In The Market...

[Saurdaukar]

www.cyberpowerpc.com

They can build it and ship it to your door cheaper than you can build it with your own hands.  I'd just do that unless PC-building is a fun hobby for you.

The staff is knowledgeable and, if you don't simply purchase one of their "ready-made" systems, they will work with you on a part-by-part basis to ensure that what you think you may want to build will work with 100% efficiency and 100% reliability.

That said; be advised that they will not offer future upgrade recommendations, post-purchase, for liability reasons.  So, if you want a new graphics card in 2015, it's all on you.  This obviously does not apply to their technical support staff, which is excellent.

No vested interest, just a happy customer.  I will be going back to them for my next machine.

A quick scan of their website reveals several ready-made systems which will run AH2 like a dream, on full detail, for less than your budget.

[twitchy]

Thanks guys,
I still feel as though I'm back in high school looking at Calculus for the first time with all this new technology. I don't mind building one from the box up, just a little leary about it with my paleolithic knowledge of this stuff, but if I do build one I would prefer Intel and Nvidia just out of habit. I would like to get a monitor as well, I have a decent LCD but it's got a good five years on it now and I don't know the life span of those things. I have a Windows XP SP2 CD that is registered on my current computer, somebody told me that I won't be able to transfer the liscense to my new computer though...I don't know, sure as heck want to avoid Vista and a new OS is hundred bucks off the budget. I might be able to go $800.00-ish but that is treading dangerously close to wife ack territory, and a new joystick is hinging on my ability to stay in budget.
AH on full settings for 700 bucks with a computer that will support my penchant for video editing as well is my goal...
Saurdaukar, that site is really awesome.
-Twitchy

[twitchy]

I kinda window shopped on the site that Saurdaukar suggested and configured three different options just to kinda give myself the 'illusion of choice' here. Every one of them ended up being over budget a little but I think I can pull it off. Of these three which would you guys reccomend for a gaming system, or do you guys see anything that isn't going to fly or needs changed. I can probably use my old audigy sound card if worse comes to worse, it has alot of long loud hours of Van Halen on it but still works well enough... Is there anything here that is 'over kill' and can de downgraded or eliminated to save some money without hitting me in performance?

Option 1
•*BASE_PRICE: [+679]
•BUNDLE: None
•BLUETOOTH: None
•CD: LG 22X DVD±/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
•CD2: None
•CAS: Apex Vortex 3620 Mid-Tower Gaming Case (Black Color) [-17]
•CASUPGRADE: None
•CS_FAN: Default case fans
•CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-530 2.93 GHz 4M L3 Cache LGA1156
•FAN: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
•FREEBIE_RM: None
•FA_HDD: None
•FLASHMEDIA: None
•FLOPPY: None
•HDD: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
•HDD2: None
•IEEE_CARD: None
•KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
•MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
•MODEM: None
•MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
•MONITOR: 19' TFT Active Matrix LCD Display [+141] (Brand-Named LCD Display)
•MONITOR2: None
•MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] GigaByte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 Chipset CrossFireX Support DDR3 LGA1156 Ultra Durable™3 mATX w/ Onboard Graphic, HDMI, DVI, Display Port(Digital Display Output), 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, 2 Gen2 PCIe & 2 PCI
•MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
•NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
•OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
•OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
•POWERSUPPLY: 420 Watts Standard Case Power Supply
•PRINTER: None
•PRINTER_CABLE: None
•RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
•SOFT1: Free 60 Days Microsoft® Office® 2007 (Words, Excel, Access, Power Point, Outlook + More) - Microsoft Windows OS Required
•SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
•SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
•SPEAKERS: None
•TEMP: None
•TVRC: None
•USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
•USBHD: None
•USBX: None
•VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
•VIDEO2: None
•VIDEO3: None
•VC_PHYSX: None
•WNC: None
•_PRICE: (+803)
•_view_: d

