I find it kind of ironic that I spend my days on computers programming away, but I'm completely out of the loop on hardware.

Anyway, my old desktop has just about had it. I'm afraid I'm going to get in the middle of a big project and have it crash on me. I've had it for years, and I'm still running a socket 939 on my motherboard so there's no upgrading left to do. From what I've scanned across the internet, you can build a pretty decent gaming rig for a price that won't destroy your wallet. That's why I've come here.

I think I can probably put down around $600 for the tower (doesn't have to be pretty) and everything inside. No need for peripherals, but I will need a copy of Windows 7. The big thing for me is building to where it is upgradeable for quite some time.

Thank you guys and gals.
Blake

Here's what I came up with (haven't purchased yet):



Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129042
Model #:Three Hundred
Item #:N82E16811129042
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$69.95 -$11.50 Instant $58.45



GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128510

GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:GA-990XA-UD3
Item #:N82E16813128510
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$149.99 -$15.00 Instant $134.99



EVGA 01G-P3-1373-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x 16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130567

EVGA 01G-P3-1373-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x 16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Model #:01G-P3-1373-TR
Item #:N82E16814130567
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)
$174.99 $174.99


Update

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341017

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
Model #:OCZ600MXSP
Item #:N82E16817341017
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)
$119.98 -$44.99 Instant $74.99


Update

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103808

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Model #:HDZ955FBGMBOX
Item #:N82E16819103808
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$119.99 $119.99


Update

Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1333ELK http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220557

Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1333ELK
Model #:PGD38G1333ELK
Item #:N82E16820220557
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)
$52.99 $52.99


Update

Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 2TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148681

Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 2TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:ST2000DL003
Item #:N82E16822148681
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$89.99 -$10.00 Instant $79.99


Update

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116986
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Model #:GFC-02050
Item #:N82E16832116986
Return Policy:Software Standard Return Policy
In Stock

Note (Add)
$99.99 $99.99
Subtotal: $796.38


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Some of these are Labor Day and combo sales. I wasn't going to get more than 4 gigs of ram, but I found the deal for 8 gigs for only around 30 bucks after rebate.

Any suggestions?

I am not up on what is what these day's. The Graphics card is a good choice. It will handle the latest games with ease.

_________________

Thanks Ren!

I ended up ordering everything so hopefully it will be here some time this coming week. I'm really excited. Nothing like getting a bunch of toys in the mail.

Nice looking rig,good luck with the build and have fun.

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Overall, I think the parts you picked will do you well, and the motherboard definitely gives you upgrade ability. I guess the only difference's I would have made would have been the hard drive and memory. 5900 vs. 7200 RPM for HD platter speed may or may not show much of a difference, I've never tested, and the difference is probably negligible. With the memory, I've always been a Corsair kind of person, more personal preference. Enjoy the build!

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Yeah, I just had a hard time passing up the hard drive and memory for their prices. The 8 gbs of ram only ended up being about $30 and the hard drive was a good price too. I know its a bit slower, but I'm hoping my next upgrade will be SSD for Christmas or something.

{uZa}DeathByMunky hows the build coming?

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Sorry I forgot to post back, but everything went fine. I've been up and running for almost a week now with no problems at all. It took me roughly 4 hours to build since it's been awhile since I've assembled a PC.

I haven't had a lot of time to do a whole lot of gaming on it, but I can run Crysis, TF2, and Batman: Arkham Asylum at full specs with no problems. Probably the next upgrade I will make is a decent sized SSD. I haven't overclocked my CPU, but I really haven't had any reason to.

Good to hear your build went well. I recently ended up having to get a new motherboard as my SATA controller went out. I picked up a similar board and the same processor, and some Cosair RAM (my old board was DDR2 with a Dual core processor). I already had an ASUS GTX 460 .

Monkey, how hot does your CPU get when gaming? I'm using the stock cooler and mine has gotten as high as 65C, with the fan running over 4000RMP . It would be bad if the fan wasn't soooo loud. I'm looking into a better CPU cooler. There are some decent ones around $30, can't really spend anymore as I wasn't really planning on spending what I had. I'm currently looking at this one which has had some good reviews. Also it's probably the biggest I can have due to the size of my case.

_________________

Love it... I thought I was the only one who was running a socket 939 until late... Mine crashed and burned after a good many years.. of tweaking and maximum updating. I still trended towards an AMD setup.. though in my mind and imaginary wallet.. I wanted to build a nice new Intel rig... but I am still an nVidia fanboy.

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