Page 3: The High End System
<b>The High End System</b>
Ah yes, the one you've been waiting for. The high-end gaming system, now if you have 2000 dollars to spend on a computer I strongly suggest sending donations to me, but if you really would prefer to build a awesome gaming machine here ya go.
<b>Case</b>
Since we have some more money to spend on this one, I chose a Antec workstationcase. This case has front usb and firewire ports, and looks much better then the case in the budget system. Antec makes great quality products, and with the included power supply you can't go wrong.
Price: $79.99 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Keyboard & Mouse</b>
For the keyboard I chose Logitech's Elite Keyboard, it's the same keyboard as above except its corded. I wish I could have found this without the cord but I could only find the combo moues and keyboard wireless. I chose the Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical Mouse because it is an awesome mouse for gaming and has a rechargable base so you can keep playing your games and not have to worry about buying new batteries every few months.
Price: $99.00 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Motherboard</b>
I decided to change it up and go for a P4 system for the high end gaming system. I chose the Asus P4G8X because it has a ton of great features. Let's see Serial ATA, Gigabit Ethernet, onboard audio, 6 USB 2.0 ports, 2 Firewire ports, the granite bay chipset that supports dual-ddr,awesome high end stuff on motherboard=great gaming system.
Price: $299.00 Source:Newegg.com
<b>CPU</b>
For the processor I chose the 2.8Ghz P4 from Intel. As much as it would be great to boast that you have broken the 3Ghz barrier, I just can't see justifying the close to $650 pricetag until games or any application absolutely require it.This processor will be sure to kick some serious ass.
Price: $381 Source: Newegg.com
<b>Memory</b>
For memory I got two stick of Crucial's 256MB PC2100 DDR memory. Now you might wonder why not spend more money and get PC2700, or even better PC3200 memory? We'll this motherboard only supports PC2100, but it'll make up for it because its got the granite bay chipset which uses Dual DDR technology.
Price:$86 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Storage</b>
Following the trend in increasing harddrive space from system to system, were increasing the space to a nice 120GB. I picked a Western Digital 120GB Harddrive w/ 8MB cache. This thing will provide a huge amount of storage for games, music, movies, and anything else you can think of.
Price:$144 Source:Newegg.com
The CDRW I chose for this system is the CenDyne 48x CDRW again. It's not worth spending more money for a 52x drive really in my opinion.
Price:$79.99-$30 Instant Rebate- $30MIR = $19.99 Source: Office Max
<b>NIC, Speakers & OS</b>
Now some extras, we need another network card, I chose a Netgear Gigabit Card. While your current network might not be Gigabit compliant, eventually down the road when networks transfer over, the gigabit card will be good. For speakers I chose the Klipsch 5.1 Speakers. These things get rated the best time and time again, and for the best system, you deserve the best sound. For the operating system I chose Windows XP Home again, its the leading operating system and will be compatible with most of your games.
Price:$498 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Monitor</b>
For the monitor of the system I picked a Sony 19" Trinitron monitor off of newegg. Sony makes quality products, and even though they are overpriced slightly compared to other products, you'll be happy with the quality you get.
Price:$310 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Video Card</b>
And last but certainly not least, we have the video card. Now about a month ago I would have been anticipating Nvidia's Gforce FX, however after lookin at reviews, it performed only sightly higher then the radeon 9700 in a few tests, and not to mention it sounds like LaGuardia Airport with the massive fan on it. So because of this, I chose the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro. This card is the best card available right now as far as gaming cards go, with 8x AGP, 128MB of RAM, and support for TV and DVI out, this will definitely give you the best performance.
Price: $348 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Summary</b>
So let's see, here's a look at my High Level Gaming System for February.
Intel Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
Asus P4G8X
Crucial 512MB PC2100 DDR Memory
128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Logitech MX700 Optical Wireless Mouse
Klipsch 5.1 Speakers
Western Digital 120GB Harddrive w/ 8MB Cache
48x Cendyne CDRW
19" Sony Trinitron
Windows XP Home
*Grand Total:$2300
We'll that just about sums it up for the three systems. No matter what price range you fall into, you should be able to build a system that will be able to handle most games. One way you can cut costs when building a computer of any level, is to look out for deals both online and in your local stores. If you look around enough your almost guaranteed to find a better price.
