need a computer for under $1k

So I'm going to college next year, and I 'm going to need a new computer. My parents are giving me $1k for everything, and I'd like to know what my best options are. I'll be using it to play games, program, and word process. I'd like it to be fairly easy and inexpensive to keep up to date for the next 4 years, and I don't mind building my own computer if I could save a decent amount of money.
Thanx

you don't just save a decent amount of money building your own PC, you save HUGE amounts.

Does this said PC need to include a monitor, keyboard, mouse? It doesn't need to include an operating system, as you can buy that your your university for a significant discount. Answer those questions, and I can set you up.

Build your own, and you will save a lot. If need be, you can pick up an OEM Operating System for much cheaper than a retail box.

don't need a keyboard or mouse, may need a monitor though

I would go to New Egg, it is the best place to buy any computer equipment IMO. If you want something already built and as a package start here New Egg Desktops

Or if you would like to buy each piece and put it together yourself (which is what I would recommend) start here New Egg Click on Computer Hardware and pick all the parts from there.

Good Luck,

Krat

If you can build your own, it shouldn't cost much to put one together. Go down to your local computer store, just buy the parts. DO NOT HAVE GEEK SQUAD HELP. Those quacks charge $900 to format a <insert expletive starting with F> computer.

For you to suggest buying PC parts from Worst Buy is blasphemy... they have 1000% markups on their CABLES for god's sake.... I used to work there a long time ago. Do not, under any circumstance, ever shop there. The only thing Best Buy has for cheap is on their private employee auction system which I have access to.

Metroid, it will not be easy to get a decent monitor on that 1000 dollar budget. My advice is to build the system for 1000 dollars, and then worry about the monitor with money you save up over the summer or something to that effect.

Here are my part suggestions:

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103252
May not have the performance crown right now, but certainly has the price crown. This will outperform an Intel processor of equivalent price, and allows you to get a cheaper motherboard/graphics card combination to maintain your budget.

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136044
Has rave reviews, cheaper then nVidia Intel counterparts. Great choice.

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103050
Great price, amazing performance for the price. Two of these in Crossfire = great! You can always buy a 2nd one down the road and upgrade it to Crossfire.

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144184
(cool looking in my opinion, cheap, well made, and BIG with plenty of room for stuff to breath, can't beat it. If you don't like it, pick something in the same price range, but make sure it is ATX Full Tower, you will be sorry if you go with a midtower)

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
Great powersupply for this build, great output, Crossfire supported, lots of connections, room to upgrade for the future provided you don't go overboard.

Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129020
Reliable, quiet, and CHEAP. Can't beat it. You only need one drive, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262
Keyword... CHEAP. Lot's of storage space, single platter, quiet, cheap, reliable.

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146565
Because of you budget, go with 2GBs (aka one order of this) This RAM is reliable, easy to deal with, and CHEAP! I only use crucial these days, because it is so rock solid and amazing compared to everyone else.

Total price with shipping included..... drum roll please!
Grand Total: $955.67

This PC will play Crysis on medium to high settings, it will easily play GW2 when it comes out, and has lots of room for upgrades down the road. Can't beat that!

A case that is good doesn't have to be expensive.

Some examples: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

Or, if you're crazy about Airflow: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119152

Don't have to spend a lot of cash to have a nice effective case. It's also preference, and I recommend against ATI unless you surely want to deal with problems, Nvidia has a cheap lineup of nice cards now too atm.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130082

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

Don't see the point in going with a Tri-Core either, if you're going to step over a Dual Core, just go Quad.

And if you go with an Intel Chipset, you can get an E8400, decent dual core imo. Or even a decent quad core - if you save money on the case *looks up* you can afford to get a different processor, and a Motherboard of the same price.

But hey.. whatever works just think long and decide throughly about your decisions, and do research and read reviews on parts.

Also, sorry Rahja, but I disagree with your statements about Midtower, I can pack a tank into my Midtower Lian Li PC-7B Plus II which Is 80$ atm. It works wonders, and by all means IS enough space, the only reason you might become cramped is if you use SLI, but even then. I could fit a nice SLI config into my case.

