What's the best I can get with $2,000

**issues** · May 02, 2008, 03:24 PM

So I have $2,000 to spend on a new computer. I really want something that will last me for at least 3 years. Really I just need a nice listing of things to buy. Tower, gpu, cpu, mobo, sound card. I am also looking into liquid cooling but I don't know anything about that. My computer right now is pretty loud and I believe inadequately cooled. The reason I'm asking you guys is I want to get a myriad of opinions because the last one I built wasn't up to my standards for gaming.

My current pc:

AMD Athlon 3200+ 64
GeForce 6600GT OC
2gb of RAM

**johnny5000** · May 02, 2008, 03:38 PM

What games are you having trouble with?

I have a similar setup to yours, 3000+ athlon, but less RAM (1 GB) and better video card (7600 GS I think?) and I've had pretty good luck running games. Maybe you've got higher standards

**issues** · May 02, 2008, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by johnny5000

What games are you having trouble with?

I have a similar setup to yours, 3000+ athlon, but less RAM (1 GB) and better video card (7600 GS I think?) and I've had pretty good luck running games. Maybe you've got higher standards

It's not so much for games now, but planning ahead for future games. I can play all the games now fine. I got some extra money at the moment so I figured I should upgrade before life decides to suck it up for me.

**Freddie** · May 06, 2008, 04:01 AM

Originally Posted by issues

It's not so much for games now, but planning ahead for future games. I can play all the games now fine. I got some extra money at the moment so I figured I should upgrade before life decides to suck it up for me.

It's not a good idea to start building PC’s for the future and the reasons for that should be pretty obvious. ATI has its 4xxx series cards coming out toward the end of this month and if their faster then the current Nvidia cards you can bet Nvidia won’t be far behind with its own launch.

Personally I would wait until the games you want play arrive that way you can get the latest hardware on the market. As for hardware I would certainly get a quad core CPU (multi threaded games have already started to appear with more on the way), a single video beefy video card with the option to SLI/Xfire latter on and 4gb of Ram (given how cheap ram is maybe even 8Gb). As for noise, well a fan controller for your case fans is one way to cut the noise, and hefty heatsink such as the Tuniq tower combined with a low RPM fan would be a good way to cut the noise.

**allthesedamnnamesaretaken** · May 02, 2008, 04:13 PM

$2000 is a pretty big budget. Your options are wide open. You'll probably get better opinions at a hardware focused site like driverheaven.net

I'll probably go for a

Intel Q9450
gigabyte x48 dq6 mobo
2x2gb ddr3 ram
geforce 9800x2
1000w corsair psu
that's probably $2000 right there

I'm assuming you can reuse your optical drives and hard drives, and maybe your case, if not, you'll need to spend more to buy cheaper components. maybe switch to a x38 chipset mobo and get some ddr2 ram instead. if you want to sli then you'll need an nvidia chipset mobo

**issues** · May 02, 2008, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by allthesedamnnamesaretaken

$2000 is a pretty big budget. Your options are wide open. You'll probably get better opinions at a hardware focused site like driverheaven.net

I'll probably go for a

Intel Q9450
gigabyte x48 dq6 mobo
2x2gb ddr3 ram
geforce 9800x2
1000w corsair psu
that's probably $2000 right there

I'm assuming you can reuse your optical drives and hard drives, and maybe your case, if not, you'll need to spend more to buy cheaper components. maybe switch to a x38 chipset mobo and get some ddr2 ram instead. if you want to sli then you'll need an nvidia chipset mobo

The things I'm reusing are my hard drives, mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers. Getting a new case and definitely want SLI for maximum gaming.

**wickED_dude** · May 02, 2008, 08:43 PM

$2000 is a lot lol. are you going to OC it?
if not, i'd just go with a cheap-ish GA-P35-DS3L ($100) cuz i've built 2 systems with that mobo and i love them.
i'd go with a wolfie core2duo processor. the MSRP for the E8400@3Ghz is $220, but stores like newegg.com have made it more expensive ($250). a 9800GTX will set you back 350-400ish. get a good case like the antec P180($130ish), and a good PS like the 620HX from corsair (620W, $170).
i dont suggest you get a GTX2 cuz they're too expensive and i've heard Nvidia is releasing new video cards soon that r actually not just two G92 cores stuck together in the same PCB.

anyways, if you ARE overclocking, then maybe get an Asus maximus formula? but those things are WAYYY too expensive lol. for cooling, get an artic cooling freezer 7 pro. its HUGE but it keeps the cpu very cool. i dont think u should get a water cooling kit unless u intend on OCing this monster lol.
good luck and lemme know if u have any Q's.

either way i wouldnt recommend spending the $2000 right away. maybe get a system for like $1200 and save the other $800 until the new nehalem processors come out next year, or at least wait until the new 99XX video cards come out.

**Whatacad** · May 02, 2008, 09:04 PM

Go the "General hardware" section of the forums over at anandtech.com and post this topic. You'll get a heap of recommendations and suggestions from a host of build freaks.

**issues** · May 03, 2008, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Whatacad

Go the "General hardware" section of the forums over at anandtech.com and post this topic. You'll get a heap of recommendations and suggestions from a host of build freaks.

That's a great site! I'll be using that a lot now it seems. Thanks a million.

Now my only worry is making sure everything fits into the case.

