Choosing New Gaming PC- Guidance Please

[ArtistofWarfare]

Hey guys-

To cut to the chase- It's my 26th birthday this weekend and I just found out today that some members of my family want to chip in to help me get started with a gaming pc...something I've put off buying myself for years while I instead invested in education, clothes, food etc. (how crazy of me).

My "starting" budget is around $1,000- $1,300 ...and obviously I'm looking for a computer that is fully upgradeable and I can add to over time.

As some of you know from my threads in the MTW forums- I'm a total war junkie when I "let myself go". With a new PC, I would fully plan on buying Empires: Total War and continue playing the entire total war series.

I came to this site today to ask for some advice/suggestions. This is my favorite community on the web and I trust it's members more than any others. We tend to be an intelligent breed here at total war. That's why I'm asking you guys...

Time is of the essence here...as I've been wanting a nice gaming pc for years, but now that it looks like I'm getting it, I only have a few days to finalize my search.

I am by no means an expert- And that's also why I want some advice from someone who is...or is at least closer to expert than myself heh. Before making this investment, I want to know that I have a gaming PC that:

1) Is worth a $1,000+ investment. I want something that I don't have to worry about system requirements or recommendations for a few years. Any game, I want to know I can run it and run it well.

2) Is fully upgradeable. I plan on adding to it over time and I want to make sure that my PC is fully capable of this.

3) Ideal for Total War games and MMO's. Other than Total War, I see World of Warcraft and whatever comes around as the "next mainstream MMO" as my two main games. Again...I'm looking for something that allows me to max up the graphics settings and run these games without worrying about any system lag etc.

I think you guys get the idea. We can certainly continue the discussion as it gets going.

I appreciate any support someone can give me on this...

P.S.- I need some advice on Vista vs. XP. I see all the new systems coming with Vista installed. What are my pro's/cons to this and is Vista the ideal system I want for gaming in these genres mentioned above?

Thanks

added w/ edit: Let me just throw this in- After only a few minutes, I found this on newegg.com. This looks like a decent starting point for my search here I think.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229026

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

1) Is worth a $1,000+ investment. I want something that I don't have to worry about system requirements or recommendations for a few years. Any game, I want to know I can run it and run it well.

2) Is fully upgradeable. I plan on adding to it over time and I want to make sure that my PC is fully capable of this.

3) Ideal for Total War games and MMO's. Other than Total War, I see World of Warcraft and whatever comes around as the "next mainstream MMO" as my two main games. Again...I'm looking for something that allows me to max up the graphics settings and run these games without worrying about any system lag etc.

1) Make it yourself. Buying all the parts seperately and putting them together can save you anywhere from $100 to $700 dollars. Building mine myself probably saved me about $500 off the pre-built equivalent.

2) Make it yourself. These Dell computers and other brands can be surprisingly resistant to upgrades. If you built it yourself, or get all the parts and have someone do it, you can upgrade whenever. Hard drive space making you angry? Rip it out and put in a new one. Just like that.

3) For maxiumum graphics settings, you'll want an 8800 series card (the GT is a good one), and at least 2GB of RAM to cut lag. 3GB is good for XP (32-bit) or Vista (32-bit), and 4GB is good for Vista (64-bit).

Vista vs. XP) I had the choice, and I chose XP Pro, SP2. This was after a long deliberation and debate. Overall, however, XP uses less RAM, is more reliable, and more compatible, especially if you want to play MTW. On the other hand, if you want 4GB of RAM, you need Vista 64-bit.

[ArtistofWarfare]

1) Make it yourself. Buying all the parts seperately and putting them together can save you anywhere from $100 to $700 dollars. Building mine myself probably saved me about $500 off the pre-built equivalent.

2) Make it yourself. These Dell computers and other brands can be surprisingly resistant to upgrades. If you built it yourself, or get all the parts and have someone do it, you can upgrade whenever. Hard drive space making you angry? Rip it out and put in a new one. Just like that.

3) For maxiumum graphics settings, you'll want an 8800 series card (the GT is a good one), and at least 2GB of RAM to cut lag. 3GB is good for XP (32-bit) or Vista (32-bit), and 4GB is good for Vista (64-bit).