In all honesty, you don't have to spend near 1000$ for an awesome rig. I can probably dig up a really nice setup. I'm not saying that what Rahja stated isn't any good, he's posted some system suggestions that I've favored (but that's just me, I'm a minority), but yeah. I'll try and dig up some stuff, I didn't spend near 1000$ building my rig and it can take on just about anything just fine.

Well, the case is what you see, and I think having a great looking case is pretty important.

And yes, midtowers may "have room", but you lose valuable airflow using them. Full towers have plenty of room, have the ability to be upgraded, and then have tons of room for air flow without heat buildup.

Why an AMD? Why a Tri Core? Price, price, price. It isn't just the CPU that is cheap, but the motherboard and graphics card. If you want a cheap gaming system, you go pure AMD. That is a fact. And no, AMD has no issues, and ATi cards are performing very well atm. It is unfair to say AMD is not competitive. They may not have the edge on performance, but they do still make a good product that performs well. This bias that people have started to develop against them has got to stop. There is no substantial proof from any creditable site that AMD is not competitive.

And I can tell you, considering my position with nvidia, that the 3870 is a competitive card, especially with the cards you posted.

I disagree. Before giving Nvidia a chance again, i used Ati cards for almost 5 years with little to no problems. In only 5 months of owning an nvidia card again(since my last, the geforce2) i've seen more problems and annoyances than most of the time on Ati cards. Also, One area where ATI clearly wins over nvidia is on the driver front. Ati actually releases non-beta's more than once every 6 months.

However, if we must sadly turn our backs on AMD entirely, then here are some Intel/nVidia alternatives. nVidia graphics chips are far more power hungry, so you might think about upping the power supply.

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115038
Fast, power efficient, great performer, and CHEAP.

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318
Guaranteed to please, great performer, great price.

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188026
Considering my position at nVidia, I am biased. So sue me. I won't use Intel chipsets in any build... I know what I design is good, I use what I design. Thanks.

Oh, I am under NDA regarding this rumored G200 business. But, you can always bet on nVidia for innovation in graphics card design and ability. Whenever our next product launches, know that you will always have the option to upgrade at that time.

I have an AMD setup right now, it works fine.

But I am biased towards Nvidia purely, never liked ATI, had too many friends who had problems with them to trust ATI.

Well, as I stated above, my bias toward nVidia comes with employment. But... AMD is a very innovative company, and they make a great product that keeps me employed trying to compete.

Profession: nVidia Project - wow, what exactly is it you do, Rajah?

I am not at liberty to say. I work on various projects in designed fabrication processes for GPUs, but that might already be saying too much. Hope I didn't just breach NDA, I never really bothered to read the whole thing. I think I am safe.

Think of it this way. The move to different fab processes is my main work. The G92 move was facilitated by what I do.
Speaking of my profile, I just looked at it... my bday is 86, not 87... grr.....

Hehe - big mistake. That's like being at a cocktail party and mentioning that you're a doctor

Man, I must be a geek. Realising I've been conversing with an nVidia guru made me feel almost like I'd just met Jimmy Page!

[edit] Don't worry about it - my birthday's 63

LOL! Well, I am not a programmer. Yes, I know ASM like I know english, but drivers that does not make by itself. Plus, I am not a software engineer.

I can answer questions regarding the actual silicon on released products, but troubleshooting OS issues isn't my thing (I can always tap the corporate directories, but your manufacturer also has access to that)

My field of expertise focuses more on nano electrical physics, not CAE like a lot of hardware engineers. Think of it this way, in a car analogy... I design the pistol chambers and block of the engine, they design everything else around it.

I am the one who works out design processes on processor fabs. (I looked up the bullet points of my NDA, I am allowed to say more then I thought)

Wow, thanks for all of the information! I'm not sure on Intel v AMD, but I'll prolly go with the Nvidia card as others have recommended that one as well.

Anybody know if this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131232
would be a good motherboard?
Want to save money so I can have a bit more RAM :3

Looks like a solid board, and I've heard good things about Asus on top of that.

But as you know, it is an Intel platform, so you will have to go with an Intel Processor if you do buy that. Just remember to read reviews.

Some iffy customer reviews there...

yeah, I'm probably going to go with the AMD CPU + motherboard Rahja suggested. Any suggestions for a sound card, or will I really need one?

