The Rig, Newbies and wanna be computer builders look here

[Bodzilla]

Well seeing as we have a thread pop up daily for different price range computers people want to buy i was thinking we could make a 1 stop shop for a basis of computers at different price ranges.
Heres the set out, so simply copy this, place in the parts names, link to parts and price mark and i'll edit the post.

GPU:
CPU:
Ram:
Motherboard:
Power supply:
Case:
Sound:
Primary Hard drive:
Secondary Hard drive:
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive:
mouse:
keyboard:
Monitor:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rigs

The cheapest: $0-$700

GPU: MSI Geforce 9800GT Overclocked 119.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127381)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0ghz Windsor 2mb L2 Cache 92.00 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103233)
Ram: 2x1GB Super Talent DDR2-800 O/c Ram 27.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609027)
Motherboard: Biostar Tforce TF720 AM2+/AM2 Mobo 69.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138117&Tpk=tf720)
Power supply: OCZ StealthXStream 600 Watt PSU 79.99 - $25 MIR= 54.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010)
Case: Rosewill Mid Tower Case 24.99
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147109) Sound: Integrated On Motherboard $0
Primary Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500gb SATA 7200RPM 32mb Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288) 69.99
Secondary Hard drive: Meh
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: Lite-On DVD/Cd Burner/Reader Combo Drive SATA 23.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263)
mouse: Rosewill RM-1600L Black 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB 1600 dpi Laser Mouse 14.99 -$10.00 MIR = 4.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826193039)
keyboard: Logitech 967738-0403 Black USB Standard Deluxe 250 Keyboard 8.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126013)
Monitor: Acer X193Wb Black 19" 5ms Widescreen 129.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009151)

Your Grand Total is: $627.81! Isn't that a great deal or what!

a good cheap upgrade that will allow you to most games, decently.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mid range $700 - $1200


GPU:
CPU:
Ram:
Motherboard:
Power supply:
Case:
Sound:
Primary Hard drive:
Secondary Hard drive:
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive:
mouse:
keyboard:
Monitor:

Best Bang for your buck, a really reliable and strong machine that should handle everything thrown at it. a Good deal that will keep you out trouble and keep you gaming long into the night.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Gamer $1200-$1600

GPU: Sapphire ATi Radeon HD 4850512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102775) $159.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036) $189.99
RAM:G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098) $36.99
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297) $189.99
Power supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001) $99.99
Case: Apevia X-Jupiter (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144197) $79.99
Sound: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102017) $59.99
Primary Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) $74.99
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) $74.99
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173) $26.99
Mouse: Microsoft Habu Gaming Mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105016) $56.99
Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse II (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175001) $49.99
Monitor: SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen w/HDCP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268) $259.99

Total without American taxes or whatever it happens to be: $1360.87

Will mow down anything faced in it's path, a fucking powerful rig capable of doing everything and doing it well, for the hardcore gamers that arnt afraid to shell out the green stuff to ensure they splatter someone else's red stuff.
Headshot.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ultimate rig: $1600 - and up


GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365) x 3 in SLI (Prefered brand)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3.0GHz Quad-Core w/ 2x6MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115034)
Ram: Corsair 4GB XMS3-1600 DHX PC3-12800 TWIN3X SLI-Ready Dual Channel DDR3 Kit (2 x 2GB) x 2 = 8GB
Motherboard: Asus Striker II Extreme (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131274)
Power supply: OCZ EliteXStream 100 Watt (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341014)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138)
Sound: Dunno, fill it in.
Primary Hard drive: OCZ SATA II 2.5in Solid State Drive, 64GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227295) - OS
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM SATAII w/ 16MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260) in RAID 0 - Games/Disk Images
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM SATAII w/ 16MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260) in RAID 0 - Games/Disk Images
Tertiary Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200RMP SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284) in RAID 1 - Media/Storage
Quaternary Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200RMP SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284) in RAID 1 - Media/Storage
Primary CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: LG Super Multi Blue Blu-ray / HD DVD-ROM Drive, SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Secondary CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: LG Super Multi Blue Blu-ray / HD DVD-ROM Drive, SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Mouse: Logitech MX Air (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104089) / Logitech G7 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104203)
Keyboard: Logitech diNovo Edge (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126008)
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 305T (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001098) x 3-4

Someone price this out on Newegg, I never shop there and don't know my way around...

