It be time (Tips to build a new system?)

[Slater]

Alright! So my current system ain't exactly the most hip anymore. It cost me all of $500 to buy from BestBuy in the year 2008, and while it did the job to get me through school and granted me the power to enjoy games like Unreal Tournament 2004, it's struggling to keep up with modern games running even on the lowest settings (I'm looking at you, Blizzard). This, coupled with getting a raise at work and stepping into a 6-digit inheritance (not every day your 99-year-old great-grandmother passes away) has prompted me to invest a bit more than a few Benjamins into my computer hardware. Setting aside a maximum of $4000 dollars, I'm fixing to get something that I'll be happy to have more than a couple years down the road (or at least to 12-21-2012).

Yes, I want a "gaming machine," and since my workplace has already provided me with a $4000 mac book pro, that means that a Windows 7 PC is the goal. Originally I was looking into buying something pre-built, but I came to understand that many of these companies (such as Dell's Alienware) are taking quite a bit more than their fair shares to slap the thing together for me. So I'd like to build a system from the ground up.

And that's where I'm trying to proceed as carefully as possible, cause I've never done this before. Sure, I've replaced many a burnt-out RAM chip and the occasional video card, but I've never had to start from scratch, and I wanna make sure I don't mess anything up. So I'm hoping for a couple things. First, if people with experience with this sort of thing could help me identify the things I'd be likely to overlook, that'd be swell. Secondly, I'm looking for good sites to get the gear from; looking for good prices and, of course, quality circuitry. Any help in these areas will be greatly appreciated!

[Hiryu]

If you're looking for a gaming machine, you need to take special consideration into your video card, power supply, and motherboard. If you want a high end graphics card, it will probably take more electricity to power than other things. Make sure your motherboard and other hardware can cope with the higher electricity, or it'll blow up in your face.

The hard drive would be the next thing to take into consideration. You'll need a lot of space for those games. Anything over a terabyte is good, which shouldn't cost you over $125.

Then the RAM. 4 GBs is recommended.

If you like things that are retro, you should take a look at the commodore 64 computer. Not sure if the specs are okay for a gaming machine,though. http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_C64.aspx

They also have models for the Vic-20 and Amiga.

[Cognitive Gear]

Here is a nice guide that was put together by.... people on the internet.

Link

It's nice because it has a cost on the right hand side, so you can see what level of power you are looking at with your budget.

[blkmage]

I've always liked Ars Technica's system guides that they do every few months.

[Slater]

Thanks for the links, yo; I'll be sure to check 'em.

If you're looking for a gaming machine, you need to take special consideration into your video card, power supply, and motherboard. If you want a high end graphics card, it will probably take more electricity to power than other things. Make sure your motherboard and other hardware can cope with the higher electricity, or it'll blow up in your face.

The hard drive would be the next thing to take into consideration. You'll need a lot of space for those games. Anything over a terabyte is good, which shouldn't cost you over $125.

Then the RAM. 4 GBs is recommended.

If you like things that are retro, you should take a look at the commodore 64 computer. Not sure if the specs are okay for a gaming machine,though. http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_C64.aspx

They also have models for the Vic-20 and Amiga.

Yeah, these are things I knew for the most part. I'm gonna have to figure out the electric stuff though; I was never good at electromagnetic physics. Hopefully figuring out what I need by way of a power supply won't be too hard.

As for disk space, that's something else I forgot to mention. I'd like to get a SSD for my more frequently-played games; looking for something around 128-256GB. Any suggestions there?