Vista vs. XP) I had the choice, and I chose XP Pro, SP2. This was after a long deliberation and debate. Overall, however, XP uses less RAM, is more reliable, and more compatible, especially if you want to play MTW. On the other hand, if you want 4GB of RAM, you need Vista 64-bit.

Thank you for your response...

My one issue with building it myself is that, again- I'm not an expert. I do not have faith in my ability to accurately pick parts and then put the computer together in it's case. This is just beyond my knowledge in computers.

What I was looking for was something along the lines of what I've linked, or this:

http://www.projectwarmachine.com/GST...ine.aspx?id=18

and picking the individual components that I want out.

Do you have any suggestions for a site/company to visit to go about doing this?

Further, I was looking for any advice on "definitely avoid this" or "this new rig just came out and it's a great deal". I'm just not as in the loop as many of you are regarding hardware right now.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

My one issue with building it myself is that, again- I'm not an expert. I do not have faith in my ability to accurately pick parts and then put the computer together in it's case. This is just beyond my knowledge in computers.

Neither was I. Trust me, it's quite easy. It might take two days or so, but it's worth it. Otherwise, take it to someone who knows what they're doing, and shop around to find a couple per hour rates to get it built. Trust me, even then it's usually cheaper.

About picking the parts, you're right in coming here. I shopped around based on a lot of advice .ORGahs gave me. I'll post a brief list of some things you should look at:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, E6600 or better.

Graphics: nVidia 8800GTS

RAM: 2GB+, anything Corsair is usually good. Someone else may be able to give more recommendations based on voltages and clocking.

Case: Anything at a good price with good cooling. Apevia cases are nice.

PSU: Mine's around 700W, but that's probably overkill. 600W should do.

HDD: This comes down to a balance of storage space, reliability, and speed. For speed, get a Raptor. They're not solid state (IE: less reliable), they're not very big (150GB or so), but they're fast. 10000RPM fast. If you want a bigger drive, however, go for about 7200.10 RPM, which is a good balance of speed and space. Seagate makes nice ones, and so does Western Digital.

Motherboard: I use an EVGA 680i, but you'll want other recommendations here than from me.

[ArtistofWarfare]

Neither was I. Trust me, it's quite easy. It might take two days or so, but it's worth it. Otherwise, take it to someone who knows what they're doing, and shop around to find a couple per hour rates to get it built. Trust me, even then it's usually cheaper.

About picking the parts, you're right in coming here. I shopped around based on a lot of advice .ORGahs gave me. I'll post a brief list of some things you should look at:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, E6600 or better.

Graphics: nVidia 8800GTS

RAM: 2GB+, anything Corsair is usually good. Someone else may be able to give more recommendations based on voltages and clocking.

Case: Anything at a good price with good cooling. Apevia cases are nice.

PSU: Mine's around 700W, but that's probably overkill. 600W should do.

HDD: This comes down to a balance of storage space, reliability, and speed. For speed, get a Raptor. They're not solid state (IE: less reliable), they're not very big (150GB or so), but they're fast. 10000RPM fast. If you want a bigger drive, however, go for about 7200.10 RPM, which is a good balance of speed and space. Seagate makes nice ones, and so does Western Digital.

Motherboard: I use an EVGA 680i, but you'll want other recommendations here than from me.

You're definitely the man...thank you very much.

Obviously continued advice/suggestions/support from anyone is welcomed and appreciated but what information you've given me here is a nice starting guideline for me. Thanks again.

Just out of curiosity- What do you think of this one from New Egg. Seems close to what we've stated in requirements.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Whoops, made a mistake. If you're going for cost effectiveness, you'll want the 8800GT instead of the GTS. The GTS is better, but not by much, whereas the GT is also much cheaper.

Remember, everything's just a suggestion, a starting point. Keep at it.

I take it you live in America by the fact you're using Newegg? Anyways, that's quite a good PC - it only skimps in three locations, namely sound card, graphics card (though I suppose that's debateable), and, (only IMHO), the mtoherboard. It's looking like quite a decent PC though.

Glad I could help.

[ArtistofWarfare]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_III/

Here's another one that starts at around $600 and then I can build options from there.

Any suggestions on what the best combination of options would be with that rig to keep my overall price within the $1,000-$1,300 range? (Including the monitor).

THIS would help me out tremendously...as I believe something along these lines might give me the best bang for my buck...