$600 Gaming Rig Advice

[plaztik]

I was considering taking the easy route and buying this; I figured I'd post here and ask for advice on a build before jumping the gun.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600, yes tax & shipping is included
3) Where do you live?
California
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, Heat Sink & Fan, Ram, Graphics Card, HDD, 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.
Danny convinced me otherwise...
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not, looking for long term.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
17inch CRT
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Couple of weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
None in particular.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yep I got that covered in 32bit and 64bit XP, Vista, and 7

Quick note! I'd like to be able play the latest titles @ 1024x768(limited by my CRT) on medium or high. I'm looking at this PC as a long term investment as my tolerance for gaming on lower settings is quite high. To give you an idea of "long term" I'm still gaming on a 3.0 P4ht with HD4650 and would happily continue to do so, except that this money just fell in my lap so...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Deleted member 88227]

In question number 4 you say you need a PSU, then in question number 5 you say you are wanting to reuse your PSU.

 

[Dangman]

Do you live near a Microcenter?

 

[plaztik]

In question number 4 you say you need a PSU, then in question number 5 you say you are wanting to reuse your PSU.

I meant to imply that anyone can build around the power supply I have to save me $50-$70 or if someone wants to put a build together using my current power supply that I'll consider it.

So whatever boats your float!

Do you live near a Microcenter?

I'm not sure that we have Microcenters in California, but I do live about 3 hours from the nearest Fry's.

Edit: Googled Microcenter and I'll be damned we do have them here in Cali!!! No where near me unfortunatly, I live in Hills.

 

[Dangman]

I meant to imply that anyone can build around the power supply I have to save me $50-$70 or if someone wants to put a build together using my current power supply that I'll consider it.

Yeah not a good idea: The Truepower PSU is old and has some serious issues with it:

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 new PSU for this new PC.

I'm not sure that we have Microcenters in California, but I do live about 3 hours from the nearest Fry's.

We have two Microcenters here in California. One in Santa Clara and one in Tustin

 

[WiLLiSTER]

We have 2. One in Tustin (socal) and one in Santa Clara (norcal).

Edit: Dammit, Danny beat me to it lol.

Edit2: OP, do you need a case? If you're reusing yours what form factors does it take?

 

[plaztik]

We have 2. One in Tustin (socal) and one in Santa Clara (norcal).

Edit: Dammit, Danny beat me to it lol.

Edit2: OP, do you need a case? If you're reusing yours what form factors does it take?

I managed to google it and found out for myself, it's to far to consider driving there really about 12 round trip to the closest one!!!

Yeah not a good idea: The Truepower PSU is old and has some serious issues with it:

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 new PSU for this new PC.


We have two Microcenters here in California. One in Santa Clara and one in Tustin

You sold me, we'll forget about using the PSU!

 

[Dangman]

Well I'll be back in a few hours. If no one has setup a solid list by then for ya, I'll do it.

 

[plaztik]

Well I'll be back in a few hours. If no one has setup a solid list by then for ya, I'll do it.

Much appreciated, I can't seem to put anything together that is more decent then the pre-built without going over budget.

 

[Dangman]

$145 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU
$60 - Biostar TA880G+ AMD 880G mATX Motherboard
$40 - Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$135 - XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$70 - Corsair 600CX 600W PSU
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case
---
Total: $555 shipped.

I used Amazon.com since they do not charge CA residents tax and usually have free super saver shipping on their parts. The above video card is significantly faster than the card in that iBuypower PC. In addition, the PSU is of far far superior quality and the 955 CPU provides 98% of the performance of a 965.

Oh and for future reference: Never buy an iBuypower or Cyberpower built PC. They're cheap for a reason: They use low quality parts (specifically the PSU), low quality construction, and low quality setup. So yeah, waste of money buying a iBuypower or Cyberpower PC.

 

[E4g1e]

I used Amazon.com since they do not charge CA residents tax and usually have free super saver shipping on their parts. The above video card is significantly faster than the card in that iBuypower PC. In addition, the PSU is of far far superior quality and the 955 CPU provides 98% of the performance of a 965.

Oh and for future reference: Never buy an iBuypower or Cyberpower built PC. They're cheap for a reason: They use low quality parts (specifically the PSU), low quality construction, and low quality setup. So yeah, waste of money buying a iBuypower or Cyberpower PC.

