What should I look for in a good gaming computer?

best gaming desktop 1200 image

Determinat

I have a budget of $2000 and I want to buy a nice gaming desktop that I can use to play games.

I am used to playing on computers with like 512 MB RAM >.< so I want a really fast computer.

What are some specifications that I should get in a computer?

Answer
Depending on which games you play, the main component you should be worrying about is your graphics/video card. This is essential to providing your computer with essentially any 3D rendering done in a game. However some games require a very strong CPU as well such as Crysis in Very High Quality mode. If you are able to read a manual and even slightly tech savvy, you should be able to build your own computer, which is preferable to buying a prebuilt system from a major manufacturer.
Here is a list of components, approximate prices and a link for a system you can build for under 2000$:

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Gamer Case - Full tower ~100$
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21123&vpn=NINE%20HUNDRED&manufacture=ANTEC&promoid=1043

Power Supply - 750Watts is a fair- Corsair TX750W ~100$ -
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26415&vpn=CMPSU-750TX&manufacture=CORSAIR&promoid=1043

At the moment, Intel Core 2 Duo processors are favored by gamers due to the fact that Quad cores are not yet fully utilized by games. AMD makes some decent CPUs but none that can match Intel price/performance wise for the time being. Thus we will proceed with an Intel chipset motherboard.

Motherboard choice 1 - slightly newer chipset - Asus P5Q Pro~140$ -http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30418&vpn=P5Q Pro&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1043

Motherboard choice 2 - slightly older chipset but has wifi ~180$
ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25851&vpn=P5K-E/WIFI-AP&manufacture=ASUS

CPU choice 1- Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16ghz ~200$ - http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27785&vpn=BX80570E8500&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1043

CPU choice 2 - If you really want a Quad core the Core 2 Quad Q6600 is cheapest for ~200$ - ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22211&vpn=BX80562Q6600&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1043


Video Card Choice 1 - 2x ATI Radeon HD4850 ~2x 180$ - http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30981&vpn=XAE/48500+T352&manufacture=Palit%20Multimedia%20Inc.&promoid=1043

Video Card Choice 2 - Nvidia Geforce GTX280 ~450$ -
ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31296&vpn=GV%2DN28%2D1GH%2DB&manufacture=Gigabyte

NOTE: Even with a single ATI HD4850, you will be able to play demanding games like Crysis, World in Conflict, Mass Effect, Supreme Commander at pretty high settings, getting two of them or the GTX280 will let you play those games in the very high settings...however the actual observed difference can be minimal.

Memory/RAM - 2x OCZ or Corsair DDR2 800mhz 4gig kits (2x2gigs) ~100$ per kit
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25352&vpn=OCZ2P8004GK&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology

Hard Drive - standard speed HDD is fine unless you are a speed freak - Seagate Or Western Digital 1000gigs/1terabyte ~180$ -
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31000&vpn=WD1001FALS&manufacture=Western%20Digital%20WD&promoid=1043

OS - A copy of 64bit (in order to use more than 3gigs of RAM) Windows Vista Premium OEM ~130$ - http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22438&vpn=66I%2D00788&manufacture=Microsoft



So so far this rig costs about 1200-1500$ before taxes depending on which video card Crossfire/GTX280, amount of RAM 4 or 8gigs, and to a lesser extent, which motherboard you pick though one gives you WiFi for 40$.

Now Accessories:
Monitor - You will need a monitor with at least 1920x1200 resolution to appreciate your games fully. The new Samsung 2443BW 24" 1920X1200 (1200P) is a great monitor for the price ~340$ - ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=32738&vpn=LS24MYKRBQ/XAA&manufacture=Samsung&promoid=1043

Mouse- Logitech MX518 1600DPI, this is the minimum requirements if you play FPS games ~60$ - ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=14879&vpn=931352-0215&manufacture=Logitech

Keyboard - This is the only keyboard you should get for gaming the Logitech G15 2nd ed - $60 - ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26151&vpn=920-000379&manufacture=Logitech&promoid=1043

Blu-ray player - Blu-ray/HD-dvd/DVD-RW combo drive ~ 150$ - ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26553&vpn=GGC-H20L&manufacture=LG%20Electronics&promoid=1043
If you dont need Blu-ray or just don't care, you can get a regular DVD-writer for ~30$ ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=1015

