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[DonasaurusRex]

I always assumed "mid range" meant "below $800."

that system could be honestly if ya look for deals on the case, ram etc he just went the no hassle route , nothing wrong with that. You could probably find the ram for alot less if its clocked slower, harddrive could find for like 68 bucks if you get a 320gb instead of 500 *mind you hte 500 one is cheaper per gb though*. Dont have to get an Asus board unless you cant live without all the extras which is usually more sata connections , more ethernet ports, better sound chip etc but that base mb can be had for sub 100. Cases are on sale all the time can find some great deals just the other day newegg emailed me a deal for a coolermaster case for like 50 bucks, so you can shave off 140 or so dollars with just those few changes.

Basically the system is "midrange" due to main parts; the cpu, vid card, ram arent the top of the line, more performance per dollar oriented instead of highest performance at any cost.

 

[mr stroke]

I was referring to Panther's post with that comment and it was in jest. My reference point for budgets is

$600: Budget
$1200: Mid-range
$1800: High-end
$2400: Hardest of the hardcore; Core2Extreme with SLI'ed 8800 gtx's



Thanks.

:lol
2400$

I have always wanted a hand painted Falcon-NW pc, but I didn't know there prices were so damn insane-
http://www.falcon-nw.com/config/build.asp

System Price:
$18,984.95

 

[d[-_-]b]

Ya the gigabyte mobos have been good to me, I mean my comp seems more midrange then this, 8800 does not fall anywhere in midrange for me, a college student.

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard $94.99 (Jumped $5 from yesterday)
Intel Dual-Core E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E2180 - Retail $89.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $54.99
PNY VCG86512GXPB-OC GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $149.99
XION II XON-103 Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply $64.99
Pioneer Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE/ ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM $29.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM $4.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail $24.99
Only thing to worry about really is the PSU in my case, well I couldn't really afford a better one . my limit was $500 I ended up at $510 with shipping at ~$540

Well guys help me build my budget PC cause my previous order didn't go through, My limit is $500, I'm looking for suggestions.

 

[NovemberMike]

QUOTE='d[-_-]b']Well guys help me build my budget PC cause my previous order didn't go through, My limit is $500, I'm looking for suggestions.[/QUOTE]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3GHz
Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail
SAPPHIRE 100196L Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

Totals out to $613.92 and there is a $40 mail in rebate on the memory. Don't know that I would want to go that much cheaper on this stuff, but if you already own a hard drive (I notice you didn't include one) and a dvd drive it gets a bit cheaper (about $100).

 

[disappeared]

Hooray for my high-end (upgraded) PC!

Intel Core 2 Duo e6600 @ 2.4GHz - $150
Asus P5K P35 SATA2 DDR2 - $131
Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 RAM - $84
Western Digital 16MB Cache 250GB HDD - $67
EVGA GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB - $259

$691

 

[Diseased Yak]

For those looking at a $1500 budget like myself, here's a build I've been toying with lately, getting ready to purchase in the next month or two so some of this will change for myself, but it gives you an idea. I'm shooting for Vista 64-bit with some overclocking perhaps but not much.

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Mid Tower Case Retail $60
Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W PSU $115
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (retail, boxed) $266
Abit IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX motherboard $90
Thermalright Ultima 90 HSF $45
Scythe S-Flex Fan (SFF21E) for the Ultima 90 $14
G.Skill 4gb (2x2gb) 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) $154
Samsung black 20x DVD+R 12x DVD+R DL 16x DVD-ROM $36
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT 512mb 256-bit GDDR3 PCI-e SLI ready $290
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB SATA hard drive (x2) $240
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $109
Yate Loon 120mm Case Fan (x3) $9

Total after rebates: $1430 or there abouts.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Ultra High-End:

Motherboard: ASUS P5K PREMIUM/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $139.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - $194.99
RAM: OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $132.99
Video Card: EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $289.99
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $99.99
DVD Burner: Pioneer 18X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-212DBK - $31.99
Case: Antec Performance One P180B - $129.99
Power Supply: Antec True Power Trio TP3-430 ATX12V 430W - $79.99

Well, my 3-year old PC died on me a few nights ago, so I decided it would be easier to just build a new one, so I'm using the build above as a starting point. Does the stock heatsink fan with that CPU work alright? Or should I look into a 3rd party cooling solution?

I also noticed that the motherboard link is to an open box special, does this only come with the board itself and nothing else? Or will I at least get the rear I/O panel, manual and driver CD? I don't particularly care about needing to pick up extra cables.

 

[brocke]

Great thread.

I'm going to Japan for about 4+ years in the summer and want to build a desktop that is as futureproof as possible for playing crazy games like crysis etc. This is since I assume it's expensive as all hell to buy pc parts in Japan.

Am I wrong on this assumption and if i'm right how much should I consider spending? Should I be looking at building one of those $2400 boxes? Thanks.

 

[mambadragon]

Abit IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX motherboard $90

Upgrade to the Abit IP35 Pro if possible. I've never been so happy with a motherboard and all the tweakable settings are amazing

 

[Vaporak]

Great thread.

I'm going to Japan for about 4+ years in the summer and want to build a desktop that is as futureproof as possible for playing crazy games like crysis etc. This is since I assume it's expensive as all hell to buy pc parts in Japan.

Am I wrong on this assumption and if i'm right how much should I consider spending? Should I be looking at building one of those $2400 boxes? Thanks.

