Gaming computer

Wat would u guys recommend in a gameing comp for under $2500

a cpu, motherboard, memory, video card, hard drive and power supply

ok im being cheeky... but its cos i am too lazy to do any more than that :D wait a sec and godz will post a rant...

LoL ok, iv been lookin around just dont know wats good for price and im looking for some advice

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6600

Mobo: ASUS P5B

RAM: 2GB DDR2 667/800 (brands to look for are corsair, OCZ and Geil)

GFX: nVidia 8800GTS 640MB (theres a million brands out there, leadtek, XFX etc, theyre all pretty much the same ref design, cept BFG/XFX overclock some of their models)

HDD: 320GB SATA-II (your choice of brand, WD or samsung are the best bets)

PSU: 600W OCZ gameXstream

Case: your choice, id say an antec would do the trick ;)

i can be WAY more specific about those parts if you want, but as sks said, i wont do it unless its neccesary :P

(all those parts would come in at just under $2k)

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6600

Mobo: ASUS P5B

RAM: 2GB DDR2 667/800 (brands to look for are corsair, OCZ and Geil)

GFX: nVidia 8800GTS 640MB (theres a million brands out there, leadtek, XFX etc, theyre all pretty much the same ref design, cept BFG/XFX overclock some of their models)

HDD: 320GB SATA-II (your choice of brand, WD or samsung are the best bets)

PSU: 600W OCZ gameXstream

Case: your choice, id say an antec would do the trick ;)

i can be WAY more specific about those parts if you want, but as sks said, i wont do it unless its neccesary :P

(all those parts would come in at just under $2k)

Add a Proview 22in Widescreen $400 -360

nar thats TO big im just goin with a 17-19 inch 2ms

wat do u guys think about the AMD AM2 6000+ (3ghz)

and would u go with Nvida 8800 or something with SLI

AMD just arnt cutting it like intel are atm, stick with intel.

+ ifyour looking to SLI, theres FAR more broader opportunites if your going with intel, AMD are best for ATI crossfire.

Ok well im an AMD fanboy for eva :D

suit yourself.

from what i have read the 6000 is a good chip.
It is even with the 6600 but costs a bit more.

i am running the following..

4600xp @ 2.5
Inno3d 8800gts oc edition
2 gig corsair xms
and a asus m2n32-sli delux

and have 0 problems with any modern game (i am currently play c&c3 at 1600x1050)
also i think i had stalker at 1280x1024 with no problems.

SLI is a waste of money in my opinion you might as well chace a 8800gtx.

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/article.asp?CIID=76767

ever since the core2 duo was released, its always had the upper hand. the E6600 that i run, beats an FX-62 at stock 2.4GHz. Intel really hit the money with the conroe architecture, its still the best bet for value for money, as you can see from that article.

more performance-per-watt/gigahert is the key.

to be blunt, youd be silly not to go intel at this stage. even if your an AMD fanboy, theres still possibilities of converstion :P

yeh i was reading that AMD hav come back with the 6000

did you just completely miss the link to atomic?...i beg to differ with you combatant

atomic cannot be trusted anymore in my opinion.

there reviews tend to go against all trends and seem to be ver biased.

numerous sites have listed the 6000 on par with the e6600 but as i stated it costs a hell of alot more,

more bang for buck = intel. its obvious.

not to mention the prospects of AM3 in the future. LGA775 is here for a long while to come. in the time that intel have had LGA775 so far, there have been 3 socket changes by AMD, and a prospect of a fourth.....

ED: http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3694&Itemid=40&limit=1&limitstart=9

more evidence

nar thats TO big im just goin with a 17-19 inch 2ms

wat do u guys think about the AMD AM2 6000+ (3ghz)

and would u go with Nvida 8800 or something with SLI

If you going to get a 17in or even a 19in with a 8800GTX/GTS
**YOU ARE WASTEING YOUR MONEY BOY**
Grab a 7950 if your running a small screen.

nar thats TO big im just goin with a 17-19 inch 2ms

wat do u guys think about the AMD AM2 6000+ (3ghz)

and would u go with Nvida 8800 or something with SLI

If you going to get a 17in or even a 19in with a 8800GTX/GTS
**YOU ARE WASTEING YOUR MONEY BOY**
Grab a 7950 if your running a small screen.
Not really. It's probably more future-proofing than anything else. He can easily upgrade his screen later, plus he'll be able to run things at max quality for longer than someone running at a higher res.

