[T3Kmitch]

You can get 8500's for less than $100 on Newegg.. I'd spend around $200ish on my video card. The computer I'm on right now runs things pretty well (in BF2 once I load in it runs good, its the "Verifying Client Data" that takes forever, it actually loads the map in 45 secondsish if I remember right). This pc used to have a cheap x300se in it, all I did was buy a x800gto (back when it was still $200) and it ran everything 300% better than that x300 did. Unless you plan on having a monitor with a low resolution, I wouldn't skimp on a graphics card. When you run high resolutions the graphics card does more work, when you run low resolution the CPU takes more of the load. I'd also go dual core simply because it's a fairly cheap upgrade and they're already starting to become the "norm" in new computers.

For buying individual parts look at Newegg, there are many customer reviews for almost all of their items so you'll know the performance of it before you even buy it. I've just always been under the impression that under the _600 for nVidia is a cheaper budget card, not gaming card. (Ex: 7600 vs 7300, 8600 or 8800 vs 8500) T3Kjoe has an 8600gts I believe, if you xfire him you could see how that performs.

You can get away with little things like that for now, but when newer games start coming out you're going to have to start upgrading, which can be more costly than just spending a little bit more in the beginning.

Edit: T3Kjoe has an 8800gts nvm that part.

[=nsn=Captpat]

go to this site they have a nice breakdown of the vid cards from best all the way down then all you have to do is check prices
VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware

[Remedyz]

If you wanna get bf2 to load faster use a seperate hard drive for games and if need be a back up file. That'll cut the time down.

I'll be doing that soon... I have this hard drive in here that i haven't set up yet because it all still passworded and i have to fight with the thing for an hr or so just to clear the old system password.

[CoveNaNt]

btw, im going to upgrade my comp with these(all i need is money)
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0Ghz or 6200+ 3.2Ghz
-ASUS EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M PCI-E

[tbone]

well i think i am going to go with this one - Dell - Inspiron 4000+ Desktop - 531

[Lotsurb]

TBONE - I built this system with everything ordered from NewEgg (around $500, not including monitor)

Manufacturer: System manufacturer
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+ (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Hard Drive: Maxtor 6 B200P0 SCSI Disk Device (203.92 GB)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS (dual SLI)
Monitor: Dell D1226H
Sound Card: Speakers (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Speakers/Headphones:
Keyboard: USB Root Hub
Mouse: USB Root Hub
Mouse Surface:
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.070828-1515)

[7355608]

tbone, if that computer is meant for gaming I would advise against it.

NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) with up to 128MB shared video memory

Shared video ram, and it's a build-in graphix card.... bad news. Your choice however, but my personal opinion is not to go with on-board video. That video card is prolly only good for playing solitaire. Just don't say you weren't warned.

[Horsepower]

He could disable the onboard video and spend $200 on another card. Not something I would do, but not everyone is able to build a system like us.

You really ought to consider building your own. It's not very hard and it's a great learning experience. There's plenty of help online if you get stuck.

[tbone]

i need to read slower missed a few parts in that bestbuy add.


Will consider your guys advice and build one.

[T3Kmitch]

I agree with Horsepower and Bombcode. I would also like to add that I've found out Dell's aren't the greatest choice. I use a Dimension 8400 for my gaming simply because I don't have the money to build a new pc. Dell makes it hard to upgrade, and my 8400 is supposed to be "made" for upgrading. It's got a puny 350W psu (which can only be replaced by another Dell psu, unless you buy a converting cord because the mobo plug is different on Dells) the Mobo isn't ATX nor mATX, the case sucks for cooling, and I don't think they use very good quality Ram. I'd just say if you're going to spend the money, build something like Lotsurb built. The only reason I've been keeping my eye out for decent full PC bundles is because the monitor ends up being cheap if it comes with the PC.