How would you customize this PC?

[tunola]

I was originally looking at purchasing a Gateway FX6800-01e, and although it has gotten great reviews, I'm not really a fan of the lack of information/listing of the manufacturers of all the components (I don't want to be stuck with a shoddy PSU for example). Then someone told me about
AVA Direct (http://www.avadirect.com/Desktop_Systems/Custom_Desktop_Systems/Socket_1366_Core_i7_Desktop_Systems) and I am definitely a fan of the level of customization and the 3 year warranty. But now I have decision paralysis because of the sheer number of choices for each component. Plus, trying to Newegg all the brands to see which is the best value and the pros and cons is taking a century. So I thought I'd ask people way more up on the best brands than I am to list out the specs and brands they would choose. The Gateway is $1,249, so I'd like to keep it around there, and its value and specs needs to be as good as or better than the Gateway.

So, line by line, how would you customize one of these (http://www.avadirect.com/Desktop_Systems/Custom_Desktop_Systems/Socket_1366_Core_i7_Desktop_Systems) desktops?

Thank you-- this will be a huge help for me!

[Wandrille]

well, first of all what would you like to do with this pc (gaming, media, etc...)

[tunola]

Thank you for responding. I will be gaming on it, and I want to be able to play any game currently on the market and coming out in the near future without lag time (have more than just what's required to run the game), but I don't need to overclock. I'll also be doing a lot of multitasking and frequently have several apps running that I work between. I'm wanting to go with the i7 920, single Radeon 4850, and my decision's oscillating between 4gb and 6gb of DDR3, but that's as far as I've gotten-- I don't know what to choose for the other components or which brands to go with. And I'm hoping that that's what you can help with :)

[Wandrille]

o ok, well first of all your saying your price is about $1,250. But then is this money just going towards the pc, or do you also need to buy other components such as keyboard, mouse, monitor?
Looking at the i7 (I am not too familiar with this right now), I saw that the motherboard and the ram will be some pretty significant prices. So if you need to also buy other components, you might need to up your price range, but once given the information, I'll try to give you a basic setup that will fit your needs.

[saphalline]

"CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™ i7 2-way CrossFire™ DDR3 24GB Performance Series System"

Case: Antec Nine Hundred
PSU: Corsair CMPU-750TX
Mobo: <default>
CPU: <default>
RAM: Corsair 3 x 1GB DDR3 1333
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3
HDD: Seagate 750GB 7200.11
DVD-RW: <default>
OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
Warranty: <default>

Total = $1365.02

Just the box & OS. No monitor, no mouse, no keyboard. A bit above your budget, but head and shoulders above that Gateway in terms of quality and "coolness factor"!

If you can swing it, I recommend an upgrade to a 4870 512MB GDDR5. Brings the total up to $1441.34, but at least then you'll blow away the Gateway in performance as well! :D

Need to add peripherals? I recommend choosing your own LCD monitor. (For some odd reason, AVA Direct overcharges for monitors. Must be the shipping.) Just about any standard Micro$oft or Logitech keyboard will do. USB, of course. Logitech's G15 keyboard is particularly nice for gaming. Mouse? Logitech G5! Hands down! The G9 is also very good, but I think it's ugly! :p