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$800 gaming build

J

jtvd78

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
303
So my friend wants a new computer, and he wants to start playing games on the computer.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Just gaming and web browsing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
800 including shipping
3) Where do you live?
Centeral NJ
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Motherboard, PSU, CPU, HDD, CD dive, Windows, Memory, Case, GPU; every internal part
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Mouse, keyboard, Speakers, Monitor
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
He has a 17" dell e172fpt, which has a resolution of 1280x1024
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
soon
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing really
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
No. I want windows 7 x64 ( the cheapest one)


I know that the budget is very tight, so we will have to deal with it tho. I might be able to squeeze a little more money out of him tho.

Here's what I have so far. I'm not great at making part lists, so I think there will be alot of changes.
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13036225
 
Heya,

I have a very similar build situation in the following thread:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1545149

You could probably save on the motherboard. Is there something specific on that mobo that your friend needs other than onboard sound?

As someone pointed out in my thread, you can get a decent bundle with that case and an Antec power supply if your friend doesn't care about having the Corsair (depends on the quality of each).

A few people have also recommended to me getting the GF 460 over that 5770. The difference on video cards is getting to be tiny, especially with the recent price drop. You could get pretty close on the 768 MB version at least.
 
Everything looks solid, the only changes i would recommend are purely based on personal convenience.

1. Like Jacks said above, you could save some bucks if you were to find a case / psu combo. There are plenty of antec combos that are great value for the bang you get. For example, the Antec Three Hundred would go great with the budget gaming build you are aiming to get, and that case has plenty of combos on newegg.

2. Another thing is again purely based on convenience. What I did was buy the Phenom X2 and used it in a combo with a mobo. I then unlocked the last two cores to make it essentially that Phenom X4 you have. The total came out to be like 140 for both mobo and a processor that I unlocked to a quad core.

Again, that's alot more steps necessary then just simply buying a Phenom X4 like you have listed, so it's your own personal choice. If you have the money, then do what you think is easiest for you, don't let anyone else force you otherwise.

3. The GTX460 has been going down in price significantly. If you wait maybe a couple more weeks, I am pretty sure that you can get a 768 Fermi for around 150-160 mark. There already is a Sparkle GTX 460 768 for 165ish at MicroCenter, and the Sparkle comes with a lifetime warranty as well just like the EVGA.

Other then that, everything looks real solid. You can be really nitpicky and go with a different brand here and there, but I don't see any main problems with your build.
 
The motherboard I'm really iffy on. I don't see any reason for that Nvidia motherboard in that list at all.

In addition, I don't see any reason whatsoever to get the GTX 460. It's complete overkill for 1280x1024.

I recommend this setup instead:
$243 - AMD Phenom II X4 945 CPU + Sapphire 100284L Radeon HD 5750 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$141 - Asus M4A785TD-V Evo AMD 785G ATX Motherboard + G.skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$20 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$110 - Antec Neo Eco 520C 620W PSU + Antec 300 ATX Case
$100 - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM
----
$789 plus tax and shipping.

Should be under $800 once tax and shipping is factored in.
 
I just built a computer for my brother using this $70 mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290&cm_re=msi_870-_-13-130-290-_-Product

For the money ($105 AR) nothing beats the radeon 4870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1376&cm_re=radeon_4870-_-14-121-376-_-Product
As you can see, it dominates the similarly priced 5750: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/176?vs=173

I was pleasantly surprised with its quality. So if you want to save a few bucks, look into it.

I also agree with the above poster: a 460 is overkill for 1280x1024.
 
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