You computer buff's. Help me build my new computer

[buckysaccord93]

what the game that if your computer can run it. it can run anything? krap i forget the name

EDIT: its called Crysis.
Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code, 1 GB of texture data, 85,000 shaders, and nearly three thousand pages of straight-up coding using loops.[4]

[rexload]

hmmm. my 3850 runs crysis just fine. but i agree its an outdated card, probably worth 50bucks now... if that

metro 2033... lol yeah invest in a decent video card

[f22a4bandit]

Yes, the saying used to be:

"But can it run Crysis?"

Now, it's probably Metro 2033.

I'd definitely suggest switching to a 64-bit Windows 7 platform for your OS, and then expand your RAM to 4GB. If you're not a huge gamer/multitasker, 4GB will be more than enough.

You'll want to try to pair a decent graphics card with a nice processor, otherwise you'll bottleneck your system. I'd say look at a Nvidia GTX 460, or an AMD HD 6850 for a graphics card. You'll want to dish out the dough for a nice graphics card if you do plan on gaming, although the one's I'm suggesting are more mid-range than high-end hardware.

Right now, Intel is the processor to go with for gaming. However, you'd be fine running an AMD processor, especially for a budget build. Most people won't notice a huge difference in performance, and to be honest I think you'd do well picking up an AMD quad-core since you said yourself that you don't understand computers all that much.

Newegg is your friend. Long live Newegg.

[rexload]

Funny thing.
Back in 2001 you switched to Windows XP if you wanted to be at the top of the game. Now, 9.5 years later a SIGNIFICATN percentage of firms still run their businesses on Windows XP and it does the job just fine. I ran XP on my home desktop up until mid 2010.
Now compare that to the year 1993 - you were running Windows 3.1 if you wanted to be at the TOP of the game. Then, that same 9.5 years later, in 2002-03, think about what people would say if you told them you were still running Windows 3.1 LOL.

If you go to BestBuy or a store like that and ask what computer is good... all these younger kids will tell you that the lower-end computers will be outdated in a few months and are a waste of time. Yet these "lower-end" machines have 3-4gb ddr3 and quad core cpus.
Truth is, computers don't get outdated THAT fast anymore. If you are a hardcore gamer, then yes you have to upgrade your hardware quite often. But for most other tasks, if you know how to keep your system running right, there is really no need to upgrade nowadays for many years. We still have a pent4 back from '02 that we use for web/movies/organize pictures/music... isn't that what most people use their computers for? lol

[Tnwagn]

The tech-specs of most mid range computers are overkill for what just about every single user will ever want/need.

It's not like you need 8GB of RAM to run Word or Excel. Sure, it will run quicker but how many 1+ Million Cell workbooks does the average user have in order to recognize this increase in speed? NONE. Watching movies, even 1080p, are now easily done by a $500 tower from BB or any other big box boutique store.

Gamers and professionals that use hadware intensive software, like Adobe Premiere Pro or any slew of Engineering modeling systems, needs and will be continually upgrading to whatever is the newest and fastest hardware.

[Leung]

Could anyone make a recommendation for me?

I just received a grant for school and would like to use some of this money for a new computer and my financial advisor said it was absolutely fine if i wanted to do that with this money.

I do not meed a monitor , nor speakers, mouse or keyboard because i already have nice ones unless it's some kind of crazy package deal that i'd be foolish to pass on especially the monitor.

I would like for it to be able to run Starcraft 2 and Command and Conquer 3 but otherwise i'll be using it for surfing the web, porn, and most importantly school.

Also if possible i'd like to stay within the 500~600 dollar range before shipping.

[WilliamW]

I would like for it to be able to run Starcraft 2 and Command and Conquer 3 but otherwise i'll be using it for surfing the web, porn, and most importantly school.

LOL that would be kinda funny. Porn so intense no video card could handle it. Seriously, any on board video card will do porn... Your issues are in the more intense games. I've heard that star craft 2 is an intense one especially when your zoomed in all the way or near all the way.

You just have to decide if you want to deal with a lower power video card and run these types of games and end up having to turn all the settings down, or spending the extra 150-200 on something that will handle the applications with ease.

You also have to get your video card sorted out first because you may have to base a power supply choice around what type of card you get. If you get a weaker card, just about any supply will do. But if you get a powerful video card, your power supply has to be able to handle it.

[Leung]

Got any recommendations?

I was on newegg looking at thier pre built systems, they had some AMDs and intel processors in the 3 Ghz range but had on board video. I figured I could throw in a better graphics card to solve that problem.

[tootall]

I do agree that Newegg would be the place i ordered everything from, i always do.
I have built hundreds of computers and i always order everything from them, good prices and you can find everything you need.

[tootall]

And dont go prebuilt, buy all the pieces and just build it, cheaper, plus you learn what your doing in case u evr need to work on it or change something out, its good to be familiar with the hardware of your computer. Then again, do what you feel comfortable with.