550-650$ Gaming Build

hhara

Gawd
Joined
May 8, 2009
Messages
817
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly used for gaming - EVE, SWTOR, Battlefield, Guild Wars

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
550-650. Including shipping and taxes

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Warner Robins, GA

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.
Case, CPU, Motherboard, PSU, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Hard Drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Reusing a old case. Assume that it is not required in the build, and that everything fits nicely (video card, etc).

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
No monitor atm

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next couple of weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Nothing fancy - just the regular things

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 64 bit



This build is for a friend. He has already done some research but the build he suggested to me isnt worth posting here (bad psu, video card and hard drive selections). I thought I would come here and ask for help. I guess the tricky part here is that he needs a monitor which leaves not much money to work with.
 
What case does the he plan on reusing?

Its just some old case, I am not exactly sure. I am a very avid person for getting a nice case with cable management options, and good cooling and all of that, but considering his budget - I would just assume that he has a more then viable case (even if he doesnt, its something we can worry about after the fact).
 
Find out what case he has: No point in recommending parts if the case can't provide the cooling or space for it.
 
Find out what case he has: No point in recommending parts if the case can't provide the cooling or space for it.

I was looking for some recommendations under the assumption that the case he has will be able to provide the cooling or space for it. Lets assume the one he has will not be sufficient though, then its not entirely out of reason to increase the budget another 50-100$for a reasonable case.
 
Fair enough.

No chance of you or your friend being able to buy parts today, correct?
 
With fluctuating prices/sales, it's probably better to ask when you're ready to buy.

Could put together a build for under $650 today whose exact parts could vary in total price by $100 depending on price hikes/drops/sales etc.
 
$128 - Intel Core i3-2120
$130 - Biostar TZ68 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard + Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$140 - PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$85 - Hitachi 7K1000.D HDS721050DLE630 500GB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$47 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$100 - Acer S201HLbd Black 20" DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor
----
Total: $680 shipped.

katalDT is right in the sense that there are usually gonna be price hikes/drops/sales and suchon parts. With that said, the above parts chosen generally don't get sales too often outside of MIR "deals".
 
Back
Top