Low/Mid Range Gaming Build

I'm looking to build a new rig that'll cost me around 4-500. I live pretty close to a Frys and Microcenter but I also don't mind purchasing parts online. Ideally I would prefer an intel based machine, but AMD would also be fine. Thanks in advance.




What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Portal 2, SC2, a bit of photoshop, word processing and general usage
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
400-500
3) Where do you live?
Los Angeles,CA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, CASE,DVD DRIVE,Graphics Card,Power Supply
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
23" Samsung 1980 x 1020 monitor
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not but wouldn't mind having the option
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
23" Monitor, plan on running dual monitors though
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP. Within the next 2 weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Nothing too specific.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

I would go with a Phenom II X4 build on the cheap

Check the hotdeals section. Microcenter has a 955 Black Edition (3.2ghz I think) + Mobo combo for $130

+ $50 for 4gb of ram
+ 100 for a 1gb 5770 MSI Hawk edition ) (Newegg coupon in the newest email, today's email)
+ $44 Antec BP550 550w PSU (Also newegg coupon code)

Add another ~$70 for whatever case you want and call it a day.

The above would come out to under $400 or so, and be pretty fast. A 460 would be faster, but also more $.

EDIT:
$70 is a little much for a case, but factor in a dvd drive and its close.
This case looks decent and is on sale right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094

If you need a HDD, WD 640gb Black is only $55 at newegg (coupon)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...611-Index-_-InternalHardDrives-_-22136319-L0C

$104 - AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition CPU + Biostar A780L3G AM3 760G mATX Motherboard bundle deal
$39 - Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$153 - Sapphire HD 5850 1GB Xtreme Video Card
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$23 - Lite-On iHAS-324-98 24X SATA DVD Burner
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
---
Total: $510 shipped.

I went with Amazon.com and Tigerdirect as much as possible since they do not charge tax to CA residents whereas Newegg does. Hence why most of the parts that waffles posted would have their value pretty much negated by the CA taxes.

Microcenter has been doing their $120 i3-2100 + MSI H61M-P23 combo deal on and off again the past couple of weeks. I think there's a good chance it'll pop up again in a week or two. In your shoes I'd hold off buying the cpu+mobo for as long as possible and try and pounce on that deal next time it shows up.

I would prefer the i3 because of hyperthreading. That's for all intensive purposes a 4 core processor.

I haven't checked gaming benches between the two though, so Danny's suggestion may be the best.

According to this: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1179-page1.html

The i3-2100 runs cooler and destroys the x2 565 in all the benches. Again, I couldn't find any gaming benches but I'm willing to bet the i3 is the best route for the extra cash.

Toaster Oven said:

Microcenter has been doing their $120 i3-2100 + MSI H61M-P23 combo deal on and off again the past couple of weeks. I think there's a good chance it'll pop up again in a week or two. In your shoes I'd hold off buying the cpu+mobo for as long as possible and try and pounce on that deal next time it shows up.

Click to expand...

CleanSlate said:

The i3-2100 runs cooler and destroys the x2 565 in all the benches. Again, I couldn't find any gaming benches but I'm willing to bet the i3 is the best route for the extra cash.

Click to expand...

Actually the Core i3 2100 does beat the X2 560 that I posted in games that do not scale well past two cores (i.e Portal 2 and SC2):
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2120-2100.html

So if you're willing to wait and willing to spring the extra cash OP, wait for that $120 i3-2100 + MSI H61M-P23 that Toaster Oven talked about.

I didn't catch the waiting for the sale part- yea, I'm not too excited about the prospect of waiting for something that probably won't ever come.

I'll see if I can find one online.

Edit: can't find anything except the bare processor for $99.00 online right now.

I went phenom II and am super happy with it. I hopped on a deal and got the 965be for ~20$ more than the 550be, and it sure does help with encoding/multitasking and will definitely be a boon to multi-gpu down the road.

CleanSlate said:

I didn't catch the waiting for the sale part- yea, I'm not too excited about the prospect of waiting for something that probably won't ever come.

I'll see if I can find one online.

Edit: can't find anything except the bare processor for $99.00 online right now.

Click to expand...

Recent history would suggest otherwise:

3/25 - i3-2100 + MSI H61M-E33 $100 weekend deal at MC. Corporate extended the deal for one week (including weekend starting 4/1) due to complaints from customers about low stock.

4/15 - i3-2100 + MSI H61M-P23 $120 weekend deal at MC.

4/29 - i3-2100 + MSI H61M-P23 $120 weekend deal at MC.


So if Microcenter sticks to their pattern, I would expect this deal to resurface starting weekend of 5/13. If it doesn't show up then or the following weekend, then it's probably a good bet it won't be coming back for some time, if ever.

Danny Bui said:

$104 - AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition CPU + Biostar A780L3G AM3 760G mATX Motherboard bundle deal
$39 - Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$153 - Sapphire HD 5850 1GB Xtreme Video Card
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$23 - Lite-On iHAS-324-98 24X SATA DVD Burner
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
---
Total: $510 shipped.

I went with Amazon.com and Tigerdirect as much as possible since they do not charge tax to CA residents whereas Newegg does. Hence why most of the parts that waffles posted would have their value pretty much negated by the CA taxes.

Click to expand...

I would spend the extra $5 at Microcenter and get the x4 840 over the x2 560 just so you actually have a quad core. That said, I do prefer the i3-2100 to the x4 840 so if the deal comes around before you buy, jump on it.

Also, you can save $4 by getting the Radeon 5850 from Amazon (though it looks like they're low on stock, so it might be worth the extra money to buy from Tiger Direct):
$149 - Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 XTREME 1 GB

Also, Newegg is having that Antec Neo 520 Power Supply as a Shell Shocker tomorrow for $40 before taxes from 4PM to 11:59 Pacific Time. (That's a STEAL for this type of build.)

tonytnnt said:

Also, you can save $4 by getting the Radeon 5850 from Amazon (though it looks like they're low on stock, so it might be worth the extra money to buy from Tiger Direct):
$149 - Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 XTREME 1 GB

Click to expand...

Yeah they didn't have that free shipping option or even direct from Amazon option when I checked that link earlier today