looking at building 10 gaming computers.

[fourthbean]

We are looking into building about 10 gaming computers for an ultimate arcade.

Asus A7n8x-x $77.00
xp2500+retail $92
Ati9600pro $170
Crucial 512mb333 $87
Maxtor 40gig $58
Lite on dvd $30
Antec case and p/s $80
Xp pro key $90
------------------------------------
$674

Does this look about right?

We are going to be running games like battlefield 1942 and Need for speed.

Thanks,
Christopher

By the way, how much would you pay to play lan games on this computer for an hour?

Updated prices

[TOAD6147]

What about monitors? Have you considered looking into Dells? $4.95

[MrPurple]

Some thoughts to the case. Check out the Antec SLK3700AMB, its only $65 shipped at NewEgg, is durable and has plenty of space. You would need to purchase a second fan per case to get optimum cooling. One draw back is that they don't have locks.

I would get one system firts and test out how the build works under extreme gaming conditions before you buy all the parts in bulk. This may end up costing you extra for shipping but its better then finding out the build is flawed and now you have 10 systems that are not stable.

To charge per hour of LAN play depends.
Some places charge $10 per hour, some may do it for less, others for more.
It all depends on how many people you know will come and play, and how much they are willing to pay for the games and service you are offering.

[twiztidtruckie]

Nice system, but the asus is a little over kill if its for lan games. Maybe try using a K7S5A Pro from new egg (retail is $47 shipped) and maybe using that extra cash for some monitors, and to maybe up the 9600's to 9800's...

Also look into getting your cases from ebay, since they dont have to look good, you could get cases there for no more than $20 shipped. This would also save you a bundle of cash. And if you buy cases without locks, its very easy to make your own with a 1/2" drill bit and cable bike lock.

Even better, you can drop the 2 sticks of 256ddr, and go for 1 single stick of 512ddr from crucial at a cheaper price. Why use up 2 slots when you can use one and save the other for a upgrade down the road

And one final thing. You dont need DVD drives really. You can drop to a 52x CD-ROM Drive from lite-on for about half the cost. Which leaves more cash for the other essential parts

Truckie

PS: Good idea man...I was thinking of doing the same thing your planning. The mall wanted to much rent to do it though I'd suggest a cost of $5.00/hour which is pretty fair considering the amount of cash it takes to set-up/build/and maintain those machines.

Good Luck!

[MrPurple]

I second that idea of putting in 52x CD-ROMs, you can even get away with lower 40X ones. All you really care is fast seek times.

On a side note, in many tests it has been proven that no CDs ever get to spin up to 52X speeds, at most they did was in the low 30s or high 20s if I rember correctly.

[gerald_weigel]

How would you handle playing different games? In other words, would you let the players install the games themselves? Or would you want to install everything yourself.

If the players are limited to games you install, then you don't need cases with locks on them, just hide them out of the way, maybe put them into a cabinet, with air conditioning, and lock the cabinet.

[shawshank62]

i would pay at most $5 bucks an hour to play. The cyber cafe near me charges $4 an hour. I doubt he would let them install their own games.

[fourthbean]

I was thinking of getting some 17" refurbished sony/dell monitors.

I was thinking of going ahead and getting dvd rom drives for when games start using them but I am not sure when that is going to happen.

Should I use dual chanel ram or just get one stick?

THanks, gotta go,

Christopher

[Mike]

I would never pay $10 an hour. I would be willing to pay upto $5 as well.

[gerald_weigel]

I don't think the "-X" mobo supports dual channel, and even if it did, I don't think the improvement in performance is significant enough to warrant spending the extra dough.