Getting a gaming rig. Buy or Build?

[jkimball]

IllegalPaladin said:

Here's something to start with. I just sort of pulled out products with good reviews and such so I'm sure you or others can find other stuff that'll work as well. So consider this more of a starting point of researching prices.

Things like keyboard, mouse, and speakers aren't included as that all depends on what you want and/or have. For example, I use a Logitech G5 that I've had for a while, a 7 year old keyboard, and a used set of Logitech 5.1 speakers that I got for half the retail price at the time. Heck, I've also been using my DVD burner and DVD-Rom for years as well. Might want to include some thermal compound in there as well.

I'm going to try to copy and paste of the products I put into Newegg's cart. Taken from US Newegg site.

1	LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH24NS50 - OEM Item #: N82E16827136177Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$24.99
1	Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811129043Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy	-$40.00 Instant	$199.99$159.99
1	SAMSUNG EcoGreen F2 HD154UI 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Item #: N82E16822152175Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$109.99
1	XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail Item #: N82E16814150442Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy		$299.99
1	CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail Item #: N82E16817139006Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$20.00 Instant $20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card17-139-006	$139.99$119.99
1	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail Item #: N82E16820231193Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		$104.99
1	GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813128412Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$5.00 Instant	$139.99$134.99
1	Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail Item #: N82E16819115214Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$289.99$279.99
1	Intel Gift - INTEL LYNNFIELD KIT - OEM Item #: N82E16800995081Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy	-$39.99 Saving	$39.99$0.00
1	Item #: N82E16835233029Return Policy: Standard Return PolicyXIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail		$44.96

$1,279.88 not counting shipping of course.

1	LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH24NS50 - OEM Item #: N82E16827136177Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$24.99
1	Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811129043Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy	-$40.00 Instant	$199.99$159.99
1	SAMSUNG EcoGreen F2 HD154UI 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Item #: N82E16822152175Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$109.99
1	XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail Item #: N82E16814150442Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy		$299.99
1	CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail Item #: N82E16817139006Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$20.00 Instant $20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card17-139-006	$139.99$119.99
2	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail Item #: N82E16820231193Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		$209.98($104.99 each)
1	GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813128412Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$5.00 Instant	$139.99$134.99
1	Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail Item #: N82E16819115214Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$289.99$279.99
1	Intel Gift - INTEL LYNNFIELD KIT - OEM Item #: N82E16800995081Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy	-$39.99 Saving	$39.99$0.00
1	XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail Item #: N82E16835233029Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$44.96

This is eesnetially the same as the $1500 system he linked to, but the $1500 includes keyboard and mouse,  an extra 4G of RAM and windows 7. The OP has a laptop so he'll need keyboard/mouse.

1279+50 (key.mouse) 104 (extra 4G) = 1433  +win7 (Free from school else $100)= ~1533.  Not much in savings here.

Plus this has tech support and an ooverall (not just individual components) warranty.  iBuyPower is a pretty good brand -I've bought them for friends before.

I would not recommend building  new PC from mail order parts if it's your first time. If you live near a TigerDirect or a Fry's go there and buy the parts there. The sales guy will make sure evrything is compatible, at the very least yuu can read the boxes, talk to other customers, etc.

My main PC died on Firday. It was 5+ years old. (P4 2.8/2G)  I drove to a nearby tiger direct and for <500 had a brand new PC (MB, CPU, RAM, HDD) up and running in a few hours. But I have done that many many times...