EDIT: Newegg.com (http://www.modacity.net/forums/newegg.com) price - $10,010 (Three Monitors) or $11,210 (Four Monitors).

More then you'll ever need and logically want, but if you've got a craven for to be the Top, this is the rig for you.
just say good bye to a kidney... and an arm..... and a social life....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd do what i can but some of you guys have got a much better understanding of this then i do, so if ya get the time, Make some virtual rigs and lets help some of these newbies out :)

I'll edit this post every time we get a collective agreement on the best rig for the price range :)

[Zeph]

Just in time for Intel's new processor line at that. Didn't we already have one or two of these threads or was that GBX?

[Bodzilla]

Probably at GBX, cant remember any threads like this here.

[n00b1n8R]

Are we in AUD or USD or do we specify?

[Zeph]

USD.

[Bodzilla]

USD, mainly cause 99% are americans :p

from there we can just convert the dollars for what ever country we are, not that hard, it'd just get confusing otherwise :)

[Abdurahman]

GPU: MSI Geforce 9800GT Overclocked 119.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127381)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0ghz Windsor 2mb L2 Cache 92.00 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103233)
Ram: 2x1GB Super Talent DDR2-800 O/c Ram 27.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609027)
Motherboard: Biostar Tforce TF720 AM2+/AM2 Mobo 69.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138117&Tpk=tf720)
Power supply: OCZ StealthXStream 600 Watt PSU 79.99 - $25 MIR= 54.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010)
Case: Rosewill Mid Tower Case 24.99
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147109) Sound: Integrated On Motherboard $0
Primary Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500gb SATA 7200RPM 32mb Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288) 69.99
Secondary Hard drive: Meh
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: Lite-On DVD/Cd Burner/Reader Combo Drive SATA 23.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263)
mouse: Rosewill RM-1600L Black 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB 1600 dpi Laser Mouse 14.99 -$10.00 MIR = 4.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826193039)
keyboard: Logitech 967738-0403 Black USB Standard Deluxe 250 Keyboard 8.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126013)
Monitor: Acer X193Wb Black 19" 5ms Widescreen 129.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009151)

Your Grand Total is: $627.81! Isn't that a great deal or what!

[Amit]

The Gamer $1200-$1600


GPU: Sapphire ATi Radeon HD 4850512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102775) $159.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036) $189.99
RAM:G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098) $36.99
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297) $189.99
Power supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001) $99.99
Case: Apevia X-Jupiter (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144197) $79.99
Sound: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102017) $59.99
Primary Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) $74.99
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) $74.99
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173) $26.99
Mouse: Microsoft Habu Gaming Mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105016) $56.99
Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse II (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175001) $49.99
Monitor: SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen w/HDCP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268) $259.99

Total without American taxes or whatever it happens to be: $1360.87

Best Bang for your buck, a really reliable and strong machine that should handle everything thrown at it. a Good deal that will keep you out trouble and keep you gaming long into the night.

[jngrow]

Only a 4850 for the $1200-$1600?

[Cortexian]

Ultimate "Money-Is-A-Lie" Rig:

GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365) x 3 in SLI (Prefered brand)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3.0GHz Quad-Core w/ 2x6MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115034)
Ram: Corsair 4GB XMS3-1600 DHX PC3-12800 TWIN3X SLI-Ready Dual Channel DDR3 Kit (2 x 2GB) x 2 = 8GB
Motherboard: Asus Striker II Extreme (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131274)
Power supply: OCZ EliteXStream 100 Watt (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341014)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138)
Sound: Dunno, fill it in.
Primary Hard drive: OCZ SATA II 2.5in Solid State Drive, 64GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227295) - OS
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM SATAII w/ 16MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260) in RAID 0 - Games/Disk Images
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM SATAII w/ 16MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260) in RAID 0 - Games/Disk Images
Tertiary Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200RMP SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284) in RAID 1 - Media/Storage
Quaternary Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200RMP SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284) in RAID 1 - Media/Storage
Primary CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: LG Super Multi Blue Blu-ray / HD DVD-ROM Drive, SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Secondary CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: LG Super Multi Blue Blu-ray / HD DVD-ROM Drive, SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Mouse: Logitech MX Air (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104089) / Logitech G7 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104203)
Keyboard: Logitech diNovo Edge (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126008)
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 305T (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001098) x 3-4

Someone price this out on Newegg, I never shop there and don't know my way around...

