Game rig for 700$?

[wetdevil]

Is it possible to get a good game system for 700 including monitor speakers everything ect? Ive been out of the computer circle for a while I needa know what to newegg.. about 700$ budget.. what do I get?

 

[mpeg4v3]

I'd say yes. It wouldn't be top of the line, of course, but if you went with a mobile barton 2400 or 2500 (intending to overclock), some decent ram (I'm sure you could squeeze 2x 256mb sticks into the budger), a mobo with onboard sound and LAN (like almost every nf2 mobo has), and a radeon 9600 (perhaps even pro) you'd be able to pull off a pretty decent system. Plus, you can get decent sized CRTs (17", but preferrably 19", just don't skimp on quality for larger size) for around $200 or so. Read Anandtech's budget system guide; it's a pretty good guide on how to get the most of your money, especially if you're going to overclock. Overclocking is a poor(er) man's upgrade.

 

[wetdevil]

I need to newegg the system. What specifically should I buy? I get kind of lost in the brands

 

[Roost426]

POWMAX Black Mid Tower ATX Case with 400W Power Supply, Model "769-5" -RETAIL = $25.00

Shuttle nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "AN35N-Ultra" -RETAIL = $64.00

POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9800SE Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "R98SE-C3" -RETAIL = $152.00

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail = $80.00

Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail = $103.00

Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only = $71.50

Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S, OEM = $32.00

ViewSonic E90B 19" CRT Monitor -RETAIL = $165.00

AOPEN MODEL MS-805B 2.1 SPEAKERS -RETAIL = $23.00

Total = 715.50 without shipping

Heres a rough outline, might be a tad over the budget,but I left a little room for you to shave off if need be. Such as getting a normal cd rom instead of the RW drive would take off 10$ also there is some cheaper RAM, but I prefer the mushkin.

Also, don't forget you will need a copy of windows unless you have others

Also this 9800se card has a very good chance of being turned into a normal 9800pro by simply installing the wizzard or omega drivers, and even if the mod fails the card is still quite competitive with others in its price range (9600pro/XT)

Also, I only picked 1 512mb instead of 2 256mb because it will leave you room to add another 512 in the future and also Dual channel does not offer significant performance gains on AMD chipsets.

One other thing is, once you have some more cash I would buy a sparkle or fortron 350w power supply to replace the one that comes with this case.

Ok guys tear my set up apart

 

[afirawker]

^^DONT, I REPEAT DONT go with the 9800SE(SE aka Shitty Edititon). Might as well go with a 9600XT. Everything else seems good to go.

 

[Roost426]

This 9800se has a very good chance at being turned into a 9800pro, it already has the 256bit memory only the pipes will be opened. If it doesnt work the card is equal in or VERY close in performance to a 9600 pro.

 

[Captain Rehab]

Is it possible to get a good game system for 700 including monitor speakers everything ect? Ive been out of the computer circle for a while I needa know what to newegg.. about 700$ budget.. what do I get?

Another job or an XBOX.

Seriously, you should consider saving up just a little bit more cash so that you can continue to play games over the next two years. You will be frustrated with any gaming system that cost you 700 bucks, including the cost of an OS.

 

[lorcani]

Just for reference, Newegg has the OEM Windows XP - Home edition (arguably the best budget gamer's OS) for $95. You'll probably need closer to $850 for a full computing system.

Also, 17" monitors run as low as $96 plus shipping at Newegg, if you want to shave some money off there.