hi i work with pc's all the time but don't play games very often so was wondering if ne1 would be able to tell me what goes into a gamers computer these days.
last time i looked these were the recommended gaming specs:
hard drive: as big as possible
ram: at least 512mb (i think these days its around 1gig)
dvd burner
2800+ amd cpu or Intel equivalent (i cant even order these any more the lowest i can get is a 3500+)

and when replying please note that prices are not needed as i will source a wholesale price elsewhere thx.

depends on how good of a gamming box you want it to be
basic one
C2duo 6750/Q6600
2gig ram
500G Sata HDD
640 8800GTS
a good cooling case like the
thermaltake soprano Dx
http://www.thermaltake.com.au/

http://www.msy.com.au/

Im looking to build my self a better one in October...

Currently debating around:

Processor:
- Prefered: Duel Core : E6600
- Ideally: Quad Core Q6600 or Q6700

RAM: DDR2 667Mhz 2 GIG Ideally 4 Gig -- 2 years future semi proofing before upgrading. But then again hardware always changes. Vista (DirectX10 games) is a RAM whore to be honest. Unless you cut Vista back or run Windows XP until such time as VI becomes not so much of a "Ram whore" and gets more established. (www.vlite.net)

HDD: 320 x ? (insert your number of HDDs here) ideally: 6XX gig... SATA takes 4 slots and you could probably do 1.2 Tetra or whatever fairly easily with the price of hard drives. The more hard drive space the better, because if this is a gamer and because Australian broadband is the borg they will most likely be going lanning and not just for gaming mind you. Also for that other 'certain file accquisition' past time. Not endorsing the "distribution of software" mind you. ;)

Graphics Card: 7950 GeForce or the ATI x1950...
Ideally: Always the GeForce 8800... for the up and coming releases (TF2, Stranglehold, Crysis -- although I've read and heard in the interviews that they are aiming to build Crysis so lots of different types of computers can run it.) as for Enemy Territory Quake Wars and Bioshock well thats out. Whatever else comes out before the end of 2007/Start of 2008 we shall see.

If you want you could also do SLI: The games will come out eventually that support it but this would be a future project most likely or a future upgrade because the 8XXX range of graphics cards costs a fair bit and not too many current games support it. 'Crossfire' is so dead.

Motherboard: Ideally: USB2, DDR2/3? (Cant remember if they released 3 yet -- could be wrong), SATA2, GIGA Network Functionality.
If Not Then: SATA, USB2, DDR2, GIGA Network Functionality -- IDE is way dead.

Only difference between the GTS and the GTX is usually the price. One costs a bit more than the other thx to the timing. Don't you just love NVIDIA.

But then again hardware is always going up...

As for the keyboard and the mouse depends what your trying to build if your going for the true orientation: G11 Logitech Keyboard (Note: The G15 just has an LCD panel, I've heard a few people from the LAN groups just looking at the LCD as a one off and never really use it again.) -- Well that depends on your gamer. Some of them like the gaming mice. Razors and Logitech makes their own
I've also heard some success stories of the ZBoard. I still have yet to buy one my self but... the Logitech G11 has macroable keys.


Sound: You can use the Realtek AC98 / Default onboard sound.

If you want something a bit more surrondish i.e: Speaker setup. Sound Blader Audigys are dead cheap these days.

Top of the town they have the Sound Blader X-FI but once again... they have different editions for each type of card. But Creative hasn't really made leaps and bounds since the SB Live... a part from EAX 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 and even then the speaker set up is your thing.

As for the powerbox. Usually up to 700 PSU or 800 PSU -- Once again in case the gamer wants to mod their case.

As for the case... darn if I know... I am still looking into it.

If you know what computer I am writing this on well let's just say 2003 with a few minor upgrades here and there, its scary to say the least.

As for extras like DVD Burner, TV Card, etc, well leave that up to budget and how much people are willing to spend.

last edited by Kimbo at 00:49:56 02/Sep/07

last edited by Kimbo at 00:50:05 02/Sep/07

wouldn't u need to have a budget range b4 u go and get a system than u can plan what parts to get.

Kinda depends on your budget, but to give you some idea:

Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3 - $157
CPU: Intel E6750 - $245
RAM: 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $110
HDD: 500GB SATA2 - $149
Optical: AOpen or LG 18x SATA DVD burner - $41-$44
Video card: GeForce 8600GTS - $214
Screen: 22" widescreen LCD, take your pick of brands - $329-$355
Mouse, keyboard and case are personal items - choose whichever ones suit you best, but don't get a bottom of the line case with a crummy power supply. Budget around $85-$150 for case and power supply, $50-$150 for mouse and keyboard.
Total: ~$1450

If your budget can stretch further, consider the GeForce 8800GTS 320MB for $388 as it's more than twice as fast as the 8600GTS (the 640MB is really only useful if you're playing on a 24" or larger screen), and more / larger hard drives (the Western Digital 750GB drives are very good).
More than 2GB of memory is really not necessary unless you're massively multitasking.