Rhah's new gaming rig. That's right, I'll be back with you guys soon!

[Rhah]

I have been wanting a new computer for over two years now, but I am finally going to buy the parts I need. I just recently bought a Thermaltake Armor A60 AMD Edition case, but no internals yet. I don't have a power source or anything...just a dead, empty case.
I was wondering if you guys could help me compile a list of parts for me to get. I would like it to be able to run BF3 flawlessly since the game is gonna be huge; if it can run BF3 perfectly, I think anything else should run perfectly. My budget is $650 at the very most...although I would obviously like to spend less than that.
Aside from the hardware, I will also need an operating system...but I would like to try something other than Windows. I guess that could make for another discussion.
Any help at all would be much appreciated.

[ZenPhire]

If you want to play BF3 you have no choice but windowz. =P
Do you already have peripherals? Like a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc? With your budget it looks like the safest bet is AMD/ATI build wih min parts and make it upgradeable. Or you can skimp on some parts and go for a sandy bridge build which is the best value, but a little more expensive. Do you have vender preferences? Any other guidance before we start suggesting builds?

[Rhah]

I have no preference of company, and I do have peripherals that will do...for a while xD
All I am asking for is a bunch of innards for the case I bought. I would also like a build in which I can easily change parts when needed...but, then again, who wouldn't?

[ZenPhire]

So your budget for Mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, Drive, PSU and OS; $600. Okay! I'll post a couple builds. =)

Are you planning on going SLI or Crossfire? (dual graphics cards).

[Rhah]

Dual graphics cards would be nice.

[ZenPhire]

Sandy Bridge build w/ 460 (as low as I can get it while not being crap parts, and still retaining desirable functionality): ~$700
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13095394

AMD X4 965 & 6850: ~ $700
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13095734

Enjoy! =)

[Rhah]

Thanks for the lists. Now I just gotta get the money...
Not having a driver's license and living 13 miles from the nearest town presents a bit of a problem with me getting another job...but I should have this built by September xD

[ZenPhire]

I can  put together a much cheaper gaming build that you can upgrade slowly if you like. By September things will change and you'll want to reevaluate the build. The market changes so fast these days.

[Rhah]

How about I just repost in this thread as soon as I get ~$700?
I currently have about $290 in my savings account, I'm depositing another $110 and come-odd cents tomorrow, and my parents owe me about $200. I am involved in a high-school program at a local university that pays me a $90 stipend at the end of July. I'm getting roughly $30 a week on average...I could only get an odd job working 3 hours a week xD
Maybe I'll have this long before September...I didn't expect $80 of what I got this weekend. Either way, it may be a few weeks before I manage to get the money. Sorry if those lists will be invalid by then =\

[ZenPhire]

How about I just repost in this thread as soon as I get ~$700?
I currently have about $290 in my savings account, I'm depositing another $110 and come-odd cents tomorrow, and my parents owe me about $200. I am involved in a high-school program at a local university that pays me a $90 stipend at the end of July. I'm getting roughly $30 a week on average...I could only get an odd job working 3 hours a week xD
Maybe I'll have this long before September...I didn't expect $80 of what I got this weekend. Either way, it may be a few weeks before I manage to get the money. Sorry if those lists will be invalid by then =\

You could build something to get you started for $400 and then upgrade as you get more money. Though if you do wait, you'll be able to afford to get a sandy bridge based build, otherwise it will have to be AMD (which is fine too, great value just not quite as powerful).

[Rhah]

How about I wait until the end of July and see exactly what I have to work with? I don't want to spare any money on anything xD

[Rhah]

I know I said end of July and it is now mid August, but I have been very busy lately xD
I managed to get to a bit over $800, but I will leave my budget at no more than $830 for guts to put into my case. I have a friend who doesn't live too far away that built a computer and has all of the stuff I would need to put it together...I just trust you guys more when it comes to recommending parts for gaming. Although I will have the computer itself built, it may be another month or so until I can get a decent monitor, but a recommendation in that area would be much appreciated . I can deal with a crappy mouse and keyboard for a while. Again, I apologize for any bad grammar or misspellings...my phone makes typing forum posts very, very difficult.
Thanks for your time,
Rhah

[ZenPhire]

Right on man! If you could, do a quick recap of what you want, parts you prefer, what yyou want you machine to be capable of, etc. Do you prefer Intel to AMD? ATI/AMD to nVidia?

Also, exactly what parts do you already have? Hard drives? Case? Power supply? etc.

[Rhah]

I only have a case so far. I have no preference by a way of manufacturers...I'm still kinda new to this building stuff. Anyway, I would like the computer to meet or exceed the recommendations (not requirements =P) that have been put in place for Battlefield 3...mainly because I think that such a game is gonna set some kind of standard. But it may not. Who knows xD
anyway, I need a motherboard, processor, (dual?)videocard, processor, power source, hdd (500GB should suffice...I think), disk drive, OS, and RAM. I think I may also need a wireless unit...my family is too lazy to run a cable up to my room. They're so lazy that they won't even let ME do all of the wire stuff...
I hope that I have everything listed that I need...if I have missed anything that SHOULD be in a computer, feel free to add it to the list xD

Link to BF3 recommendations:
http://bf3blog.com/battlefield-3-system-requirements/

like I said before, I would like to at least meet the recommendations. But please feel free to rack the cost up to $800-830 if you want to   

[ZenPhire]

Are you gonna handle attaining windows? or do you want that cost factored in?