Light gaming build

D

Dougjwjr

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
274
A friend of mine has 2 computers, a 1.06ghz intel and a 1.6ghz amd, and they don't really fit his needs anymore. I was going to help him build a computer, And was looking for recommendations.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Light gaming, web browsing (he likes Diablo 2, and some other older games, but I'm going to try to get him into some new stuff

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $600 before shipping

3) Where do you live
98028

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, mobo, ram, case, vid card, monitor, hdd

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
keyboard and mouse lol

6) Will you be overclocking?
no

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
he has a 17" now I believe, was looking at a 19" ws

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
2-3 months from now

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I doubt he needs any of those honestly

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
yes


We spent about 10 minutes on newegg picking stuff out to get an idea. This is what we got.
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor $119
GIGABYTE GA-G41M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $64.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1 Black Aluminum bezel, SECC chassis MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case $44.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ $46.99
Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply $89.99
BFG Tech BFGE96512GTOCE GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $74.99
Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $49.99
ASUS VW192T+ 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 4000:1(1000:1) Built in Speakers $119.99

Total $611.92

This is sort of the goal, I think this would suit his needs and then some. What do you guys think? any ideas for us?
 
With a 2-3month leadtime, you're wasting your time as any builds recommended today will be outdated, overpriced, out of stock, or outperformed by better parts for the same price. Start looking at a build at around 1 month or so, two months max. Three months is waaay too early to start looking for builds.

Anyway, at that price point, you're better off with an AMD setup as AMD Phenom II CPUs offer comparable if not bettter performance than similarily priced Intel C2D/C2Q CPUs. The same priced Phenom II 720 CPU definitely outperforms the E7400.

Also that PSU is horribly expensive for the money. It's only a good choice at $25, not $90. So go with a better quality PSU like the BFG LS-550.
 
Not bad man not bad. But, this build is vastly superior in price/performance to your E7400.

*AMD X2 550 cpu faster overall than E7400 in gaming
*Antec 300 case + Actec EA500 psu both for $91. Almost the same price as the Antec BP550 psu you listed.
*640GB drives which is twice the capacity as your 320GB WD drive
*Radeon HD 4830 video card faster than the Geforce 9600GT
*Samsung 22X dvd burner drive included. You did not list a DVD burner in your build

All of this at a cheaper cost than your Intel E7400 build.

CPU/MOBO - AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1ghz Calsito + Asus M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 both for $162
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200020

CASE/PSU - Antec 300 + Antec EA500 both for $91
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.196656

HDD/RAM - WD 6401AALS 640GB + OCZ Blade Series 4GB DDR2 800 both for $117 ($10 MIR on RAM)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.199064

VIDEO CARD - MSI Radeon HD4830 512MB for $90 w/free shipping ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127420

OPTICAL - Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

MONITOR - ASUS VW192T+ 19" for $120 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236056

Total: $603 Kaboom!
 
Last edited:
bam go with .......hgs build nice build. though if i have to knitpick i would try a 4850
 
hmm nice, I hadnt thought of AMD, haven't used them for a long time. Yeah, I know it's a little early, I'm thinking 2-3 months since he doesn't really have the money right now. Most of what I have looked at is higher performance stuff which as far as I know intel still blows amd out of the water.
 
Well that was once true but not anymore. AMD platform is better value for your money than intel in its current price range.
 
I would have to say that your friends 1ghz Intel build and 1ghz AMD build is really slow compared to any cpu that's out right now. With $600 budget, I would say even an Intel E5200 cpu build or AMD X2 7750 cpu build would be good enough for him. I would however, upgrade the monitor not to a 19" but to a 22" 1680x1050 monitor.
 
I personally perfer 23" 1080p displays, general same sub $200 price range and good black levels.
 
23" 1080P lcd monitors are good for the price/size/res. I don't like the 22" 16:9 lcd monitors with 1600x900 res though.
 
... but the jump to 1080p would mean more powerful vidcard needed for gaming... if gaming is one of the priorities.
 
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