Cheap Gaming Build Please

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slackjaw

n00b
Joined
Sep 23, 2007
Messages
14
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming only. The games I will be playing are painkiller, L4D, TF2, ETQW, and sc2 beta. I would like to play these games at lowest or medium settings at 75+ fps, because my lcd does 75hz. I don't run with anti-aliasing + anistropic but it would be nice

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

350$ max including shipping, but not tax. Preferably as cheap as possible.

3) Where do you live?

Sioux Falls, SD, USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

CPU
MOBO
RAM
GPU

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

ATX midtower computer case
Corsair 520hx psu
4 sata 80gbs hds for raid 0
DVD-ROM drive
razer lachesis
keyboard

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, I will overclock, but not more than the stock heatsink can handle.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

I have a 19 inch that I run at 1280x1024


8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

October, but I can wait for black friday if it is worth it.


9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

Preferably raid 0 supporting 4 hds, but if it doesnt I can run 2 hd raid or none at all and sell the excess hds on ebay. Will only be running one GPU ever.


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?

Yes, I have windows xp home edition.



Here is what I have scrapped up.

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200
Athlon II X2 250

MOBO:
GA-MA770T-UD3P
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H
MSI 790GX-G65 AM3 AMD 790GX
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3

RAM:
Don't know

GPU:
Don't know, but I think I can get an 4850 for 80 shipped off of ebay.


What I would like to do is get a solid mobo + ram, bare minimum CPU + GPU I need for 75+ fps. Then later next year around april get the best bang for buck cpu+gpu. Also I have no brand loyalty, Im leaning toward am3 because I heard that the lga775 socket is dead, and the 1156 + 1366 are too expensive for me.
 
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Can you post a picture of HDTune results of your 80GB RAID 0 array. Just curious about it.

Anyway, the X2 245 or X2 240 are better CPUs for your budget. Mobo wise, the first Gigabyte mobo you listed is the better choice for your budget. RAM wise, I recommend this DDR3 RAM set:
$86 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM

GPU wise, the HD4850 512MB or 1GB are perfect for your low resolution.
 
I doubt the skimpy stock heatsink of the 245/240 would get you far, unfortunately. Though, a TX2 or TX3 should be around $20 or less, and should get you further, in case you find some extra cash layin around. ;)

What case do you have? model? age? fan sizes/locations?
 
Thanks for the replies!

I will go with Danny's ram + 4850 + then athlon 240 so I can try to squeeze in a heatsink.

But for the mobo I might have found a contender:

its GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P vs ASUS M4A77TD Pro AM3

The asus is 80$ with free shipping.
The Gigabyte is 70$ w/o shipping.

@Danny
I can't post hdtune results because I have never raided all 4 drives. My last setup was a pentium D + Abit IP35E that did not have onboard raid. But I will post benches as soon as I have the system made!


@enginurd
I have this case, its 5 years old. It has a 120 in the front and back.
 
don't know if you're still looking but here's what i came up with

$99.99 - SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$76.00 - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX250OCGQBOX - Retail
$173.98 - COMBO Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX - Retail +
ASUS M4A77TD Pro AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Total = $349.97 ( all items have free Shipping)

Or if you can swing a few buck over your $350 you could go with this Mobo CPU Combo and the memory danny suggested and i believe minor overclocks are doable on the black edition coolers.

$169.98 - COMBO AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX - Retail +
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$85.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail

Total Shipped with this one would be = $363.53
 
$13 more for a 6MB L3 cache and an unlocked multiplier? not bad. Would definitely come in handy if and when you unlock the cores.
 
$20 more for features he doesn't need seems like a waste, IMO.
 
enginurd said:
$20 more for features he doesn't need seems like a waste, IMO.
Click to expand...

- Much cooler running Northbridge + power circuitry
- Better slot layout. No issues with ports being blocked. Esata bracket with power supply connector included
- More SATA ports with better RAID options
- 790X NB has a bit more headroom to OC and performs slightly better than the 770
- Even if you don't plan on Crossfire, not having a free PCI-E x4 or better slot limits your expansion options down the road


If you want the bare minimum, the GA-MA770T-UD3P is a solid choice. But don't try and make it off that the GA-MA790XT-UD4P doesn't offer anything to the OP for the small increase in price.
 
@ Toaster Oven - Gigabyte 770T is one of the best overclocking AM3 boards within the top 5. So I question the statement about 790x being better for oc.
 
