what's a decent price for a reasonably 'futureproof' rig

I know there's really no such thing as futureproof, but I'm in the market to stop dual-booting on my Mac and actually get a PC to play games on (and maybe be productive on as well). I'm not worried about paying a few more hundred to have it custom-built (been eyeing up places like Falcon NW, for example) but I was wondering just what is "too much". Would I like to play Crysis? Yes, I would. Would I like to have a machine that lasts me for the next few years -- through things like, say, Crysis 2? Yep. So: what's the average I should be looking to spend?

I agree. Don't spend more than $1000 on a rig, its just not worth it.

I never spend over $700 myself. :P Its all about the overclocked budget builds.

So for pre-built we're factoring in roughly 2-400, right? So you're saying 12-1400 for a decent machine, never more than 2G.

So for pre-built we're factoring in roughly 2-400, right? So you're saying 12-1400 for a decent machine, never more than 2G.

grongo2

Could you suggest a pre-built for under 1400?

I agree. Don't spend more than $1000 on a rig, its just not worth it.

I never spend over $700 myself. :P Its all about the overclocked budget builds.

tequilasunriser

Well not everyone thinks that way also there are hardcore gamers/overclockers that go for nothing less then best, but i won't sit here and spend 1k on a cpu that can do 5ghz id stick with an i7 920 at 4ghz, but like i said everyone is different.

Never use the words together future proof. There simply is no such thing.millerlight89

Rofl

[QUOTE="millerlight89"]Never use the words together future proof. There simply is no such thing.Neo_revolution7

Rofl

Did you actually roll on the floor laughing? It seems as if you overuse that expression.

Anywho, my answer is $1k. That should give you a nice solid foundation without breaking bank, and leave you room for upgrades.

[QUOTE="Neo_revolution7"]

[QUOTE="millerlight89"]Never use the words together future proof. There simply is no such thing.ender2009

Rofl

Did you actually roll on the floor laughing? It seems as if you overuse that expression.

Anywho, my answer is $1k. That should give you a nice solid foundation without breaking bank, and leave you room for upgrades.

maybe i did and i actually like the word and ill use it 1000 more times if i actually felt like it.

[QUOTE="ender2009"]

[QUOTE="Neo_revolution7"]

Rofl

Neo_revolution7

Did you actually roll on the floor laughing? It seems as if you overuse that expression.

Anywho, my answer is $1k. That should give you a nice solid foundation without breaking bank, and leave you room for upgrades.

maybe i did and i actually like the word and ill use it 1000 more times if i actually felt like it.

Whew! Calm down there, big boy.

[QUOTE="Neo_revolution7"]

[QUOTE="ender2009"]

Did you actually roll on the floor laughing? It seems as if you overuse that expression.

Anywho, my answer is $1k. That should give you a nice solid foundation without breaking bank, and leave you room for upgrades.

ender2009

maybe i did and i actually like the word and ill use it 1000 more times if i actually felt like it.

i am calm :)

Whew! Calm down there, big boy.

I just upgrade more often and go for best bang for the buck, never getting "top of the line" stuff. You see my system in my sig. I got the video card about 4 months ago and the CPU about a month ago. I got the board and RAM back in June. I will probably upgrade both CPU and GPU in the next 6 to 8 months. I just wait for something better to be in the $150-$250 range, buy it and sell my old parts on ebay to re-coop part of the cost. That way it never cost me that much to upgrade and I always have a pretty good setup. And I'm never out one big chunk of money at once like $1,000 on a whole new setup.

I just upgrade more often and go for best bang for the buck, never getting "top of the line" stuff. You see my system in my sig. I got the video card about 4 months ago and the CPU about a month ago. I got the board and RAM back in June. I will probably upgrade both CPU and GPU in the next 6 to 8 months. I just wait for something better to be in the $150-$250 range, buy it and sell my old parts on ebay to re-coop part of the cost. That way it never cost me that much to upgrade and I always have a pretty good setup. And I'm never out one big chunk of money at once like $1,000 on a whole new setup.

BackHatch

I just upgrade more often and go for best bang for the buck, never getting "top of the line" stuff. You see my system in my sig. I got the video card about 4 months ago and the CPU about a month ago. I got the board and RAM back in June. I will probably upgrade both CPU and GPU in the next 6 to 8 months. I just wait for something better to be in the $150-$250 range, buy it and sell my old parts on ebay to re-coop part of the cost. That way it never cost me that much to upgrade and I always have a pretty good setup. And I'm never out one big chunk of money at once like $1,000 on a whole new setup.

I just upgrade more often and go for best bang for the buck, never getting "top of the line" stuff. You see my system in my sig. I got the video card about 4 months ago and the CPU about a month ago. I got the board and RAM back in June. I will probably upgrade both CPU and GPU in the next 6 to 8 months. I just wait for something better to be in the $150-$250 range, buy it and sell my old parts on ebay to re-coop part of the cost. That way it never cost me that much to upgrade and I always have a pretty good setup. And I'm never out one big chunk of money at once like $1,000 on a whole new setup.

BackHatch

I just upgrade more often and go for best bang for the buck, never getting "top of the line" stuff. You see my system in my sig. I got the video card about 4 months ago and the CPU about a month ago. I got the board and RAM back in June. I will probably upgrade both CPU and GPU in the next 6 to 8 months. I just wait for something better to be in the $150-$250 range, buy it and sell my old parts on ebay to re-coop part of the cost. That way it never cost me that much to upgrade and I always have a pretty good setup. And I'm never out one big chunk of money at once like $1,000 on a whole new setup.

