My son needs help purchasing a computer for gaming

[Hallett]

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Is this pre-built from some place or did he put together a list of parts?

If it's separate parts then I'd consider a different motherboard, video card, hard drive, and power supply.

The 7600gs is a fair bit weaker than the 7600gt (notice the "gs" and "gt"). Especially so if you're running semi-new games. The price however is pretty much the same, so you might as well find the 7600gt if you can.

A 7600gt will be fine to game on unless he's playing the very latest games and has to run them at high quality.

I run a similar machine (e6420 with a 7600gt) and games in the Quake 4 era run amazingly well at 1280x1024 or lower.

Btw if you are buying the parts from a site the processor should come with a stock heatsink/fan combo.

Edit: If your son is putting it together himself make sure he gets a case too.

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Thank you so much, this is great stuff!

[splashpot]

If he plans on putting it together himself, I suggest doing a bit more research. He'll learn a lot about the parts and feel more confident when the parts come and he has to put them together. It's not hard, but it might be confusing for someone who doesn't recognize the parts. I know that I wouldn't feel comfortable having my own computer built by someone who doesn't know if he needs a heatsink.

[Beavis68]

that motherboard is a couple of generations old. I would recommend a P965 motherboard if he can find one.

The processor is good.

I have a 7600GS graphics card, it is decent, but not a smoker by any means. Tom's hardware rates in the best for under $100.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/08/...ney/page2.html

If he wants a monitor and doesn't have an OS to install I would recommmend getting a Dell or HP system.

Also, it may be worthwhile stepping up to a system with a 4MB Core 2 Duo, depending on the cost differences.

[LuckOfTheDraw]

How much are you looking to spend total? There are so many various degrees of quality of the entire system, and it really helps to start with a total budget.

[Shoe Lace]

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Tom's hardware rates in the best for under $100.

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Tom's hardware is like the Best Buy of computer hardware review sites. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Google "7600gt vs 7600gs" and you'll see the 7600gt destroys its cousin when you approach sort of high resolutions or play a new game.

Similar to how a 7900gs is a fair bit better than a 7600gt at these resolutions.

Newegg has both cards listed at the exact same price. The 7900gs is quite a bit more though.

[Shoe Lace]

To help the OP, here's a rig I put together for someone not too long ago. It's a solid setup IMO, and should fall into your budget even if you can't find the parts as cheap in canada.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130062
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817189005

Only thing missing is an OS. The CPU is a fair bit faster and the HD is bigger too. You could downgrade the CPU back to the e4500 if money becomes an issue.

After sniping the mail in rebates and taking advantage of shipping it came up to about $615US total shipped (+$90 for an OS).

[Hallett]

Wow guys, great stuff here...! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[LuckOfTheDraw]

[ QUOTE ]
To help the OP, here's a rig I put together for someone not too long ago. It's a solid setup IMO, and should fall into your budget even if you can't find the parts as cheap in canada.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130062
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817189005

Only thing missing is an OS. The CPU is a fair bit faster and the HD is bigger too. You could downgrade the CPU back to the e4500 if money becomes an issue.

After sniping the mail in rebates and taking advantage of shipping it came up to about $615US total shipped (+$90 for an OS).

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Good choices. Don't forget a DVD/CD player. They're only like $30.

[LuckOfTheDraw]

Also, since this is a gaming computer, one thing I would suggest is that you get a better vid card than the 7600GT. For games, you will see the largest increase in performance/dollar by spending more on a vid card.

At the very worst video settings for a game, the performance difference between mid to low level graphics cards isn't very much. However, as soon as you start to increase resolution and advanced effects, such as anti-aliasing and filtering, the level of performance becomes drastically better by spending less than $100 more. Not to mention, the rest of the system suggested by shoe lace is so solid, I see no reason to skimp on the graphics card. A slight downside is higher quality vid cards tend to run a little hotter and will increase the overall temperature inside your box. Not a huge issue, just something to keep an eye on. That Gigabyte mobo should come with some sort of software to let you monitor different system temperatures (CPU, chipsets, etc).

One suggestion below, but like I always say, it helps to look around and research for yourself:

circa $170 -- Radeon X1950XT

A couple of other notes. Like I said, watch out for heat. I see a lot of people complaining this card runs very hot. It can also be kinda loud (the fan's tyriing its hardest to get rid of that heat). And, lastly, make sure your case is big enough to accomodate a card this size. These issues are all secondary, still, in my opinion. You'll want the extra performance.

[Shoe Lace]

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Good choices. Don't forget a DVD/CD player.

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Hah oops, good catch. He already had one. Yep $30ish is normal. Any Lite-On combo dvd/cd writer is good.