Hardware Gaming Desktop for under $1000?

Beware · Jun 10, 2008

I'm not looking to play Crysis or anything, but would it be possible to build a decent gaming desktop for under a grand? Ignoring the price of the hard drive, could it be done? If so, what would I need to get? I'm not building one anytime soon, but I'd like a gaming desktop at some point.

juggernaut911 · Jun 10, 2008

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWi...tNumber=9421147

my old build, not in there: differeent DVD Drive (one in list is IDE), monitor, mouse, G11 keyboard, 8800GT, sweet desk. need a new soundcard though. I dont think I have put more than 750 into this system and I play the crysis demo on XP on High

fischju · Jun 10, 2008

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWi...tNumber=9633708
$40 2GB G.Skill RAM
$150 for Hard and Optical Drives
$150 for case

Quantum · Jun 10, 2008

Core 2 Duo E7200 - great overclockability, low heat - $132
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - $90
8800GT - $140-$180
2GB or 4GB RAM - G.Skill is a good brand that's usually inexpensive - $40 or $85
Case - $30-120
Corsair VX 450W Power Supply - $60 after rebate

Total of about $600 or $700

Westside · Jun 11, 2008

Quantum said:
Core 2 Duo E7200 - great overclockability, low heat - $132
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - $90
8800GT - $140-$180
2GB or 4GB RAM - G.Skill is a good brand that's usually inexpensive - $40 or $85
Case - $30-120
Corsair VX 450W Power Supply - $60 after rebate

Total of about $600 or $700

Seconded.

This is a really good setup

fischju · Jun 11, 2008

Westside said:
Quantum said:

Core 2 Duo E7200 - great overclockability, low heat - $132
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - $90
8800GT - $140-$180
2GB or 4GB RAM - G.Skill is a good brand that's usually inexpensive - $40 or $85
Case - $30-120
Corsair VX 450W Power Supply - $60 after rebate

Total of about $600 or $700

Click to expand...

Seconded.

This is a really good setup

That is what I just said, except for the PSU, which there i underpowered. The 600w in my list is also has a lot of rebates (ends up at $85)

WarmWoollySheep · Jun 11, 2008

Gaming desktops are a lot cheaper than people imagine. All of these can run Crysis, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, and so on. Even the $500 PC will get you better graphics in multiplatform games than 360/PS3.

$500
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14610/2

$1000
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14610/4

$1500
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14610/6

Tech Report updates their system guides every couple months. If you're reading this in the future, check the techreport.com homepage for a more up to date version.

fischju · Jun 11, 2008

Warm Woolly Sheep said:
Gaming desktops are a lot cheaper than people imagine. All of these can run Crysis, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, and so on. Even the $500 PC will get you better graphics in multiplatform games than 360/PS3.

$500
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14610/2

$1000
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14610/4

$1500
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14610/6

Tech Report updates their system guides every couple months. If you're reading this in the future, check the techreport.com homepage for a more up to date version.

But checking weekly deals can get you better hardware at a lower price - the much more powerful 8800GT is the same price with rebates on newegg.

MystikEkoez · Jun 11, 2008

If you want to buy at a retail store instead of waiting for shipping, Fry's Electronics and Micro Center sell parts for pretty decent prices. Then you can use the rebates that you find online on any product that you purchase.

AshuraZro · Jun 11, 2008

A friend of mine built a gaming tower just a week ago. (well, bought. I built it. Plus I guess I picked out most of the parts.)

Asus P5K-E Wifi Motherboard
Retail Core 2 Duo E8400
EVGA Nvidia 8800GT
2GB 800MHz Corsair ram
Antec 900 Case
LG DVD Drive with Lightscribe
500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD

These parts were around $950 shipped with insurance and taxes in CAD from NCIX.com.

A few remaining bits like an extra case fan, multi-card reader and power supply I picked up on discount from my work so I guess they don't really count for price.

Also I'm not sure if it was a deal or not as that was the first "layout" I showed him and then he bought it all before I could check more prices. Not that he's complaining since he went from a failing laptop with a bummed out keyboard(and also a desktop made before 2000) to this.

Mewgia · Jun 11, 2008

I built mine for around $1000 and I can play Crysis on Very High, and parts are cheaper now than when I bought them. Not going to list out all the prices and stuff, but here's what I have:

Case: Wizard Ultra Black Midsize case (or something to that effect) (free from Frys)
Operating System: WIndows Vista Ultimate 64-bit (pirated)
Processor: Intel Q6600 @ 2.4GHz per core (non-OC'd)
RAM: 4GBs total spread across 2 1GB sticks and 1 2GB stick
Harddrive: 500GB Samsung or something
Video card: PNY 8800GT w/512MB memory, not OCd either
Motherboard: XFX 680iLT
Sound: Onboard HD audio

xcalibur · Jun 11, 2008

Build an $800 Gaming PC:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2270998,00.asp

Slightly outdated though. Swap the CPU for an E8200/E8400 and maybe get some more HD space.
An 8800Gs might also be better than a 9600GT.

coolbho3000 · Jun 14, 2008

fischju said:
Westside said:

Quantum said:

Core 2 Duo E7200 - great overclockability, low heat - $132
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - $90
8800GT - $140-$180
2GB or 4GB RAM - G.Skill is a good brand that's usually inexpensive - $40 or $85
Case - $30-120
Corsair VX 450W Power Supply - $60 after rebate

Total of about $600 or $700

Click to expand...

Seconded.

This is a really good setup

Click to expand...

That is what I just said, except for the PSU, which there i underpowered. The 600w in my list is also has a lot of rebates (ends up at $85)

The Corsair 450W is powering my 8800GTS 512 overclocked, an E8400, and a 4GB of RAM.

ECS has a great deal on Newegg with a $50 rebate on the 8800GTS 512, bringing it in the price range of the 8800GT. I went for it.

deathfisaro · Jun 14, 2008

I'd get a 600W, the price difference is small and yet it can handle virtually anything you can throw at it.

Beware · Jun 15, 2008

This is an awesomely informative thread. It really is amazing how expensive people think gaming desktops are. I had never imagined it could be that cheap. Non of my friends believe me when I tell them it's that cheap. I'm going to talk to my girlfriend and see if she wants in on this (I have the best girlfriend evar). $250 for an intense gaming experience. Nice.

coolbho3000 · Jun 16, 2008

Don't get the 8800GT now. Newegg has a great deal on the ECS 8800GTS G92 with $50 rebate, bringing it down to 8800GT prices. Of course, that's with a rebate which can take weeks to process.

xcalibur · Jun 25, 2008

coolbho3000 said:
Don't get the 8800GT now. Newegg has a great deal on the ECS 8800GTS G92 with $50 rebate, bringing it down to 8800GT prices. Of course, that's with a rebate which can take weeks to process.

Or you could get an HD 4850

Trolly · Jun 25, 2008

Agreed, gaming PCs are surprisingly cheap when you know how to get them. Custom PC-building sites are nearly as cheap. I got this rig for £400 a few months ago:
- 2GB 800MHz RAM
- 512MB ATI Radeon HD 3870
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.7GHz
- Asus M3A
- 5.1 Surround Sound
- Couple of fans
- 450W PSU
- LG LightScribe DVD-RW (dunno the specs, can't be arsed to check).

Plays everything on max (with playable speeds) so far except Crysis, which I can get all High on at a stretch.

Getting a PC from a shop costs about twice as much, it's such a rip-off. And most people don't know better, which is a shame.

Hardware Gaming Desktop for under $1000?

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