Dream Gaming Computer - 2008

October 11, 2008 – 8:14 pm

Every year my desktop gets older, our mortgage gets smaller, the games get better, and I crave new hardware. The 1st step is to admit you’re addicted, right? Without further adieu, I present you with my pick for the best gaming desktop of 2008. My picks were based on price and ratings from Newegg.com. I’ve had great luck with them for years.

Do you have recommendations? Show off in the comments.

Qty. Product Description Total Price
1
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133154
$144.99
6
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148274
$779.94
($129.99 each)
2
SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor
SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824001268
$519.98
($259.99 each)
2
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130365
$879.98
($439.99 each)
1
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139006
$119.99
1
Saitek PZ30AU Black USB Wired Standard Eclipse Keyboard
Saitek PZ30AU Black USB Wired Standard Eclipse Keyboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16823175103
$49.99
1
Logitech G7 Black 6 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse
Logitech G7 Black 6 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse - Retail
Item #: N82E16826104203
$72.99
2
Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC34G1333LLK
Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC34G1333LLK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820220278
$339.98
($169.99 each)
1
XFX MBN790IUL9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard
XFX MBN790IUL9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813141009
$329.99
1
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835186134
$36.99
1
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
$5.99
1
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115130
$549.99
1
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail
Item #: N82E16827136133
$149.99
1
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116493
$179.99
Grand Total: $4,160.78

Now I’m sure you’re wondering why there are six (6) hard drives in this system.

  • This system would double as a storage server for me.
  • The motherboard supports striping and mirroring (RAID 0+1), so I would setup the drives to mirror and stripe for redundancy and for performance benefits.
  • As cheap as drives are, why not?

My guess is that this system should last for about 8 years which puts it at $520.10 per year. Not bad at all…



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