**wickED_dude** · May 03, 2008, 11:30 AM

ya that site is bomb, but anyways i just wanted to add 1000W power supply is overkill.
unless of course you want to get 3-way SLI, OC ur processor to the "dangerous zone" and watercool everything.

i have a 420W ps and its more than enough juice to run my 2600XT, and OCed pentium4 cpu. 1000W i think is too much for a couple reasons:
you prolly wont use the entire 1000W all the time. lets say at idle, the computer uses 350W, and at full load it uses 600W. the remaining 400W are gonna transfer to...heat (a form of energy).

finitto. good luck and let us know what u decide

**issues** · May 03, 2008, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by wickED_dude

ya that site is bomb, but anyways i just wanted to add 1000W power supply is overkill.
unless of course you want to get 3-way SLI, OC ur processor to the "dangerous zone" and watercool everything.

i have a 420W ps and its more than enough juice to run my 2600XT, and OCed pentium4 cpu. 1000W i think is too much for a couple reasons:
you prolly wont use the entire 1000W all the time. lets say at idle, the computer uses 350W, and at full load it uses 600W. the remaining 400W are gonna transfer to...heat (a form of energy).

finitto. good luck and let us know what u decide

I'm a little iffy on OCing anything, I just don't want to spend more money on replacing anything. For the PSU what's a good middle ground then? A lot of ppl are still recommending a 1000W one to me even without OCing. I don't want to worry about overheating though because it gets very hot in my room during the summertime. Everything is coming together I'm just trying too second-check every part and make sure it is what I want. I need room for further upgrading later on, I don't want to junk it later on like I will probably do too this one.

**wickED_dude** · May 03, 2008, 01:24 PM

well it really depends on how many video cards (and what type) ur gonna get. if ur gonna go with a single graphics card (say 8800GTX or the 9800GTX) the corsair 620W provides i think like +30amps of power in the 12V lanes

on the other hand, if ur getting SLI with two 8800GT's u should go for at least 750W.
now if ur being greedy and going extreme (say 2 9800GTX2's) then u'd prolly need more like 1200W according to nVidia. http://www.slizone.com/page/slizone_learn.html

as far as overclocking goes, i dont think u should be scared of it but at the same time dont be too into it. i would suggest u first build ur system w/o OCing anything, then once u have it running well and whatnot, overclock the FSB. that's it. dont mess with the voltage or anything that could harm ur mobo and/or cpu. OCing the FSB wont do any harm, and if anything goes wrong, u can just reset the BIOS and ta da ur back to where u started.
i OC'ed my p4 cpu from 3.2Ghz to 3.8Ghz by tweaking with the FSB alone, im sure ur core2duo cpu will get much better results.

**Roman Clone** · May 02, 2008, 09:13 PM

Teh sexeh H@xx0r h@s @rr1ved!
(And so I don't get in trouble, The sexy haxxor has arrived.)

Let's see....

X-fi Sound Card $135

780i Mobo $260

2x 8800 GTS 512MB versions $440 (For 2)

Intel E850 LGA 775 Processor 3 GHz $185

Arctic Cooling Pro 7 CPU fan $37

G Skill 8 GB's of DDR2 RAM $160 (Actually just 2x4GB (2x2GB))

1000 Watt Rosewill Power supply $170

Case... You decide.. $70

Windows XP Pro 64 Bit $140

That should be it. I suggest you wait for more pro's to check my list. After Tax and shipping I think it should come around $1700.

**Doono** · May 03, 2008, 05:24 PM

Comment regarding using a high watt psu.
Just because your using a 1000 watt psu dosent mean you waste energy as heat. The psu is only going to draw as much as is needed from the socket, the higher wattage just mens the psu is capable of dealing with this much power..

**Doono** · May 03, 2008, 06:29 PM

you need a 24" panel to play at that res

**allthesedamnnamesaretaken** · May 04, 2008, 01:38 AM

new video cards will come with DVI cables, and adapters for VGA monitors

**wickED_dude** · May 05, 2008, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by allthesedamnnamesaretaken

new video cards will come with DVI cables, and adapters for VGA monitors

no they don't.
i just spent about $320 on a evga 9800GTX (which has 2 DVI outputs) yet it didn't come with a DVI (or VGA) cable. it only came with the driver disc, 6-pin PCIe adapters, and a power cord.
however, i forgive evga cuz i already have one of these cables

**allthesedamnnamesaretaken** · May 05, 2008, 06:42 PM

Did you buy OEM or retail? My retail EVGA 9600GT came with a DVI cable and 2 adapters. If you bought OEM then you only get a driver CD and not much else

**wickED_dude** · May 05, 2008, 09:43 PM

retail.
the one with factory default speeds (not the knock-out, super clocked, or super super clocked editions).
i bought it at my local pcClub store. (whom by the way i totally trust, cuz they've always been so helpful). it was shrinkwrapped and had an evga seal on both sides.

**Whatacad** · May 06, 2008, 01:35 AM

For monitors, check out the LCD thread over at anandtech again.

The guy who manages the thread does an amazing job.

For vidcards, you can check out tomshardware, especially this link --> Best Graphics Cards for the Money

Not much detail other than recommending cards within various price ranges, though offers helpful tips like which lower end cards in SLI will outperform higher end cards. Either site should be loaded with reviews, stats, etc. on a host of cards. But if you can afford to SLI the higher end ones, we envy you.