Time for New Comp - Many Questions

A buddy of mine ordered a computer, rather quickly, and now hes second guessing it, he spent 1k on this comp, and he wants to know if this is the best he can get for the money. I'm pretty sure he could get something more powerful, so ofcourse i came to good ol' gamespot for some advice.

Heres his computer's specs:

ASUS M3A78-CM AM2+780 2xPCI/1PCI-E 16X
4D.DDR2-1066 DDR 2 2 GB PC6400 800MHz Ram
Seagate 500GB SATA 3G 32MB 7200.9 Hard drive
EVGA 9800GT 1 GB DDR3 PCIE
Antec Sonata III Mini Tower ATX w/ 500w USB/Audio/E-SATA AC97 Software Sound
LG 20X DVD +/- RW GH-20NS15 SATA Drive (Black)
MS Windows Vista Home Premium License & media 64 bit

I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable when it comes to computers, its just i've been so outta the loop when it comes to hardware, so I dont really know whats up these days. Is intel still > AMD? And how are we when it comes to video cards, i remember when my 8800GTS used to own some major face.

Anyway, if someone could whip me up a computer for about 1k with the essentials: MOBO, RAM, Videocard, Processor, Case, Harddrive and that should be good.

Much appreciated.

Call me blind but I don't see a processor on that setup...? By the way, your friend just flushed about $500 down the drain ($600-$650 if no processor). Yes, Intel > AMD still. 8800GTS 320MB or 512MB? The former is considered a low/mid range card. The latter is still a fighter, and will bring out high / max settings easily on most modern games.

Here's a better PC for about $1000 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 - Antec 300 case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 - Gigabyte LGA1366 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 - Core i7 920 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211371 - 3GB DDR3 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004 - Corsair 550W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121289 - HD 4830
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136298 - 640GB hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263 - DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 - Vista

This coule be altered by replacing the CPU, mobo and RAM with a cheaper Core 2 Quad setup and exchanging the 4830 for a 4870 or GTX 260. It will have much better gaming performance at the cost of future upgradeability.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 - Gigabyte P45 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115131 - O9400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 - 4GB DDR2 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434 - GTX 260 Core 216

Call me blind but I don't see a processor on that setup...? By the way, your friend just flushed about $500 down the drain ($600-$650 if no processor). Yes, Intel > AMD still. 8800GTS 320MB or 512MB? The former is considered a low/mid range card. The latter is still a fighter, and will bring out high / max settings easily on most modern games.

kaitanuvax

Lol sorry, in the specs he gave me he must have forgot the CPU, im pretty sure its some AMD 3.0ghz dual core processor. Dont remember the specifics. And my card isthe 640 version actually. But ill double check when i get back.

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3750330NS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

SAPPHIRE 100243-1GTXSR Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996580 - Retail

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail

Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controller/Heatsink - Retail

ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe/HDMI AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Subtotal: $952.94

If you don't want to crossfire you could replace the motherboard and GPU with:

ASUS M4A78 PRO AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 01G-P3-1281-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Subtotal: $1,012.94

After Rebates: $992.94

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $119.99

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) $69.99

Memory: G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $54.99

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard $134.99

-Capable of Crossfire, overclocks very well.

Processor + Video Card Combo Deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.160217 $448.99

-Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor

-SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Second Video Card For Crossfire: SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card $189

Total: $1,047.63

Edit: Swapped PSU for another HD 4870 for Crossfire.

It says in his sig he has a OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W Power Supply. It should have enough power for my recommended setup's HD 4870 Crossfire.kaitanuvax

I believe it's for his friend though by the sounds of it... although it could not

Hah, kick ass builds so far guys, im glad he canceled his order.

And about the PSU, im not actually sure what he has right now, but it really isnt that big of a deal, they arent to expensive. But thanks for the help everyone!