[Fozzik]

March 2009

So here they are. I'm going to use a sticky post for the time being, partly because it will be nice to be able to discuss and answer questions right here if anyone wants to, and also because at the moment there's no easy way to get to the old recommendation pages.

Bumblebee
This system is focused on value primarily, but is still set up to be able to run games very well. Even at the low price (for a gaming system), it should run games at nice high image quality and good frame rates at 1680x1050 resolution.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 Brisbane 2.9GHz - $72.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103234

ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD780G HDMI ATX Motherboard - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135075

AllComponents 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $36.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820159021

XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $164.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150337

WD Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache - $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136074

ASUS Black 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - Retail - $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135187

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP - $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119106

PC P&C 500W - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703015

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Total -
$645.91

Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009145

Total with monitor -
$815.90



Wheeljack
This is the "best of both worlds" system. The price should still be reasonable, but performance is just as important. These should be some of the best bang-for-the-buck components you can get, and should run games at high IQ and frame rates at 1920x1200 with no problem.

Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache - $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115131

ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX - $134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131232

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 - $47.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231226

EVGA 01G-P3-1281-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB - $339.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130442

WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136319

ASUS Black 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - Retail - $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135187

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Mid tower case - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119137

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Total - $1138.91


Acer P243WAid Black-Silver 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009125

Total - $1418.90





Optimus Prime
This is the "performance first" system. Even here, value is still a part of the equation (albeit a smaller part). I'm not going to recommend wasting money for very little performance gain, even in the high end. This system should provide top-tier performance and still shouldn't jump the shark on price.

Intel Core i7 940 2.93GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache - $559.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115201

ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - $249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131359

Mushkin 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - $118.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226040

EVGA 017-P3-1291-AR GeForce GTX 295 1792MB - $509.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130449

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136319

ASUS Black 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - Retail - $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135187

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W - $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139009

Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129058

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Total - $1944.91

LG W3000H-Bn Black 30" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ HDCP Support - $1099.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824005115

$3044.90

[rabb1t]

Originally Posted by Fozzik

WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache - $79.99

Good finder. I'ma steal this.

[Amsra]

Pretty sweet list... Something to keep in mind too is the free upgrade to Win7 that MS is starting in June. Any new machine or copy of Vista you buy will get the upgrade. And believe me, you want Win7 over Vista any day