct for gaming?

[Morgan Evanar]

No.

[Loki Ahmrah]

Not in the slightest. I could get something like that for half the price I'm sure.

[Jared Mriad]

I thought so..

TigerDirect.com has a sweet rig running about 2k, but those specs above were to give me a chance to build my own rig...

Too much $ fer it tho...

[Dark Lord Dyzm]

Pick up a copy of Maximum PC, they take computer game machines seriously...

I mean just look at the current Issue!!! A GeForce card which can be safetly overlocked to near benchmark scores of the GeForce4 Ti 4600, and it only cost a fraction of the cost. $160 in the magazine.

www.gainward.com (for more info)

You should just look at this image of it, the fan is freaking huge.
The card itself is part of the Gear of the Year Section. Best Video Card for its cost. And though the 9700 pro is the best card right now, in about 2 years, it will be forgotten. I am personally a cheap skate, and the cheaper cards which run very well appeal to me.

[Darth Viscera]

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/EGBG/article.php/1562341
There you go, 4k system.

[Jared Mriad]

Interesting..

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=SYX-XP-035984 <-- The 2k system mentioned above.

[Loki Ahmrah]

Blah! They could at least have Corsair 3500s for that insane price.

[Darth Viscera]

About that $2400 system, increase the memory to 1 gig, swap the DVD-ROM and CD-R burner for a DVD-R burner (pioneer a05), don't even bother with buying a floppy, and spend $100 on a gf 4200 rather than $300 on a 4600, then buy a geforce fx when it comes out. Don't bother with the 56k modem, make your NIC a Linksys 10/100 PCI, make your soundblaster an Audigy2 Platinum and your speakers a Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Digital Dream Multimedia System, make your mouse an MS USB Intellimouse Explorer 3.0, make your monitor a Mitsubishi 2060u, 22 Inch Diamondtron, and make sure you get a good motherboard with 1394/USB2/AGP8x/RAID etc built in.

[Darth Viscera]

http://www.colorcases.com

go there for cases that are colorful and cheap and have lots of features.

[Morgan Evanar]

There are some manufacturing issues with Gainward, I wouldn't buy one of their cards.

Ughhh, really, everyone but Loki... no.

www.mwave.com will build whatever you want.

Also, the Ti4600 is really rather crappy compared to a Radeon 9500 Pro. Further, don't bother with ColorCase. They look pretty, but you'd be much better off with an Antec case, which, very importanly, includes an Antec power supply.


About that $2400 system, increase the memory to 1 gig, swap the DVD-ROM and CD-R burner for a DVD-R burner (pioneer a05), don't even bother with buying a floppy, and spend $100 on a gf 4200 rather than $300 on a 4600, then buy a geforce fx when it comes out. Don't bother with the 56k modem, make your NIC a Linksys 10/100 PCI, make your soundblaster an Audigy2 Platinum and your speakers a Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Digital Dream Multimedia System, make your mouse an MS USB Intellimouse Explorer 3.0, make your monitor a Mitsubishi 2060u, 22 Inch Diamondtron, and make sure you get a good motherboard with 1394/USB2/AGP8x/RAID etc built in.

Screw the GeForce FX. Screw the Audigy2, what a marketing hype POS it is. Screw the Promedias, the over-rated speakers with harsh highs and exagerated lows. Linksys 10/100 PCI... when onboard ethernet from the motherboard will be just fine.

I prefer an Intellimouse Optical (white with 5 buttons) instead of the Explorer.

To fault that monitor would be folly. Mitsu tubes are absurdly nice.

My name is Visc, and I shouldn't ever recommend computer parts aside from monitors.

[Morgan Evanar]

This is what I would buy for a gaming PC. Although AMD's Hammer CPUs are supposed to be out in a few months.

http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/ViewBag.hmx?UID=XX%2D8572511&CID=&Back=ProdINP-MS.hmx?

[Darth Viscera]

onboard ethernet...barf. I've had far too many onboard audio chips just die all of a sudden to trust it to anything so essential as ethernet. It's $10, get the dang pci card.

audigy2-marketing hype POS? Have you ever owned an audigy platinum? I've had mine for 14 months, and the thing works. Well.

I still prefer the Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 over the base-line white Intellimouse Optical, and I own both of them. More buttons, better ergonomics.

If you're not going to get the Promedias, get the Creative Inspire 5700 Digitals. Having owned them for 14 months, I can vouch for them. It's a treat to watch FOTR EE in DTS 5.1 audio with them, and your eyes will go wide when you hear the shreak of the Nazgul.

Don't buy Gainward, buy graphics cards made by Leadtek. For $10 more they always throw in a better software package, tv-out, and necessary video out cables. This is my 3rd leadtek card and the things work well.

Don't bother with Colorcase? Do you know how much of a hassle it is to self-install a window and all sorts of other flashy crap onto a case? I don't want to have to haul out the dang jigsaw. You can buy the antec power supply separately, like I did. 14 months with a beige Enlight 7237, I want something that looks like las vegas. Beige is just boring.

Screw the GeforceFX?

And I don't know much about monitors. I know that Sony Trinitrons work well if your field of expertise is cancer biology, I know that my Viewsonic A75f has a flat screen with 2 grey lines running horizontally down it, and I know that sharky recommended the 2060u.

Ah, don't forget to get circular ribbon cables instead of the standard ones, circular increases ventilation because they take up less space.

[Morgan Evanar]

I've not owned a Creative card since a PCI 512. But I'm glad you enjoy poorly laid out control pannels and bloatware drivers. I've used a friends Audigy and I was rather uninpressed, especially compared to the nForce's onboard audio. Creative has a name and little else at this point.


onboard ethernet...barf. I've had far too many onboard audio chips just die all of a sudden to trust it to anything so essential as ethernet. It's $10, get the dang pci card.

Humm, well, I've built over a hundred PCs, and have had to recall one motherboard because the onboard sound went within 10 minutes. The onboard ethernet worked fine, and has for every single PC I've put together.

Mabye you should research a little before you buy things: you might not end up with crap.



Don't bother with Colorcase? Do you know how much of a hassle it is to self-install a window and all sorts of other flashy crap onto a case? I don't want to have to haul out the dang jigsaw. You can buy the antec power supply separately, like I did.

Thats nice, but the power supplies are likely lacking, unless they're Enermax or Antec. If you get an Antec case, you get an Antec power supply. Have you even looked at an Antec case? Apparently not.

As for speakers, you buy real speakers, not computer speakers. Computer speakers are a joke. It might end up costing an extra hundred dollars, but it will sound magnitudes better. Again, I've heard your choice of speakers elsewhere, and again, I was rather unimpressed.



Ah, don't forget to get circular ribbon cables instead of the standard ones, circular increases ventilation because they take up less space.

Or you can use zip ties and get the same results.