I'm looking to put together a gaming rig (including OS). I'd like to get the best bang for my buck as the PC will be shared with my son & the "boss" will flip out if I go much over the price above.

I'm looking for an Intel chipset, an nVidia grapgics card, and enough power for various MMoRPGs and Unreal Tournament (latest).

Also - Windows Vista (32 or 64 bit) OR WinXP - which direction do I go?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Where are you? US? If so Newegg is a good shopping place.

http://www.newegg.com/

In very general terms:

Motherboard will run $150

CPU Core Duo $200

Nvidia 8800 GTS $200

1GB RAM $100

300GB HDD $100


So here we are @ $750 without a case or DVD/CD or OS.

If you can up the budget to near $1,000 it might be a bit more realistic.

Do you have any old parts to use?

As to OS I'd stay with 32 bit and personally I'd stay with XP.

The only advantage to Vista for gaming would be DirectX 10.

Anyway just a brief overview. We can go into Newegg and start to compare products if you like.

I'm in the US. About the only thing I could cannibalize from this PC is the DVD drive (2 months old when the last one died), my monitor, keyboard, mouse & printer (bought all at the same time as the drive).

I could probably bump up to @ $1k - so what are some good choices.

OK. Here are the main parts:


EVGA 512-P3-N865-AR GeForce 9600GT KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130329

$189.99



EVGA 122-CK-NF67-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188015

$169.99



Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029

$189.99




Thermaltake Toughpower W0128RU ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153040

$149.99



Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134488

$45.99



Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136074

$74.99



Sub Total: $820.94



Still need case and OS if you use your old DVD etc.

Newegg's site has many filters on the left hand menu making searching and comparing quite easy.

Anyway just a start with products that I know. Look around yourself and let us know what you think.

Sorry for the late response:

Everything looks great here. I'll definately be purchasing this equipment.

I'll be going with WinXP, but I'll still need a case. Which one is the best for me? I have the case tucked into a small cubby-hole of my computer desk & it gets hot in there. I'll need something with GREAT ventillation.

Please let me kow. Thanks again.

First off do you want a Full or Mid Tower?

If you have room for a Full Tower I would choose that. If not a Mid Tower.

Basic measurements:

Full: 22" H x 24" D x 10" W

Mid: 17" H x 20" D x 8" W

The larger would offer more ventilation plus the ease of work room inside.

If your space is not that large the Mid Tower will have to do with front and rear fans.

I'm going to go for a mid-tower.

I think I may want to go for Vista - just for the Direct X 10 - this rig will be used for Age of Conan & Warhammer online primarily.

If I go with Vista, should I bump up the RAM?

32 bit operating systems have a 3.5GB RAM limit so you go to 4GB you will get the use of 3.5.

64 bit operating systems can be almost unlimited but are not practical for general use.

Most gamers run 2GB. When you run your games just turn everything else off.

A large hard drive helps as well. At least 320GB and up. They are just now pushing out the 1T or 100GB models.

As to the case here is the Newegg general list for Mid Tower w/out PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...819209&name=No

If you are going to tuck this away then you do not need the windows or lights etc.

Still appearance might be important to you. Fans are the most important. I'd suggest 120mm fans front and rear. Some have top and side as well.

Anyway there is so much to choose from. See if any "stand out" for you.

32 bit operating systems have a 3.5GB RAM limit so if you go to 4GB you will get the use of 3.5.

64 bit operating systems can be almost unlimited but are not practical for general use.

Most gamers run 2GB. When you run your games just turn everything else off.

A large hard drive helps as well. At least 320GB and up. They are just now pushing out the 1T or 100GB models.

As to the case here is the Newegg general list for Mid Tower w/out PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...819209&name=No

If you are going to tuck this away then you do not need the windows or lights etc.

Still appearance might be important to you. Fans are the most important. I'd suggest 120mm fans front and rear. Some have top and side as well.

Anyway there is so much to choose from. See if any "stand out" for you.

I was actually looking at this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1199496746911

To save myself the build time. Of couse I'd swap out the video card for a BFG9600.

Whats your opinion?