• A Great friend to the HardForum with a great kid that he is trying to get a scholorship to continue his schooling. Please give hime a vote! Only 24 hours left! Thanks.
    If you have an VOTE FOR KEENAN!

$400 Gaming PC; need input!

G

GabooN

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
401
My long time gaming PC died today and I need to build a new..

All I need is CPU/RAM/MOBO.
Here is my list so far;

ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 140W Quad-Core Processor Model

RAM I would prefer 4gigs and DDR3..

Thanks,
 
It would help if you answered the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" thread so that we can help you better.
 
Danny Bui said:
It would help if you answered the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" thread so that we can help you better.
Click to expand...

The 3 parts are all I need for $400 no less no more, please.

PSU Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V 550W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Power.
 
Help us out by telling us the parts that you're reusing for this rig.

Which games do you plan on playing, and which programs do you plan on using (when you're not gaming)?
 
Seems like youve got the answer. Youve already decided on the CPU and motherboard it looks like. Just browse Newegg til you find 4 GB of DDR3 that for the money youve got and you should be done.
 
GabooN said:
The 3 parts are all I need for $400 no less no more, please.

PSU Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V 550W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Power.
Click to expand...

OK, that's 2.5 out of 10. Now please answer the rest of the questions especially numbers 5, 6, 8, and 9.

And you might be looking at a PSU upgrade pretty soon:
The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps (Fuhjyyu caps) that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series.

So I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. However, do note that the Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series had a three year warranty. So if you do hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise, that's enough grounds to RMA the PSU.
[Apevia/Aspire PSU Reviews]
 
Danny Bui said:
OK, that's 2.5 out of 10. Now please answer the rest of the questions especially numbers 5, 6, 8, and 9.

And you might be looking at a PSU upgrade pretty soon:
The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps (Fuhjyyu caps) that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series.

So I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. However, do note that the Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series had a three year warranty. So if you do hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise, that's enough grounds to RMA the PSU.
[Apevia/Aspire PSU Reviews]
Click to expand...

I agree. Replace that TP2.0.
 
It has been replaced and I completely forgot that they had sent me a TPIII since I had to RMA because of the cheap caps and the horrible smell it produces once they blew and the thing overheated. With the questioning of the safety of my house I was sent an Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 550W, of course it could be that they no longer made the TPIIs so I should be fine...

I was looking more for deals on similar parts that I had posted above and not so much build me a new system ,this is a Franken build my parts must be re-used where they can which includes EVERYTHING BUT THE CPU/RAM/MOBO, I was rushed when I posted the thread and didn’t explain myself correctly, my apologies.
As far as games that I will be playing, really? For $400 bucks what more could you tell me with knowing the games that I will be or won’t be playing?? Or if I will be doing anything other than gaming which I won’t be, hence gaming PC, let me put it this way I don’t care that Intel will run office apps faster. Could you build me a $400 Intel i7 system(CPU/MOBO?RAM) with 4GIGs of ram??

//Rant
Are we in the age of everyone is a “user” and isn’t capable of thinking 3feet past there original questions, especially in this forum? I come here assuming people have good understanding of computers so I leave out a few bits that if you look [H]ard enough you could find if you so wanted too (look at my sig) and again my fault on NOT explaining that I was looking for better deals on same or similar parts but holy cow you want me to spec out a 10 questionnaire to answer my bloody question and telling me shit that I knew three years ago about the PSU, sorry bud but you need to get over yourself.

I try to look at threads from other peoples shoes, could I answer his question with the info provided and I probably would of came up with near what the very helpful 4LC4PON3 gave me. Intel at this point is a wash unless you consider an i7 which could you possibly find for $400? Of course I will overclock the damn PC I am in [H]ardOCP forums right? Am I making any sense here people?//End Rant
 
GabooN said:
//Rant
Are we in the age of everyone is a “user” and isn’t capable of thinking 3feet past there original questions, especially in this forum? I come here assuming people have good understanding of computers so I leave out a few bits that if you look [H]ard enough you could find if you so wanted too (look at my sig) and again my fault on NOT explaining that I was looking for better deals on same or similar parts but holy cow you want me to spec out a 10 questionnaire to answer my bloody question and telling me shit that I knew three years ago about the PSU, sorry bud but you need to get over yourself.

