Replacing a 6 year old gaming machine

[TooMuchButtHair]

My current comp is in my sig. It also no longer works, at all (I was going to replace in a week, anyway). The future comp would be for gaming, mostly for Starcraft 2, Battlefield Bad Company, Crysis (and Crysis 2), and a bunch of other FPS's and RTS's. My budget is $1300 MAX. I would like:

CPU: i7 860
RAM: at least 6 GB
GPU: I would like a 5830 or a 5850

Is that feasible in my price range? I've never built a computer, and don't actually want to. Is there a computer out there in my price range that has all that?

Also, how much would I benefit from having a game installed on a SSD? Is it worth the extra cost?

 

[Breadman177]

Few questions first.
Do you want to upgrade OS also?
Do you need new case?..is it 6 years old also?
Do you need new monitor?
How much HD space were you looking for?

From what I've heard SSD mainly helps with loading times as far as games go.

 

[Tuffie]

If your really that scared of spending ten minutes putting a PC together then you could buy the parts and for a fee computer stores would do it.

But that's weak man.

 

[joh06937]

i would definitely say you should build it yourself if you can.
5850 should be good for modern gaming, and you can always crossfire down the road. 6 gb of ram should be pretty much the most ram you put in a rig for gaming.
games only have shorter load times with ssds. nothing else really improves at all...
do you have all of the peripherals? monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.?

 

[TooMuchButtHair]

The computer would need a new case, mobo, etc. Basically, it would need new everything except speakers, keyboard, and the mouse. I'm running XP now, so a new OS is definitely needed as well. As for the hard drive, I'll probably opt for 1-2 TB since those drives are so cheap nowadays, and I could really use the space since my camera takes 1080P video, which eats up tons of space.

I don't really have the time to put the computer together. Installing an OS isn't hard, but again it's the whole time thing that's the issue. When I have some free time, I'd like to spend it gaming, not assembling a computer

 

[joh06937]

i was just saying that it will save you some money... which you can spend on better parts

 

[Breadman177]

I can't find what you are looking for within that price range prebuilt.

 

[TooMuchButtHair]

I can't find what you are looking for within that price range prebuilt.

Err, I already have found exactly the computer with the specs I outlined prebuilt:

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668627.php

I've found it for sale for 1170 at several online retailers. I'm strongly leaning toward getting it.

 

[joh06937]

the only things i would recommend with that are:

1) probably get a new psu. if you have money leftover it would be worth it, unless they go with a name brand one of course. i wouldn't want to spend that much money and then have the psu take out some components.

2) if you are overclocking the cpu, get a new heatsink. as with any stock heatsink, which i am assuming they are putting on, they don't work very well when doing heavy overclocking.

with that motherboard, you probably aren't looking at too many options as far as upgrades down the road (most likely).

that case looks cool but i am not sure how good the airflow is inside...

as said before, you could get a better pc overall and spend less if you build it yourself, but that is obviously up to you.

 

[Analizer]

$1300 you say?

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=i7+930&x=0&y=0 - $289

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=corsair 750 - $110

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161325&cm_re=5830-_-14-161-325-_-Product - $255 (comes with a game)

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...24&cm_re=6gb_dominator-_-20-145-224-_-Product - $210

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1641&cm_re=asus_p6x58d-_-13-131-641-_-Product - $230

case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=antec_nine_hundred-_-11-129-021-_-Product - $100

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...n_digital_caviar_black-_-22-136-544-_-Product - $80

DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177&cm_re=lg_dvd-_-27-136-177-_-Product - $23


Total: $1297 (without shipping costs and OS)
If you want an OS add another $100 to this budget, but you have a perfect gaming PC for $1300

 

[Breadman177]

Or at the very least see about getting an extended warranty. That way if the PSU does go wrong you can get it fixed with no worries, excpet maybe a few weeks without the computer.

 

[Analizer]

All hardware bought from anywhere have at least 3-years manufacturer warranty. You should not worry about that.

 

[joh06937]

i think he meant the pre-assembed one.

 

[Breadman177]

Yeah the Gateway he linked.