Ideas for a cheap good gaming rig

[strickt]

Originally Posted by Drunkenup

If you're looking for a hardcore gaming system, I suggest you go with the Intel Core i7, the 920 exactly, anyother is overkill since the 920 is good for 4Ghz+, Buy any various 1366 Mobo, Just make sure its good, (I personally would go for a EVGA X58 SLI, but thats up to you). If you're not so hardcore, I suggest you keep your motherboard, buy a good LGA 775 CPU, Core 2 Duo, C2Q, or if you be state of the art, wait til this fall and buy the upcoming Intel i5, or the not so known i3 (re-engineered C2D series for 2009 Q4) and matching mobo. Graphics wise, you can't go far with a integrated, I had one, BF2 wouldn't even start, It all depends on what you need, If you have the cash, I suggest you go with a GTX 260, or a equivalent ATI, 4870, 4890 (ATI's are usually cheaper), if you're a bit short, a Cheaper ATI, or 9 Series Nvidia will do the job.
Its all up to you, do your research, and DON'T FORGET THE SECONDARIES, You will need a new PSU, preferably something about 550 Watts, and Good cooling, (If you're going with a Intel CPU, I suggest the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, Rev 2 , Revision 2 Supports all modern LGA 775 and 1366 minus Celeron, and P4).

Unfortunetly his budget is only around 800 so an i7 machine isnt going to wok..... stick with the am3 computer I showed you at the top unless someone makes something that looks better to you

[MonkeySoldier]

Originally Posted by strickt

Unfortunetly his budget is only around 800 so an i7 machine isnt going to wok..... stick with the am3 computer I showed you at the top unless someone makes something that looks better to you

I'd change the mobo to this one. No difference in pricing, but the chipset is better. And I strongly recommend adding an aftermarket cooler, because stock AMD fans, especially in combination with 125W CPU's, are really noisy, and don't cool as well as most other aftermarket CPU coolers.
I combined our suggestions :

You have to imagine the Phenom II 955, because it's out of stock (till 17th of august) so I couldn't add it to the shopping cart. I also changed the HD 4870 to a 512 version, since 1G is overkill for a 17" monitor.

[Drunkenup]

Originally Posted by strickt

Unfortunetly his budget is only around 800 so an i7 machine isnt going to wok..... stick with the am3 computer I showed you at the top unless someone makes something that looks better to you

I see. I personally like Intel better, but your setup looks good.

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

Originally Posted by Drunkenup

I see. I personally like Intel better, but your setup looks good.

I have to agree about Intel. The problem is there are soooo many great components out right now, tough to chose, and everyone has opinions and favorites. Personally, EVGA mobos and GPUs are my favorites because of quality, stability, and warranty. Hell, you can overclock the crap out of it, burn it up, and they will still replace it. Not many companies will do that. Not to mention the programs, control panels, and tools they have make overclocking easy. But thats just my opinion... and experiance.