E6600 The way to go... Every site benchmarking this chip has shown results prooving this is the best chip to go.


Godzlr on the mark!!!

No point going under 2gb memory. Get larger then 500 Watt Brand Name psu (this all depends on how many devices your hangin off it.... obviously if ur plannin on having 10 hdds in there like sks then maybe spend some more and get a 650 or possible more).
Spend a good amount on a mobo.... THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!! Maybe worth looking into the gigabyte GA-965P-DS3P Motherboard. Might not be the best performing motherboard out there but from what experience I've had with it, it has the potential to be a very reliable mobo. Check out gigabytes website
Solid Capacitors are the way to go :wink:

Try and swing $100 towards a sound card.... U'll thank yourself later :wink:

other than that the rest is up to u.... Try and get a hdd with 5 yr warranty (/mepoints at seagate) and brand name memory.... something thats reliable. Kingston offer lifetime warranty aswell as alot of the other company's.

Sli not really worth it.... unless u like spending money coz u can. A single card should do everything u need for the time being and for some time yet. Someone with sli or crossfire is trying to compensate for something :P

Not too sure about the vid card yet. My advice is to stick it out a little longer on the video card if possible. Maybe buy a mid range card for the moment and then upgrade at the end of the year. Grosnich forsees bigg changes in vid card products and performance in the near future due to vista and dx 10 support.

But then theres always bigger and better things coming out all the time. So its up to u. The longer u wait the better card u'll get, but then your without it untill u decide on one.


As for biased sites.... everyone is going to say a site is biased sometimes just because it doesn't show the results they wanted / expected. Best thing I can recommend is to visit 5-6 different types of sites and see how each of them compare.


Also nothing wrong with purchasing a 19" with an 8800GT. No reason why it wouldn't work. Sure a 8800gt could handle a 22" monitor but then my 7900gt runs my 22" without a hassle on 1680 x 1050 and maximum detail. So get what size screen your comfortable with. Some people get motion sickness on some of the larger lcds.



My 2 cents

I dunno, but i thought this would be helpful to give you an idea on what stuff can do...this is what i am running atm



Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.88GHz (3.40 when i cbf getting good RAM timings at DDR2 850)
(note: im runnning an aftermarket cooler, ThermalRight Ultra-120, that big silver thing in the side of my case window :P)

ASUS P5W-DH DLX mobo (AWESOME mobo, i love every bit of it, hasnt missed a beat :D)

1GB OCZ DDR2 800 Platinum @ 4-4-4-12 (soon to be 2GB)

X1900GT 256mb gfx card

Storage: -320GB Western Digital SATA-II drive
-x2 500GB Samsung SATA-II drives (well i have one atm, waiting on the second one to come in)

Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music soundcard (great card for teh money)

Pioneer DVR-112D + some CD-RW

many fans/cathodes

hanging off a 600W OCZ gameXstream (still best in field)

and its all crammed into a Antec Plusview-II

screen wise.... -Samsung 204B 20.1" LCD
-LG1710S 17" LCD (my secondary screen)



thats my rig. no idea how much iv spent, but a fair bit.

[two cents]

On a note regarding power supplies, commonly people overlook the importance of the different voltage line amperages in favour of going for raw wattage, also there is efficiency ratings (some times can be hard to find) 80 plus seems to be the new buzz word here.

Typically though the "better branded" supplies are pretty well on the mark. I have seen some cheaper/generic supplies that skimp on the 12v and 5v amperages meaning that in time the supply blows and may or may not decide to take along some devices for the ride.

[/two cents]

Cyber mick made big point... I have a generic one that came with a case that said it was a 400 Watt.... which I have no doubt that it is. But the 5v was only rated at something like 16a.


I threw it out straight away.... not wasting time with it...lol.


You will find brand name psu's should have a decent rating even if u don't know what your looking for. If u go for a decent brand like antec, ocz, Thermaltake, coolermaster, etc, etc u should be fine. They usually have decent rales on them. It just depends on what your going to hang off it.