I'd rather get a 90$ e2180 and overclock to something ridiculous with a 90$ ga-p35-ds3l and then outperform the shitty, non overclockable tri cores. Plus, 9600gt's are cheaper than 3870's by 10-15$, and perform identical.

Yeah, I was reading the reviews and that turned me off.

AMD works just fine for me, I'm quite happy with my Athlon 6000+ 3.0Ghz, wasn't that much money either. Scores a 5.4 on Vista, not like that means much to me though (Max is 5.9).

I'm thinking of going Intel on my next build to see how they work out for me, though that does sort of depend on where AMD goes in the next year or so, if they go into a direction I like, then I think I might just stick with AMD - I trust them.

No soundcard - totally unnecessary with the quality of onboard sound nowadays.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the sound card thing. I agree with the above, I use onboard sound, and it's lovely. I don't see why people are spending 50$ or something crazy for a sound card to take up a PCI slot when you have onboard sound there for you.

My onboard sound is wonky at the moment (because of the drivers) but soon that will be fixed and sorted.

I guess the only reason I see a high quality sound card being fit, is for professional media center PC's, but even then..?

most ppl dun care bout sound

that, plus who actually buys high-quality music anymore?
if u listen to mp3s or youtube, upgrading ur soundcard wont make much of a difference

gettin a nice speaker system instead will be more worthwhile

(but for teh audiophiles out there, it -does- make a difference)

Non-overclockable? Reviews i've seen don't say that they're "unoverclockable". Sure, they may not do 4ghz like some intel pieces. But that doesn't mean they're not overclockable at all.

Have they really improved that much? Last time i used onboard audio, which was in the Athlon XP days, they were always terrible. Audio quality noticeably below that of my add-on card and would always get static-y and distorted if i turned the volume past 50%. Have problems like that been fixed?

Never had such problems, I never get static and etc, my onboard works just as it should.

And if you buy an upper scale motherboard, it is most likely to have better onboard sound than maybe say some lower end ones, mine is considered a low end motherboard, but the sound is great on it, so I don't know.

Some questions first.
1. How familiar are you with PC hardware and installation? While I recommend to all to build their own PC's some people simple wont. Too scared or unsure of their abilities or don't take proper precautions. Things like holding the case with one hand when inserting items to ground yourself if you don't have an annoying grounding strap to wear...which btw I never use...even though I have plenty..

2. Level of experience in configuring/altering setting. In other words, overclocking/tweaking experience. Do you leave everything stock and rely on PlugnPlay compatibility or can you clean up a driver installation and feel comfortable with 3rd party software or registry alterations.

AMD is still alive and kicking for CPUs but the newer Intel processors are just a hair bit faster. IMO it's a wash and you should decide by price mostly.
Rajah linked to a DFI mobo. I personally love DFI...but they are not necessarily for the plug and play crowd. DFI boards have more bios level options than any other anywhere. They are truely the king of the enthusiast motherboards. If you are planning to overclock then they get 2 thumbs way up. If you aren't you may want to look for a lower priced comparable board. I don't recommend SLi to very many people as the price/performance ratio is just not optimal imo. SLi does not double your FPS for buying 2 cards. It does shine at very high resolutions though much like having higher memory on the card does, however you pay for that in either case.
The Radeon 3870 is a great card. With the exception of my x1950pro agp ATi card I have never had any serious issues and their driver support is top notch.
If you do choose SLi/Crossfire than the PSU he shows is fine. If you choose to go with a single GPU solution you can probably get away with about 600 Watts if it is a quality PSU. I like Fortrons, Silverstones, and PCPower and Cooling myself but just avoid HiPro and Thermaltake and you should do fine.
Not to knock Crucial but their present products are using single sided modules. These do not overclock very well and some have had problems. They are focusing on DDR3 now though much like ANet is focusing on GW2 so this was a cheaper option for them to keep producing DD2 modules. If you run only stock settings though they are fine as is. Memory is rather cheap right now so feel free to shop around if you don't plan on OC'ing.
I know I didn't give you any direct links like Rajah did but I really urge that people do their own research. I will gladly offer pointers and advice but your system should be your system. There will always be someone to say what you chose is wrong for some reason and if you don't research before hand it often leaves regret/anger feelings for making perceived mistakes.

