£400-500 on a decent gaming parts £100ish for a monitor 200 left...forget the monitor £300ish for a 120hz monitor and glasses (a 3d monitor for the ill informed)
Challenge: $1000 on Gaming/entertainment... from scratch?
- Thread starter Treblaine
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Another option for a PC is the Asus G72 Laptop, for around 700 bucks it will run pretty much anything out now on max.
Not going to link to every spec, but this is an easy choice for me:
All of it goes to a gaming PC. So here goes:
Case---$70
CPU--$125
PSU---$75
Mobo---$80
RAM---$95
Monitor---$130
GPU---$200
HDD---$60
Speakers---$25
Mouse/board---figure about $40
OS---$100.
Add those all up and I pretty much nail $1000.
But again, I don't really care about my mouse or keyboard (right now I'm using an old HP keyboard and a cheap mouse that I got for 12 bucks at RadioShack), and I could certainly drop a few bucks off the budget on the case or HDD or even get 3 gigs RAM instead of 4
As it stands this build is a AMD/ATI system running a Phenom II X4, 4 gigs RAM, 1 TB HDD and a 5830.
All of it goes to a gaming PC. So here goes:
Case---$70
CPU--$125
PSU---$75
Mobo---$80
RAM---$95
Monitor---$130
GPU---$200
HDD---$60
Speakers---$25
Mouse/board---figure about $40
OS---$100.
Add those all up and I pretty much nail $1000.
But again, I don't really care about my mouse or keyboard (right now I'm using an old HP keyboard and a cheap mouse that I got for 12 bucks at RadioShack), and I could certainly drop a few bucks off the budget on the case or HDD or even get 3 gigs RAM instead of 4
As it stands this build is a AMD/ATI system running a Phenom II X4, 4 gigs RAM, 1 TB HDD and a 5830.
I second that after the emachine fried. I went out and got my new ASUS and my logitech G9X.SimuLord said:
I already had a HD ready monitor, gaming keyboard and headset.
Take the 1k go buy a good gaming pc or the parts for one and build it yourself. With hulu and netflix instant queue, that takes care of any movie or tv watching. Plus the gaming PC will easily put the 360 to shame gaming wise.
So 15 to 4, people seem to prefer to buy Gaming PC + Monitor over games console + HDTV (2 people preferring some odd console + TV + PC combination)
My $1000 setup is as follows. Well actually £800 setup:
And a Nintendo Wii with VGA a cable for about £140
It just has a great selection of games that are so unique to consoles and usually not seen on PC. Plus it can play Gamecube titles which is PERFECT for me as I've found that to be a system with an under-appreciated goldmine of great games.
I wanted to put PS3 on that list which is what I actually also have plugged into my monitor as well as my PC, but PS3 is just too darn expensive, puts me significantly over my £800 budget.
Screw the Wii or PS3, and with monitor savings of the Edit I've got £220 left over, that'll get me an ASUS Eee PC (1001P) netbook to give me the portability I really need so often, throw in a USB-based TV tuner and I'll have a portable TV as well.
So in summary:
-A high spec Gaming PC
-Peripherals; headphones, mouse + KB
-1080p monitor
-A moderate netbook
Edited for errors with £ symbol
EDIT #2: it occurred to me my monitor of choice is way over-spec, so chose a cheaper one + allowed some new options
My $1000 setup is as follows. Well actually £800 setup:
Mobo: AM3-DDR3
Athlon II X3 435 = pretty basic but AM3 socket allows AMAZING upgrade options like EIGHT core CPU
1x2GB DDR3 1333MHz = cost less than 2x1GB yet leaves more slots open
ATI 4890 = Seems to be the best power per pound at the moment
500W PSU = Bit of overkill but skimp on PSU could cost much more later
Case ATX = no SLI/crossfire so no need for a super-cooling monster
HDD: 1TB = I've found to my chagrin 500GB is barely enough for JUST games
Windows 7 Premium 64 Bit = only a matter of time before a Win-7 exclusive game.
For 400 GPB
Athlon II X3 435 = pretty basic but AM3 socket allows AMAZING upgrade options like EIGHT core CPU
1x2GB DDR3 1333MHz = cost less than 2x1GB yet leaves more slots open
ATI 4890 = Seems to be the best power per pound at the moment
500W PSU = Bit of overkill but skimp on PSU could cost much more later
Case ATX = no SLI/crossfire so no need for a super-cooling monster
HDD: 1TB = I've found to my chagrin 500GB is barely enough for JUST games
Windows 7 Premium 64 Bit = only a matter of time before a Win-7 exclusive game.
For 400 GPB
22" Monitor (145 GBP) 1080p, DVI+HDMI+VGA with speakers and 24 inch
Ozone Attack headset (15 GBP)
Logitech MX518 (15 GBP) very nice mouse
Chiclet type Keyboard (5 GBP) I like the shorter key travel + easier to keep clean
Total = 180 GBP
Ozone Attack headset (15 GBP)
Logitech MX518 (15 GBP) very nice mouse
Chiclet type Keyboard (5 GBP) I like the shorter key travel + easier to keep clean
Total = 180 GBP
It just has a great selection of games that are so unique to consoles and usually not seen on PC. Plus it can play Gamecube titles which is PERFECT for me as I've found that to be a system with an under-appreciated goldmine of great games.
