I need help picking a gaming computer

[rcnjsn9]

ok, so im gonna be completely upfront and say that my tech knowledge is quite a bit limited. I'm in the US Army, so money isnt exactly something that can be thrown around. I'm a huge Battlefield 2 player, but have been stuck playing at various gaming centers because I've never owned a computer of my own before. I also seem to like the camraderie and feeling of owning someone and hearing them whine in person! lol, enough of that. I'm in the market to buy a new gaming computer, and have come across 5 different options, but not sure which one will give me the best performance/quality. I'm looking to run games like BF2 with NO lag, preferrably on high settings. And want to branch out to games like CoD 4 immediately. Here are the 5 systems and how much they would cost. Which would be the best BANG for the buck, with the potential of upgrading later. I also have 2 GB of RAM laying around that will be added to any of these systems I purchase.


Computer 1

$1300

20 inch wide-screen monitor
logitech optical gaming mouse
xtrac ripper mouse pad
dell speakers and sub-woofer set
Creative Fatal1ty light up slim gaming keyboard.
An external DVD/CD Burner
Windows Vista Ultimate Operating System

Inside the Computer:
3 gigabytes of ram
an nvidia geforce 7950 gt overclocked graphics card
Dual core 1.86 gigahertz processor
A 130 gigabyte hard drive
A 250 gigabyte hard drive

this is how it was listed, not sure what the 2 hard drives listed is for.



Computer 2

$650


• ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe LGA775 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel MoBo
• Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• EVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
• OCZ OCZ600ADJSLI ATX12V 2.01, BTX, EPS12V 600W SLI Power Supply
• Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2 (YES IT IS A LEGAL COPY)
• PGI TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PQI25400-2GDB
• Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler Big Typhoon
• 17 Inch LCD Monitor Envision
• Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
• Sound Blaster Faatal1ty X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound card
• Internal LITE-ON 52x CD Burner
• External Lite-ON DVD BURNER (USB)




Computer 3


$1500


Koolance case modified to support 7 fans. Temperature gauge and 3 different cooling settings. Blue case with blue illuminated fans.

Asus motherboard
Pentium 4 Processor (3.0 GHz) (Hyper Threading)
3 GB's of RAM
400 WATT power supply
250GB hard drive
DVD(-/+)RW drive
DVD Drive
3 1/2 floppy drive
ATI Radeon 9800 video card
Audio Blaster audio card

32" Flat Screen HD monitor with built in speakers, mic, and webcam
Keyboard and Mouse. both matching color (blue) and brand



Coomputer 4


$1000



AMD Athlon X2 6000+ 3ghz
2gb DDR2 800 Ram
Geforce 8800gts 320MB ddr3 320-bit Graphic card
200GB Sata3 Harddrive
front audio/usb
front IEEE1394 available
20x DVD Burner w/ DL
ALC883-GR 5.1 HD Audio
10/100mbps LAN
Windows XP Home SP2


Computer 5


$780




Eagle Tech ET-CAV2-WOP-SL Silver 1.0mm Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820A 250GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive
- OEM

LINKSYS WMP54G 32bit PCI2.2 Wireless-G Adapter

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E4300

Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply

Logitech 961419-0403 QuickCam Pro 5000 USB Interface WebCam

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology
Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4




I'd like to thank you in advance for your opinions!!

[Fat.Clown]

comp 5 imho

8800gts will last you a while if you aren't into the latest games I.E Crysis

and saves you some money (being 2nd cheapest out of those options)
only thing I would change is probably that power supply

Edit: ya forgot about that 8800 GT lol

[ShaolinDreams]

i say 5 too... but with a better cpu.. just get a Q6600 that will see you fine for all new "war" FPS games coming out in the future. Plus Q6600 will last you man.. like you say you havent got money to throw around so you want the best you can get for price that will still be ok in future.

With Q6600 & 8800GTS combination you can play all current FPS games pretty much on high. i would go for the 8800GT thou, its also a very good Gcard.

Personally i would wait till january.. as Intel still releasing its Penryn CPU range, AMD releasing CPU range and this ultimately means current gen becomes old gen so pricedrops. Also Nvidia and ATi are releasing new cards eg new 8800GTS.

[thirdshiftdj]

number 5 is definitely the one to get. What about psu?

[rcnjsn9]

ok, so I'll definitely go with the Q6600. When I get it and want to install it, do I just flip out the old one and stick the new one in its place? Or will I have to go through installs? I've never attempted anything like it before.

Also, what power supply would be recommended?

I'm just trying to find out how much $$$ its gonna cost on top of whichever computer I go with (looks like #5 at this point).

So the Q6600 I can find on newegg for $280 + shipping, and need to figure out what kind of power supply to invest in so I can know a grand total of what I'll be spending.

Thanks alot guys!

[ShaolinDreams]

if your getting the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard .. then yeh. flip out pop in.. simple as that just to let you know that mobo is not sli thou.. you also will need some ArticSilver 5 thermal paste. Theres loads of tutorials on how to apply thermal paste correctly, just google it. You dont need to install anything it should work out the box... but usually best idea is to clean install operating system with new hardware.


just to clarify... you want the Q6600 G0 (basically its second revision, less power consumption)

on newegg.. any Powersupply (PSU) under $100 is not what most people use.. theyre probably ok.. but like mentioned in many other threads.. its best not to skimp on buying a powersupply as ultimately it feeds all your components the power they require. Preferably go for one inbetween $100-$200 range. i would say something like this one.. Newegg.com - OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Retail

Your welcome

[Vaanish]

Dont get that GameXstrem. Its a poor unit to be honest. You would be better off looking at this:

Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V EPS12V 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, CB, TUV - Retail

[ShaolinDreams]

was only an example. funny that they both get 81% 5 star mark.

something around $150...

[Akubane]

lol

Originally Posted by ste

High End Gaming Computers, ( This includes CrossFire, Sli, phase change cooling/Water Cooling and or Heavy overclocking of RAM, CPU and Video Card(s) )

PC Power and cooling
Silverstone (Zeus models ST56ZF, ST75ZF, and ST85ZF)
Seasonic ( S-12, S-12E+, M-12 )
Corsair
Etasis
Enhance
Enlight
Zippy
Coolermaster (High Wattage Models Only)
Enermax (Noisetaker Series)
Thermaltake (Tough Power series only)
Xclio (850W, Enhance Built)
Fortron (FSP)
OCZ Technologies (Excluding Modstream Line)

http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f76/up...-guide-137927/

silencer > ocz. simple.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail
115 after rebate. Amazing psu. You only need to spend 150 if you dont know what youre talking about.

[Vaanish]

Originally Posted by ShaolinDreams

was only an example. funny that they both get 81% 5 star mark.

User reviews mean nothing. Your better off not trusting them.