Na, the difference between a "Look at my E-penis" computer and a high end one is pretty small, especially considering the cost.

 

[M3d10n]

Nice thread. I've been completely oblivious of the latest PC offerings for quite a while now, so this got me updated on the current state of things.

Conclusion: If that's how much I need to spend to get into affordable PC gaming, seems I'll have to stick with my old Duron for a few more years and limit my PC usage to web browsing and indie gaming.
(Is it even possible to play all these new PC games on budget machines without lowering the settings so much they look like PS2 games?)

 

[~Kinggi~]

See thing is i want to get into actually building my own pcs, cause its just insanely cheaper than having a custom build website do it for you, but the thing that is stopping me is the lack of knowledge regarding connectors and such. I know the components necessary for a pc, but when it comes to the cooling and connections between the parts i dont have a clue.

 

[Xisiqomelir]

Nice bump.

I've had a lot of satisfaction out of my Rosewill R5604 case. It's ultra-cheap on Newegg right now, comes with two 120 mm fans, has lots of rails and sliders for installing new HW, an awesome IO panel on the front top (with Firewire!) and has top-notch build quality. <3

 

[Vaporak]

Nice thread. I've been completely oblivious of the latest PC offerings for quite a while now, so this got me updated on the current state of things.

Conclusion: If that's how much I need to spend to get into affordable PC gaming, seems I'll have to stick with my old Duron for a few more years and limit my PC usage to web browsing and indie gaming.
(Is it even possible to play all these new PC games on budget machines without lowering the settings so much they look like PS2 games?)

I hope you're not going by the OP as his "Midrange" box is actually the start of having a high end computer, and not a very cost effective one at that. It's very easy to shave a couple hundred $ off of his prices and still have a high end computer

 

[brocke]

Nice bump.

I've had a lot of satisfaction out of my Rosewill R5604 case. It's ultra-cheap on Newegg right now, comes with two 120 mm fans, has lots of rails and sliders for installing new HW, an awesome IO panel on the front top (with Firewire!) and has top-notch build quality. <3

Thanks. I was searching through this anyway because of the issue stated above and it is the holidays so people are looking to buy computers now (whether building or prebuilt).

 

[brocke]

Na, the difference between a "Look at my E-penis" computer and a high end one is pretty small, especially considering the cost.

What would this difference be and how much should I be looking to spend if I want to play the highest quality games still 3 years from now. And is it true that Japan is much more expensive or even holds the possibility of buying pc parts?

 

[Vaporak]

What would this difference be and how much should I be looking to spend if I want to play the highest quality games still 3 years from now. And is it true that Japan is much more expensive or even holds the possibility of buying pc parts?

It depends on what you mean by that. Continuous hardware development means it's pretty much impossible for computer hardware bought now to max out the settings of a game three years from now. Asking today's hardware to do what's designed for tomorrows hardware is just naive. Is that to say that you have to buy new hardware to get better graphics, no that's not the case. Just because you can't play at high settings on some future game doesn't mean that said game's low settings won't look better than the high settings of today's games. If you really really want to spend the money to keep up with the graphics curve (which I don't suggest, just not worth the money imo) the best thing to do is learn to buy cheaper parts more often. Use the nature of the industry to your advantage, tomorrows $200 video card will be better than todays $500 card. However, I have no idea what the hardware market is like in japan, so I guess this might not be an option for you.

Anyways, on parts, you can see from reviews like this one that the 8800GT offers practically the same performance as the 8800GTX for hundreds of dollars less. The same thing happens on the CPU side. So an 8800GT paired with a lower speed core2duo is about as high as I can suggest going for a gaming computer, which can definitely be had for less than a $1000.

edit: though I hear rumors that around feb. next year nvidia will be introducing their next line of cards. So you could always play the waiting game to get better technology for your money.

 

[brocke]

It depends on what you mean by that. Continuous hardware development means it's pretty much impossible for computer hardware bought now to max out the settings of a game three years from now. Asking today's hardware to do what's designed for tomorrows hardware is just naive. Is that to say that you have to buy new hardware to get better graphics, no that's not the case. Just because you can't play at high settings on some future game doesn't mean that said game's low settings won't look better than the high settings of today's games. If you really really want to spend the money to keep up with the graphics curve (which I don't suggest, just not worth the money imo) the best thing to do is learn to buy cheaper parts more often. Use the nature of the industry to your advantage, tomorrows $200 video card will be better than todays $500 card. However, I have no idea what the hardware market is like in japan, so I guess this might not be an option for you.

Anyways, on parts, you can see from reviews like this one that the 8800GT offers practically the same performance as the 8800GTX for hundreds of dollars less. The same thing happens on the CPU side. So an 8800GT paired with a lower speed core2duo is about as high as I can suggest going for a gaming computer, which can definitely be had for less than a $1000.

edit: though I hear rumors that around feb. next year nvidia will be introducing their next line of cards. So you could always play the waiting game to get better technology for your money.

I won't have the money until around next March anyways, so I will wait to see if that happens. I also imagine I'll visit America once a year or have my parents bring me stuff when they visit me once a year.

 

[D3VI0US]

Anyone know a site or a retailer in Seattle that does good custom builds? I'm looking to get a whole new rig soon, this thread has been pretty helpful, but I don't want to build it myself again. It's not rocket science but I'm just not good with electronics.

 

[mr stroke]

anyone out point me in the right direction for a gaming laptop? don't have much of a budget(under 1300$)