I'll just mention this on the off-chance that it is of use to you.

The AMD Sempron 140 is an Athlon II with one locked core. It can be unlocked from 1 core to 2 cores, just like the Phenom II 550 can be unlocked from 2 cores to 4 cores. And the Semprom 140 is very cheap, which would allow you to spend more on the rest of your setup.

Of course with unlocking there are no guarantees it'll work and you risk being stuck with a crappy single-core processor xD.

Here's a link to the main topic discussing unlocking.
 
lt_shiro said:
@ Toaster Oven - Gigabyte 770T is one of the best overclocking AM3 boards within the top 5. So I question the statement about 790x being better for oc.
Click to expand...


Read here. I don't think it's much of a shock to anyone that a better equipped and better cooled mobo manages to push an overclock slightly higher than the more budget offering. That's the same situation on any platform.
 
lt_shiro said:
Performance difference is 50 MHz? wow that really justify the $20 bucks.
Click to expand...

Yep, there's absolutely no other difference between the two boards. Wait hold on a sec, I think I made a list of other differences as well. If only I could remember where I posted that info... :rolleyes:
 
drop the "extreme" RAM, spend ~$50 for that, and get a decent quadcore + board you want, or a 4870 (or nVidia board, if you prefer that) and the X2 Black Edition
 
You can see the exact differences using the compare tool at newegg, but it doesn't always tell the full story... so, here's the SBS comparison link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16813128392,N82E16813128378

And I left in toaster's list whatever wasn't in that list above...
Toaster Oven said:
- Much cooler running Northbridge + power circuitry
- Esata bracket with power supply connector included
- 790X NB has a bit more headroom to OC and performs slightly better than the 770

[These are his opinions:]
- Better slot layout. No issues with ports being blocked. Even if you don't plan on Crossfire, not having a free PCI-E x4 or better slot limits your expansion options down the road

If you want the bare minimum, the GA-MA770T-UD3P is a solid choice. But don't try and make it off that the GA-MA790XT-UD4P doesn't offer anything to the OP for the small increase in price.
Click to expand...

I did not say it did not offer anything. In fact, I even stated that there were extra features; but don't try and make it seem like the extra $20 is worth all those extra features to someone who may not need them. :p

Toaster Oven said:
Yep, there's absolutely no other difference between the two boards. Wait hold on a sec, I think I made a list of other differences as well. If only I could remember where I posted that info... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

We're not saying there is no difference, we're saying that if he doesn't need the extra features, then the extra cost is not worth it. De ja vu, I swear I said that already. :rolleyes:

$20 may be a small amount of money to you, but not for others. Whether its small or not is subjective. ;)

@OP: There is no point in spending more money on features you don't need. If you think you'll need those features, sure, go for them. If you don't think you'll need them, then don't bother paying for them. Either board is fine, and you can see shiro's and toaster's opinion on those extra features to help you decide. If the price difference is negligible to you, then go with what you like.
 
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Why would he need a 4850 for low-medium settings on Source games and SC2? He doesn't need new parts for that.

He can save a lot more than that $20. Pick up one of the 8800GTs being retired, maybe a Wolfdale and 775 mobo. Some $40 DDR2 4GB. $200 maybe.

Okay, go AM3/AM3 Ready like you said but same RAM and GPU for about $100 rather than just GPU. DDR3 will not help medium settings.
 
Currently Intel has no sub $150 CPUs that can take on AMD in terms of gaming performances.
 
Well from the original post it doesn't look like we're taking on Intel or high settings. In fact he says preferably cheap, bare minimum CPU+GPU for the 75 FPS, and solid mobo+ram which doesn't exclude DDR2, it didn't expire. Previous high-performance parts from 2007 or 2008 will demolish games with tech from 2007 and 2008 especially with reduced settings. I know Sioux Falls and even there there's some stuff. I didn't say get a 8600GT like I did for $45, maybe 8800GT that was "lasting" until this spring at least, and if it's 1280x1024 it's moot. Then he could get the 8600GT.

And you want to upgrade next year? Save up now, then.

I know this is [H]ard but there are cars besides 2010s and V8 engines, same for PCs.

If he really wants zip that will transfer to the upgrade, use savigns to get an SSD for Windows 7 and put the games on the RAID madness. Or a new monitor.
 
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