Indecisive Budget Build

M

Mightymouse

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 10, 2004
Messages
132
I had originally planned on building a computer for around ~$850 with shipping, but since I really don't play that many games that are that graphic intensive, and I don't usually buy brand new games to play, I figured I can cut my budget down.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Nothing too special (counter-strike source, bioshock, HL2, L4d, Bioshock, quake live), some school programming stuff

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Unsure...just want to show my current build, but from anywhere up to $850 I had said at first

3) Where do you live?
Kansas

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, MB, Ram, PSU, graphics card

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Reusing optical drives, could reuse old case, but new one preferred.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 15" now, want to buy a 23/24" LCD on black friday

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
1-2 weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
eh, doesnt really need anything specific

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Have windows 7 with student deal

Here is my current deal:
$40 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115 - COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$55 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261061 - Palit NEAT2400FHD01 GeForce GT 240 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
(just read a review on Tom's hardware a friend linked me about this card, seems like a good deal. I was going to get the GTX 260 for 189)
Review: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gt-240,2475.html
$55 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004 - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$94 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260 - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - Retail
$325 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.290354
(combo, for i5 and mobo)

Total: $685 w/ shipping included

vs....
$40 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115 - COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$55 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$189 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814130434- EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$55 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004 - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$94 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260 - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - Retail
$430 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.290305
(combo, for i7 and mobo)

Total: ~$870 w/ shipping

***Main thing: what really will I be losing by saving $~180, and is it worth it to spend that extra money, and do you guys have suggestions for either?

My friend is really wanting me to get an SSD because he believes that that will give me a big boost in speed in comparison to getting the i7. I am unsure, and probably won't really care that much. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...167005&cm_re=intel_SSD-_-20-167-005-_-Product)
That's the SSD he reccommends, $260, sold out however.

My build seems good, as a middle/average gamer, nothing too graphic intensive. I was wondering if it seemed good, or if I was missing any other really good deals out there.
 
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Could you please list out the part names along with those links?

While a good SSD like the Intel X25-M would yield very noticeable performance improvements for most systems, they're not typically found in lower budget builds. However, if you have no other need for the money, then knock yourself out. I would definitely recommend a good SSD to anyone who can afford one, since it greatly improves performance. Your computer is as fast as your slowest component, and thats typically a mechanical HDD in most, if not all, systems. Though, there's still a rather large price premium for good SSDs, so if you'd like to hold off, nobody should blame you.
http://www.alphaq.org/enginurd/hdd/ocz_vertex.html

Could you please list out the part names along with those links?
 
enginurd said:
Could you please list out the part names along with those links?

While a good SSD like the Intel X25-M would yield very noticeable performance improvements for most systems, they're not typically found in lower budget builds. However, if you have no other need for the money, then knock yourself out. I would definitely recommend a good SSD to anyone who can afford one, since it greatly improves performance. Your computer is as fast as your slowest component, and thats typically a mechanical HDD in most, if not all, systems. Though, there's still a rather large price premium for good SSDs, so if you'd like to hold off, nobody should blame you.
http://www.alphaq.org/enginurd/hdd/ocz_vertex.html

Could you please list out the part names along with those links?
Click to expand...

done, and ya, the price is the one thing that is holding me back, which is why this budget build seems good enough for me. I did have another build for ~850 with an i7/same mobo, and then the video card being the GTX 260 for 189 instead of the one above. Obviously I know it is downsizing in the price/performance, but saving 200 dollars is nice too, especially if I will be picking up a monitor on black friday. If I am only playing middle level games, and I can alter game specs to fit my fps pleasure, then it seems like the best deal.
 
Hm... when you buy the larger monitor, you'll be gaming at a lower than native res? or will you want to play at native? If native, then you'll need a much better card than the GT240. For gaming at 1920x1080 or higher, you'll probably want at least an HD4870 for those older games, IMO.

Ditch the Antec Basiq PSU as its not a good choice for a gaming system. Its a basic 500W unit with as much power on the +12V rails as the Corsair CX 400W unit, so go for the Corsair instead -- much better quality and slightly cheaper.
$50 - Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified [FS] ($10MIR)

This case has free shipping, and is cheaper... same line of cases from CM:
$30 - COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black ATX Mid Tower [FS]

EDIT: By the way, that case price is good until 11/23 or while supplies last.
 
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well I might reuse an old case, so I'm not totally set on buying a new one yet. I changed the PSU, and I might change back to the old graphics card (I updated my original post)
 
For $190, I'd suggest the HD4890 over the GTX260. Then again, I'd also suggest the HD5770 instead of the HD4890, lol.
 
just adding to my indecisiveness haha. Now i'm back to pretty much my originally build / cost :)
 
This should be killer and smashes your current build for $685. Note that the GT 240 video card and Antec Basiq PS you selected don’t have free shipping so your current build is actually more than my build.

Antec Earthwatts EA650 + Antec Three Hundred both for $109.94 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.285167

XFX Radeon HD 4770 512MB + Intel Corei5-750 both for $304.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.280914

G. Skill 4GB DDR3 1600 + GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3LR both for $220.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289749

Seagate Barracuda 500GB for $54.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Total: $690.89 w/free shipping

Antec Earthwatts 650 is more powerful PSU than the Antec Basiq 500 Watt. This gives you more headroom to upgrade your video card to a Radeon 5850 or 5870 if you choose to do so later on.

Radeon HD 4770 performance is greater over the Geforce GT 240. The GT 240 performance is slightly below a Geforce 9800GT video card. The Radeon HD 4770 should also do well for games such as Counter Strike, HL2, L4D, Bioshock and Quake live even if you do get a 24” monitor with a higher resolution.
 
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