I try to look at threads from other peoples shoes, could I answer his question with the info provided and I probably would of came up with near what the very helpful 4LC4PON3 gave me. Intel at this point is a wash unless you consider an i7 which could you possibly find for $400? Of course I will overclock the damn PC I am in [H]ardOCP forums right? Am I making any sense here people?//End Rant
Click to expand...

Ahh rants, how fun are theses.

Now earlier I asked you to answer questions 5,6,8, and 9. I might as well explain to you why those questions were important:
5: I've learned from past experience that a person's sig is not always updated. In addition, from my experience, one should not assume that what's in the sig will be reused as it could pertain to a different build. Also, your sig did not have a PSU listed. As such, asking question 5 makes sure that we know for sure that the parts in your sig is what you're actually planning on reusing.

6: Again, from past experience, I've learned to not assume that the OP will be overclocking. A good number of the builds in this forum actually has no overclocking planned at all. Yes this is [H]ardOCP but not everyone overclocks.

8: Again, from past experience, I've learned that many people plan on speccing out a PC too far in advance of their actual purchase date. As a result, what they end buying on that date is either oudated, outperformed, out of stock, or outclassed. In addition, knowing when the OP is planning on buying the PC will allow us to tell him/her of any upcoming deals or new hardware releases.

9: How can we recommend a mobo if we don't know what features you want? I'm glad that the mobo 4LC4PON3 posted worked out for you but a good majority of the time here in this subforum, that's not always the case.

Basically, you're asking us to assume what your needs are. In the past, this make the threads longer than necessary as the OP struggles to define exactly what he/she wants. Those ten questions helps us determine whether or not whatever parts the OP or we have listed will fit his/her needs within a short time and with ease.

As for the PSU info, you told us you had a TP 2.0. A good majority of the time when people post having that PSU, they do not know anything about the issues that you and I know about. It's safer to err on side of caution when it comes to PSUs so I assumed that you did not know about the TP 2.0 issues. Now since you already have a replacement PSU, no problem.
 
GabooN said:
It has been replaced and I completely forgot that they had sent me a TPIII since I had to RMA because of the cheap caps and the horrible smell it produces once they blew and the thing overheated. With the questioning of the safety of my house I was sent an Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 550W, of course it could be that they no longer made the TPIIs so I should be fine...

I was looking more for deals on similar parts that I had posted above and not so much build me a new system ,this is a Franken build my parts must be re-used where they can which includes EVERYTHING BUT THE CPU/RAM/MOBO, I was rushed when I posted the thread and didn’t explain myself correctly, my apologies.
As far as games that I will be playing, really? For $400 bucks what more could you tell me with knowing the games that I will be or won’t be playing?? Or if I will be doing anything other than gaming which I won’t be, hence gaming PC, let me put it this way I don’t care that Intel will run office apps faster. Could you build me a $400 Intel i7 system(CPU/MOBO?RAM) with 4GIGs of ram??

//Rant
Are we in the age of everyone is a “user” and isn’t capable of thinking 3feet past there original questions, especially in this forum? I come here assuming people have good understanding of computers so I leave out a few bits that if you look [H]ard enough you could find if you so wanted too (look at my sig) and again my fault on NOT explaining that I was looking for better deals on same or similar parts but holy cow you want me to spec out a 10 questionnaire to answer my bloody question and telling me shit that I knew three years ago about the PSU, sorry bud but you need to get over yourself.

I try to look at threads from other peoples shoes, could I answer his question with the info provided and I probably would of came up with near what the very helpful 4LC4PON3 gave me. Intel at this point is a wash unless you consider an i7 which could you possibly find for $400? Of course I will overclock the damn PC I am in [H]ardOCP forums right? Am I making any sense here people?//End Rant
Click to expand...

Dude chill. We can't assume from your current system what you want to do with the new system, and a full list of what you want to do changes priorities, especially with a budget as tight as yours. That's why we have the full list on the sticky.

