Hey guys,

I have decided to buy a new computer because my 5 year old computer enjoys to play dead more than play games.

I am under a budget of 600-700 dollars and am looking for you guys to help me choose my new computer.

Of course I am looking to play games but it is definitely not a necessity to play on high settings with full AA, but I would enjoy at least medium settings.

I am starting from scratch and this is what I have so far:

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131174

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130084

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103776

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820211165

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811144164

CD/ DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827135148

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822145162

As you can see I need some major help so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I don't need to have an AMD processor, but I thought it was the better choice because I don't plan on over clocking as I have not dabbled in it too much.

$650
Should be good enough for future updates aswell;
cpu = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115014
gpu = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102067 !!!
case = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119115
power supply = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103940
Motherboard = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128050 !!
RAM = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231098

Know the stuff with an !!! next to it is the best you could get for your money but i not all good with RAM, power supply, case and cpu but you have $50 left over you could buy something else or add it to buy a better power supply or cpu (for future needs) but the motherboard + case + powersupply should last until 08.

$104 AMD x2 4600+ 2.4ghz
$100 DFI Infinity AM2 NF570
$80(after $30MIR) Crucial Ballistix 2x1gb DDR2 800 4-4-4-12
$145(after $20MIR) Sapphire x1950xt
$75 WesternDigital SE16 320gb 7200rpm 16mb SATA
$34 Sony NEC Optiarc DVD Burner SATA
$50 CoolerMaster Centurion5 mid-tower
$80(after $20MIR) Corsair HX520w

Total of $668.
All you need to do is save for an eventual DX10 card and Phenom x4.

Now this is truly a budget build not like some other people. I don't like the case but that's up to you. If you can try and get a Core 2 Duo, if not a cheap X2 is just fine. I'm sure there are some $50 decent boards for AMD and get a good budget PSU like FSP or Xclio.X360PS3AMD05

The gpu is much more of a issue than the cpu, the cpu will be fine for a few years but the gpu isn't so good. go for a 7900/x1950 or if you really want dx10 go for the 8800gts 320, the 8600s aren't that good for what you pay.

Thanks for all the help guys.

I was surprised to find out that it would be better to get the 7 series instead of the 8 series.

So you are saying that DX10 is not a very big issue, and I shouldn't worry about it.... so when do you think it will become mainstream for games?

I like what you guys have posted so far.... and I do desire to play games in 08 and 09.... and even further if the mobo is good enough for upgrades.

Any further help will be greatly appreciated.

Hard Disk $47

Motherboard $49

Processor $80

DVD Burner $28

X1950PRO $137

Power Supply $70

TOTAL = $491, with your RAM

Just stay with the RAM you chose, it's fine. You could also get a CrossFire motherboard and another X1950PRO and you'd pretty much at the upper limit of your budget.

EDIT: You could also get two 2600XT's. They won't do as well as 2 X1950PRO's, but they will give you solid performance. I would also expect some decent DX10 performance as you'd have a total of 240 stream processors. Not to mention that it will also save you $50-60.

EDIT #2: That PSU I selected won't run two X1950's, but it should have no problem with a couple of 2600's, they don't even require an external power connector.

Ok.... With some of my own tweaking... I have assembled two configurations.

I now need your help to decide between the two... which one is faster.... and more future proof.

Common Factors:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119077

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148027

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820609226

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827135148

COMP 1:

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102067

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813136019

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103749

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

Comp 2:

GPU: 2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102700

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131175

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103741

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822210004

Thanks for all the help and any more help will be greatly appreciated.

These are roughly the same price.... so it will be interesting to see how they stack up to each other.

if u r a budget gamer then you should concentrate more on the mobo and gpu.

get a mobo with good overclocking capabilities. that way u can get a c2d 4400 to perform as good as a c2d 6600

but get a good cooler

i would suggest the xfx 650i ultra for ur budget. great performance great price.

as for ram stick to 2 gb ddr2 ( 667 mhz) for now or 1 gb to reduce costs.

cooler master extreme power 600 w does a good job.

as for the gpu go for 8800 gts 320 mb . again here more bang for the buck

cabinet , monitor etc are on your choices and budget

Any more help would be greatly appreciated.... I really want to know what is better... the crossfire 2600xt setup or the single x1950xt.

If anybody knows what is better please post.

Thanks in advance!

Any more help would be greatly appreciated.... I really want to know what is better... the crossfire 2600xt setup or the single x1950xt.

If anybody knows what is better please post.

Thanks in advance!canuckbacon

I gave you the best rig possible for you money and you completely disregard it...

Well I really liked that setup... but is it that important to have corsair RAM. Does it really give that much more "bang" for the buck? Also that MOBO is a little pricey... is it worth the extra cost?

What I would really like is more of a justification for those parts. Why is it better than the other choices given to me?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.