Hello everyone! My computer's video card died a few months back, and since then I've been using my parent's computer to game with. Unfortunately I'll be starting my second year of college in September, and since I'm moving away I can't take their computer with me. Besides, their computer isn't really good to game with anyway.
I'm looking to build a new gaming computer, using some parts from my old computer. The computer is about three years old, and I'd like to use as many of the old parts as I can to save money.
Old Computer (Parts I hope I can reuse to save some money)
Case: Midi ATX with a 400w power supply. (If I need a better power supply, is it generally better/cheaper to buy the case/power supply together or seperate?)
Hard Drive: 80gig hard drive. Not sure what brand or model it is.
Disk Drive: 16x DVD + RW. Again not sure what brand/model. Still works fine for me though.
New Build
For my new build I'm looking for something that I can build for around 700-800$. I mainly play World of Warcraft, and I want something that can play it on max settings with good FPS. I also play some Half-Life games, Team Fortress 2, and some Counter Strike.
Video Card: I've been thinking about either the 9800 GTX or the HD 4850 as they both seem to be 'the' video card at the moment, and are both around 220$ it seems. Which is better, or is there an Option C I haven't seen yet? Also, which brands should I look for? I don't plan on getting a new monitor any time soon, so I'll be using my year-old 19 inch LCD monitor at 1280x1024 resolution.
Motherboard & CPU: Here I am completely lost. I'm not good at remembering specs and numbers, and so even though I've tried to do some research here, I just end up confusing myself more, getting different boards and things mixed up. Just looking for some advice on a solid pair that will serve me well.
Ram: Again, there are so many options to choose from I don't know where to begin. Just looking for as much as I can get within my budget, and from a reliable brand.
Power Supply/Case: I'm hoping I can reuse my old case and/or power supply, but in case I can't, any suggestions here? I suppose it would depend on what motherboard/video card I get. Also, as I asked above, do these generally go as a package or separate?
That's all I can think of at the moment, though I know I'm probably forgetting something. Any advice you guys can give will be greatly appreciated. I'd also be interested in any suggestions about where to buy these parts for the lowest price. If I can order the parts online, there are a couple computer shops in my area that I could probably pay to assemble it for me. I'm a complete newb, so I don't plan on attempting it myself.
Also, I don't plan to do any overclocking or stuff like that. Just looking for a solid gaming computer that will play my games well at maximum settings, and has potential to be upgraded in the future. Just want as much bang for my buck as I can get.
I'm looking to build a new gaming computer, using some parts from my old computer. The computer is about three years old, and I'd like to use as many of the old parts as I can to save money.
Old Computer (Parts I hope I can reuse to save some money)
Case: Midi ATX with a 400w power supply. (If I need a better power supply, is it generally better/cheaper to buy the case/power supply together or seperate?)
Hard Drive: 80gig hard drive. Not sure what brand or model it is.
Disk Drive: 16x DVD + RW. Again not sure what brand/model. Still works fine for me though.
New Build
For my new build I'm looking for something that I can build for around 700-800$. I mainly play World of Warcraft, and I want something that can play it on max settings with good FPS. I also play some Half-Life games, Team Fortress 2, and some Counter Strike.
Video Card: I've been thinking about either the 9800 GTX or the HD 4850 as they both seem to be 'the' video card at the moment, and are both around 220$ it seems. Which is better, or is there an Option C I haven't seen yet? Also, which brands should I look for? I don't plan on getting a new monitor any time soon, so I'll be using my year-old 19 inch LCD monitor at 1280x1024 resolution.
Motherboard & CPU: Here I am completely lost. I'm not good at remembering specs and numbers, and so even though I've tried to do some research here, I just end up confusing myself more, getting different boards and things mixed up. Just looking for some advice on a solid pair that will serve me well.
Ram: Again, there are so many options to choose from I don't know where to begin. Just looking for as much as I can get within my budget, and from a reliable brand.
Power Supply/Case: I'm hoping I can reuse my old case and/or power supply, but in case I can't, any suggestions here? I suppose it would depend on what motherboard/video card I get. Also, as I asked above, do these generally go as a package or separate?
That's all I can think of at the moment, though I know I'm probably forgetting something. Any advice you guys can give will be greatly appreciated. I'd also be interested in any suggestions about where to buy these parts for the lowest price. If I can order the parts online, there are a couple computer shops in my area that I could probably pay to assemble it for me. I'm a complete newb, so I don't plan on attempting it myself.
Also, I don't plan to do any overclocking or stuff like that. Just looking for a solid gaming computer that will play my games well at maximum settings, and has potential to be upgraded in the future. Just want as much bang for my buck as I can get.
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