GridStream Productions

I recently hit it semi-big in the casino. I won 700 bucks. And that means it's new computer time. I would put it to a good use, but then its me

I've never had a new computer in my entire life. I've never done any real gaming of latest titles cause i've never had a good computer, now its my time to shine. I've been building diffrent set-ups at newegg.com and i think i can keep it around 700. The things I'm willing to splurdge on is CPU and video card, all others are negotioable to stay under the 700 mark.

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Congrats on your winnings!

If you're willing to cash out on your current rig (say, keep the HD for simplicity or something), you might even be able to go higher than 700 bucks.

or even upgrade with that money!

hmm.....give me 3000 and I'll build you a very exquisite computer .

I think I can keep it under 700, or close to it. But I think the thing that is going to push me over is a copy of windowsXP

brudus_maximus wrote:I think I can keep it under 700, or close to it. But I think the thing that is going to push me over is a copy of windowsXP

Well...you could..umm....n/m heh

Meenstreek wrote:hmm.....give me 3000 and I'll build you a very exquisite computer .

I better get a reach around for that.

Well, I pretty sure you can get a somewhat decent computer for $700, this thing I've got cost around $400. It was supposed to be used as a office computer, but I took what other money I had and turned it into a gaming rig. Its a Compaq Presario SR1103WM.

My advice would be what I did:

Geforce 7600 GT 256MB DDR3
AM2 socket motherboard
DDR2 ram, 1GB at the least (pref. 2GB)
AM2 socket athlon 64 (pick this last to "maximize" your power vs cost)
Audigy 2ZS soundcard, but only if you can afford it, if not, stick with the mb sound for a while.

the above should give ya a damn nicely balanced price/performance system, and since AM2 socket is quite new your system will be upgradeable for many years to come.
You might wanna go for a cheaper cpu and get the "good" cpu some time in winter/spring as new AM2 dual cores will appear then (and quads) for full, meaning single core AM2 athlon 64 will be very cheap, even the 4000+ and 5000+ rated ones.

if your PC case is ATX you can re-use it.
ditto with the PSU if it's ATX, make sure it's around 350-400watt though.
Hard drives can be reused. same with burner/cdrom/dvdrom, mouse, keyboard and all stuff like that. so don't waste money on them right now.

I can run any game available with good performance even with settings maxed,
older games (like AO etc) I can "force" (driver application profiles) 4x antialias and 16x anisotropisk and AO look amazing. straight lines, no jaggies, and smooth textures as far as the eye can see. (or AO is able to render that is

Is a AM2 socket motherboard important cause i was plaing on going with socket 939.

If I had just won 200 dollars more GRRR.. I might just break down and get a xbox 360

brudus_maximus wrote:Is a AM2 socket motherboard important cause i was plaing on going with socket 939.

I just got myself one of those, it's plenty good enough for AO...
Just a bit less upgradeable I guess, but I don't know much about that.

Dude congrats on the winnings, as for socket 939 vs. AM2, stick with socket 939 for that price range.

Thanks for all the help, but i think i'm just going to get a xbox360 and a copy of oblivion. because oblivion is the game I wanted to upgrade my computer for. I'm a HUGE Elder scrolls fan. I've played Morrowind like it was going out of style.

Always compare price, my lil'list was just recommendations.
You don't have to get exactly the same. But something of similar abilities
should give ya a nice midrange system.

As for AM2 vs 939 socket. compare price.
Here both where practically the same in cost (mb and cpu's)
The only thing that was different is the fact that AM2 is DDR2 ram,
while 939 is still only DDR ram.

And at least here DDR2 ram is almost twice as cheap as DDR ram.
So I got 2 sticks of 1GB DDR2 rather than just one DDR if I'd gone socket 939 on my budget.