Can I build a decent gaming rig for 1 grand?

meatnub · 06-15-2007, 03:16 AM

My budget is around $1,000 (give or take a couple hundred) and I'm looking to build a decent gaming rig that will last me a few years.

I know I want the following (and plan to get everything from newegg.com):

- 3 megs DDR2 ram (probably corsair xtreme or Patriot - just not familiar with Patriot or what kind)
- Geforce 8800 GTS 640k or the GTX - if the GTS is just as good as the GTX I'll go with that. Or maybe I can grab a GTX on ebay close to GTS price.
- Core 2 Duo E6600 cpu

What I'd like to ask advice on is:

- what case should I go for that will be somewhat quiet plus able to handle the length of the geforce card
- what motherboard to go for since I want to go Intel Core 2 Duo
- what HDD ? is a 16mb cache sata-ii HDD that much faster than a 8mb? and is a 10,000rpm sata 150 faster than the 16mb?

TIA.

INTELCRAZY · 06-15-2007, 03:21 AM

For $1k you can get a pretty good system.

Antec P180 case
Gigabyte DS3 or a new P35 board
a Western Digital 250Gb SE16 is good, if you want get a 36gb Raptor for Windows and use the SE16 for storage

meatnub · 06-15-2007, 04:13 AM

Thanks for the input so far!

I see the P180 mention a lot and it does have excellent reviews. I'll continue reading up on it. OK well that settles the case.

I forgot to mention I don't plan to overclock nor run an SLI rig.

Should I get a 650 motherboard? Is it true that 680 motherboards are more for SLI configs? If so, a 650 it is. But which one?

Is a 10,000rpm hdd that much better than a 7200? I saw some people say no.

(and this isn't all directed at you INTELCRAZY heh)

ThatGuy16 · 06-15-2007, 04:25 AM

If you got the money go for a 10k rpm hdd, you will get faster start ups, defrags, virus scans ect (you might not tell the difference in normal tasks)...if you don't plan on going sli then i think the 650 board would be good but IMO i would go for a gigabyte DS3 board

06-15-2007, 03:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
meatnub Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 27	Can I build a decent gaming rig for 1 grand? My budget is around $1,000 (give or take a couple hundred) and I'm looking to build a decent gaming rig that will last me a few years. I know I want the following (and plan to get everything from newegg.com): - 3 megs DDR2 ram (probably corsair xtreme or Patriot - just not familiar with Patriot or what kind) - Geforce 8800 GTS 640k or the GTX - if the GTS is just as good as the GTX I'll go with that. Or maybe I can grab a GTX on ebay close to GTS price. - Core 2 Duo E6600 cpu What I'd like to ask advice on is: - what case should I go for that will be somewhat quiet plus able to handle the length of the geforce card - what motherboard to go for since I want to go Intel Core 2 Duo - what HDD ? is a 16mb cache sata-ii HDD that much faster than a 8mb? and is a 10,000rpm sata 150 faster than the 16mb? TIA.

06-15-2007, 04:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
ThatGuy16 Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA Age: 99 Posts: 5,438	If you got the money go for a 10k rpm hdd, you will get faster start ups, defrags, virus scans ect (you might not tell the difference in normal tasks)...if you don't plan on going sli then i think the 650 board would be good but IMO i would go for a gigabyte DS3 board __________________ CPU: C2D E8400 @ 4Ghz 1.24v HSF: Apogee GTX MB: Gigabyte X38-DS4 Ram: 2x2GB G. Skill DDR2-1068 HDD: 320GB Seagate PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700w OS: Vista Home Premium 64bit GFX: 2x HD4850 Crossfire LCD: LG 22" L226WTQ 3DMark06: 20826

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06-15-2007, 03:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
INTELCRAZY banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6,060	For $1k you can get a pretty good system. Antec P180 case Gigabyte DS3 or a new P35 board a Western Digital 250Gb SE16 is good, if you want get a 36gb Raptor for Windows and use the SE16 for storage

06-15-2007, 04:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
meatnub Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 27	Thanks for the input so far! I see the P180 mention a lot and it does have excellent reviews. I'll continue reading up on it. OK well that settles the case. I forgot to mention I don't plan to overclock nor run an SLI rig. Should I get a 650 motherboard? Is it true that 680 motherboards are more for SLI configs? If so, a 650 it is. But which one? Is a 10,000rpm hdd that much better than a 7200? I saw some people say no. (and this isn't all directed at you INTELCRAZY heh)