How much would this set me back?

[The_Absolute]

I am in the process of selling my grandparent's house, and buying them a new one, which is much less expensive, very close to my residence. I will have many Thousands of dollars left over. My brother wants to replace his single core Celeron dinosaur laptop for a mid-range gaming computer that costs about $2,000. I've been told that I was also allowed to spend $2,000 on anything that I wanted if I help with the moving process. I.e. moving heavy furniture, packing boxes, renting and loading a trailer.

I have a Gateway FX 6710-01 gaming desktop. The one with the C2Q Q9400, 6GB DDR2 RAM, and a Radeon HD 4850. I was considering building a custom AMD gaming rig, and I was looking at a Phenom II X4 965BE, an Asus Crosshair Formula III, 6 GB of DDR3 RAM, and a Radeon HD 5850 or 5870. I already own a Coolermaster HAF 932 full tower case, and a corsair TX750 750W PSU. Should I be able to get those things and still be within a $2,000 budget? I don't see the need for an expensive blu-ray drive, or a TB or SDD hard drive. Any DVD drive and a decent sized HDD will do.

Initially I wanted a Ci7 rig, but that would probably put me WAY over budget. Probably close to $3,000. The Ci7 975 extreme edition costs $1,000! AMD has the best hardware, for the price, and the new AMD PC with the hardware I stated above, will eat my Gateway FX 6710-01 alive!

My current Gateway FX 6710-01 desktop was purchased for $1,300 at a major electronics retailer in my town, to replace my old Pentium 4, windows XP rig, which I built in 2003, which was completely dead and fried. (it wouldn't even boot into the OS) and the hardware in it was discontinued and obsolete. I could always sell the One I have now and get about $600-$700 for it.

I'm not sure about this, but I heard that future AMD processors will be fully compatible with most AM3 socket motherboards.

 

[rcgldr]

Ci7 960 is 3.2 ghz versus the extremes 3.33ghz, and it's < $600 (USA) versus the extreme's near $1000 price.

 

[hamster143]

It's a bad financial move to go for the most expensive hardware available. Two years from now, $1000 chips will cost $200 and $500 chips will cost $150. And the difference in performance between the $1000 and the $500 chip is barely noticeable.

In this situation, I'd probably go for Core i7 860. It is only marginally slower than the 975 extreme (10-20% in most situations), it's faster in most tests than Phenom 965BE, it eats less energy than either (95 W vs. 125 & 130 W), and it costs $280.

 

[The_Absolute]

How much would all of this cost me?

Phenom II X4 965BE

ASUS Crosshair Formula III

6 GB of DDR3 1333 or 1600 MHz RAM (will the mobo use 1600 MHz DDR3?)

Radeon HD 5850 or HD 5870

Remove, and use my Corsair TX750, 750W PSU I have in my current PC.

Coolermaster HAF 932 full tower case

750GB 7200 RPM 32MB cache HDD (SSD's are expensive and have a siginicantly smaller storage capacity)

18x DVD ROM (I don't see the need for blu-ray, as I do not use my PC for watching blu-ray movies)

Possibly a Fatal1ty X-Fi xtreme gamer sound card

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

 

[LudusRex]

It is difficult for me to provide a specific answer without knowing the exact prices of the components you are considering for your new gaming rig. However, with a budget of $2,000, it is certainly possible to build a high-performing AMD gaming rig that would surpass your current Gateway FX 6710-01 desktop. As you mentioned, AMD offers competitive hardware at a lower price point compared to other brands.

In terms of compatibility, it is true that future AMD processors will likely be compatible with most AM3 socket motherboards. However, it is always best to check the specifications of the specific processor and motherboard you are considering before making a purchase.

In addition, I would recommend considering the overall cost-effectiveness of your new gaming rig. While it may be tempting to include the latest and most expensive components, it is important to consider if those components will truly enhance your gaming experience. As you mentioned, a less expensive DVD drive and hard drive may suffice for your needs.

Overall, with careful consideration of your budget and the components you choose, it is possible to build a powerful and cost-effective AMD gaming rig within your $2,000 budget.