One System To Rule Them All

[LK]

So there'll be a slew of good PC games coming out that I don't think my system will be able to play effectively.  That, and my current system is about five years old, is hacked together from various parts, and has been running an illegal copy of Windows XP for that entire time.  Hard drive's be fillin' up, system performance be illin' up...

So, I'm thinking upgrade.

I used to build my own PCs, grab the parts I needed, etc, but I'm really not interested in that anymore.  I want a powerhouse system designed for gaming.  Alienware is the one that initially came to mind, but then I started looking at the options available, and whew, it's very easy to walk out of there with a $7k system.  Not exactly my budget.

So I'm looking for recommendations on where to get a good pre-built system that'll last a good while and maybe get 60fps out of today's games at 1600x1200 or 1920xwhatever that can run Widescreen.  I'm probably not going to see that with the $2k - $3k budget I've set for myself.  If there is a must-have option though I'm willing to pay extra for that.

Games I'm hoping it'll tame:
Quake Wars
Crysis
Hellgate: London

[Trippy]

Do you need a new monitor?

[LK]

Yeah, I think I do.  The one I got definitely can't do 1920, and doesn't support Widescreen, though it is not a 4:3 monitor, maybe 5:3.  I'm not at home so I can't check it.

[Trippy]

You can get a Dell XPS 410 with a 24" monitor for around $2300. The one problem with it is they don't sell a 8800 GTS with that model so you'll need to get that separately (and basically toss out the default card that's in there). They do sell the 8800 GTX but that's really pricey.

Edit: sell not see

[LK]

Edit: Yeah, the Dell XPS stuff is looking pretty good (and is being recommended to me), so I'll be going with that.  I also got some friends that will help me build it.  That'll work.

[lesion]

GTS is the cheaper variant. there's a nebulous, generalized 20% performance increase with the GTX. if your budget permits it'd be pretty tasty.

[schild]

At the price point, you can probably do 2 8600GTS cards and get as good performance.

Though, maybe not. Never looked at benchmarks comparing them. I love my 8600 though.

Edit: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/24/hd_2600_and_geforce_8600/page4.html

I run at 1680x1050. At 1900+ you might want the 8800, ya.

[LK]

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6750  + Motherboard
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
4GB Ram
1 TB Hard Drive Space
768MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX
24 inch Widescreen Digital Flat Panel

^^^ - Final Specs, at least the ones that matter.  We're adding sound dampening and system cooling (I have no AC where this thing is kept, and in summer it gets ball-sweatingly hot).

[Big Gulp]

(I have no AC where this thing is kept, and in summer it gets ball-sweatingly hot).

My suggestion?  Fuck the computer, and get an air conditioner.

Priorities, man.

[LK]

The computer was the cheaper option.  To get AC would require moving, which involves more hassle, monthly payments, and uncertainty than I want to invest right now.

I can tolerate any heat problems, which isn't everyday of summer.  This year wasn't bad, it was only in early September / Late August that we had a heat wave.  Last summer I think was worst but I'll probably forget by next summer.

It all came out to about $2700, not too shabby.

[Big Gulp]

The computer was the cheaper option.  To get AC would require moving, which involves more hassle, monthly payments, and uncertainty than I want to invest right now.

That's all it would cost you?  Money?

Shit, I'd walk over my own mother to make sure I can live in air conditioning.