Help me build a new rig!

[FragTek]

My best friend has tasked me with building him a new desktop. He's not a "hardcore" gamer, but he does want to play on this new system so it doesn't need to be centered around best video card on the market, etc.

The budget = $1000 USD for the tower itself.

He is a drummer and a guitarist and wants to have a way to record his work so part of this $1000 needs to be a recording interface, preferably something with a pre-amp and phantom power.

I'd like to set him up with a quad core and at least 4gb of RAM and at least 1TB of hard disk space.

The more money we can save the better, if you can build something that doesn't utilize the full $1000 MORE POWER TO YOU!

Let's hear some suggestions.

P.S. He needs everything, optical drive, case, etc....

 

[AMDFTW]

well for a hardrive the samsung f3 1tb is a no brainer

and i would suggest a AMD 1090t Hexcore,some 890 FX motherboard,optical drives are dirt cheap anyway

corsair or enermax PSU

coolermaster CM690 advance 2,good airflow and size

Any RAM TBH

music interfaces,recording etc etc aint my thig,Macs are best for that IMO

 

[Bungral]

Ok so depending on which way you want to play it... I've just had a little look through Newegg and came up with the following.

They come a little over budget, but I don't know the likelyhood of your mate being willing to go a little higher to make it a really top class rig and add a year or two to it's life or just stick to a rigid budget.

Anyway, it's a starting block for you to hack at and cut here and there. Also I don't know too much about prices over in the states so I just went to the one shop.

I'll slap up two different builds depending on if ya wanted to go AMD or Intel.

Build 1 - Intel:



Core i5-750 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU $194.99

MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 P55 Motherboard $159.99

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1600 MHz PC3 12800 RAM $99.99

Corsair HX 750w PSU $149.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD $79.99

Sony Optiarc Black DVD/RW Multi Drive $20.99

ASUS EAH5870V2 Radeon HD 5870 $409.99

Total = $1115.93 without case...

Or with XFX Radeon HD 5850 @ $289.99 instead of HD 5870 it would total: $995.93

Build 2 - AMD:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz Hex Core $199.99

MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 Motherboard $129.99

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1600 MHz PC3 12800 RAM $99.99

Corsair HX 750w PSU $149.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD $79.99

Sony Optiarc Black DVD/RW Multi Drive $20.99

ASUS EAH5870V2 Radeon HD 5870 $409.99

Total = $1090.93 without case...

Or with XFX Radeon HD 5850 @ $289.99 instead of HD 5870 it would total: $970.93

 

[I Hunta x]

CPU + Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.404663 $310 with $10 in rebates

GPU + RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.417012 $250 with $35 in rebates

PSU + Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.410764 $230

1TB Spinpoint f3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $80

Total $870 and minus the $45 in rebates = $825

You could add in a 2nd of that 5770 and crossfire them for another $150 ($135 after $15 rebate card) bringing the total up to $960 dollars after rebates.

As for the guitar input a freind of mine uses this, http://www.fullcompass.com/product/262731.html , i wouldnt know how easy it is to set up/use as ive never used one but he's not the most technical person in the world and he managed to get it working. Theres also a cheaper option of a simple guitar size plug to 3.5mm cable and plugging it into the mic port like this http://www.musiconmypc.co.uk/cab819-computer-guitar-cable-kit-to-record-guitar-on-pcmac-p-194.html but the end results would proably be of a bit lower quality due to the onboard sound card not realy being made for high quality sound recording.

 

[FragTek]

Thanks yall! Bungral I like your setups but they are on the high side and don't include a case and much more importantly the recording interface which is a must.

 

[AMDFTW]

i would say a 5770 over a 5850

other than that it is a tight budget

maybe look at i3 or AMD duels