$400/$600 Gaming Rig

L

LoserXLeet

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2005
Messages
173
I'm looking to build a new gaming computer that fits into either a $400 or $600 budget. I already have the following parts:

1. Monitor
2. Optical Drive
3. HDD (80GB Western Digital)
4. Case (Mid tower)
5. RAM (2x512MB CMX512-3200C2 Corsair)

Can anyone suggest what CPU, VGA, etc I should get?

Thanks for reading!


What about buying a ps3? I hear they pretty much double as PC's, and can obviously run any new game out. Will I be able to play games like UT2k7 for the PC, on a ps3?
 
Hmm, regular DDR memory?

I don't know if there are any good core 2 duo boards for DDR and not DDR2... But C2D is the best thing to get right now. Again, I'm not sure if there are AM2 boards that are really good for plain old DDR either.

You could always go with the ASRock Dual 939 Sata2 Mobo + an X2 or Opteron. Great mobo, costs about $70. I have 2 systems using it. There are lots of different video cards for someone on a budget ATI x1950 Pro is a good deal. Nvidia has several budget offerings, from the 7600GT to the 7900GT etc.


The PS3 will run any PowerPC linux distro, not Windows. It isn't a gaming computer. The ability to run linux should lead to some cool emulators/homebrew though.
 
go with a ps3 for your gaming needs as UT2007 is coming out on ps3 and you'll be able to play the latest games for years to come whereas a PC is something that constantly has to be upgraded if you want to play the latest games at acceptable frame rates and detail settings.
 
I'm fine with added memory to my budget, but I've never used DDR2 before. DDR has served me fine in the past. I also am not big on multitasking, so wouldn't the X2 processors be a little overkill? I want the best bang for my buck when playing new games.

What about:

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157097 - $65
2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150144R - $200
3. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531 - $94
4. 2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145026 - $110
5. Heatsink?
6. Power supply?
 
get a x1950pro ($200) as it beats the 7900gt in most benchmarks and is also cheaper. For the powersupply grab yourself an xclio goodpower 500w($55). The stock amd heatsink will be fine.

On a side note this system your building will probably just handle UT2007 at low settings. Anyways what kind of monitor will you be gaming on?
 
Your choice of CPU isn't bad, though it's not as good as spending a little more and getting a good C2D system.

If you can't afford to do that, then what you're looking at isn't bad for the money. I'd suggest the CPU you listed, plus either the 7900GT or x1950pro. For mobo I'd recommend the DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert board, which is a very high end board, instead of the Asrock which is a low end board. I'm running this mobo and can tell you it's worth every penny. Because of this board choice, I'd recommend Corsair XMS memory instead of budget memory because this board is picky about memory. Good Corsair XMS RAM will run you around $25 more. The FSP AX500-A is a pretty good PSU. I put one in my son's computer and it's been a champ. I don't honestly know anything about the xclio goodpower PSU mentioned below, but if it's any good it's a better price. With these parts, you should be able to OC a little, pushing 2.6Ghz or 2.8Ghz out of that CPU, which with those parts your games should run pretty well. Note that if you want to run higher resolutions like 1280x1024 in games like BF2 or Oblivion, you're going to need 2GB of RAM instead of 1GB to get the best performance.

Links to the stuff I suggest:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145566 $136
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136166 $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104934 $80 after MIR

This would put you slightly over the $600 mark, but I think it'd be more worthwhile then getting lower end stuff. I forgot to mention, the stock HSF should be fine.

Note, if you could squeeze it out of your budget, a good C2D system would only cost around $125 - $150 more (say around $750 total) and would be faster and last you longer. Just a thought... ;)
 
i just built a rig for gaming by buying parts from the fs forum

golden sample opty 146 that does 3.2 - 90
original corsaire 2003 BH5 does 260+ 222x - 100
dfi ultra-d w/ sli bridge and sound module for 60
evga 7600gt for 87


what's that like 340?

cpu and gpu on water - xfinity 2nd gen 500 (love the psu)


should be good for the older games that i haven't played yet like graw, quake 4, fear, etc...


i'll add another 7600gt when i can get it for 60 shipped

mal
 
Yeah, if you're willing to go with used parts, you can get way better prices. I'll stand by what I posted for new parts, but if you don't mind buying used, there are lots of very nice deals in the FS/FT forums... ;)
 
So you just need a mobo, cpu, and vidcard, right?

You could go with this:

$200 - SAPPHIRE 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB
$182 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz
$57 - ASRock 775Dual-VSTA Socket T (LGA 775) VIA PT880 PRO
========
$440 + tax and shipping

Did you need a PSU?
$55 - XClio GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W

Here's some reviews on that AsRock board:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2810
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2813
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2814

Summary: DDR400 is fine for now, it won't slow performance. The PCI-E 4x slot only slows down high performance cards by about 10%, which isn't much (Current cards arent maxing out the pci-e 16x bandwidth).

Though you don't need a dual core, with them being so affordable, you really should get one since it fits your budget. Also, it'll last quite a while. When you get more cash, you can upgrade the ram... then the mobo... then the vidcard... then the cpu... then the cycle starts over again. If you'd like to save money for now, you can go with a 7600GT instead, for only $110AR.
 
There is no excuse for going single core at this point, none at all. Dual core is now the standard. New games will be multithreaded. Getting single core would be like getting a 286 :D. Also, nvidia's drivers have some minor multithreading optimizations. ATI does too, but they are not as helpful.


Fry's has an amd X2 3800+ and mobo for about $110 right now. I strongly advise against single core. Get an X2 or a C2D, you will not be disapointed.
 
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