Custom build at Fry's..what parts to get with a $1000 budget?

For those who folowed the last thread, my dad is giving me a $1,000 budget for a PC, but he won't let me build it myself. So, i've worked around that, and I'm going to get one custom built at Fry's, or a local place in Dallas, depending on who has a better price. Okay, so, it will be a gaming rig primarily. What do you guys recommend for parts? I have traditionally gone with mainly ASUS and EVGA. Keep in mind I also have to have enough left over for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse (because I have been using consoles exclusively for a while because of college).

Definitely go with an AMD AM3 Phenom II based build :D

Definitely go with an AMD AM3 Phenom II based build :D

UltimateGamer95

I have thought about AMD! Never used it though. Isn't it a bit cheaper and just as powerful as Intel these days?

yea if your gaming on a budget deff go amd/ati. $1000 bucks eh nice chunk of change there, but how much does fry's charge to build a pc for you??? are you going to need a operating system aswell?

[QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"]

Definitely go with an AMD AM3 Phenom II based build :D

SkyCommand

I have thought about AMD! Never used it though. Isn't it a bit cheaper and just as powerful as Intel these days?

[QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"]

Definitely go with an AMD AM3 Phenom II based build :D

SkyCommand

I have thought about AMD! Never used it though. Isn't it a bit cheaper and just as powerful as Intel these days?

I was thinking about doing a Nvidia GTX 275 with the Phenom II X4 (socket AM3) 3.0ghz and 8gb of DDR 3 ram..

thoughts?

:)

[QUOTE="SkyCommand"]

[QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"]

Definitely go with an AMD AM3 Phenom II based build :D

UltimateGamer95

I have thought about AMD! Never used it though. Isn't it a bit cheaper and just as powerful as Intel these days?

x4 955 , 4 gig of ram and a 5850 :D

[QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"][QUOTE="SkyCommand"]

I have thought about AMD! Never used it though. Isn't it a bit cheaper and just as powerful as Intel these days?

NSR34GTR

I was thinking about doing a Nvidia GTX 275 with the Phenom II X4 (socket AM3) 3.0ghz and 8gb of DDR 3 ram..

thoughts?

:)

SkyCommand

i5. DabsTight703

x4 955 , you can overclock it (although there's no need now) on same voltages for up to 3.6 , and a 5850 is realy a good dx11 card :)

Here 's a general outline of what I think you should get. The only thing I kinda skimped on was the case (sorry):

CPU + Mobo + RAM: AMD Phenom II X4 955 + ASUS 790X Motherboard + 4GB DDR3 1600 = $328.98
GPU: ASUS Radeon HD 5870 1GB = $409.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB = $54.99
OD: LITE-ON 24X DVD+R SATA DVD Writer LightScribe = $28.99
PSU: SeaSonic 850W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified = $119.99
Case: AZZA Orion 202 Mid Tower = $29.99
Total: $972.93

Maybe later you can crossfire. :D

not bad smc, but id go with the 5850 and upgrade that case to a full tower with the money saved from switching the gpu

Wow guys, thanks for all the replies. I have been finishing up all of my finals, and just got back home yesterday. I wanted to answer a few questions I saw. I DO need to budget for a monitor, but I don't care if it's basic, so long as it looks decent and doesn't burn out in a year. Also, I talked to Fry's, and they charge $60 on top of the cost of the parts and the installation of windows 7. So, basically, hardware plus $60.

AMD sounds great. I was looking, and the 5850 seems to fit all of my needs. Since my birthday is not too terribly far, I can always upgrade my video card then, or add a second one 8)

Is 4gb of DDR 3 enough for most of the games out now?

CPU: i5

GPU: gtx260, or a gtx275

4gb of ddr3 should be more then enough.