Cheap Gaming Rig - Extreme Budget

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Siriusmuzik

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 7, 2007
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Hi guys,

I will be reusing any part that is not mentioned here in the buy list. I have my own windows 7 key, monitor, keyboard, mouse, harddrive.

I am looking for a gaming build. I game at 1920x1080 resolution.

Here is the part list I put together from Microcenter. I'm decently flexible with my budget.

1. Thermaltake V4 Black Edition VM30001W2Z ATX Mid Tower $39.99 (29.99 AR)
2. LG 22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual Layer Support $17.99
3. MSI H61M-P23 (B3) LGA 1155 H61 mATX - $14.99
3. Intel i3 2100 Processor $99.99
4. Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C 4GB DDR3-1333 $22.99 ($17.99 AR)
5. Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500 Watt $39.99
-----
Total $254.15 not including rebate

I need suggestion for a videocard I can buy at microcenter!


I was also thinking of doing a AMD 1055T build, since it's only $30 more.

What do you guys think? Intel i3 2100 setup or AMD 1055T?

Thanks!




1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
GAMING, CSS, SC2, and BF3

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Flexible

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA

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/MOBO/RAM/PSU/VIDEO CARD/DVD BURNER

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
MONITOR (DELL U2311H), keyboard, mouse, speakers, windows 7.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Budget doesn't allow, otherwise YES.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
23" 1920 x 1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP

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)? etc.
USB 3.0 would be nice so as SATA 6 Gb/s

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 64 bit
 
Siriusmuzik said:
I'm decently flexible with my budget.
Click to expand...
What exactly does that mean? Are you aiming for the cheapest build possible or best bang for the buck possible? What is the maximum amount of money that you can spend on this PC?
Siriusmuzik said:
5. Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500 Watt $39.99
Click to expand...
Not a good choice at all unless you want a dead PC. Go for the Corsair 430X 430W at a minimum.
 
Danny Bui said:
What exactly does that mean? Are you aiming for the cheapest build possible or best bang for the buck possible? What is the maximum amount of money that you can spend on this PC?

Not a good choice at all unless you want a dead PC. Go for the Corsair 430X 430W at a minimum.
Click to expand...

Hi Danny Bui,

I am trying to be as price efficient as possible. For example, Intel i3 2100 is $99.99 but I'm willing to spend $129.99 on AMD 1055T if it's worth it. Really hard to describe, I want to balance price and performance as best as I can. I would like to keep this under $300 excluding the video card.

Thanks for PSU suggestion. I will replace it.
 
Damn, newegg's price is a lot cheaper than microcenter. Was hoping to get it all at microcenter tomorrow. Any other PSU suggestion or should I be adamant about the Corsair 430.
 
Siriusmuzik said:
For example, Intel i3 2100 is $99.99 but I'm willing to spend $129.99 on AMD 1055T if it's worth it.
Click to expand...
Depends on what game matters more to you and whether or not you're actually going to overclock. In CSS and SC2, the Core i3 2100 is gonna significantly outperform the AMD 1055T. The AMD 1055T will probably outperform the Core i3 2100 in BF3 once you start overclocking that AMD CPU. However that means a better mobo (read: more expensive) and a 3rd party HSF (about an additional $30) if you want to OC. But at stock, the AMD 1055T might perform the same in BF3 as the Core i3 2100.
Siriusmuzik said:
Really hard to describe, I want to balance price and performance as best as I can.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately that still doesn't help me in regards to the GPU: How much money are you willing to spend on the GPU?

With that said, due to your high resolution, the cheapest card I can recommend for BF3 would be the $180 HD 6870 1GB for a mixture of low to medium settings. But for better performance in BF3, you're looking at the GTX 560 TI, HD 6950 2GB, or GTX 560 TI 448 Core. With any of those three options, you're looking at a larger and more expensive PSU as well. For CSS and SC2, the HD 6870 should be more than enough power for high settings at your resolution.

Siriusmuzik said:
Damn, newegg's price is a lot cheaper than microcenter. Was hoping to get it all at microcenter tomorrow. Any other PSU suggestion or should I be adamant about the Corsair 430.
Click to expand...

If you can buy from Newegg, I'd recommend this PSU instead:
$45 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

Speaking of Newegg, get the RAM and case from there too:
$18 - Patriot Signature 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case

You don't have to deal with a rebate for the RAM and you get significantly better case that has better cooling, better cable management, more room, and slightly higehr quality.
 
Hello Dany, thanks for the help.

I will just get the GTX 560. Do you think the TI is worth the extra price? What about the 448 core?

I'll need a beefier PSU I think, 500 Watt?
opinion on this PSU:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0328088

or this on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16817341017
$50 AR then you get a $15 GC through Newegg.

Since this is a budget board, I think I'll stick to the i3 2100. Cheap boards can't really OC well, and that's pointless to buy the AMD then.

Also, I was thinking about this case:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0343331

opinion?
 
Last edited:
Siriusmuzik said:
Hello Dany, thanks for the help.

I will just get the GTX 560. Do you think the TI is worth the extra price? What about the 448 core?
Click to expand...

Due to your high resolution, yes the TI and TI 448 Core are worth the extra cash if you can swing it. However you may need a better CPU to keep up with those cards.

Siriusmuzik said:
I'll need a beefier PSU I think, 500 Watt?
opinion on this PSU:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0328088

or this on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16817341017
$50 AR then you get a $15 GC through Newegg.
Click to expand...
Neither PSUs are good. I recommend this PSU instead if you're going with the GTX 560 or above:
$69 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
Siriusmuzik said:
Also, I was thinking about this case:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0343331

opinion?
Click to expand...
A bit pricey considering that its normal price awhile back was $60. But still a decent case if you want to buy locally. However there are better cases for the money out there like the NZXT case I recommended earlier and the following cases:
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$80 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
 
I'd go with the ti atleast especially at that resolution. The i3 and the 1055t are both going to bottleneck a bit depending of which game you play. as for PSU try going for a corsair, they have been great to me. Since you probably don't care for modular that will save you some $. Also you should try to get 8gb ram at the least since ram is so cheap now anyways its like $30. If you are able to go to microcenter try and grab a cpu/mobo combo for sure it's the best price. Everything else majority of the time is much cheaper on Newegg. Let us know how it goes. I'm debating on build a budget tower for my GF's place and I have a 1055t I'm not sure if I'm going to sell or reuse.
 
+1 for the Antec Neo Eco 620W. Just bought it for my new build, very quiet and with some spare power for future upgrades
 
Excalibur55 said:
+1 for the Antec Neo Eco 620W. Just bought it for my new build, very quiet and with some spare power for future upgrades
Click to expand...

It annoyed me when i clicked on the reviews for that PS, and saw that people were paying $40 for it 2 years ago... now its up to $70. :rolleyes:
 
Bought it last october : 55$ in canadian dollars on Newegg shellshocker deal. A steal at this price... Guess I was lucky that day.
 
Hi guys, I came back from microcenter with all the parts last night. Built it, I've built a hundred computers before so I know I did it right, powered it up ... and it wouldn't turn on!

I double checked to make sure I had everything installed correctly, and I did. So I was sure it was the power supply.

I know you guys warned me against the Cooler Master Extreme 500W, but I ignored you all to save some money.

I went in, told them it was dead, exchanged it for a Corsair CX500.

I went home, plugged in the Corsair CX500 PSU and connected it in under 5 minutes, and booted it up perfectly. So it was the power supply unit for sure. I will never buy a Cooler Master PSU ever again. Even if it is their higher priced PSUs.

Thanks everyone for their help in this thread.
 
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