Technology Zone

[Hornstar6969]

Build An Ultimate Gaming Computer
For Under $1000!

Last Updated March 28, 2008

If you've always wanted an ultimate gaming computer but didn't want to spend $3000 to have one custom built, or if you are tired of the poor quality computers you get from manufacturers, look no further. In this article I will show you where to buy cheap computer parts and give you the resources to build your own computer.

Have you always wanted to build your own computer, but were afraid it was too complicated? I'm here to tell you that you can do it. I've built several computers myself and was surprised at how easy it actually was. Sure, the first one took me awhile but that was because I couldn't find good information on how to build your own computer. You won't have to go through the trial and error that I did because I've laid out all of the information I've learned in this section, and if you ever have a problem, just ask here! This isn't a sales pitch either, it's all free. After seeing how easy it was to build a computer, and realizing the cheap, inferior parts that the manufacturers use, I want to let everyone know how easy it is to build a computer. Once you build a computer, you will never buy one again.

If at anytime during this article you have a question about components you can probably search the site and find the information or you can post a new thread in this section or simply reply to this thread. Don't feel that you need to use the exact components I've picked out here either. If you see something else you like better go ahead and use it. Just make sure it will work with the rest of the hardware you have purchased. Again the buying guides will help you with this. Now, lets build a computer that will make all of your friends jealous, for under $1000.

The CPU For Our Ultimate Gaming Computer

It is my opinion, and many share my opinion, that the Athlon 64 CPU is the best on the market. Now there are many different Athlon 64 chips made. For our purposes I have selected the Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+ Socket AM2. For a little extra you could upgrade to a faster model, but this chip will give us the most bang for our buck. It will outperform Pentium chips that cost much more and will leave us enough money in the bank to get a top notch graphics card. After all, what good is a gaming computer if you don't have a great graphics card? This CPU is selling for $109.99 at Amazon currently.

A Motherboard For Our Gaming Computer

For our motherboard I've selected the Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Green nVIDIA Socket Am2 ATX Motherboard. Providing an enhanced system performance for graphics-intensive applications such as 3D games, this motherboard delivers cutting-edge audio features that dramatically maximize the quality of voice signal. This is a AM2 supported motherboard which will support the Athlon 64 5000+ CPU we've selected. It also supports AMD socket AM2 single-core Athlon 64/ Sempron and dual-core Athlon 64 X2/ Athlon 64 FX processors so that will give us plenty of room for expansion in the future. Additionally, its dual-core CPU technology contains two physical CPU cores, with individually dedicated L2 caches to satisfy the demand for powerful processing capacity. Laced with an array of useful features, its thoughtful design further allows quick and easy system setup. Some important features for us is that this mobo provides a good variety of expansion slots including 2 PCI Express x16 slots, leaving 1 for our graphics card. Another important feature is that this mobo includes a 7.1 channel surround on board sound (this will save us from having to purchase a sound card), integrated Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet connection, and it is setup for Serial ATA for our hard drive. Not to be overlooked, it supports up to 8GB of DDR II SDRAM and it supports the Athlon 64 FX. It is currently priced at $139.99

2 Gigabyte Of RAM For This Gaming Machine

You need plenty of RAM for your gaming machine to function. At the same time you need to keep your total budget in mind. 4GB of the best RAM won't mean much if we have to skimp on our graphics card and CPU. A good balanced fit is the Kingston memory - 2 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR II ( KTA-IMAC533/2G). This will give us 2 gig of memory which will be adequate and will leave us three open slots on our motherboard to add more memory later. It is currently priced at $55.99 on Amazon.

A Hard Drive For Our Gaming Computer

We will need ample storage for our gaming machine and we don't want to wait. To accomplish this we will go with the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive. This SATA hard drive will give us 500GB of storage, 32MB cache size, average seek time less than 8.5ms, and it runs at 7200 RPM. It is currently priced at $98.99 on Amazon.

The Right DVD Burner For Our Gaming Computer

No gaming computer is complete without a DVD burner. I've selected the Black ASUS LightScribe 20X SATA DVD Burner, 6X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+RW, 8X DVD+/-R DL, 14X DVD-RAM, w/ Beige Replacement Bezel. Model: DRW-2014L1T. for our gaming machine. It reads and writes all forms of DVD and CD media making a CD burner unnecessary. If you want you can add a floppy, but I never use a floppy drive anymore since you don't need it for a boot disk for Windows XP/Vista. If I need to save something to disk to transport it, I usually just use my USB drive. This ASUS DVD drive is currently priced at $36.99.

PCI Express Graphics Card For a Gaming Machine

The GeForce 9600 GT Graphics Card has been chosen to handle the visual display work for our Ultimate Gaming Computer. This is a pretty good time for PC gamers, especially when it comes to graphics cards. Gamers can see some solid performance in high-end DX9 games and playable performance in DX10 games without spending a fortune. It is currently priced at $179.99 on Amazon.

What's A Gaming Computer Without A Cool Case?

