Help me build a PC...or two
 

Hey guys, if everything goes as planned I'll probably be accumulating the parts to build at least one computer in the next couple months, maybe two computers (although probably not). My girlfriend and I are going to be getting a place and we'd like to play video games together. Here's what I'll task you to do if you want:

Build me two computers, a low-end one with a maximum budget of $800 or so (no monitor) and another one with a maximum budget of $1300 (no monitor of course). Don't worry about speakers either. We really do not play any intensive games yet, but I really want something that will be okay for a few years.

In case you're wondering, I'm not asking for a low-end for her and a better one for me ;). Just trying to see what you guys think would be the best bang for the buck while also lasting for a few years and being able to play games that come out for the next 2-3 years.

Thanks.

First question, would you want this machine to come pre-assembled? If so, I would go to tigerdirect.com or newegg.com and price out each individual part and go from there. You can also get a barebone system from either website for relatively cheap and upgrade what parts you would rather have (larger or smaller harddrive, operating system or not, higher powered video card/etc).

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1&sku=B69-1164

That's a pretty good deal, and you can add another 4gig of ram for another $100 and there's an $800 machine with 8 gigs of ram, a TB hard drive. It depends on the actual games you're wanting to play specifically as some would require more video performance, and some are more memory consuming.

The main game her and I would play together would be WOW, but I'd like to have it open ended so we could possibly play fpses together or future MMOs that have higher reqs. It comes down to me really needing at least one more computer so we can play together. I figure I might as well make something in the midrange so it'll last a while and she also likes to do a lot of video editing. I'm wanting a DX 11 video card, probably at least 6 gigs of ram, probably an intel i5 or i7 processor, and that's where my knowledge drops off the face of the earth ;P.

I'd love to buy a premade pc so it'd save me the work, but it really seems like most of the premade gaming pcs are just shitty or way too expensive. They're a luxury good and pc manufacturers put a big premium on them :(.

I would just check out a few of those sites and pick from what you're wanting, if it's not too big of an issue you could still probably get a nice barebone kit from either site and go from there, or customize it from your own wants.

Alternatively, check out the pre-made ones and make a list of those that meet your requirements and the price (also make note of the specs), come back to us with that list, and we'll go from there.

Well, how about I throw down some things I'd like to have and see if you all can fill in the pieces or perhaps a cheaper yet similar equivelant?

It's a bit overkill, but I'd like an Intel i7 920 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202) for a processor. Looks like $290.

Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB Black Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150454) $340

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231225 $165 for good memory, not sure if that would be overkill. Or if 6 gigabytes is too much.

I'm looking at $800 already. What motherboard would I need to be looking at to go along with that setup, and where can I afford to downgrade some while still maintaining performance that will last 2-3 years?

A DDR3, Socket 1366 mobo will cost maybe $170, with the better ones being more expensive (obviously you've got to make sure that you go for a board with three or six memory slots - an odd number of sticks won't work in a board with four slots), which knocks it up to ~$1000.

Hard-drives are inexpensive, as are cases, fans, mice and keyboards.

You could probably downgrade the graphics card - Crysis 3 may end up on Medium settings when it comes out, but it'll still be perfectly playable.

That doesn't sound too bad. Sounds like it might be more like $1100 or 1150 than 1k, which wouldn't be too bad. Thanks Lenny. How many watts do you think I'd need power supply wise? It doesn't sound like it'd need terribly much, and I wont be doing sli with her pc :P.

I imagine 750W should do it, maybe even as low as 600W. You might want to get confirmation on that, just to be sure.