Actually, that iBuyPower PC has only a 925, not a 965. This makes it an even poorer value than it already is.

And the 480W PSU in that PC is likely one that has been known to blow up on only a 200W load.

 

[Dangman]

Actually, that iBuyPower PC has only a 925, not a 965. This makes it an even poorer value than it already is.

Ahh misread that 2 as a 6

But yeah, really poor value that iBuyPower PC is.

 

[plaztik]

$145 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU
$60 - Biostar TA880G+ AMD 880G mATX Motherboard
$40 - Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$135 - XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$70 - Corsair 600CX 600W PSU
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case
---
Total: $555 shipped.

I used Amazon.com since they do not charge CA residents tax and usually have free super saver shipping on their parts. The above video card is significantly faster than the card in that iBuypower PC. In addition, the PSU is of far far superior quality and the 955 CPU provides 98% of the performance of a 965.

Oh and for future reference: Never buy an iBuypower or Cyberpower built PC. They're cheap for a reason: They use low quality parts (specifically the PSU), low quality construction, and low quality setup. So yeah, waste of money buying a iBuypower or Cyberpower PC.

I knew that iBuypower was trash... which is why I came here!

Danny, you done did well son, thank you so much! You stayed within my budget and everything looks great. I'm getting all giddy with anticipation of the build!!! Seriously I can't wait to slap it together... even though I do have to wait on my tax return. Oh and it's my birthday today and my budget just went up another $100 with an Amazon gift card!

So having $145 to throw around still, would you suggest more ram? An even better graphics card? What would give me the better bang for my buck?

Edit: After reading the reviews on the Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ I've decided not to purchase it from Amazon, apparently they have a packaging issue. So I'll get it from Newegg no biggie, it's 59.99 there as well, but I'll have to pay a little extra tax and shipping on it. And I'm leaning toward some GSkill 2x4gb ram.

 

[Dangman]

Oh and it's my birthday today and my budget just went up another $100 with an Amazon gift card!

Happy Birthday!

So having $145 to throw around still, would you suggest more ram? An even better graphics card? What would give me the better bang for my buck?

Are you planning on buying a new monitor any time soon? And if so, how big? As it stands now, the HD 5770 1GB is more than enough for a 17" monitor and will be for quite some time.

 

[plaztik]

Happy Birthday!

Are you planning on buying a new monitor any time soon? And if so, how big? As it stands now, the HD 5770 1GB is more than enough for a 17" monitor and will be for quite some time.

Thank you, my wife is taking me out on the town. She got rid of the kid for the night as well!!!

Hrm, a new monitor. They certainly have more aesthetic appeal then the clunky old CRT's. I suppose I would be happy with a nice 22" wide screen that can display true black with a minimum of 2ms delay. I wouldn't want to pay more then around $50-$70; otherwise I really can't justify the expense as I've happily gamed on a 17inch monitor since 1995.

 

[Dangman]

Hrm, a new monitor. They certainly have more aesthetic appeal then the clunky old CRT's. I suppose I would be happy with a nice 22" wide screen that can display true black with a minimum of 2ms delay. I wouldn't want to pay more then around $50-$70; otherwise I really can't justify the expense as I've happily gamed on a 17inch monitor since 1995.

Yeah you're not gonna find a crappy 22" for $50 to $70 let alone a good one for that price. Minimum for a 22" LCD is about $130 or so.

Really not much you can spend on due to your low resolution.

 

[plaztik]

Yeah you're not gonna find a crappy 22" for $50 to $70 let alone a good one for that price. Minimum for a 22" LCD is about $130 or so.

Really not much you can spend on due to your low resolution.

Well I was only partially truthful about having only CRT's. I do have a Asus 22" VW224U 2ms LCD Monitor. But here's the kicker. My wife told her co-worker that I'm a computer tech fix it handy man guy, partially true I suppose, and she brings home this monitor for me to look at. Being busy with Fallout 3 I let it sit for a week before I decided to plug it in and sure as shit it's fucked to hell; 3/4 of screen is black, clear case of monitor abuse if you ask me. So I checked on the warranty information and it's still good but doesn't seem to cover cracked screens. In any case she comes home and tells me he's skipped town, was caught cheating on his wife, last I herd of him was he's in Bakersfield somewhere, doubt he's ever coming back for it.

 

[Dangman]

If the LCD can't be replaced/fixed under warranty, then you still have a 17" CRT