whats hot now?

[cyber]

Looking to build a new PC around christmas time, and would like to get some of your opinions on whats decent on the market today. My price range is somewhere between $800-$1000 (mobo, ram, video card, processor). I want it to be able to play new games coming out in the next year or two without having to upgrade.

THANKS

[N4P4LM]

let me talk to your mom first

[Janus]

Core2Duo E6600
2GB DDR800 RAM
X1900XT
Asus P5-B Motherboard

[Dion]

ABIT AN9 32X Socket AM2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127003

Geforce 7950GT 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130061

OCZ 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227166

Any CPU thats above a 4200+ and ur golden. make sure its AM2 socket.

also u can get 2 7950GT's if u want for SLI. dont get a board that doesnt have SLI.

also u will probably need a new Power supply.
i recommend.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

u can get more watts if u want. But antec makes solid PS

[CHIPMAN]

Core2Duo E6600
2GB DDR800 RAM
X1900XT
Asus P5-B Motherboard


^^
Or if you're a Nvidia fan...7900 GT KO is what i use (eVGA because they've got a fantastic step-up program), and so far FEAR, HL2, HL2:Ep1, Company of Heroes all play at absolute max settings with no less than 50FPS

I've seen the X1900XT in action though, and it is a fantastic card

[Bp-2X]

isn't there a new 8800GTX GeForce ?!?

[CHIPMAN]

isn't there a new 8800GTX GeForce ?!?

Not yet, last I read it will be out in mid-late November

I've been considering taking advantage of eVGA's step-up program to get one of the new 8-series cards.
But only if I'm content with the price.

[dakine`]

It's that damn Hansel! He's so hot right now!

[Milosenpotion]

Get the eVGA 7900GTO...it's practically a GTX for less money than the GT. And I missed out on it :(

[PHISH]

i'm putting together a new comp right now w/ the E6600 (probably the best bang for your buck) so I can offer a few tidbits in having to research all this shit:
ram is pretty spendy at the moment so you will probably be looking for good deals, but a word of warning- for the duo core chipsets the motherboards in general are a lot more sensitive to what memory you can use, specifically in regards to voltage. They basically want 1.8v chips..Kingston is a good bet and is on the short list of 'approved memory' for the 975/965 chipsets. If you want a hassle free install pick some of theirs up from the get go. OCZ memory seems to have compatibility problems with it rated around 2.2v, some people have success with it, others don't seem to. A 1GBx2 kit will set you back from $200-$350. There's a high premium for 800mhz ddr2, I went with 667mhz, 533 is the minimum you can get.

Also, the motherboards in general are not too stable sans intel's flagship badaxe board ($250)...let me rephrase that, they are all very unstable from people's feedback. Prepare to have bios updates for whatever board you go with before hand. Question, are you an overclocker? Would you ever in your right mind use SLI or crossfire? (I think its a really stupid path to go down, specifically when you'll have to upgrade down the road). That's going to affect which board you'll want to go with. Also, do you want upgradeability to quad core w/ the same mobo?

After a bunch of research I went with Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
Almost every other board will run you $230-250 for this chipset, this is a really good value at $116, the best and most stable I saw out of anything below $200. I may revise that in the next few days as I'm puttin this crap together now :)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017
The basic difference from the "deluxe" boards is it only has 1 PCI-e X16 slot, 2 PCI-e x1 slots, no onboard firewire, wifi, or graphics. If you're fine with that, it's a good choice. It's also a good overclocker even if that's not something I usually do.

In regards to a video card..direct x 10 is coming which will be a significant change in performance and capabilities for next gen cards..so ask yourself if you really want to blow a ton of $$$ on a top line dx9 card right now, when dx 10 is on the horizon (in my case I just went with a 7600GT for like $149..coming from an ati 9600 this is a pretty good boost for me)

I used newegg for my last build and I've used them in large part for this one, you're generally going to save a bunch over getting it from other places. Also keep an eye out on deal sites like www.fatwallet.com, (specifically their hot deal forums@ http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18/ ) to find a good buy as they come around.

[Janus]

just don't forget, a DX10 card won't be very impressive if you can't use DX10 on your system (in other words you need Windows Vista [the only DX10 OS])

[Milosenpotion]

You'll save more money overall by buying an eVGA dx9 card now and using the step-up program on your evga dx10 card than buying a cheap card now and getting a dx10 card later anyways.

[janordy]

The eVGA stepup program is so pointless. You can only do it 3 months (90days) after purchase of your current card. You must also have ALL the stuff that came with it too and the package. Then YOU pay to ship the card back and pay the differance. Say you have a 300 dollar card and want to stepup to a 500 dollar one, you gotta pay the 200 dollar differance. Why not just put down 500 now instead of wait 3 months (even with a price drop in 3 months the shipping cost will null that) with a lesser card only to have to pay 40-50 bucks in shipping costs, lose access to your computer while you wait, all while not saving a single penny, infact most likely losing money and time. Always read the fine print.

[Janus]

how would that be 40-50 in shipping costs? it may cost about 15 at most.

[janordy]

You must ship via traceable air service (UPS, FedEx, DHL). No USPS allowed which is the cheapest. You have to pay for shipping both ways. Unless you want to wait 2-3 weeks (5 business days each way + turn around time) which would still cost around 20-30 dollars, might as well put up the extra cash and for 40-50 dollars and get 2 day shipping both ways (4 business days total + turnaround time) with about a week total. My eVGA card just sorta died so I had to send it back to get a new one and just got done going through all this shipping and technical details, its a real pain.