Hi Gang! It's been awhile and I hope this transmission finds you all in good health and spirits!

Now for the deed at hand:
I just spied a thread dealing with reasons NOT to buy anything from Dell. The very topic was discussed today at work. I realized that buying anything so blatantly proprietary was a bad idea in this case, which leads me to wanting to build a gaming PC for my son, Chev Junior, for Christmas. He purchased Command & Conquer:Generals back when it first came out. Unfortunately, he can't play it on anything except my boss's Dell, not even my brand new Sony laptop (which is a virtual POS! That's in itself a need for a bitchlist thread. Anywho the system requirements for Generals is:

256 Mb ram
1.8 Gig HD
32 Mb agp Video card
8x CD or DVD drive

Now, I realize that within the coming years, we will be faced with increasing requirements, so I want to get a jump on this and build something that exceeds this by a bit.
HELP!
Any ideas as to what I should use to put together a worthy system?
I've been browsing TigerDirect and PcDirect for components and can tell you that I'd like to start with this case
I'd greatly appreciate any and all input.
Thanks and happy trails to ya:)

Depends on how much loot you're willing to lavish on it. A gaming machine is going to perform better with all top-notch components, so there's no point getting the latest Pentium 4 and an MX graphics card - a great gfx card and a slightly slower processor would be better use of your cash. Start with a quality motherboard :)

I can't really say what the best components are, because what's the best seems to change every day.

If you don't want to to build it, www.alienware.com makes nice gaming PCs.. but they will make a nice dent in your pocket.

yeah, if you configure a lower level alienware it should meet your needs pretty well. I personally went with the highend alienware, but that's just me.
[edit]
http://www.alienware.com/Configurato...KU-PERFORMANCE

This should do well for your needs. Just modify it as you see fit.[/edit]

Good God Man!
Mikey keeps showing me adds for Alienware goodies.
I'm still way too young to get a heart attack. Told him to think outside the cube.
They are sweet PC's and damned cool looking:up:

That case is an excellent choice, plenty of room, lots of drive bays, good cooling (if you want to add extra fans), and they're a pleasure to work on. Throw in a quality (antec, enermax, topower etc) 400+ watt psu and you'll be able to run just about anything in it.

I'd suggest something like this if bang for your buck is what you're after.

XP2600+
Abit NF7-s rev2.0
512mb Corsair XMS3200
Geforce4 ti4200
Maxtor/Seagate sata hd (whatever size suits your budget, sata will leave more ide channels free for future upgrades)
Lite-on 52x24x52 cdrw
Lite-on 16x dvd

Monitor, mouse and keyboard choice is more a personal thing, so i wont reccomend a certain brand & model. My advice is to go to a store and check them out for yourself (especially if you're ordering online).

You should be able to add a 19" flat crt, an optical mouse and keyboard, and keep the total under US$1000.

As for alienware...let's just say they're overpriced in my opinion.

Motherboard: MSI nForce2 SPP-T

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2500+

Graphics card: ATI Radeon 9600 pro or nVidia GeForce FX 5600

Graphics card cheaper solution: Radeon 9200 or FX 5200

RAM: 2X256 DDR PC2700 (get Corsair, GIEL, Kingston or OCG. Do NOT look for a bargain when buying RAM or it will suck)

Soundcard: The one integrated into the Motherboard should be more than adequate, as long as you get an nForce2 with -T on the end.:)

The Abit NF7-s/EPoX 8RDA/3+ both have soundstorm (MCP-T), and neither have a t on the end ;).

Alienware is unbelievable. Pricey but built for the gamint enthusiast. Tempted to apply for their cool looking Alienware credit card. This Area 51 Performance looks like a good start. Finance 1500 of it? It's a possibility but cost is a serious consideration. Leading me to wanting to build one. I like Atmo's mention of under 1,000, considering I'm reduxing the Camino as well as buying a new quad and a used imported ride for the kid's upcoming driving priviledges:(

Chev, I wish I was your son.. My parents wouldn't ever consider buying me a new computer, much less building me a badass one.

Dude, you have to understand something here.
My son and I are VERY close. His mom hasn't been there for him for basically his whole life. In all of humanity, mothers ALWAYS cherish their offspring. This one's different. I'd do anything to ensure my son grows up in the best conditions I can muster even though he has no mother. I made a deal with him this year that if he gets good, no not good but great grades this year he would be greatly rewarded. Fortunately, his bank account is already swelling due to the fact that he has been so positive and his teachers are already talking great things. I know I'm rambling but if there's anything I can succeed at in life it's the upbringing of this young man.
SO, back to gaming, which seems to be his favorite thing in life. In fact I get an ass whooping on a daily basis, usually in Ghost Recon, which I freakin rule!;)

I was really close with my dad - probably because he worked a lot, so the time I spent with him was pretty sacred.

Introduce your son here. Best gift a dad could give!

HaHa, funny you mention it.
With all the time and energy I used to spend here, he BEGGED me to get a username here. I used to deny him the request because of all the idiocy I saw here from kids his age. Now? Willingly.
He's got great charisma and maturity to keep me from looking like a jackass though I do that very well myself, wouldn't you say?;)

Anyway, back to the ideal build for his PC.

If you don't want to put it together yourself, http://www.cyberpowerinc.com does some good work. And you can get almost the exact config Atmo suggested. But if you go ahead and buy your parts online deffinately check out newegg.com They have some good deals a lot of the time and great customer support.

Thanks Dad!

whoa!!! thats your son chev?!?! COOL!!!
hi chev,,,how ya been....
hi umm. wyvern, welcome!

Yeah, his son has posted a couple of times.

It would be weird to have someone else that I knew personally posting in here. weirdness

yes...that would be weird....especially if it was like my brother or something....

Does Wyvern know about his father's large fan club yet? :p

just make sure that you get an ATI Radeon videocard. if youre son is serious about gaming, he's gonna be all over HL2 like flies on shit when it comes out.

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTE5

what atmo said is good, but personally, i'd go with a p4 and and a ATI card, and at least a 60 gig HD.

has he seen his fathers thong thread? :D :p

You know, you should look into computer stores. There is this store by my house, and it goes like so:

You order the parts through them, they charge 30 bucks to put it together and make sure its all working well. Also, (and this, in my book, is a BIG bonus), you can buy the Operating System at OEM prices (Read: 130 instead of 200), so that would save you alot.

Now, i built my last PC, and i went back recently to look at prices for htem to build one, and buying the parts through them was basically the same price as ordering them online (plus i dont have to worry about dead parts).

Ok. Now, like that one guy said, if your sons into gaming hes going to be into half-life 2 (especially if hes into Ghost Recon). Its kind of like the game that keeps on giving, as people can modify the game, making it like an entirely new game. Basically, you buy one game you get many more. Well, sort of. Just go read about it :)


Soo...i would ALSO like to recommend the ATI 9600 Pro, it seems to be best bang for your buck right now.

Wow, that could have been shorter...sorry :)