[QUOTE="BackHatch"][QUOTE="theragu40"] That's easily the best approach, in my opinion. I don't think I have ever spent much more than $200 in one shot on upgrades for my PC, and it still handles pretty much anything I throw at it. Would be even better if I had a 4870.theragu40

I know there's really no such thing as futureproof, but I'm in the market to stop dual-booting on my Mac and actually get a PC to play games on (and maybe be productive on as well). I'm not worried about paying a few more hundred to have it custom-built (been eyeing up places like Falcon NW, for example) but I was wondering just what is "too much". Would I like to play Crysis? Yes, I would. Would I like to have a machine that lasts me for the next few years -- through things like, say, Crysis 2? Yep. So: what's the average I should be looking to spend?

grongo2

Gee, I just bought a custom build.

It's over $2,000! And I didn't built it. Ah well, at least I'm planning to replace stuff and overclock my awesome PC! In additon... she'll be muh cool machine.^^
Don't end up like me, it's better to buy parts and build them yourself.

Gee, I just bought a custom build.

It's over $2,000! And I didn't built it. Ah well, at least I'm planning to replace stuff and overclock my awesome PC! In additon... she'll be muh cool machine.^^
Don't end up like me, it's better to buy parts and build them yourself.

Pignas

[QUOTE="Pignas"]

Gee, I just bought a custom build.

It's over $2,000! And I didn't built it. Ah well, at least I'm planning to replace stuff and overclock my awesome PC! In additon... she'll be muh cool machine.^^
Don't end up like me, it's better to buy parts and build them yourself.

millerlight89

Is that possible? Hmmm I didn't see this coming. Ah well, now you know too. XD
And no problem, it'll be fun trying to crack in and OC that processor! >=D
And if not, well at least it'll be good to run on Miku Miku Dance. Ha ha ha! XDDDD

Yes, I'm insane.

I agree. Don't spend more than $1000 on a rig, its just not worth it.

I never spend over $700 myself. :P Its all about the overclocked budget builds.

tequilasunriser

[QUOTE="millerlight89"]

[QUOTE="Pignas"]

Gee, I just bought a custom build.

It's over $2,000! And I didn't built it. Ah well, at least I'm planning to replace stuff and overclock my awesome PC! In additon... she'll be muh cool machine.^^
Don't end up like me, it's better to buy parts and build them yourself.

Pignas

Is that possible? Hmmm I didn't see this coming. Ah well, now you know too. XD
And no problem, it'll be fun trying to crack in and OC that processor! >=D
And if not, well at least it'll be good to run on Miku Miku Dance. Ha ha ha! XDDDD

Yes, I'm insane.

[QUOTE="Pignas"]

[QUOTE="millerlight89"] You may not be overclocking if it is prebuilt, good luck.

theragu40

Is that possible? Hmmm I didn't see this coming. Ah well, now you know too. XD
And no problem, it'll be fun trying to crack in and OC that processor! >=D
And if not, well at least it'll be good to run on Miku Miku Dance. Ha ha ha! XDDDD

Yes, I'm insane.

[QUOTE="theragu40"][QUOTE="Pignas"]

Is that possible? Hmmm I didn't see this coming. Ah well, now you know too. XD
And no problem, it'll be fun trying to crack in and OC that processor! >=D
And if not, well at least it'll be good to run on Miku Miku Dance. Ha ha ha! XDDDD

Yes, I'm insane.

millerlight89

[QUOTE="millerlight89"]

[QUOTE="theragu40"] Did you buy a boutique machine or one from a major manufacturer like Dell? Boutique machines may still have some OCing in them.Pignas

iBuypower generally picks well established motherboards in their systems, and considering that you paid $2,000 for the system, I wouldn't be surprised if all the BIOS options were unadulterated and unlocked.

[QUOTE="Pignas"][QUOTE="millerlight89"] True, but if you bought from Dell or something of that nature forget about it.

MaoTheChimp

iBuypower generally picks well established motherboards in their systems, and considering that you paid $2,000 for the system, I wouldn't be surprised if all the BIOS options were unadulterated and unlocked.

Well I'm still waiting for that rig to arrive... since I ordered it last month. It's one of those holiday rush. XD
I do have the specs I saved, but I'll reveal that another time.

I would say about $850 (considering memory price inflation) is the bare minimum for a gaming PC that is not gimped. I think it is best not to get the latest and greatest; just wait until the latest and greatest come out so that the previous generation component prices drop. I built my budget PC nine months ago from Newegg.com for 653.19 (including shipping and tax -no rebates -used 'old' Seagate 7200.12 hard drive). I don't see any reason to upgrade yet, unless I want to upgrade to 1920x1200 res.

Specs:

• ATI Sapphire 4870 1GB
• AMD Phenom II X3 720
• ASUS M4A78T-E 790GX AM3
• G.Skill DDR3 1333 8-8-8-21
• Corsair 650W
• Sony Optiarc 24X DVD-RW
• Antec 300

I would say about $850 (considering memory price inflation) is the bare minimum for a gaming PC that is not gimped. I think it is best not to get the latest and greatest; just wait until the latest and greatest come out so that the previous generation component prices drop. I built my budget PC nine months ago from Newegg.com for 653.19 (including shipping and tax -no rebates -used 'old' Seagate 7200.12 hard drive). I don't see any reason to upgrade yet, unless I want to upgrade to 1920x1200 res.

Specs:

• ATI Sapphire 4870 1GB
• AMD Phenom II X3 720
• ASUS M4A78T-E 790GX AM3
• G.Skill DDR3 1333 8-8-8-21
• Corsair 650W
• Sony Optiarc 24X DVD-RW
• Antec 300

simplyderp

P.S. Did you try to unlock your 4th core?