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budget gamer build

H

herfalerf

Gawd
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
698
Hi need some help putting together a budget gaming build. thanks.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
gaming, web browsing, maybe some word processing every now and again.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 including shipping and tax
3) Where do you live?
The Republic of Texas
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.
CPU, RAM, mobo, case (attractive, but not flashy) cooling solution(if necessary). HDD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Seasonic S12II 620w PSU, pretty much brand new, gtx 460 1gb, samsun super writemaster dvd burner
6) Will you be overclocking?
it would be nice to have the option, if i do any it will be mild.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
acer x193w+ bd 1680x1050
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
within the month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
sli would be a plus, upgrade-ability would be also..
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
yes, windows 7 ultimate 64bit
 
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What sort of games do you plan on playing?

Are you near Houston/Dallas (Microcenter)?

I wouldn't worry about SLI unless you plan on upgrading your monitor.
 
currently i play TF2, MW2, borderlands, L4D2. going to pick up starcraft 2 and black ops when it release, looking forward to diablo 3 if it ever comes out. i may dabble with the new medal of honor and battlefield games when they are released. would like to expand into some dx11 titles, but none of the current ones really appeal to me.

i live in ft worth, so the dallas microcenter is probably about an hour away. i may upgrade my monitor sometime in the next year, but for now i am satisfied with what i have. im not "worrying" about SLI so much as i want the option available to me, i will probably have the mobo/cpu for at least 2 years.
 
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Prelim build:
$207 - AMD Phenom II 945 CPU + G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT DDR3 1333 RAM
$75 - MSI 880GM-E41 AMD 880G mATX Motherboard
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
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Total: $338 plus and shipping.

Did you need a new case as well?
 
yes a i need a new case as well. why the mATX? i would like to get a nice case that would still be worthwhile to build a new system in 2 years down the road since my current case is crap and i am tired of replacing every year. as far as case aesthetics go i value elegance and simplicity, no flashing lights or stealth fighter style designs.
 
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herfalerf said:
yes a i need a new case as well. why the mATX? i would like to get a nice case that would still be worthwhile to build a new system in 2 years down the road since my current case is crap and i am tired of replacing every year. as far as case aesthetics go i value elegance and simplicity, no flashing lights or stealth fighter style designs.
Click to expand...

Well I recommended the mATX mobo simply because it was the cheapest mobo with six SATA slots from a company that I would buy from that I could find. Your answer to question 9 didn't really say anything else you might want in a mobo.

Case wise, that's something you're gonna have to decide for yourself as aesthetics and even aesthetic definitions can differ from person to person. Here's my recommended case list to look through:
$70 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922M RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-E8B ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$120 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case
$150 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$170 - Cooler Master Cosmos S 1000 RC-1100-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$180 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$180 - Lian Li PC-B25F ATX Case
$210 - Silverstone FT01-B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$240 - Lian Li PC-V1200A Plus II ATX Case
$300 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case
 
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Danny Bui said:
Well I recommended the mATX mobo simply because it was the cheapest mobo with six SATA slots from a company that I would buy from that I could find. Your answer to question 9 didn't really say anything else you might want in a mobo.
Click to expand...

like i said im a totally motherboard n00b, but why do i need 6 sata slots? i only plan on running 1 HDD and 1 optical drive. storage has never been that big of a deal to me, i havent even filled half of my current 500gb HDD. i mentioned that i would prefer to have SLI as an option in case i want to add another 460 down the road, maybe if/when i upgrade my monitor. is there another motherboard you could recommend which would have that as an option? i could maybe stretch my budget by about $50-75.
 
herfalerf said:
like i said im a totally motherboard n00b, but why do i need 6 sata slots? i only plan on running 1 HDD and 1 optical drive. storage has never been that big of a deal to me, i havent even filled half of my current 500gb HDD. i mentioned that i would prefer to have SLI as an option in case i want to add another 460 down the road, maybe if/when i upgrade my monitor. is there another motherboard you could recommend which would have that as an option? i could maybe stretch my budget by about $50-75.
Click to expand...

Sorry it was 3:25AM in the morning when I wrote that post. For some reason I thought you needed six SATA ports. Anyway I recommended that mobo because it was the cheapest latest chipset motherboard from a quality manufacturer that I could find.

As for the SLI requirement, for your small resolution, SLI doesn't seem to be very cost-effective. Unless you're planning on upgrading your monitor to one with 1920x1200 resolution within a month AND get that second GTX 460 1GB card within a month, there's really no point in spending the extra $65 to $85 for a SLI capable motherboard.

If you're not gonna get the second card and larger monitor within a month, there's a very very good chance you'll never go SLI. Just something I've noticed over the past 3 years doing/recommending system builds here on the forums.
 
thats probably true, i really cant see myself upgrading the monitor until christmas at the least, im really quite happy with my current size/resolution. i may even wait to build a new PC, my current computer is only a year old ($500 newegg bargain box with a q8200), still runs everything i want it to quite acceptably. may just wait until christmas when i can probably extend my budget to 750 or 1000.
 
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