Super Budget Gaming Build

[Skarnold]

To start:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly playing video games and watching movies. Video games will include The old Republic and some FPS's
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
trying to go for $500 before shipping and after rebates and all that.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA Montana
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.
PSU, HDD, RAM, Video card, case, Mobo, CD/DVD drive, pretty much a whole new tower.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse,
6) Will you be overclocking?
lightly
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
24" widescreen 1680 x 1050 (i think!)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.
not really specific about this one most bang for y buck on this i guess
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes 64bit Win7

My goal for this computer is to have something with powerful graphics while maintaining a really low cost. If i could i would like to keep the system in a case with a smaller footprint kind of over the huge case thing, i need to be able to move this thing around.
-Thank you

 

[Dangman]

$131 - Intel Core i3-2120 CPU + Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM Combo
$80 - Biostar TH67B Intel H67 mATX Motherboard Combo
$110 - XFX HD-677X-ZNLC Radeon HD 6770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$70 - Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$17 - LG GH22NS90B DVD Burner
$48 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
---
Total: $506 shipped

 

[Skarnold]

$70 - Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

How do these hold up? so far i have only dealt with Wester Digital And Seagate, and Seagate has been a nightmare.

 

[Dangman]

How do these hold up? so far i have only dealt with Wester Digital And Seagate, and Seagate has been a nightmare.

That drive seems to be ok.

Ever since WD and Seagate announced their warranty slashings that'll take place on Dec 31st and Jan 2nd, that's made me less than willing to recommend Seagate or WD drives. Especially considering that they were a tad overpriced even before the Thai floods.

 

[E4g1e]

That drive seems to be ok.

Ever since WD and Seagate announced their warranty slashings that'll take place on Dec 31st and Jan 2nd, that's made me less than willing to recommend Seagate or WD drives. Especially considering that they were a tad overpriced even before the Thai floods.

And in actuality, WD and Seagate will be the only two manufacturers of desktop (3.5") hard drives remaining. That's because Seagate has already completed its acquisition of Samsung's hard drive business back on December 19 (however, certain Samsung hard drives will remain available for at least another year). WD announced its purchase of Hitachi's hard drive business as well (this acquisition has not yet been completed).

The Seagate warranty cut to 1 year applies only to bare (OEM/bulk) drives shipped after December 31. Retail drive kits will keep the 5-year warranty. Seagate will not offer a warranty extension at all.

As for WD, the warranty cut from 3 years down to 2 years applies only to the company's Caviar Green and Caviar Blue drives shipped after January 2. Unlike Seagate, however, the WD warranty cuts apply to both the bare drives and the retail drive kits (since WD warranties both bare drives and retail internal drive kits for the same length). WD, however, will offer a warranty extension at a nominal extra cost.

 

[Dangman]

And in actuality, WD and Seagate will be the only two manufacturers of desktop (3.5") hard drives remaining. That's because Seagate has already completed its acquisition of Samsung's hard drive business back on December 19 (however, certain Samsung hard drives will remain available for at least another year). WD announced its purchase of Hitachi's hard drive business as well (this acquisition has not yet been completed).

Yeah a tad depressing as well. You wouldn't happen to know if Hitachi and Samsung drives sold after Jan 2 will still have their 3 year warranties?

 

[Skarnold]

Going off the original recommendations I have come up with this build. I just want to know if there are going to be any problems with it.
$40 - Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case
$45 - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430
$135 - Intel Core i3-2120 & PNY Optima 4GB (2 x 2GB)
$80 - ECS H67H2-M2(1.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$70 - HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
$20 - SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner
$130 - XFX HD-679X-ZRFC Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit

 

[Dangman]

Some issues with that setup:
- The RAM voltage is unknown. With current Intel CPUs, the RAM voltage has to be at 1.5V or lower or otherwise you risk damage to the CPU. Since PNY nor Newegg does not list the RAM voltage, I can't recommend that RAM at all considering the risk.

- ECS is a tad on the low-side of quality. Not to mention that it's $88 shipped which makes it overpriced compared to the higher quality Biostar mobo I listed earlier.

- Personally not a fan of that case on account of its limited cable management and cramped space.

- The CX430 is a fine PSU. With that said, once you factor in shipping, the Antec Neo Eco 400C 400W PSU that I recommended earlier is only $1 more. That extra $1 gets you a little more power on the +12V rail. So despite being rated 30W higher, that 430CX actually has less usable power than the 400C.