Cost Effective PC Game Rig

[Zeroimpact]

Hi there,

Ok so I started to realize that my current PC is older than a dinosaur and that the poor thing can’t keep up with today’s games.

So I need to start looking at building a new Rig that is a good machine vs. cost, yes we all sit with budget constraints ... so here's the thing I would like to see some suggestions on rigs and a estimated cost that will satisfy the needs of today’s gamer, maybe we set three pricing levels Affordable (< R10k) , Not so affordable but acceptable ( >R10K < R20K and probably just ludicrous (>R20K) ???

Well here's an example of what Ludicrous would probably start to look like and these are specs from the developers at valve (no prices included trust me it’s expensive)


Current Valve PC rig specs
EVGA 780i SLI FTW Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz Quad-Core Processor
4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 1066MHz ram (Crucial Ballistix, Kingston ValueRam)
1 x NVidia GTX280 1GB - OR - ATI 4870 1GB graphics card
1 x 250GB 7200RPM SATA HD (Seagate, Western Digital)
1 x 500GB 7200RPM SATA HD (Seagate, Western Digital)
Antec Sonata III desktop case
Zalman CPU Cooler
850W Antec power supply
1 x Dell 3008FPW-HC 30" LCD - OR - 2 x Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD monitors
Windows XP 32bit

Future Valve PC rig specs
EVGA X58 3X SLI Intel Motherboard
Intel Corei7 940 2.93GHz Quad-Core Processor
12GB PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz ram (Crucial Ballistix, Kingston ValueRam)
1 x NVidia GTX285 1GB - OR - ATI 4870 1GB graphics card
1 x 250GB 7200RPM SATA HD (Seagate, Western Digital)
1 x 500GB 7200RPM SATA HD (Seagate, Western Digital) Lian Li P60-F Case
Intel CPU Cooler
850W Antec power supply
1 x Dell 3008FPW-HC 30" LCD - OR - 2 x Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD monitors
Windows Vista 64bit

[Blaze786]

Core i7 is very far from affordable, IMO rather go 780i, than in a year or so move over to i7 when it is more affordable.

[The Joker]

Cost Effective???
Its an amazing rig but its definitly not cheap!!
That rig will cost around R15 000 min to build!!

[weakest_link]

geez both of those are extreme builds ... are you sure the sonata 3 can fit everything ... it will be a tight fit with not alot of space hey ... also, the 4870 cant compete with the GTX280 unless you talking about the 4870x2 ...

[The Joker]

Not to mention the huge price difference between the 2 cards!!
Not a cost effecttive rig mate...A nice one though!!

[SharkBait]

What do you currently have?

[Nictron]

I agree that is not really a cost effective rig but a mid range to high end rig.

To save money go for the 4870.

If you take the 30" screen go with a 285 or 295 or 4870X2.

[Zeroimpact]

Yip Yip and Yes its not cost effective rigs that I listed ...
The problem is one will need to get something that will at least be bomb proof for the next 5 years where you only need to buy a new CPU chip or GFX card to keep the rig ticking,

I currently Have a
- ASUS MB P4P800
- CPU P4 3 Ghz 478 socket
- PC400 1GB mem
- 200GB SATA HDD
- XFX 7600GS 512MB AGP
- AOPEN 17" CRT
- LG Lightscribe DVD
- 600W PSU

Now by having a look at that you will reallise that I need to replace at minimum
the MB , CPU , Memory and GFX (and most probably the PSU)... .which is just about everything

So this is going to cost a bit ..... or at least get some expert advice where one can start at least to get to a decent rig ... and at this point I must say a PS3 seems like a better deal ... ouch

[Nictron]

I suppose if you buy a XBox or PS3 you will have enough money left to buy every game you want for the next 5 years. Add a nice LCD to the console and you are set.

What am I defending a console?, what is wrong with me!

[Zeroimpact]

The thing is at least the console lasts longer than what a high end gfx card lasts :-(
.... come to the dark side Luke .... mmm only issue is that with a console
you cannot tinker with all the other fun stuff that a PC allows you to do ....
Like using photoshop , writing music , doing some coding , internet browsing , posting to this forum etc etc etc .... so yeah console does not give you that ... viva la X86 ... now where did I put that ZX spectrum again ...