I've been thinking about either upgrading or building a New Pc
It's probably won't get built for a while as i don't have exactly what you would call a stable income.
As of now I'm running a dell i got for $100 at a flee market, with a copy of xp mind you

Current Specs:

Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)

Motherboard
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 2600 MHz (13 x 200)
Motherboard Name Dell OptiPlex GX270
Motherboard Chipset Intel Springdale-G i865G
System Memory 640 MB (DDR SDRAM)

Video Adapter RADEON 9600 SERIES (128 MB)

Srry bout the way its setup, just copied out of Everest

BTW The PC is to be used as a general use/Gaming PC
Surfing the web,Playing older Games(Diablo 2, LOTR BFME2,
ect)BUt I hope to be able to play diablo 3 when it comes out

Tell me what you think
Any input is welcome

P.S.- I do have a friend who is pretty good with computers, though im not completely inept myself
P.S.S- Input on a OS change would be welcomed as well

that computer is not worth upgrading. you can keep XP if you want (if you have the installation disk and serial number), but for a new system, i recommend you get windows 7. its free till march next year so you dont have to worry about spending money on that.

before making a hardware list for you (if you havent figured it out by now, its a new computer ), i need to know where you live (just country, im not stalking you...), and your price range, or how much youre willing to spend, either as a range (eg, from 500-600 bucks), or a definite 'do not exceed' number. also, what resolution are you going to play at, and what is the most hardware intensive game (the one with the most graphics, the one that basically needs better hardware than the other games).

I live in the US so newegg will work fine

I currently dont have a budget, but ide like to keep it around 1000 but no more than 1300
And i usually run my pc 1024x768, but the games i usually run at their default resoultion

And as for most hardware intensive game, I'm not sure, I've been thinking about getting Fallout 3, but i'm not sure on that one, WoW will most likely get played on it, but the one I'm waiting for,Diablo 3, Will most likely have the highest requirements, but Blizzard still hasn't released the requirements for it so...

oh btw i can of course cannibalize the pc im using so..Probably keep the HD, maybe get another one

P.S. i want to be able to upgrade the Pc in the future so...yeah

P.S.S. I want a new NON Crt monitor so advise one you thinks good, oh and preferably an ATI Video Card, i for some reason don't like Nvidea

P.S.S.S(god damn it)- My friend has a "copy" of Vista Ultimate that i can use

Whatever you choose for hardware, if you purchase your hardware soon, you can also purchase Vista at Newegg. The reason why I say hurry is becuase currently Newegg is offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 if you purchase Windows Vista.

With a $1000 budget, you should be able to get a very decent system that will most definitely work with Diablo III. I am also waiting for Diablo III to be near release before I start my new rig. That way, i can get the best equipment at the best price, considering price always seem to go down quite often.

Another Note, I'd like to have a way to play things from my pc to my tv(not using it as a monitor full time, just for DVDs and shit)and to be able to record off my tv

A few questions:

1. Do you care between Intel or AMD?
2. Do you care between ATI or nVidia for your GPU?
3. Any plan for video or music rendering?

1-What ever worksbest and costs the least, i guess:)
2-Yes, for some reason unknown to myself, i have a strong disdain towards Nvidia(As said above)so ATI Please
3-Please Explain a bit more on what you mean, If you mean making music, no, If you mean video editing, most likely,
but music wise, I'll be listening, but not making any

This is what I plan to build if I were to build a system today... (keep in mind some of these items will change depending on when I get around to building it on D3 release).

AMD Phenom II X4 905e
XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X
ZALMAN VF1000 2 Ball VGA Cooler
COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Coole
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel


CPU = 194
GPU = 145
Gigabyte Mobo = 110
OCZ Ram = 50
750W PSU = 120
640GB drive = 75
DVD burner = 25
GPU cooler = 45
CPU cooler = 63
case = 130

misc case fans = 30

total: 987 (before taxes)

***Edit: please note that I plan to OC the CPU to at least 3.5GHz or above (depending on temperature, thus that's why I chose the CPU and the cooler - I would rather choose the Titan Fenrir cooler, but it's not available in the US just yet)
Also, I plan to OC the GPU as well, thus that's why I am ordering an extra GPU cooler to help with the temperature.

I might also plan to upgrade to more ram (total about 8GB) in the future.

Forgot to add the OS:

Vista premium with option to upgrade to Windows 7 for free = 109

heres a good setup:

---

Mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$79.99
Link

PSU (combo):
COOLER MASTER RS-700-AMBA-D3 700W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Power Supply - Retail
$204.98 combo price
Link

Case (combo):
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$204.98 combo price
Link

CPU (combo):
AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX945FBGIBOX - Retail
$494.99 combo price
Link

Video Card (combo):
SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail
$494.99 combo price
Link

DVD:
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM
$24.99
Link

HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
$59.99
Link

RAM:
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1067 - Retail
$58.99
Link

Total: $923.93

---

if you want, you can upgrade to a 1333 mhz set of RAM if you wish. 500 GB is what i usually suggest, but if you want more, then i can find you a 1 TB drive, or get two of the same hard drives and RAID them (ill explain further if you wish).

EDIT: Damn, beaten...

Damn... I like your CPU/GPU combo. I only chose the slower GHz Cpu cause i was planning to OC it and the 4870x2 is a really good GPU in that combo.

well yeah theres always that option to save a little money just to overclock. i left the RAM at 1066 to allow for the overclocking, and if need be, theres always the option of paying 40 bucks for a better cpu cooler for overclocking there.