EDIT: Newegg.com (http://www.modacity.net/forums/newegg.com) price - $10,010 (Three Monitors) or $11,210 (Four Monitors).

Go.

[Amit]

Only a 4850 for the $1200-$1600?

If I didn't add the monitor it wouldn't be in that category but I believe a good and large monitor is necessary. This is my preferred setup. I don't skimp on the style so take it or leave it.

[Xetsuei]

Legionaire made one before, he should pick out the parts again this time.

[Amit]

Legionaire made one before, he should pick out the parts again this time.

Agreed.

[legionaire45]

Lol, I looked through that thread and laughed at my fail selections.

I'll make some suggestions in a bit, HW atm D: . This post reserved for that.

[Bodzilla]

righto see ya when ya ready :D

[Cortexian]

My post now includes a rig that should theoretically destroy all that stand in it's path. Some things are swappable such as the amount of monitors and graphics cards, the case, sound card (y/n?), and other such things.

[Bodzilla]

My post now includes a rig that should theoretically destroy all that stand in it's path. Some things are swappable such as the amount of monitors and graphics cards, the case, sound card (y/n?), and other such things.
surprisedyou didnt go the ridiculous motherboard that has 2 cpu ports :o

will update tomorra.

[Sel]

Motherboard should be at the top, since that dictates a lot of other parts including the GPU, NIC, CPU compatibility, graphics card type, RAM type, etc etc etc etc.

[Sel]

Motherboard:
GPU:
CPU:
Ram:
Sound:
Primary Hard drive:
Secondary Hard drive:
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive:
Power supply:
mouse:
keyboard:
Monitor:(If theyre even attempting to build a pc they should know that they need these.)
Case:
Cooling: (You forgot this :|)

ft ffffff y

And Ill post my rig that I recently built. ( Midrange )

Motherboard:ASUS M3A78-EMH HDMI
GPU:ATI HD 3870
CPU:AMD PHENOM X3 2.1GHZ (3 Cores)
Ram:4GB
Sound:Realtek HD Integrated
Primary Hard drive: 500GB
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: Some samsung shit and a dvd drive I yanked from an old pc
Power supply:650 Watts
Case: Huntkey
Cooling: Some fan (10$)

Cost about 850$

[InnerGoat]

Ultimate "Money-Is-A-Lie" Rig:


Go.When people spec out "ultimate rigs" they include the latest and greatest components... like Core i7 :awesome:

[flibitijibibo]

Ultimate "Money-Is-A-Lie" Rig:

GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365) x 3 in SLI (Prefered brand)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3.0GHz Quad-Core w/ 2x6MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115034)
Ram: Corsair 4GB XMS3-1600 DHX PC3-12800 TWIN3X SLI-Ready Dual Channel DDR3 Kit (2 x 2GB) x 2 = 8GB
Motherboard: Asus Striker II Extreme (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131274)
Power supply: OCZ EliteXStream 100 Watt (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341014)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138)
Sound: Dunno, fill it in.
Primary Hard drive: OCZ SATA II 2.5in Solid State Drive, 64GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227295) - OS
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM SATAII w/ 16MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260) in RAID 0 - Games/Disk Images
Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM SATAII w/ 16MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260) in RAID 0 - Games/Disk Images
Tertiary Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200RMP SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284) in RAID 1 - Media/Storage
Quaternary Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200RMP SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284) in RAID 1 - Media/Storage
Primary CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: LG Super Multi Blue Blu-ray / HD DVD-ROM Drive, SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Secondary CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: LG Super Multi Blue Blu-ray / HD DVD-ROM Drive, SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Mouse: Logitech MX Air (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104089) / Logitech G7 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104203)
Keyboard: Logitech diNovo Edge (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126008)
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 305T (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001098) x 3-4

Someone price this out on Newegg, I never shop there and don't know my way around...

EDIT: Newegg.com (http://www.modacity.net/forums/newegg.com) price - $10,010 (Three Monitors) or $11,210 (Four Monitors).

Go.Sound card: Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro, $300
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 System, $400
Best 700 bucks you'll ever spend in sound.

EDIT- For the gamer rig, I wouldn't suggest the Xtreme Audio, not with the experience I've had with it (lossy and static as shit). I would put some of the spare money towards the X-Fi Fatal1ty Pro. The fiber optic lines do a great job if you have a sound system that uses it. I don't remember the price, and the site is down right now. I believe it's about $150 if I were to guess.