Option 2
•*BASE_PRICE: [+685]
•BUNDLE: None
•BLUETOOTH: None
•CD: LG 22X DVD±/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
•CD2: None
•CAS: Apex Vortex 3620 Mid-Tower Gaming Case (Black Color) [-1]
•CASUPGRADE: None
•CS_FAN: Default case fans
•CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7500 CPU @ 2.93GHz 1066FSB 3MB L2 Cache 64-bit [-56]
•FAN: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
•FREEBIE_RM: None
•FA_HDD: None
•FLASHMEDIA: None
•FLOPPY: None
•HDD: Single Hard Drive (750GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+16])
•HDD2: None
•IEEE_CARD: None
•KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
•MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
•MODEM: None
•MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
•MONITOR: 19' TFT Active Matrix LCD Display [+141] (Brand-Named LCD Display)
•MONITOR2: None
•MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-G41MT-ES2L Intel G41 Chipset LGA775 DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ 5.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
•MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
•NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
•OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
•PRINTER: None
•PRINTER_CABLE: None
•POWERSUPPLY: 420 Watts Standard Case Power Supply
•RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
•SOFT1: Free 60 Days Microsoft® Office® 2007 (Words, Excel, Access, Power Point, Outlook + More) - Microsoft Windows OS Required
•SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
•SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
•SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
•TEMP: None
•TVRC: None
•USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
•USBHD: None
•USBX: None
•VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
•VIDEO2: None
•VIDEO3: None
•VC_PHYSX: None
•WNC: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
•_PRICE: (+785)
•_view_: d


Option 3
•*BASE_PRICE: [+685]
•BUNDLE: None
•BLUETOOTH: None
•CD: Sony 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+2] (BLACK COLOR)
•CD2: None
•CAS: Apex Vortex 3620 Mid-Tower Gaming Case (Black Color) [-1]
•CASUPGRADE: None
•CS_FAN: Default case fans
•CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7500 CPU @ 2.93GHz 1066FSB 3MB L2 Cache 64-bit [-56]
•FAN: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
•FREEBIE_RM: None
•FA_HDD: None
•FLASHMEDIA: None
•FLOPPY: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
•HDD: Single Hard Drive (1TB (1TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+42])
•HDD2: None
•IEEE_CARD: None
•KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
•MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
•MODEM: None
•MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
•MONITOR: 19' TFT Active Matrix LCD Display [+141] (Brand-Named LCD Display)
•MONITOR2: None
•MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-G41MT-ES2L Intel G41 Chipset LGA775 DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ 5.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
•MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
•NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
•OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
•PRINTER: None
•PRINTER_CABLE: None
•POWERSUPPLY: 500 Watts Power Supplies [+22] (WIN-500XSPX APEVIA 500W JAVA Power Supply-Black)
•RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
•SOFT1: Free 60 Days Microsoft® Office® 2007 (Words, Excel, Access, Power Point, Outlook + More) - Microsoft Windows OS Required
•SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
•SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
•SPEAKERS: None [-5]
•TEMP: None
•TVRC: None
•USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
•USBHD: None
•USBX: None
•VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
•VIDEO2: None
•VIDEO3: None
•VC_PHYSX: None
•WNC: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
•_PRICE: (+840)
•_view_: d

If I bought the individual components of either of these, would I still save anything by building it myself?
-Twitchy

[Masherbrum]

Go with this if you can over your 3.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Infinity_8000_Dream/

Gamer Infinity 8000 Dream - $787.

Case: CoolerMaster Elite 310 Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Side Panel (Blue Color)
Internal USB Extension Module: None
Neon Light Upgrade: None
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
Noise Reduction Technology: None
Power Supply Upgrade: 600 Watts Power Supplies [+26] (XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply)
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8500 CPU @ 3.16GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+20]
Cooling Fan: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-G41MT-ES2L Intel G41 Chipset LGA775 DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ 5.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
Freebies: None
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 512MB 16X PCI Express [+45] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Video Card 2: None
Video Card 3: None
Dedicated PHYSX Card: None
Multiple Video Card Settings: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
LCD Monitor: None
2nd Monitor: None
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: None
Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None
USB Portable Drive: None
Optical Drive: Sony 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+2] (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: None
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Speakers: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Modem: None
Mega Notebook/Netbook/Server Bundle: None
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
Gaming Gear: None
Extra Thermal Display: None
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
External Wireless Network Card: None
Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None
Bluetooth: None
Flash Media Reader/Writer: None
Video Camera: None
Headset: None
Printer: None
Printer Cable: None
Power Protection: None
IEEE1394 Card: None
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Floppy: None
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
Office Suite: Free 60 Days Microsoft® Office® 2007 (Words, Excel, Access, Power Point, Outlook + More) - Microsoft Windows OS Required


Going this route is giving you as much CPU, GPU that you can get for under $800.   Building it yourself might save $50-$75.   But the OS might be x-factor.  

YMMV

[1701E]

For someone who understands PSU betters:

600 Watts Power Supplies [+26] (XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply)

Rail:                  3.3V   5V     +12V1   +12V2   -12V    5VSB

Max Output:       1.0A  1.0A     0.5A     0.5A      0A      0.1A

Minimum Out.:     23A   28A      17A      18A      0.6A     2.0A

Max Comb. Watt:        180W        470W 31A     7.2W    10W

Total Combined Wattage: 600Watts Max
Price $26.00


Even if those numbers are true (I don't know the formula to check) the 12V rails aren't great.
I looked around the site and personally found it to be a bit more expensive then building your own, and they use off-brand parts, like the PSU.  It's completely up to you, just throwing things out.

