Finally building a better computer

[Murbuto]

You guys are very good at getting the right price for your components. And I need your help a bit. I'm planning to toss my old hunk of junk computer to build a shiny new gaming rig. I'm on a pretty strict budget though, so it's a real battle between wants and needs. Possibly the biggest thing I'm looking for is forward compatibility. Will I be able to upgrade parts when the new computer gets old?

Anyway, here's the deal I have a maximum budget of about 1000 dollars. I'm desperately trying to keep it lower than that. Everything except the graphics card in my old compy is worthless. So the only thing I can cannibalize from it is my 9600 GT with factory overclocking. It gets the job done, and I may have to use it until I can afford a modern GPU.

Finally, is it a better idea just to buy a pre-built computer that comes with windows, and upgrade it? Windows 7 runs 200+ dollars, and though I COULD resort to "acquiring" a copy, I prefer getting it legit. I'm in community college without financial aid. Am I eligible for discounts?

[PRETENDICA]

My wife works for a CC, and so does Hulk. I know that the teachers can get windows for under $20. I'm talking windows 7 Ultimate 64bit. I'm pretty sure the students get it for the same price. Check into it at the student bookstore. At that price, its hard not to go legit.

[madmattd]

You can get Windows 7 OEM discs on Newegg. Pro runs around $130 depending on sales (it does go as low as $115 at times), Home Premium is less than that of course. Perfectly legal copy. If you can't get a uni discount that's the way to go. But check your school bookstore first.

For $1000 you can build a pretty slick system. Check out what Magus built recently, it's a top-notch system and was under that price iirc. Look around Newegg, that's going to be your best bet for components overall. Just be aware that Hard Drive prices (spinners) are through the roof right now because they are all made in Indonesia, which got wrecked by floods several months ago and supplies are low. Prices are ~2x what they normally are for hard drives (especially desktop ones).

Upgrading down the road can be iffy as CPU sockets change every few years and such, but you are more likely to have a chance to salvage multiple parts if you build yourself with something fairly modern today. PSU/Case can always be salvaged, and graphics cards tend to be easily changed. With prebuilt systems you can sometimes be limited to what graphics cards (for example) you can upgrade to due to size restrictions and the like.

[IM A COMPUTAH]

Location plays a key part in building a computer. If you have a Fry's electronics or Microcenter you are set. Over the course of a month you can build a killer system. If you are budget conscious the worst thing you can do is buy everything at once from one retailer. I built my father a computer back in early 2011 that would have cost over $1300 if I purchased parts straight from NewEgg. I used Slickdeals to find the best deals on the components I wanted and in 2 weeks I built him a computer that cost just above $900 if I remember correctly.

If you're looking for forward compatibility I suggest spending extra on a nice big case and a reputable power supply.

As for Windows 7, try to find the student discount thread I had posted on this forum. They run that deal fairly often for students and you can score yourself a copy of Windows 7 Professional for $30.