I wanted to put PS3 on that list which is what I actually also have plugged into my monitor as well as my PC, but PS3 is just too darn expensive, puts me significantly over my £800 budget.
Screw the Wii or PS3, and with monitor savings of the Edit I've got £220 left over, that'll get me an ASUS Eee PC (1001P) netbook to give me the portability I really need so often, throw in a USB-based TV tuner and I'll have a portable TV as well.
So in summary:
-A high spec Gaming PC
-Peripherals; headphones, mouse + KB
-1080p monitor
-A moderate netbook
Edited for errors with £ symbol
EDIT #2: it occurred to me my monitor of choice is way over-spec, so chose a cheaper one + allowed some new options
Hmm, netbook I'd find great for the times I need to compute on the move but could you really use it for all your computing needs? I suppose if you had VGA/HDMI out to the monitor on your $1000-setup and threw in a full sized keyboard and mouse I would find that - personally - more bearable (if the integrated graphics can even handle 1080p for work/web).migo said:
Netbook seems more suited as a satellite system to a Desktop PC mother ship. I'd be too worried about being limited by the:
-low power CPU with multiple applications (Firefox w/ 20 tabs + music-streaming program + iPlayer video + open office)
-The HDD capacity, no 2nd internal drive, pricier 2.5" drives to update.
-limited connectivity of only 2-3 USB ports
-netbook integrated graphics struggle with even sub HD video
-no Optical Drive
-Extremely limited gaming options
-virtually no upgrade options
Not a problem if it's just to watch a downloaded/streaming video in the kitchen, or work while on commute, as I'd have a full power PC at home which I can connect the netbook to. But JUST a netbook, I'd rather spend that money on a very basic AM2+ Socket based desktop PC running just on Mobo's integrated graphics, should go for about $200-300, similar to a netbook.
The Netbook is a challenge, but it is actually adequate as a primary system. It's all I'm using right now and while it's not perfect, it's awesome for the $200 I paid for it. I've got pretty much the lowest specs of any modern system (Atom N270, 1024x576 resolution, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive), and it runs Windows 7 alright. Certain applications will cause it to slow to a crawl, I had to uninstall Chrome because it would completely hang the system, and I have had issues otherwise, but I can use it for web browsing, IM and word processing simultaneously, and it plays Widescreen SD Xvid files just fine (given the resolution, and screen size it's not a problem).Treblaine said:
If you're doing more serious work, then it might not be enough, but for the base needs and covering most people it's quite fine.
For gaming, the options are very limited, even moreso since I run Windows 7 since I can't go to really old programs. I've found that Unreal Tournament 2004 runs perfectly, and I'm experimenting with a few other games (I'm thinking spec wise X2 The Threat, Civ 3 Complete and Morrowind should run fine too, so I'll have a few solid games with good replay value).
Just for mobile purposes, I'd much rather have a netbook and its real portability rather than a larger laptop that actually ends up not being portable enough to really take anywhere (my 13.3" Sony that's pretty much dead and only good for burning DVDs now was too big for real portability).
I think also you can hit possibly even 11" and still maintain portability, but now there are nVidia Ion based netbooks with 1080p HDMI out, 1366x768 internal resolution and much better gaming performance. They'll run you $500, but that's still cheap.
Amen to that. I mean typical laptops like the one I have currently is less "portable" and more "transportable" as in you can move it in one trip... but you still need at least some sort of large shoulder bag to carry it and it won't be a light shoulder bag. But a 10" netbook seems to be an ideal compromise between compactness and necessary screen size, about as big as a large hardback book or a graphic novel.migo said:
Netbooks are especially appealing to me to spite owning a 15-inch laptop;
-obvious greater portability it won't just be for occasional in-front-of-TV use.
-less size even makes it possible to actually USE on the go, a 15-inch is too impractical on public transport or in some sort of eatery, the large footprint is usually too awkward on the tiny tables
-netbooks notable power-efficiency of 8-10 hours means I'm not always in search of power sockets or burdened with the heavy and annoying power cable + block. Especially nice for long-haul travel.
I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a netbook with an eSATA port directly to its hard drive. That should make it much easier to run it as a "satellite system" from my computer.
But a $500 Ion Powered netbook, I'd find that to be overkill. Remember, I'd use my PC for most computing at home including gaming.
Step 1. Build/Order a computer that is better than my current one for ~$600
Step 2. StarCraft 2
Step 3. Steam deals and snacks
Step 2. StarCraft 2
Step 3. Steam deals and snacks
Would you assemble or get a ready built PC? But what if your hypothetical insurance company says:SquirrelPants said:
"we will only refund bills for electronics Hardware; not games, music, movies, subscriptions... nor snacks :'( "
So you don't so much have $1000 to spend mostly on hardware... more this insurance company will cover $1000 of bills as long as it is hardware. What other hardware would you get for the last $400?
Remember you won't have a Screen, Mouse, Keyboard, Gamepad... not even a mousepad. Your home is practically Amish, just clothes, furniture and cooking utensils; no TV, not even a clock radio.