[4deck]

Go with this if you can over your 3.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Infinity_8000_Dream/

Gamer Infinity 8000 Dream - $787.

Case: CoolerMaster Elite 310 Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Side Panel (Blue Color)
Internal USB Extension Module: None
Neon Light Upgrade: None
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
Noise Reduction Technology: None
Power Supply Upgrade: 600 Watts Power Supplies [+26] (XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply)

Thats a pretty descent system that would get you through a few years.
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8500 CPU @ 3.16GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+20]
Cooling Fan: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-G41MT-ES2L Intel G41 Chipset LGA775 DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ 5.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
Freebies: None
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 512MB 16X PCI Express [+45] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Video Card 2: None
Video Card 3: None
Dedicated PHYSX Card: None
Multiple Video Card Settings: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
LCD Monitor: None
2nd Monitor: None
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: None
Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None
USB Portable Drive: None
Optical Drive: Sony 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+2] (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: None
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Speakers: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Modem: None
Mega Notebook/Netbook/Server Bundle: None
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
Gaming Gear: None
Extra Thermal Display: None
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
External Wireless Network Card: None
Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None
Bluetooth: None
Flash Media Reader/Writer: None
Video Camera: None
Headset: None
Printer: None
Printer Cable: None
Power Protection: None
IEEE1394 Card: None
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Floppy: None
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
Office Suite: Free 60 Days Microsoft® Office® 2007 (Words, Excel, Access, Power Point, Outlook + More) - Microsoft Windows OS Required


Going this route is giving you as much CPU, GPU that you can get for under $800.   Building it yourself might save $50-$75.   But the OS might be x-factor.  

YMMV

That would get you through a few years. And if you can you maybe able toi swap the Video card for a 9800 series to save about 40-50 bucks. 9800 will become obsolete, but excellent card, and SLI ready.

[Masherbrum]

For someone who understands PSU betters:

600 Watts Power Supplies [+26] (XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply)

Rail:                  3.3V   5V     +12V1   +12V2   -12V    5VSB

Max Output:       1.0A  1.0A     0.5A     0.5A      0A      0.1A

Minimum Out.:     23A   28A      17A      18A      0.6A     2.0A

Max Comb. Watt:        180W        470W 31A     7.2W    10W

Total Combined Wattage: 600Watts Max
Price $26.00


Even if those numbers are true (I don't know the formula to check) the 12V rails aren't great.
I looked around the site and personally found it to be a bit more expensive then building your own, and they use off-brand parts, like the PSU.  It's completely up to you, just throwing things out.

Also, the 35A (not 31) PSU can always be upgraded later.   Furthermore, having used cyberpowerpc.com before, they WILL NOT ship a PC that won't run.   I had a stick of RAM go out.   Sent it out to California on their dime and they sent it back on their dime.   I shipped it Monday and played on it Friday.  

[choker41]

Well I checked out cyberpowerpc.com and really liked what I saw.  So I figured what the heck and purchased my next computer. 

So here it is


*BASE_PRICE: [+489]
BUNDLE: None
BLUETOOTH: None
CD: LG 22X DVD+/-/+/-RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: None
CAS: Apevia X-Dreamer 3 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window & Temperature Display [+6] (Black Color with Black Ring & Blue LED Fan)
CASUPGRADE: None
CS_FAN: Default case fans
CPU: Intel(R) CoreT i3-530 2.93 GHz 4M L3 Cache LGA1156
FAN: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
FREEBIE_RM: None
FA_HDD: None
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
FLOPPY: None
HDD: Extreme Performance (RAID-0) with 2 Identical Hard Drives [+41] (500GB (250GBx2) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
HDD2: None
IEEE_CARD: None
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
MODEM: None
MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] GigaByte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 Chipset CrossFireX Support DDR3 LGA1156 Ultra DurableT3 mATX w/ Onboard Graphic, HDMI, DVI, Display Port(Digital Display Output), 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, 2 Gen2 PCIe & 2 PCI
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module [+39] (A-Data Gaming Series with Heat Spreader [+19])
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
OS: None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
POWERSUPPLY: 420 Watts Standard Case Power Supply
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: None
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express DVI-I & TVO (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
VC_PHYSX: None
WNC: None
_PRICE: (+594)