I think it's time....

[byrnie]

My trusty ASUS laptop has served me well these four years but I think she is officially on her last leg. The power cord won't connect with the computer, as the port got jammed in and the plug can't reach it. Gonna tear it open and see if I can't push it back out and figure out how to keep it in place.

However, that is not the issue here. I am officially asking advice for upgrading to a newer PC. I know there are a ton of people here who can help me out, so any and all suggestions are welcome. I want to spend under 1300 so I know a laptop isn't the greatest move. Have at it with the advice

[TE | Hypo]

do you have a monitor yet?  cuz that is an expense that comes if you went from straight laptop to PC...

[Hitman Smurf]

Processor: Anything duo core and above, Intel not AMD. Remember, very little software supports the quad core. At least 2.4 Ghz 3.0 is better.

Video: Nvidia for sure, 8800 GT if you can afford it or the new 9 series which are also pretty good...avoid ATI like the plague

RAM:  2 GB minimum unless you run Vista then you had better have 4. OCZ and Corsair are good brands.

HDD: As big as you can afford, I recommend Western Digital.

Monitor: At least 19" 1000:1 contrast ratio 5 ms access time. This is the low end.

PSU: At least 650 watt, unless you want to run SLI, then you may need more.

MB: I like EVGA (for video cards as well), but as long as you get the 680i chipset your OK. You can get the 780i if you have money to burn but it's not necessary.

Case: A matter of personal preference, but the Antec 900 and 1200 are awesome cooling machines.

Mouse: Again, a matter of personal preference, but I like the Logitech G5 (an upgrade from the MX518).

If you have any other questions let me know.

Smurf

[snyper133]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220308

My baby!

[MR|337]

I did this sli build for Captain 24 last month. He had $800+/- in it. Later on he added more ram, but the entry price will give you money to add that and a monitor. All can be found on tigerdirect. It runs killer too!

Intel C2Q 6700 2.66 w Thermaltake typhoon
XFX 680i
2 gigs of OCZ 800 mhz ddr2
2 x EVGA 9600 GT 512 superclocked sli
320 gig sata hd
sony dvd-rw
Ultra case
800 watt psu (cant remember the name)
Vista Ultimate 64

Forget about the os cost - we can help...

[byrnie]

Thanks for all the help, I'm looking into everything this week I think. My laptop is pretty shot, have to send it in to ASUS and see if they can fix it, but the estimate was something like 300, which seems stupid for fixing a four year old machine.

[TE | Hypo]

i can't beleive you play GG on a laptop man...  sheeesh.

[MDK22]

I will have a build up by tonight.

[Elite_Prophet]

i play it all on a laptop, just think of how good id be without it

[MDK22]

If you are going laptop go with Snypers he has incredible frames. If you want desktop like I said earlier my build will be up.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8159212&WishListTitle=byrnie

[Hitman Smurf]

MDK's build is pretty good, although I'd avoid ASI altogether and get a MB from EVGA, and use all the voodoo magic you can to avoid a hard drive from Seagate. OCZ is an excellent choice for the RAM (I prefer the Reaper series.)

[TE | Hypo]

i play it all on a laptop, just think of how good id be without it

[MR|337]

MDK's build is pretty good, although I'd avoid ASI altogether and get a MB from EVGA, and use all the voodoo magic you can to avoid a hard drive from Seagate. OCZ is an excellent choice for the RAM (I prefer the Reaper series.)

Really the psu included with the case would take care of everything except the vid card, and it may do it too. However, a simple solution which I have used to run dual 8800 GT 512 sli with is a dedicated psu which fits in one of the un-used 5 1/4 bays. The cost is way less than half of the PCP&C unit (noobinhoods new one failed recently) So it would save well over $100 on the build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153069

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