[Bodzilla]

When people spec out "ultimate rigs" they include the latest and greatest components... like Core i7 :awesome:
Get cracking bitch whip!

some imput from you would be awesome man, you know your shit :)

[InnerGoat]

They will be out soon™!

[Cortexian]

surprisedyou didnt go the ridiculous motherboard that has 2 cpu sockets :o
ftfy, and skull trail is pretty stupid. Everything I've heard on it from a buddy that works at Voodoo PC points to the fact that the North and South bridges are to far apart, as are the two sockets. Basically it takes to long for the CPU's to communicate with each other so the performance boost is minimal. The only thing you could really take advantage of is the fact that you can have 8 CPU cores at the same time in a desktop.


When people spec out "ultimate rigs" they include the latest and greatest components... like Core i7 :awesome:
Not out yet, so no.


Sound card: Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro, $300
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 System, $400
Best 700 bucks you'll ever spend in sound.

EDIT- For the gamer rig, I wouldn't suggest the Xtreme Audio, not with the experience I've had with it (lossy and static as shit). I would put some of the spare money towards the X-Fi Fatal1ty Pro. The fiber optic lines do a great job if you have a sound system that uses it. I don't remember the price, and the site is down right now. I believe it's about $150 if I were to guess.
I'm getting a set of those speakers soon to replace the Logitech ones I have now, the ones I have now are quadraphonic (4 satellites and a sub) 400 watt ones from about 3-4 years ago. I still don't see the point in a sound card though unless you're an audiophile, most motherboard integrated sound parts are more than adequate for gaming/movies.

[flibitijibibo]

With the Z-5500, it's usually a good idea to put the monster of a subwoofer to use. And what's a good way to boost bass? Woo X-Fi!

Also, since it's an APU rather than just a method of output and has audio dedicated RAM, it takes off some of the load on the CPU and RAM, giving a small performance boost. So you're right, getting a sound card can be useless unless it's an actual APU.

[Warsaw]

@Freelancer: Hardly. You go listen to 5.1 on a computer with integrated sound (16-bit), and then go listen to it on a computer with a sound card (24-bit). The difference is almost night and day.

[Amit]

Revised Set-up brings my configuration down to the Mainstream/Midrange category.


Mainstream/Midrange $700-$1200


GPU: Sapphire ATi Radeon HD 4850512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102775) $159.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036) $189.99
RAM:G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098) $36.99
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297) $189.99
Power supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001) $99.99
Case: Apevia X-Jupiter (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144197) $79.99
Changed: Sound: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102017) +$59.99 Changed to: 8-Channel Integrated Audio
Primary Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) $74.99
Removed: Secondary Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) +$74.99
CD/DVD/Blue ray drive: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173) $26.99
Mouse: Microsoft Habu Gaming Mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105016) $56.99
Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse II (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175001) $49.99
Changed: Monitor: SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen w/HDCP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268) +$259.99 Changed to: Acer X203Wbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009126) $159.99
Added: Speakers: Creative Inspire T3100 2.1 2-way (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116024) $45.99

Total without American taxes or whatever it happens to be: $1171.88

Best Bang for your buck, a really reliable and strong machine that should handle everything thrown at it. a Good deal that will keep you out trouble and keep you gaming long into the night.

BTW, are we supposed to include the OS? or just the hardware? I also recommend my Gamer configuration be replaced by another. It takes way too fucking long to gather a list together and put all the links and all that shizz.

[Cortexian]

@Freelancer: Hardly. You go listen to 5.1 on a computer with integrated sound (16-bit), and then go listen to it on a computer with a sound card (24-bit). The difference is almost night and day.
Quoted from Asus Striker Extreme (what I use now, not the "Striker II" but close enough) features:



High Definition Audio
Enjoy high-end sound system on your PC! The onboard 8-channel HD audio (High Definition Audio, previously codenamed Azalia) CODEC enables high-quality 192KHz/24-bit audio output, jack-sensing feature, retasking functions and multi-streaming technology that simultaneously sends different audio streams to different destinations. You can now talk to your partners on the headphone while playing a multi-channel network games. All of these are done on one computer.
I was referring to good motherboards, sorry :p.