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$700 Gaming Build

B

BruceHuge

n00b
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Messages
6
I've never built a computer before and thought I would give it a shot. It seems to be a great value when compared to the canned PCs at Best Buy.

I'll have to get a new OS (want 64 bit) and that is included in the budget.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming on a 22" monitor. There are some games I'd like to play, but my computer isn't up to snuff (Dragon Age, MW2, L4D2).

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Willing to spend about $700 with tax and shipping included.

3) Where do you live?
OKC, OK

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, Motherboard, Video Card, Hard Drive, DVD Drive, OS.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Cooler Master Elite 331 case and ANTEC BP500U 500W Power Supply

6) Will you be overclocking?
I've never done it before and would need additional guidance, but I am open to it.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
22" Samsung (1680 x 1050)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next month or two, when I get my tax return.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Maybe Crossfire in the future, can't fit it in the budget now.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
No. I want to upgrade to a 64 bit OS.


I was looking at getting an Athlon II X4 630 CPU, but I'm not sure if that is the best choice for my gaming goal.

I was also looking at getting a Radeon HD5750 card.

I've never put one of these together and I don't consider myself very computer savvy yet, so I wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks.
 
You don't have to settle for an Athlon II x4, nor a 5750. You can afford better :)

I did this build for someone the other day

MSI 770 chipset $80 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...228&cm_re=msi_770_ddr3-_-13-130-228-_-Product

AMD Phenom II x4 945 3GHz $155 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...03696&cm_re=phenom_945-_-19-103-696-_-Product

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 OEM $105 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...54&cm_re=windows_7_oem-_-32-116-754-_-Product

4GB OCZ 1333 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227479

XFX 5770 1GB $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-150-462-_-Product

Hitachi deskstar 500GB $55 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145215&Tpk=deskstar 500gb+55

DVD burner $25 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

$675 before tax and shipping. Total shipping = $7 Someone else might be able to cut a few bills off this with combos, but you can definitely afford the Phenom II + 5770 :D

You can cut the price of the OS down to $30 if you are a student:

http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/software/windows-7.aspx
 
I put together a build, but defaultluser's is better. I recommend his, and you can spend a little more on the processor if you get the $30 version of Windows 7.
 
Fail said:
u still need a case bro
Click to expand...

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Cooler Master Elite 331 case and ANTEC BP500U 500W Power Supply
Click to expand...

He Does not need a case. He *MIGHT* need a powersupply.

Kyle tested the Basiq, and his only test where it failed was the 500w full-load test on 100v source voltage. It passed all other tests perfectly. Since the OP is unlikely to load this powersupply past 250w, I don't think we need to worry about that outside failure case.

http://hardocp.com/article/2007/10/03/50_power_supply_roundup/2
 
defaultluser said:
You don't have to settle for an Athlon II x4, nor a 5750. You can afford better :)

I did this build for someone the other day

MSI 770 chipset $80 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...228&cm_re=msi_770_ddr3-_-13-130-228-_-Product

AMD Phenom II x4 945 3GHz $155 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...03696&cm_re=phenom_945-_-19-103-696-_-Product

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 OEM $105 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...54&cm_re=windows_7_oem-_-32-116-754-_-Product

4GB OCZ 1333 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227479

XFX 5770 1GB $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-150-462-_-Product

Hitachi deskstar 500GB $55 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145215&Tpk=deskstar 500gb+55

DVD burner $25 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

$675 before tax and shipping. Total shipping = $7 Someone else might be able to cut a few bills off this with combos, but you can definitely afford the Phenom II + 5770 :D

You can cut the price of the OS down to $30 if you are a student:

http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/software/windows-7.aspx
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply. Looks like maybe I was shooting a little low on the scale of CPU and graphics card. I've been lurking and seeing talk about CPU/GPU bottlenecks. Is this likely in this scenario?

And yes, the power supply I am using is an ANTEC Basiq.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
$700, he still can slap in a new PSU.

CPU/MOBO - AMD Phenom II X4 925 + Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P both for $200.98 ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335019

RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600 for $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263

VIDEO/PSU - XFX Radeon HD 5770 + Antec NEO ECO 520W both for $209.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.339703

HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB for $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

OPTICAL - LG 24X Sata DVD Burner for $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

O/S – Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit for $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

Subtotal: $695.92
Shipping: 0
Total: $695.92
 
HardwareGuru said:
$700, he still can slap in a new PSU.

CPU/MOBO - AMD Phenom II X4 925 + Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P both for $200.98 ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335019

RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600 for $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263

VIDEO/PSU - XFX Radeon HD 5770 + Antec NEO ECO 520W both for $209.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.339703

HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB for $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

OPTICAL - LG 24X Sata DVD Burner for $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

O/S – Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit for $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

Subtotal: $695.92
Shipping: 0
Total: $695.92
Click to expand...

