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Inexpensive Build suggestions?

D

DaRat

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
Messages
1,278
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming. I'm mainly building the PC to run the old republic at a decent ramerate, my laptop can't keep up. I may also use this PC in the future as an HTPC.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I'm going to start low at $500. I can probably go up to $600+ but I want to try to keep it somewhat low.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA -> south New Jersey
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.
Mobo, CPU, RAM, Graphics, Harddrive, DVD Drive, PSU, and hopefully a small Case.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Nothing. I'm trying to do this from scratch
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I currently have no monitor, so I will have to buy one of them as well. That is not included in the budget because I may purchase a new TV soon.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
After christmas
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
No clue what features I should even look for at this point. I'm thinking one that can support a quad core processor so if I want to I can upgrade the processor in the future
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have Windows 7. Can I use my license on more than one computer without issue?

Personally, I'm looking for a machine that will be able to run Star Wars TOR well, maybe turn into an HTPC. Other than that, I'm not really sure what else I would do with it other than web browsing. Might possibly use it for some audio programs as well, although I can dedicate my Laptop to that.

I'm seriously in the black about what is good now a days. The last time i even looked into building my own computer was over 5 years ago, and things have changes SO much since then.

I realize everyone will have a different opinion, ideally I think I want to stick with something that will be stable. From what I can tell quad core is now the way to go, since dual core is getting obsolete? Hoping I can swing this with my budget.

Thanks for any and all help everyone! I really appreciate any guidance.
 
For that price range (600-800) it would be very difficult to build a rig yourself that performs well. Also, if you got a copy of Windows 7 with another system such as your laptop, chances are it won't reinstall on another system (at the very least that would violate their ToS).

My suggestion is to buy a prebuilt gaming rig off of Newegg or Amazon. I know Newegg has a lot of very good gaming rigs from iBuyPower, CyberPowerPC, etc for around $600 to $700. They typically come with a quad core AMD, 8GB of ram, like 1TB of HDD, and anywhere from a Radeon 5670 to a nVidia 560 Ti depending on price. Even the basic models with the RAdeon 5670 (which was like $550 last I checked), you'll be able to run SWTOR without any issues at all. Plus, these come with windows 7 pre-installed, saves you that headache too.

I wouldn't consider building a rig yourself unless you had at least $1000, preferably $1500 or so.

Here's a few pre-built gaming pcs from newegg just as reference.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227357 - $750
Athlon II x 4, 4GB DDR3, 1.5 TB HDD, Radeon HD 6790

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227369 - $569
 
See the thing is I really only plan to game with The Old Republic.. A game that doesn't necessarily have high standards. That's why I was hoping for a rig around $500.

And the Windows 7 disc i do own. I purchased it out right, did not come with my old computer.


Although that Newegg Rig doesn't look half bad for the price at all.. Thanks for that suggestion!
 
if you want to drive up to Paterson NJ to the Microcenter, there are cheap stuff there as well

I'd either recommend an i3 2100($100 + any <$80 h61 mobo) or a AMD combo.

I'd say the Phenom II X4 quad for $140(though the i3 dual would be nice since you can drop in to upgrade an i5 2500k quad at any time). There is barely any point from upgrading from x4 to x6 via AMD

intel Sandy Bridge (i3 2100/i5 2500k) are really power efficient(google for power consumption benchmarks). an i3 gaming is equivalent to an AMD X4(games now are only starting to use quad cores, and the i3 is more efficient core for core)

---- so $140-$160 for cpu + mobo
RAM: There are 2x4GB DDR3 deals around $30... keep an eye out
PSU: I like this Corsair 430v, $40 after rebate. I got one a week ago for $20 after rebaet, so maybe wait or look at another ~400-500w PSU
Case: Any $30-$70 case would do, depending on what you like (eg space premium over design?)
HDD: Not sure if you want an SSD (if you look properly, can find 64GB SSDs ~ $70 or 120GB SSDS ~ $150. HDDs are expensive right now :(
GPU: ?

Total Cost:
$160 (mobo + CPU)
$30 (ram)
$40 (psu)
$50 (case)
$100 (hdd)
? GPU.. choose one between $100-150
= $380 + GPU($150) + cheap $20 DVD Drive ~= $550

PS: You can install Windows 7 via USB drive(prep it on another computer with a DVD drive or downloaded ISO)... if you don't watch any movies(like me), you can skip on the DVD Drive
 
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I feel like intel i3 is the way to go for my budget.. From what I can tell it performs better or just as well as any AMD processor that's comparatively priced. Is this accurate?
 
gaming, toss up b/w i3 and AMD

multi-tasking, maybe, I'd inch towards AMD a little

heavy parallel tasks (eg movie encoding), nah, quad cores still > dual cores

go read up on Intel i3 2100 reviews/benchmarks, and see what you'll be doing

but basically, this offers you an definite option for a massive upgrade (to a quad i5 2500k).. and lower power consumption with the i3
 
DaRat said:
I feel like intel i3 is the way to go for my budget.. From what I can tell it performs better or just as well as any AMD processor that's comparatively priced. Is this accurate?
Click to expand...
Mostly accurate when it comes to games.
 
Anyone seen any good deals lately? I've been scouring the hot deals sites and really have not seen any killer deals on parts yet..Maybe I'm not looking hard enough? Need to pull the trigger soon, i now own the old republic and playing @ 10 FPS' is killer! lol
 
I bought 8GB (2x4GB) GSkill 1600Mhz RAM at Newegg for $30. I consider it a good deal.
 
If going to micro center for the combo deal, and plan to upgrade to the 2500k down the road, don't get an H mobo, or you will be replacing that too. No point in getting a 2500k if not overclocking.
 
Prelim build:
$200 - Intel Core i3 2100 + Biostar TH67A+ Intel H67 mATX Motherboard
$35 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$170 - XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$86 - Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB SATA Hard Drive
$17 - Samsung SH-222AB SATA DVD Burner
$48 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
----
Total: $606 shipped.
 
Danny Bui said:
Prelim build:
$200 - Intel Core i3 2100 + Biostar TH67A+ Intel H67 mATX Motherboard
$35 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$170 - XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$86 - Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB SATA Hard Drive
$17 - Samsung SH-222AB SATA DVD Burner
$48 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
----
Total: $606 shipped.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! I have to look into it, and also see if Dell has another steal on an XPS system. One yesterday (with all coupons) was going for about $650. Core i7 processor, basic Geforce card. Upgraded card was about $90 on top of that price. Don't think I could build a system like that for so cheap.
 
If you're just gaming no reason to get an i7. Plus, for gaming the GPU matters more than CPU, so that basic Geforce card would have hobbled your performance.
 
Tsuyoi said:
If you're just gaming no reason to get an i7. Plus, for gaming the GPU matters more than CPU, so that basic Geforce card would have hobbled your performance.
Click to expand...

I actually ended up going with the dell deal and upgrading the GPU a bit. I realize if I decide to use this for any other features it will be more than enough (mainly HTPC). Priced the computer out myself and to build myself wasn't much less money, the 2 year warranty seemed to be worth the extra cash IMHO.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions though! I appreciate it. Now I must either upgrade my TV or purchase a monitor to go with this bad boy...
 
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