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Budget Gaming PC

T

TXAG

n00b
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
57
My friend wants to build a budget gaming PC to play Diablo 3. I need advice to lower the cost as much as possible. He wants to be able to play at medium to high settings at 1080p.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Playing Diablo 3 only
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No more than $700, but want to go lower if possible. Tax and shipping not included.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
San Antonio, Texas
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, RAM, HDD, PSU, GPU, Wireless network card, Optical Drive, Mobo, Windows 7.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
My friend has a 5 year old Antec ATX case, but doesn't know the model number.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1080p
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 1 week
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.
SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No


Here are the parts I'm thinking about for my friend:
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077 - $124.99
MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128550 - $99.99
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814130770 - $129.99
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424 - $39.99
Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827135204 - $17.99
PSU: http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWa...e=UTF8&qid=1338163897&sr=1-3&tag=hardfocom-20 - $54.99
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 - $99.99

That leaves the HDD and the wireless network card. Total is at $567.93.

TIA!
 
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Drop the motherboard down to this to shave off $18:
$90 - Intel BOXDH67CLB3 Intel H67 mATX Motherboard

Buy that same CPU and DVD burner from this combo link to shave off $10:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.936666

You can shave off $2 by going with this equal quality PSU:
$53 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

The video card is the unknown here: I have not been able to find a solid review of that GPU. So I'm not sure just how good its performance is. I recommend the HD 7770 since I know its performance level is gonna be better than other known and reviewed AMD or Nvidia cards in that price range and it'll shave off $7:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131460

As for the last two parts you need:
$80 - Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$28 - Asus PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter
 
TXAG said:
My friend wants to build a budget gaming PC to play Diablo 3. I need advice to lower the cost as much as possible. He wants to be able to play at medium to high settings at 1080p.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Playing Diablo 3 only
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No more than $700, but want to go lower if possible. Tax and shipping not included.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
San Antonio, Texas
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, RAM, HDD, PSU, GPU, Wireless network card, Optical Drive, Mobo, Windows 7.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
My friend has a 5 year old Antec ATX case, but doesn't know the model number.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1080p
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 1 week
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.
SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No


Here are the parts I'm thinking about for my friend:
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077 - $124.99
MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128550 - $99.99
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814130770 - $129.99
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424 - $39.99
Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827135204 - $17.99
PSU: http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWa...e=UTF8&qid=1338163897&sr=1-3&tag=hardfocom-20 - $54.99
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 - $99.99

That leaves the HDD and the wireless network card. Total is at $567.93.

TIA!
Click to expand...

I agree with Danny here. For that $18 savings, by going with that Intel-branded H67 mobo instead of the Gigabyte H77 mobo you or whomever you're building this PC for would lose native USB 3.0 support (which with the Intel-branded H67 mobo would instead be provided by an onboard Renesas controller) but gain an onboard Intel Gig-E LAN instead of the Gigabyte's Qualcomm/Atheros Gig-E LAN.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions! I guess I could go with that Intel mobo.

As for the video card, my friend's brother has that card and it plays Diablo 3 well. I've heard that Radeon cards tend to have more driver problems than nvidia. Is that true?
 
TXAG said:
As for the video card, my friend's brother has that card and it plays Diablo 3 well. I've heard that Radeon cards tend to have more driver problems than nvidia. Is that true?
Click to expand...
Are you sure he has the GTX 560 SE? It's not a card that we actually see much here in the forums. And yes, Radeon cards do tend to have a little more driver issues than Nvidia. But they usually fix them.
 
The biggest driver issues are the CF ones. Single card solutions isnt too bad. But they are slower to hand out drivers on game releases.
 
If it's literally only for diablo just get a SSD instead of a storage HDD.
 
My friend thinks he'd rather have the i5 3550 ivy bridge - $210. Will that work with that intel mobo?

Is there a smaller hdd that you'd recommend to keep the price under $700? An ssd would put it over budget.
 
My friend thinks he'd rather have the i5 3550 ivy bridge - $210. Will that work with that intel mobo?