A great looking case is a necessity when building a gaming computer. Although you will spend most of your time staring at the monitor, the first thing you see when you look at a computer is the case. Make sure you make the right first impression.

For our Gaming Case I've selected the ThermalTake Tsunami Series Aluminum ATX Mid-Tower Case. It delivers all of the goods and then some. It has plenty of internal and external drive bays. It has top mounted USB and Firewire ports so you don't have to reach behind to plug things in. To keep things cool it has two 120mm and one 90mm case fan. Not to mention the case is constructed from aluminum which has been shown to dissipate heat better. Plus, to top it all off it employs an air filtration system to keep your components clean. If you've ever opened your computer up you know how dirty it can get in there.

We get all of this for $79.99. I know it's a little pricey but I think it's worth it. If you don't like this one, shop around. It's your computer, make sure you are happy with it.

We Need A Big Power Supply For This Beast

Choosing a power supply is very important. The power supply is the most overlooked component in a computer and it is the cause of a large number of problems. Many people just look at the total output and purchase a case with a power supply included. This is a big mistake. Think about it. If a good power supply costs $60 and a good case costs $60-80, what kind of power supply are you getting with that $40 case?

For our gaming computer I have selected the Coolmax CR-550 550 watt power supply. Among some of it's features are overvoltage protection, SATA ready (for our hard drive), 3 speed fan control switch, a giant 140mm fan to keep it nice and cool, and plenty of power. It currently checks in at $74.99.

That's it! We now have all of the components we need to build our Ultimate Gaming Computer for Under $1000. Below is a short list of everything with prices. If you would like, you can shop around some more. You might be able to find these products cheaper somewhere else.

If you already have a couple of components such as a DVD drive or a case you can steal from your old computer you can cut the cost down even more. I've also assumed you have a copy of Windows or an operating system you can use. If not you can pick up an OEM Version of Windows XP for around $89.99.

Ultimate Gaming Computer For Under $1000 Summary

Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+ Socket AM2 - $109.99

Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Green nVIDIA Socket Am2 ATX Motherboard - $139.95

Kingston memory - 2 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR II ( KTA-IMAC533/2G ) - $55.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive - $98.99

Black ASUS LightScribe 20X SATA DVD Burner - $36.99

GeForce 9600 GT Graphics Card - $179.99

ThermalTake Tsunami Series Aluminum ATX Mid-Tower Case - $79.99

Coolmax CR-550 power supply - $74.99


Total: $776.88


Some Credits for this above article go to Gaming-Computers, I have updated the majority of it, however the credits for the layout and some of the wording go to them. I will continue to keep this updated over time, and improve it over time. Hope this was useful to you. Hornstar6969

[xSWAT]

You can get those parts for cheaper, but a good post. And just a note: if you want faster load times then buy 2 HDDs and put them in raid0.

[Hornstar6969]

yeah I didnt shop around much for the parts above, I just went to amazon and a few online computer stores and chose the best priced part. But like always, have a good shop around and you will save extra! Note: the above system is not the exact one that I have, but it is similiar.

Also instead of SATA harddrives, I personally prefer SAS, they will install like SATA but have the benefits of SCSI harddrives, but they are more expensive, it will just depend what your budget is.

Also the above system is assuming you already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS. If you do not have those, then you can pick those up for a good price anyway, but will just depend on what your budget is.

Personally, you can not go past a really really good keyboard and mouse. Afterall, you will be using them alot, so you want one that will work well.

As for my monitors, I went with 2 x 22" View Sonic widescreen displays for my viewing pleasure I used to have 1 32" display, and loved it, but after having 2 displays, you cant go back.

[GameLordquest]

omg lol... you actually spended money on having 2 monitors instead of just plain old one?? damn... i really need to work some more...

i have a pretty simple system...
Windows XP Home SP2
Dell dimension 5150
external hdd 500GB...
almost all stuff i posted in the antivirus section for a better and fast pc...
Firefox

and thats it...

[Frank]

Nice, but judging by the specs, I don't think this computer will get more than 9000 in 3D Mark 06.

[Hangender]

Nah, it will. But less than 10K in 3dmark06. For the build, the processor is a bit expensive. Switching over to Intel chips, you can get an E2160 and overclock it to 3.0Ghz (which essentially turn a 70$ processor into a 200$ processor). This means of course that you will have to go with an Intel motherboard. I would recommend the p35 chipset.

[+alfy619]

cant u get a better GFX card?

[K4z3]

Originally Posted by Hornstar6969

but after having 2 displays, you cant go back.

Very true. x.x

Originally Posted by alfy619

cant u get a better GFX card?

So far, the highest out would be the 9800.

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Also, I recommend NewEgg when you are looking around for computer parts. Most of the time you can get the best deals there.






- K4g3

[howwie]

Haha, that's exactly my build. I have a 5200+ and a 8600GT though.

[iio]

ah lol i think either my hdd was underpriced or your hdd is overpriced, i have a 1terrabyte hard drive that i got for £20.