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Ah yes, the one you've been waiting for. The high-end gaming system, now if you have 2000 dollars to spend on a computer I strongly suggest sending donations to me, but if you really would prefer to build a awesome gaming machine here ya go.
<b>Case</b>
Since we have some more money to spend on this one, I chose a Antec workstationcase. This case has front usb and firewire ports, and looks much better then the case in the budget system. Antec makes great quality products, and with the included power supply you can't go wrong.
Price: $79.99 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Keyboard & Mouse</b>
For the keyboard I chose Logitech's Elite Keyboard, it's the same keyboard as above except its corded. I wish I could have found this without the cord but I could only find the combo moues and keyboard wireless. I chose the Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical Mouse because it is an awesome mouse for gaming and has a rechargable base so you can keep playing your games and not have to worry about buying new batteries every few months.
Price: $99.00 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Motherboard</b>
I decided to change it up and go for a P4 system for the high end gaming system. I chose the Asus P4G8X because it has a ton of great features. Let's see Serial ATA, Gigabit Ethernet, onboard audio, 6 USB 2.0 ports, 2 Firewire ports, the granite bay chipset that supports dual-ddr,awesome high end stuff on motherboard=great gaming system.
Price: $299.00 Source:Newegg.com
<b>CPU</b>
For the processor I chose the 2.8Ghz P4 from Intel. As much as it would be great to boast that you have broken the 3Ghz barrier, I just can't see justifying the close to $650 pricetag until games or any application absolutely require it.This processor will be sure to kick some serious ass.
Price: $381 Source: Newegg.com
<b>Memory</b>
For memory I got two stick of Crucial's 256MB PC2100 DDR memory. Now you might wonder why not spend more money and get PC2700, or even better PC3200 memory? We'll this motherboard only supports PC2100, but it'll make up for it because its got the granite bay chipset which uses Dual DDR technology.
Price:$86 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Storage</b>
Following the trend in increasing harddrive space from system to system, were increasing the space to a nice 120GB. I picked a Western Digital 120GB Harddrive w/ 8MB cache. This thing will provide a huge amount of storage for games, music, movies, and anything else you can think of.
Price:$144 Source:Newegg.com
The CDRW I chose for this system is the CenDyne 48x CDRW again. It's not worth spending more money for a 52x drive really in my opinion.
Price:$79.99-$30 Instant Rebate- $30MIR = $19.99 Source: Office Max
<b>NIC, Speakers & OS</b>
Now some extras, we need another network card, I chose a Netgear Gigabit Card. While your current network might not be Gigabit compliant, eventually down the road when networks transfer over, the gigabit card will be good. For speakers I chose the Klipsch 5.1 Speakers. These things get rated the best time and time again, and for the best system, you deserve the best sound. For the operating system I chose Windows XP Home again, its the leading operating system and will be compatible with most of your games.
Price:$498 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Monitor</b>
For the monitor of the system I picked a Sony 19" Trinitron monitor off of newegg. Sony makes quality products, and even though they are overpriced slightly compared to other products, you'll be happy with the quality you get.
Price:$310 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Video Card</b>
And last but certainly not least, we have the video card. Now about a month ago I would have been anticipating Nvidia's Gforce FX, however after lookin at reviews, it performed only sightly higher then the radeon 9700 in a few tests, and not to mention it sounds like LaGuardia Airport with the massive fan on it. So because of this, I chose the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro. This card is the best card available right now as far as gaming cards go, with 8x AGP, 128MB of RAM, and support for TV and DVI out, this will definitely give you the best performance.
Price: $348 Source:Newegg.com
<b>Summary</b>
So let's see, here's a look at my High Level Gaming System for February.
Intel Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
Asus P4G8X
Crucial 512MB PC2100 DDR Memory
128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Logitech MX700 Optical Wireless Mouse
Klipsch 5.1 Speakers
Western Digital 120GB Harddrive w/ 8MB Cache
48x Cendyne CDRW
19" Sony Trinitron
Windows XP Home
*Grand Total:$2300
We'll that just about sums it up for the three systems. No matter what price range you fall into, you should be able to build a system that will be able to handle most games. One way you can cut costs when building a computer of any level, is to look out for deals both online and in your local stores. If you look around enough your almost guaranteed to find a better price.
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