Is there a smaller hdd that you'd recommend to keep the price under $700? An ssd would put it over budget.
 
TXAG said:
My friend thinks he'd rather have the i5 3550 ivy bridge - $210. Will that work with that intel mobo?

Is there a smaller hdd that you'd recommend to keep the price under $700? An ssd would put it over budget.
Click to expand...

It looks like the board can support ivy bridge processors, but it may require a BIOS update to do so. A visit to Intel's support forum for the board shows that they have a March BIOS (0151) release that includes support for 22nm processors (i.e. ivy bridge). There is an even more recent release (0155) that adds more 22nm support, though I suspect that is probably for the dual core ivy bridge chips that are supposed to be released in June.

The issue is whether the board shipped to you will have that March (or more recent) BIOS. If it does, you are all set. If it doesn't have that BIOS, you will need to update it. That's where it becomes a guessing game for me. I've seen some boards that can run a new unsupported CPU with a BIOS not designed for it, just usually without all of the features enabled. If you can get it to boot up with the CPU, then you can probably run the BIOS update to fully support it. In some cases, however, you can't get the motherboard to boot with the new CPU until the BIOS is updated. In that case, you need to have an older CPU available (in this case, some version of Sandy Bridge), that you can install and then run the BIOS upgrade. Once that is done, you remove the Sandy Bridge CPU and install the Ivy Bridge processor. New boards coming out of the factory now should have a relatively recent BIOS. The potential snafu is if the motherboard you receive has been sitting around the warehouse for several months and has an older BIOS version.

If you really intend to run and Ivy Bridge processor and don't intend to overclock, I think I would be tempted by one of the B75-based motherboards. Those will come with a BIOS that will support Ivy Bridge. Here is one from AsRock that would seem suitable for $80. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157314
 
Last edited:
If I get the i5 2400 sandy bridge will that most likely work without a BIOS update?

Also, I looked at the amd website for the hd 7770, and they recommend at least a 500 W psu. The one that was suggested is only 400 W.
 
Yes, an i5 2400 would run in that Intel motherboard just fine. Good CPU.

As for PSU power, the graphics card manufacturer's tend to overestimate the amount of power needed because 1) lots of people buy crappy PSUs that can't deliver their advertised wattage, and 2) So that even systems running power hungry (e.g. 130W) CPUs are covered. My wife has an i5 2400 (95W CPU) combined with an Nvidia GTX 460 and, running all out, the system only pulls about 280W. The dual core Sandy Bridge (i3 2120) is even less demanding as it is a 65W CPU.

If you are still feeling skittish about the PSU, you can pick up a Corsair Builder CX500 for $44 after using a promo code (10% off expires today) and a $10 off mail-in-rebate. Those seem to be a popular budget unit on these forums and are of reasonable quality. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

A step up on the Neo Eco line to their 520W model will push the price up to $60 for the PSU, though sometimes there are specials on those units. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
 
Thanks. My friend was thinking about ordering everything today, so maybe he can get that psu deal.
 
If your friend isn't planning on upgrading his GPU in the next 3-4 years, I would stick with the Antec Neo Eco 400C as the Antec Neo Eco 400C is of higher quality than the CX500. So with the Antec, you have a higher chance of the PSU actually lasting longer.
 
Ok, thanks. Any recommendations for a smaller HDD? I'm thinking 250 GB would be good.
 
TXAG said:
Ok, thanks. Any recommendations for a smaller HDD? I'm thinking 250 GB would be good.
Click to expand...
NOt really. THe smaller drives are price way too high and are very slow compared to the 500GB drives. You would save like $10 but you would take such a massive hit to performance.


TXAG said:
Also, he might want to upgrade the video card in the future. Is the 520 W Antec NEO ECO the same quality as the 400 W version?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
Click to expand...
Yes
 
Raudulfr said:
You can get a decent 60/64GB SSD for less than $80.
Click to expand...

True, but I have a 128 GB SSD in my computer, and with Windows 7, a few essential programs, and Diablo 3, it is already using 52 GB. He might want a little more extra storage.
 
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