Does anyone know where I could get the components to build a leet kewl gaming rig for under 1300? I've looked all around and for a decent gaming rig it is about 2k at the cheapest. Just need something that will run well.

 

you are not gonna have a leet kewl rig for that price. you are going to have to make sacrifices somewhere. maybe a generation old video card, instead of the latest and greatest, or a motherboard with a slower fsb or slower processor....you get the idea. for that amount you can build a pretty good one though. do your homework for each hardware item, and google your fingers off to find the best deal for each one. if you already have a case and power supply,cd/dvd, then you can save money right there. for me, i would rather spend money on the video card than the processor for a gaming rig, a smaller but faster sata drive than a big ide,and lots of "average" memory instead of faster. always a compromise when budgeting.

 

techbargains I usually go to this site and in the search column on the left, put in what your looking for and select best price.. hasn't let me down so far.... gives you a little choice.. also they have some interesting sales if you just scroll down the list. Another one to check out would be APEX

 

Best advice i've heard in a while

 

What I really want is high RAM and good Video.

Thanks for advice,
Aviator

 

A top of the line video card will cost around $450-500.00. here's reviews on many of them:
http://www.gdhardware.com/video_cards.htm

memory will be more dependent upon the motherboard.

 

As long as you already have some components it is really doable. I tend to build a new pc every coulple of years for my gaming habit.

Here is a list of all the major components I bought. This was July of 2004, at the time it was pretty high quality components. It still is good for the majority games, playing quake 4 and FEAR right now with no issues. You can get a case and a power supply and still be under your limit. But if you need a monitor and all components it is going to be tough.

I would not suggest using the same components as listed here. You can get better for less with todays prices. Just showing you what is possible.


You will want to do some research on reviews of components, mainly for the motherboard, you want to make sure you get a solid one for a good price.

Use www.pricewatch.com for checking basic going prices. I usually use newegg.com for ordering, they are great and never had a single problem.




MSI K8N Neo Platinum Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813130457
MSI 626 913 0828 $130.00


EVGA 128-A8-N343-AX Geforce 6800 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130202
For Tech Support 888/881-EVGA (3842) $293.99


AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Newcastle 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor Model ADA3000BOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103424 $223.00


CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS512MB400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145026 $168.00


Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144160 $181.00


NEC Beige IDE DVD Burner Model ND-2510A - OEM
Item #: N82E16827152021 $78.99

Subtotal: $1,074.98

 

www.newegg.com

 

LOL. Looked there.
Thanks

 

www.tigerdirect.com is another. Good luck. Seeya on WoW.

 

WoW is no good davedigital. See you on Guild Wars.

 

I've bought virtually every computer part I've owned in nearly the last 10 years from http://www.mwave.com

 

computer supplies here's another good link to check out for prices..

 

If you're going to be buying multiple components, Newegg.com is the place you're going to want to go.

Think "return policies". If you happen to get a component that doesn't work or you need to return it for some other reason, you will generally get the least amount of hassle from Newegg. Also, while you may find places that have individual parts cheaper, I find that they generally have the best prices overall, and they ship lightning fast and dirt cheap.

 

Thanks for the help ya'll. I see I have a lot to look at.

Thanks,
Aviator

 

Ditto on what air biscuit wrote about newegg. They are simply the best when it comes to customer service and overall pricing. AFAIC, their customer service is the best. I bought a video card from them and had a problem with it 10 months later. I contacted them about the warranty and they took it back and sent me a new one. Any other place would have told me to go to the manufacture for the warranty after that length of time.

I still shop around but I usually end up buying from newegg, unless the price difference is huge.