Is the extra 20W on the power supply important? Or is the Basiq a poor performer? I know the fan is a little loud on mine.
 
I have the Antec Basiq 350 model and the fan is loud also because it needs to keep the inner components cool. I notice just how warm the psu gets to be. I modded the internal fan to run at 7V so... it would be a little quieter. But, when I did that, it wasn't cooling it enough and my PC rebooted. I don't use it anymore. I included the Antec NEO ECO 520W because it's a better PSU. Also, it would be more ideal if you are considering overclocking the CPU. I would just put aside the Antec Basiq 500 and use it as a backup.
 
hossdaddy said:
Nice build HardwareGuru, the only thing you may have overlooked is that he mentioned in first post xfire would be nice for future. Maybe this board instead,

MSI 790X-G45 AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard + Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
$194.98
Click to expand...

That's a very nice find, but HardwareGuru is desperately trying to find a way to squeeze-in a PSU that I'm not sure the OP needs. Your board combo costs him $25 more, and Guru will have to downgrade the CPU even more than the Phenom II 945 I had in my build. I think it will have to come down to this $120 Phenom II x3 2.5 GHz :rolleyes:

Seriously HardwareGuru, stop siphoning money away from other components just so you can fix a problem that's not there.

So you had a bad experience? Well, guess what, someone had a bad experience with the Neo 520 - I guess we better change the build again!

Reviewed By: on 1/11/2010
Rating + 1
Tech Level Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: None.
Cons: Got one, it was DOA, issued a replacement from a different factory, DOA too, got a refund and ordered a nice Corsair PSU. I dont blame Antec, I'm sure it was a third party's parts, but it was terrible.
Other Thoughts: Get a Corsair.
Click to expand...

So what if the Basiq is a budget model? It's not like it's some $25 COOLMAX piece of shit. We already know it works, so it can't be DOA. It will do the job, and will probably last long. You're not exactly going to be replacing it with a high-end model, so why bother?
 
Last edited:
The Phenom II 925 is not much of a downgrade from a Phenom II 945 cpu. 200mhz is minor and can easily be achieved by overclocking. Why bother cross-firing for a mere 1680 x 1050 resolution? I can understand if it's at least 1920 x 1200 res or higher. Besides, although your build is $10-11 cheaper than my build, I included a power supply in the build and still meets his $700 budget.
 
The build above looks good to me. Only a couple things pop up in my mind, for just a little more $$ he can get the X4 955 Black Edition CPU, and it doesn't look like he loses out on a combo deal. I'd also suggest DDR3 1600 RAM since he's interested in OC'ing, and it really doesn't cost too much more.

Second I'd recommend the Radeon 4890 over 5770, it benchmarks better and costs just a little more. I got a 4890 OC'd edition for 180$ via eBay (and competes with the 380$ GTX 285), I def don't regret passing on the 5770. Unless the OP is really worried about gaming in DirectX 11, or things like Eyefiniti. IMO DirectX 11 won't be the standard for quite some time.

@HGuru: Great find on the Corsair RAM, I'm def adding that to my tax return build. Shame that G Skill DDR3 1600 increased from 85$ to 105$ on newegg
 
ok heres mine, it should make everyone happy. It includes re-using teh current psu which is more than enough for this rig.

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz + XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB Combo
$298.98
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX + A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $193.98 - $15mir
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $104.99 + fs
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB $54.99 + fs
LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA $24.99 + fs
Total: $677.93 - $15 mir.

Save the $23 and save up for a better psu down teh road but its not necessary at this time.
 
hossdaddy said:
ok heres mine, it should make everyone happy. It includes re-using teh current psu which is more than enough for this rig.

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz + XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB Combo
$298.98
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX + A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $193.98 - $15mir
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $104.99 + fs
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB $54.99 + fs
LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA $24.99 + fs
Total: $677.93 - $15 mir.

Save the $23 and save up for a better psu down teh road but its not necessary at this time.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I'll back that build.

The concept, HardwareGuru, is he can buy the new powersupply if he decides to go with Crossfire. The motherboard simply gives him that upgrade option in the future, for a few dollars more. Right now, this is the best choice given his limited budget.
 
That's fair enough. In the next month or two the combos I had in my build may end also.

defaultluser said:
Agreed, I'll back that build.

The concept, HardwareGuru, is he can buy the new powersupply if he decides to go with Crossfire. The motherboard simply gives him that upgrade option in the future, for a few dollars more. Right now, this is the best choice given his limited budget.
Click to expand...
 
I'll probably go with the last build listed since it seems most everyone agrees on it. Thanks for all the help.
 
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