Best Custom Gaming Desktop

[Abstinence Pistols]

I'm attempting to build a gaming desktop over the summer. I'd like to stay under about a thousand dollars or so, and if need be I'll sacrifice price for performance. However, I don't really have a clue about which parts are the best for it. I'd like to be able to play Skyrim, Deus Ex, TF2, and Left 4 Dead at fairly high settings with a good framerate. Does anyone know the graphics card, computer model, etc. I should get to meet my specifications?

Thanks!

 

[SlimShady]

Hi, though kinda late, you may want to go to a custom PC vendor like Alienware.
They create computers specifically for gaming.
Your specs may be similar to a dual or quad core i5 or i7 intel processor. As for the ghz, nothing less than 2.0
RAM: I would go 4+ gb
and your graphics card: anything NVIDIA

 

[Raddaya]

Get a reasonable i5, 8 GB RAM, then shell out a lot for a graphics card. That should last you quite a while.

 

[GetOutOfBox]

It's really hard to reccomend a complete build for you, but I highly advise you go for a Phenom 2 Quad Core CPU. They're really cheap, but do the job really well. Intel CPUs tend to squeeze out a little more performance in CPU-intensive tasks such as video conversion, but you pay quite a bit more for that little bit.

 

[Nutter t.KK]

I run all the games on that list, and this is by system:

Processor:
AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
Memory:
4096MB RAM (4GB)
Hard Drive:
1 TB
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT

The Video card is old, and was kept from a older pc just to keep the price down on a PC that stopped working. Chances are you'll have trouble finding one, it's near the bottom of the range when I got it, at least 3/4 years ago.

Skyrim runs not that far from the Medium settings, but it doesn't look that bad. I can run the official "HD texture Pack" but I choose not to given how much my pc has trouble loading it.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

any think with a 8gbRam and a nvidioa Geforce 9600 gt can run most old games and a few new ones it's impossible though to play dead island on it trust me worst 30 bucks i ever spent...

 

[arceusvictini]

Hi, though kinda late, you may want to go to a custom PC vendor like Alienware.
They create computers specifically for gaming.
Your specs may be similar to a dual or quad core i5 or i7 intel processor. As for the ghz, nothing less than 2.0
RAM: I would go 4+ gb
and your graphics card: anything NVIDIA

No, no, just no. Thye cost 50% more for the same performace.

Get a reasonable i5, 8 GB RAM, then shell out a lot for a graphics card. That should last you quite a while.

^This, so much this.

It's really hard to reccomend a complete build for you, but I highly advise you go for a Phenom 2 Quad Core CPU. They're really cheap, but do the job really well. Intel CPUs tend to squeeze out a little more performance in CPU-intensive tasks such as video conversion, but you pay quite a bit more for that little bit.

No. Intel CPUs are currently all round better for gaming.

I run all the games on that list, and this is by system:



The Video card is old, and was kept from a older pc just to keep the price down on a PC that stopped working. Chances are you'll have trouble finding one, it's near the bottom of the range when I got it, at least 3/4 years ago.

Skyrim runs not that far from the Medium settings, but it doesn't look that bad. I can run the official "HD texture Pack" but I choose not to given how much my pc has trouble loading it.

You can get more out of $1000 today.

any think with a 8gbRam and a nvidioa Geforce 9600 gt can run most old games and a few new ones it's impossible though to play dead island on it trust me worst 30 bucks i ever spent...

Currently true.

Here's my reccomended build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($205.74 @ Mwave)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ Amazon)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force Series GT 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony DDU1681S-0B DVD/CD Drive ($17.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1220.66
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-31 16:48 EDT-0400)

AND

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=71143&vpn=BFC-PRO-300-KKSK-RP&manufacture=BitFenix

will make a VEY nice computer for 2~3 years!

 

[Rainion]

He said under 1000, though, so replace the 670 with a 570 and the cpu cooler with a Hyper 212 plus.