Also, these fine gents get about a dozen posts a week with some cheapass who just bought a Sunbeam, LOGISYS or COOLMAX PSU, and pretends like this is not going to be a problem. And no, your PSU is NOT in your signature.

The sticky is there to avoid anyone getting overly antagonized or stressed, and it also allows people to be more objective in their recommendations. Posters could offer you a different POV, and possibly an entirely different approach you never considered. That is why people post their upgrade plans here, and let others see them...if you don't want that kind of thought and feedback, just go spend your money on whatever you were already planning on buying.
 
Danny Bui said:
Ahh rants, how fun are theses.

Now earlier I asked you to answer questions 5,6,8, and 9. I might as well explain to you why those questions were important:
5: I've learned from past experience that a person's sig is not always updated. In addition, from my experience, one should not assume that what's in the sig will be reused as it could pertain to a different build. Also, your sig did not have a PSU listed. As such, asking question 5 makes sure that we know for sure that the parts in your sig is what you're actually planning on reusing.

6: Again, from past experience, I've learned to not assume that the OP will be overclocking. A good number of the builds in this forum actually has no overclocking planned at all. Yes this is [H]ardOCP but not everyone overclocks.

8: Again, from past experience, I've learned that many people plan on speccing out a PC too far in advance of their actual purchase date. As a result, what they end buying on that date is either oudated, outperformed, out of stock, or outclassed. In addition, knowing when the OP is planning on buying the PC will allow us to tell him/her of any upcoming deals or new hardware releases.

9: How can we recommend a mobo if we don't know what features you want? I'm glad that the mobo 4LC4PON3 posted worked out for you but a good majority of the time here in this subforum, that's not always the case.

Basically, you're asking us to assume what your needs are. In the past, this make the threads longer than necessary as the OP struggles to define exactly what he/she wants. Those ten questions helps us determine whether or not whatever parts the OP or we have listed will fit his/her needs within a short time and with ease.

As for the PSU info, you told us you had a TP 2.0. A good majority of the time when people post having that PSU, they do not know anything about the issues that you and I know about. It's safer to err on side of caution when it comes to PSUs so I assumed that you did not know about the TP 2.0 issues. Now since you already have a replacement PSU, no problem.
Click to expand...

I understand everyone was trying to help and I do appreciate the time, however my post was very specific in my request, and sadly my sig is up to date. Maybe I think to logically sometimes that’s the geek in me but if I read a post such as mine it would appear to be a Franken build(I would only assume that in this type of forum), since I had that my PC died, I only need 3 parts, a quick fix, I have $400 to spend, and I already have some parts picked out. Of course as you have learned to err on the side of maybe he needs more then what he is asking and I can respect that, really I can. Maybe I just don’t post enough in this Sub forum to see what you see and why answering a question with a question can answer the OP questions better. The features really? Fast and cheap heh, maybe similar to the one that I posted.

Some of the 10 question are really none of anyone’s business. I agree with the idea behind some of the question as it relates to a build, but my question was really not of the “build me a PC”, more can you find these parts any cheaper or similar parts any cheaper, my fault for not making that clear as I have stated..

As for the PSU I copied and pasted to get on with it and get some more ideas, I didn’t ask if my PSU could handle the parts and I hadn’t listed it because I already knew the answer, don’t assume to assume..

I found a great answer, what two posts down?

I thought my needs were very clear, after clearing them up slightly :)

Liquid Cooling… I will be overclocking once I get my Koolance PMd..


I know I am playing a bit of Devils advocate here but I am without a GAMING PC HERE WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?? If I had asked the question beat these three parts for $400, would we be in the same marrygoround?
 
GabooN said:
... Some of the 10 question are really none of anyone’s business.
Click to expand...

Please help us improve the sticky. Which questions should we remove from that list that are nobody's business? Please post the answer and quote this question in the discussion thread for the stickies:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1351701

GabooN said:
I agree with the idea behind some of the question as it relates to a build, but my question was really not of the “build me a PC”, more can you find these parts any cheaper or similar parts any cheaper, my fault for not making that clear as I have stated..
Click to expand...