Other optional accessories:
-media card reader ~20$
ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21448&vpn=NG%2D35INT%2DBK%2DCR&manufacture=nGear%20Technologies%20Inc%2E
-third party cooling - for CPU and video card
-printer/scanner
-router
-wireless card (if you pick the P5Q pro motherboard)
-USB flash drive (always handy to have one)
-Speakers 2.1, 5.1, 7.1 - I recommend the Logitech Z-2300 for 2.1 and the Z-5500 for the 5.1
-headphones

So accessories will be about another 500$ or more, though. But you can vary your build to match your needs.

Hope this helps and good luck!


Hmm - apparently, I cannot have more than 10 links, so a few of the links, you will find on your own which shouldn't be too hard.

I need to build a gaming desktop between 1000 - 1500$s?

I'm looking to build a gaming desktop in the price range of $1000 - $1500. I have been out of desktop gaming for a while so I'm not up to date on the current hardware. What would be a good system in this range that does not include: monitor, speakers. Any suggestions on decently cheap mice or keyboards would be welcome as well. Thanks in advance!

Answer
Ok, John, I think I can give you a heads up. You know that Intel just came out with their i7 core processors, and of course there is the i7 920 everyone is buying, but here is a very interesting bit of information, that Intel also released a turbo charge i7 core called the 860 and it only costs $10 more than the equivalent i7 920. It can go from a standard 2.80 Ghz to a turbocharged mode of 3.46 Ghz. If you compare the 920 ($279.99) to the 860, the 860 ($289.99) has everything, same L1 cache, etc, but you can turbocharge it. I am leaning heavily in favor of this CPU as a result for gaming. It's almost a brand new release of the i7 core and I think it is very worth while considering it as the CPU for your computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214

You need a cooler with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064


There are two different ASUS motherboards I want you to look at which are: RAMPAGE II Gene ($219.99), P6T ($289.99). Of course you don't want a cheap motherboard for gaming if you have the money to invest in the best, right and I think you do. The P6T has gotten more attention than the other one, but I did a comparison of these two boards, the Rampage and the P6T have X58 chipsets and the only difference is that the P6T has 3 X PCIe 16 slots while the RAMPAGE has 2 X PCIe 16 slots. The only other difference is the audio, which on the P6T is Realteck and the Rampage is Supreme FX. Big deal! That is what I figure, and you can save yourself about 60 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131371

This is a microATX but the holes are drilled in the ANTEC case to fit.

If you want a FULL ATX motherboard, go with the P6T for $60 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

For Video, you probably can do it on one card, the ATI HD 4890, dual card in one. nVidia's answer has been in the GTX 285/GTX 295.
One example, the GTX 285 1 Gig, you can get for around $369.99 at Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143201

Or you can look at an ATI HD 4890 card ($199.99), which I think is a steal!:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438

Both are one gig cards and they are both top of the line. I think the ATI card makes more sense and you save quite a bit of money on it compared to the GTX 285.

For memory, both motherboards take:

6 x DIMM, Max. 24 GB, DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Triple Channel

I think stability in gaming is more important than superfast memory and I would recommend the DDR3 1066 memory and populate that motherboard! This has to come in TRIPLE sticks per set, or Tri-Channel. The older DDR2 was dual channel and this is triple channel to get the turbospeed. DDR3 1333 is probably your best solution for stability and speed. Here is some really low CAS latency memory, CAS 6 - compatible with i7 processors:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144291

A Hitachi 1 Teribyte HD SATA 3.0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233

A 750 Watt PSU, Corsair, SLI Ready:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=750%20Watt%20PSU%20%2b%20Corsair

A DVD writer drive, Pioneer is my favorite:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129049

An ANTEC 1200 supercooled case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

I come up with $1295.91 on new egg.

Finally, you need a copy of the operating system. I suggest you get the OEM copy of Windows Vista ultimate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116493

This is the 64 bit version and allows you to upgrade to Ultimate Windows 7. That brings you up to:

$1465.90

I think you will have a kickass computer John if you build this one!

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