I wholeheartedly agree that current on board sound is quite adequate for most users. I used it even back on my nF2 boards, but they were DFI and had very good sound in comparison to the standard craptastic nF2 mobo's imo.
To blackhearted, yes (imo)current mobo's have very good sound, especially if your last experience was standard nF2 mobos. Many have SPDIF coaxial and optical outputs right on the motherboards
GL

so right now I have down:
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136044
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103252
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211188
Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129020
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262
and am totally open to any more suggestions.

I personally don't have much experience building computers, but I'll have my cousin, who repairs computers and has helped me upgrade my current computer, help me assemble it and get it running.

You're probably going to get suggestions against the A-Data RAM, but I'll let the guys rip at you for that one. My brother uses it though, seems solid.

Over all, that looks like a good system, I like the motherboard. And you can always buy more hard drives for space if necessary later, 250gb is a nice amount though.

You and your cousin should be fine building the PC, it's not rocket science, and for any thing you don't know, you can look up on the websites or forums, or even come here.

Hmm, by the reviews of that ram it seems the majority has no problems, shoot for it? I'm not fond of A-Data, but I thought they were one of the ''Off-Brands'', at least to my RAM knowledge - I might be thinking of the wrong brand though.

Though one review did make me chuckle: ''It's pink, in case your computer's masculinity is easily threatened.''

Hell, if you really want a long read about memory though, read Rahja's Ultimate Guide to memory: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10288946

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 FX-60 (2.6GHz, Socket 939) ~400 USD
Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce 4 Chipset) ~72 USD
GPU: XFX 8800 GT ~149 USD (after MIR)
PSU: Corsair HX620 ~135 USD
RAM: Corsair XMS PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6 (Part: CMX1024-3200C2PT) ~70 USD
HDD: Seagate 320GB 7200.11 (Part: ST3320613AS) ~70 USD
Case: Antec P182 ~140 USD (after MIR)

Total: 1036 USD
If you don't have that extra cushion, then drop the case for a cheaper one.

We all want this machine, I built something similar ~3 years ago. It still runs today, faster than most AM2's.

From the bits you've selected there, Super, the mobo, cpu, gpu, psu, dvd and hdd come to $745 before whatever that odd mail-in rebate doohicky.

I say up your RAM to something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148180 for $130 making a total of $875. That leaves a massive $125 to spend on a case

(Like this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133021 - but you don't really need to bling a <$1000 system...)

Was that a history lesson, Ad? The only socket 939s on newegg are budget crap. That FX-60 was an almighty processor at the time - my son's getting a hand-me-down system with one of them in it in a couple of weeks

Well, I'm probably going to get Vista OEM for $100, and for a case I'm looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119152
don't really want to spend that much on RAM, this RAM appears to be a better deal than the A-Data RAM, should I go with that instead?

A-Data should be fine, tbh. I've used it in a couple builds before and it's never shown me any problems.

If you shop around, I'm sure you can get the FX-60 from somewhere. It's still a godly processor.

I'd kill for an FX-60. (I'm only running on the FX-60's younger brother, the Opty 185>_>)

Hmm, 5-5-5-15 and 5-5-5-18 for your 2 choices. That's where the price difference is - the Crucial I posted is 4-4-4-12.

I'm not an expert on RAM - see Admael and Rajah for that. I just know manufacturers - Kingston, Crucial, OCZ, Corsair, Patriot - the usual suspects. I've personally never heard of A-Data and G.Skill.

[edit] On the subject of G.Skill, who in their right mind would buy this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231182 Someone lacking in slots, maybe? oO

G.Skill makes godly RAM which rivals the almighty Micron!

A-Data always risks stability for innovation. You'll always find them with the newest fastest RAM/high capacity flash drives and media cards.

They're good while they last, and their support is lacking.

When price is no object, always insist on Micron or G.Skill.

Ah. Another post, another notch in my knowledge. I edit too much - by the time I finish, my whole point is made pointless by the reply

[edit] I feel better now, after some investigation. Micron makes 'em, and Crucial sells 'em - so my Ballistix are Micron, right?