The questions aren't only for "build me a PC" type of threads. The sticky states:
If you're gonna ask us to build/list a PC for you or seek advice about a build, please answer all of the following questions:
Click to expand...

We've been here for quite a few years and always get threads seeking advice on a build. Most of those threads end up with us asking the questions you see in that sticky one after another. In order to make threads more efficient, we decided to sticky the relevant questions. Please help us improve those questions.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1351701

GabooN said:
As for the PSU I copied and pasted to get on with it and get some more ideas, I didn’t ask if my PSU could handle the parts and I hadn’t listed it because I already knew the answer, don’t assume to assume...
Click to expand...

Please forgive us for asking. We meant no offense by the advice. We merely wanted to make sure your new parts aren't in danger of being blown up/fried by a bad quality PSU.

GabooN said:
I found a great answer, what two posts down? I thought my needs were very clear, after clearing them up slightly :) Liquid Cooling… I will be overclocking once I get my Koolance PMd..

I know I am playing a bit of Devils advocate here but I am without a GAMING PC HERE WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?? If I had asked the question beat these three parts for $400, would we be in the same marrygoround?
Click to expand...

It seems you're getting irritated regarding people trying to over-help you. Its obvious what our normal concerns are, as described in the sticky. To avoid a merry-go-round, squash any concerns we may have up-front, leaving us with no questions to ask. If you had answered the sticky right off the bat, and not only said "i've got the rest covered" but also describe how you covered the rest, then this thread would be a lot shorter. :) It's all about efficient posts.

GabooN said:
... beat these three parts for $400, would we be in the same marrygoround?
Click to expand...
I'd ask how you'd want me to beat it? :p

Did you want to spend less than $400 and get similar performance or better?
Or did you want to spend $400 and get better performance?
... also, I would have asked which games you play, and at what res/settings.
 
Last edited:
GabooN said:
Great so whats the answer :)
Click to expand...

Go with the combo. Now that we have a lock on your PSU, you should be fine. There's really no difference between a Core i5 and a Phenom II if you're going to overclock the hell out of the chip - both will give you the same outstanding gaming and all-around performance as you approach 4GHz.

In my mind, the biggest concern with the Deneb CPU combo above is that thirsty 125w CPU - you need a good quality powersupply to keep it happy, especially when you overclock.

Well, you have the quality PSU, so you're pretty-much set. Since the processor is unlocked, overclocking should be a snap. Have fun :)
 
in this thread, we take the strong united stance of "We're asking the fucking questions here."

You do know that nobody has to help you right? You do know that the people answering your call for help in this thread are doing it for free with their own time and whatnot, right? You know you're not paying them anything, right?

So get off your high horse and answer the goddamn sticky's questions
 
Fail said:
in this thread, we take the strong united stance of "We're asking the fucking questions here."

You do know that nobody has to help you right? You do know that the people answering your call for help in this thread are doing it for free with their own time and whatnot, right? You know you're not paying them anything, right?

So get off your high horse and answer the goddamn sticky's questions
Click to expand...

You certainly aren’t helping me but hey thanks for adding to your post count. Wait do you speak for eveybody, great now we are getting somewhere I like it when people take charge.. Wait I answered most of the questions do you want me to start over or can I just add to the ones I missed? About the games I play do you want the list alphabetically? By DX version? Engine they use? TWIMTBP? Year game was released? What happens if in one game I use dual monitors but in another I only use one?
 
defaultluser said:
Go with the combo. Now that we have a lock on your PSU, you should be fine. There's really no difference between a Core i5 and a Phenom II if you're going to overclock the hell out of the chip - both will give you the same outstanding gaming and all-around performance as you approach 4GHz.

In my mind, the biggest concern with the Deneb CPU combo above is that thirsty 125w CPU - you need a good quality powersupply to keep it happy, especially when you overclock.

Well, you have the quality PSU, so you're pretty-much set. Since the processor is unlocked, overclocking should be a snap. Have fun :)
Click to expand...


Thank you; and yes that 125 watt/idle does concern me some, however my previous chip used around 110watts at default clock and I had it up to 2.9GHz. But yes the phenmon is certainly more thirsty then the FX, we will see may not get the O/C I want but I know why..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top