Pseudo-budget Gaming Build

I

ilikecake

Gawd
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Feb 20, 2006
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A friend is looking to get (build) a new computer, and I was trying to throw together a recommendation. The build will be used for gaming, as well as web surfing and other general computer tasks. I have answered the questions below.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
  • Games (Dragon Age, etc...), Web surfing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
  • Not sure exactly. Lets say $1000 Max (excluding shipping)
3) Where do you live?
  • Madison, WI, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
  • Everything:
  • Motherboard
  • CPU
  • Memory
  • Graphics Card
  • Hard Drive
  • DVD Drive
  • Case
  • Monitor
  • Keyboard + Mouse
  • Speakers
  • Windows 7 x64
  • Anything else I may have missed. :p
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
  • None
6) Will you be overclocking?
  • Probably not
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
  • Probably 23-24" (1080p)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
  • In the next week or two
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
  • Nothing out of the ordinary. On board sound is probably a good idea, but that seems pretty standard these days.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
  • No

Here is the preliminary build I threw together.
95.99 - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition
89.99 - GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H Micro ATX
98.99 - A-DATA 2x2GB DDR3 1600
69.99 - Western Digital 640GB WD6400AAKS
25.99 - Lite-ON DVD Burner
59.99 - Antec Mini P180 Case
219.98 - Combo XFX Radeon HD 5770 + Antec NEO ECO 520C
199.99 - ASUS VH236H Black 23" Monitor
21.99 - Keyboard + Mouse
109.99 - Windows 7
Total price: $992.89

Does anyone have any recommendations for decent speakers that are not too expensive? The monitor has built in speakers, but I dunno if those are any good. Do these parts look decent?

Thanks
 
Good build. But you can get a more powerful CPU with this combo instead:

$197 Free Shipping ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 + AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W ($187 after MIR)

And you'll need a full-sized case:
$50 + $10 shipping Antec 200 ATX Case

OR IF YOU ARE STILL SET IN STONE ON GOING MicroATX, then use this combo. It is a combo using the same motherboard as you have above ($210)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335023

When you consider that your motherboard selection costs $8 to ship, then this combo with free shipping costs exactly the same. And if you like rebates, this combo is actually cheaper!

EDIT: fixed with DDR3 mobo

As for sound, just have him use headphones for now if the included speakers aren't enough. It's what a lot of gamers use anyway, and he should have a pair lying around somewhere. But these are probably the best-rated 2.0 speakers for under $50:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Labs...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266357855&sr=8-2
 
Last edited:
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Why the retail upgrade for the OS? Why not save $5.00 and get the full version?
 
gwarren007 said:
Why the retail upgrade for the OS? Why not save $5.00 and get the full version?
Click to expand...

Well, you do get two benefits:

1. the OS is not technically tied to one machine like with OEM.

2. if you're lucky (like me, for instance), the Windows 7 upgrade CD will not complain if you do a clean install on a bare drive. It doesn't work for everyone, but that was my experience.

I agree though, I would probably go OEM anyway.
 
Thanks for the replies.

defaultluser said:
Good build. But you can get a more powerful CPU with this combo instead:

$197 Free Shipping ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 + AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W ($187 after MIR)

When you consider that your motherboard selection costs $8 to ship, then this combo with free shipping costs exactly the same. And if you like rebates, this combo is actually cheaper!

EDIT: fixed with DDR3 mobo
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the CPU. I will look into the quad core CPUs, but with the case I listed, I must use microATX, which rules out that board. Plus, is it possible to unlock the dual core CPU I listed?

gwarren007 said:
Why the retail upgrade for the OS? Why not save $5.00 and get the full version?
Click to expand...

Basically what defaultluser said. The OS is not tied to the hardware. I noticed they are about the same price, so I just chose that one to list. I may go with the OEM copy if I think it is necessary.

Edit: you beat me to it! :p
 
I was wondering about the CPU. I will look into the quad core CPUs, but with the case I listed, I must use microATX, which rules out that board. Plus, is it possible to unlock the dual core CPU I listed?
Click to expand...

See my edited post above, I changed it after I realized you had a MATX case.

If you still want MATX, use this combo. This is the same motherboard in your build above with a Phenom II x4 2.8, and $20 off.

I'm not sure about core unlocks. You do have to make sure the motherboard supports it, and that's no guarantee. The difference is only $25 to get the quad core with no fuss, so why not go for it?
 
The ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 + AMD Phenom II X4 925 for $197 is a good deal but, if he gets this combo, the mobo won't fit in the mini P180 case as it will only take mini ITX and Micro ATX mobo. He can stick with the GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 + AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0ghz cpu combo for $221 Dragon Age Origins will benefit from a Quad Core cpu. Also, buy that ASUS monitor from ZipZoomfly for $194.99 ($20 MIR) w/free shipping It will push the budget a little over $1,000 though if you get the Phenom II X4 cpu.
 
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I dunno if she will actually buy this thing or not, but if so, I will take pictures.
 
If you live near a MC, they have a BYOPC sale right now so you can get an Asus M4A785-M + Phenom II 550 BE for $140. If you live near a Fry's, you can get a 550 BE for $70.

Is she ok with unlocking cores? I'm asking because under OC'ing, you said no. /shrug if not, go for the quad. The unlocking rate is quite high right now, especially if it's a recent manufacture date. It's literally 2 BIOS changes and a restart, then 24hrs of so prime testing, just to make sure its stable -- which it should be, since she won't be OC'ing at all. Though, as already mentioned, it really depends on your chip. The Asus board definitely has the options in the BIOS needed to unlock (ACC set to AUTO and EC Firmware to Hybrid).

Yes, plz post pics! :)
 
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