computer geeks in here

[bobtsgt]

I'm lookin to build a desktop for gaming mainly. I have an older gigabyte case right now but thats about it. Been searchin around but most of this stuff is confusing. I'm lookin to do about $500 max. already got the monitor and i have a new geforce 7200 vid card but it looks to be the cheaper of the series. already planned on a 500gb hard drive. any help or links would be appreciated.

[jdubya]

Did you look at tigerdirect and newegg? You'll probably have to hunt for bargins to build a "serious" $500 gaming system.

[bobtsgt]

i've been on their sites quiet a bit price comparing. I basically want a good comp for Left 4 Dead 2. Here are the stats on the game

System Requirements
Minimum:

Supported OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP
Processor: Pentium 4 3.0GHz
Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with 128 MB, Shader model 2.0. ATI X800, NVidia 6600 or better
Hard Drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
Recommended:

Supported OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP
Processor: Intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz
Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with Shader model 3.0. NVidia 7600, ATI X1600 or better
Hard Drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

[Dirtyd0g]

If you want a good PC build it! Start with a cheapo case and buy the stuff you want inside then upgrade the case later. I got a sweet deal at micro center on a really nice case on black friday. My buddy wanted one and didn't have $40 on him so when he went back they were $200. Anyway if you look through microcenter you will be able to build what you want for what you want to spend. the only advantage to preassembled units is the software.
Alan

[Stangman]

Max out your RAM (usually 4Gb depending on your main board) and if you can, get a quad-core processor. They are getting cheaper and cheaper... and heck you can get a terrabyte harddrive for about a $100 nowadays... and they are still dropping.

[denial]

You can build a decent gaming pc for $500. I priced one for my friend and was gonna build it for him. Make sure you go pci express if you wanna game nowadays. That price was of course without monitor and keyboard.

[jdubya]

Max out your RAM (usually 4Gb depending on your main board) and if you can, get a quad-core processor. They are getting cheaper and cheaper... and heck you can get a terrabyte harddrive for about a $100 nowadays... and they are still dropping.

Unless your motherboard is over 5 years old you should be able to max it out well above 4 GB. The memory factor was more from the OS than the hardware. 32 bit OS's can only address 4 (with some tweaking). You'll need to run a 64 bit version to address more.

Windows 7 memory limits according to versions:

Starter: 8GB
Home Basic: 8GB
Home Premium: 16GB
Professional: 192GB
Enterprise: 192GB
Ultimate: 192GB

[bobtsgt]

thanks for the bit of info. Think I may run XP for the time being. probably just start off with 4gb then I can always add more. I have a Gigibyte case and older motherboard right now. Need to tear into it and find out what it is. Looks like it may have one PCI express slot and 4 RAM slots

[jdubya]

You should start off with the 64 bit version if you plan to add more memory later. You can't upgrade a 32 OS to 64 bit. It does a clean install.

[bobtsgt]

here is what I found searching around. would these be a good start?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125236
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103772

[Mista Bone]

I thought XP 32 bit would only recognize 3 GB of ram????

I wouldn't mind going from 2 GB to 4 GB with RAM as cheap as it is nowadays for older machines.

[jdubya]

There are some switches you can add too the boot.ini file that will allow it to address a little more than 3, something like 3.75 GB.

[BigBadStang]

Those big video cards use a ton of power. With the fan(s) required to keep the system cool, and run the system, buy the largest output power supply you can afford. Look at more than just max watts too. Amperage output is also important for high load machines such as gaming PC's. An over taxed power supply creates more heat, and unstability.

[Stangman]

Unless your motherboard is over 5 years old you should be able to max it out well above 4 GB. The memory factor was more from the OS than the hardware. 32 bit OS's can only address 4 (with some tweaking). You'll need to run a 64 bit version to address more.

Windows 7 memory limits according to versions:

Starter: 8GB
Home Basic: 8GB
Home Premium: 16GB
Professional: 192GB
Enterprise: 192GB
Ultimate: 192GB

I'm used to old junk :lol: