Budget gaming PC

[Cougarclaw]

I've been looking into building a new pc to replace my current 6-7 year old piece of junk and was looking for improvements/criticism for what I've picked out so far. I'd like to keep the cost under $500 and yet still be capable of playing some games decently. The main games I'd be playing are starcraft 2, team fortress 2 and maybe some call of duty or battlefield.

What I have picked so far:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156063
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tem=19-115-222
PSU: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=4362114
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157181
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150467 (Keep bouncing around between this, the 4770 and a GeForce 9800 GT based on reviews, not sure which one to get.)

I have a 20" monitor, 500GB HDD, DVD drive/burner and speakers from my current pc so I don't need those.

[Binkie]

You forgot ram. Also that motherboard has onboard video, you might possibly be able to find a p55 (no onboard) to save a bit.

[Isiolia]

Also that motherboard has onboard video, you might possibly be able to find a p55 (no onboard) to save a bit.

Actually, it doesn't. It just has the ports to use in case an i3/i5 with an integrated GPU is installed.

Offhand, other than that you did forget to add RAM...

Case is a few bucks more than you really need to spend. If you watch for a sale, you can probably get an Antect 300 or similar for $45-50.

IMO, save for a little longer or whatever it takes to increase your budget so you can fit a better GPU in. The upcoming HD6850 may prove to be a good deal and/or put GTX460 prices down at least. If you can manage to squeeze a $150-200 range card in, it'd greatly increase the gaming performance.

If you're -really- looking to keep costs low, keep in mind that the CPU you have spec'ed is actually marginally slower than a Core2Duo E8500 running at stock clock (3.16Ghz). Either can be overclocked a fair bit, but the point is more that you might want to browse used machines or see if anyone you know is upgrading from a decent socket 775 system. If you find someone selling a couple year old or so gaming rig, the performance would likely be about on par (or better) than what you've spec'ed. If you could pick it up cheap enough to upgrade the video card to a current midrange model, you'd likely get something better than $500 would get you all-new.

[sruon]

You should save $300 more and get a real build :/

[Isiolia]

You should save $300 more and get a real build :/

Probably true, particularly given that Intel has their new consumer platform coming out in Q1 2011, new AMD cards this week/month/etc, and so on. If it does take a little bit longer to scrounge up the cash, know that you've got some stuff coming along in the next few months that'll likely be worth waiting for anyway.

[Jefe]

You didn't ask this, but save the money and wait until you can get something better.

[Binkie]

I guess i meant to say, supports on cpu video D:

[Senji]

Canada get black friday sales?

+1 on waiting/saving.

[Cheerios]

Buy this and just throw in a video card a new power supply.

You have $500 to work with, and this PC is only $230 (for now)

http://www.abcwarehouse.com/product_...~prod_ID~34788


AMD Athlon™ II X3 Triple-Core Processor 435 (2.90GHz, 1.5MB L2 cache, 1333MHz FSB)
Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
NVIDIA® GeForce® 9200 Chipset
4096MB DDR3 1333MHz Memory Packaging and Documentation
Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce® 9200 Graphics
500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Hardware Items
16X DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive USB Keyboard
and Optical Mouse
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader AC Power Cord
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port) Documentation
9 - USB 2.0 Ports (5 Front, 4 Rear) Setup Poster
HDMI™ Port 3 Lots of Storage and Plenty of Extras Registration / Limited Warranty Card
eSATA Port COA Label for Microsoft®
Installed Software
USB Keyboard and Optical Mouse McAfee® Internet Security Suite 2009
Stylish and Classic Small-Form Factor Design

[Don Katsu]

You can get this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.514056

The processor is faster and the motherboard supports USB 3.0

and this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130562

But I would honestly wait, AMD is launching their Radeon 6800 series cards later this week
(on Friday), replacing their 5700 card series. The 6850 is expected to perform better than the GTX460/Radeon5830 and the 6870 is expected to perform better than the GTX470/radeon 5850. The cards replacing the current 5800 series the 6950/6970 will be launched at a later time.

I would wait till you have at least $650.00 though.
You should also consider this case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-042-_-Product

It doesn't look atrocious and it's very easy to work with.

[Cougarclaw]

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to, I don't think I'm going to go with the save up more/wait longer option. I'm not looking to make a very powerful rig, I just want to spend the least amount possible on a machine that'll let me browse the web, watch videos and play starcraft 2 (among a couple other less demanding games) comfortably at good settings. None of my friends are really into pc gaming and I was just looking to build a computer that'll let me play a few exclusives while I still use my xbox for my main gaming.

[Olo401]

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to, I don't think I'm going to go with the save up more/wait longer option. I'm not looking to make a very powerful rig, I just want to spend the least amount possible on a machine that'll let me browse the web, watch videos and play starcraft 2 (among a couple other less demanding games) comfortably at good settings. None of my friends are really into pc gaming and I was just looking to build a computer that'll let me play a few exclusives while I still use my xbox for my main gaming.

In that case let's see what we can do here to get the most performance for your money.

CPU & Mobo : ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 with Phenom II x4 955BE - $220
Memory : G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3-1333 Kit - $70
Graphics : Sparkle GTS450 1GB - $123
Power : Corsair CX600 - $75
Case : CoolerMaster Elite 430 - $50

That puts you at about $525 + s&h, which won't be too much more since I tried to pick items that offered free shipping.

There's also room to cut back as well - you can save $40 by switching the CPU/Mobo package to this one. To be honest though I really would recommend going with the quad-core. It's not that much more, and the performance difference will be staggering.

[Cougarclaw]

In that case let's see what we can do here to get the most performance for your money.

CPU & Mobo : ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 with Phenom II x4 955BE - $220
Memory : G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3-1333 Kit - $70
Graphics : Sparkle GTS450 1GB - $123
Power : Corsair CX600 - $75
Case : CoolerMaster Elite 430 - $50

That puts you at about $525 + s&h, which won't be too much more since I tried to pick items that offered free shipping.

There's also room to cut back as well - you can save $40 by switching the CPU/Mobo package to this one. To be honest though I really would recommend going with the quad-core. It's not that much more, and the performance difference will be staggering.

I actually really like this build, especially the CPU and GPU. They don't cost much more than ones I was looking at before but they seem quite a bit better, I looked at some performance tests in various games with that GPU and was surprised how well it did for that price. The only thing I think I'm going to change is the GPU you suggested to an EVGA brand one, because it's the same price but has free shipping in Canada and I hear good things about that brand. Thanks a lot though, probably going to start ordering stuff this weekend.

[Don Katsu]

Go on newegg and buy the shellshocker.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...571-_-10212010

As for the video card, I would wait till tomorrow. AMD is launching the 6850 at $179 and 6870 at $239 which means we should expect immediate price drops on the GTS 450, GTX460, GTX 470, 5830, 5850, 5750 and 5770. The 6870 outperforms the GTX 470 and 6850 outperforms the GTX 460. Guru3D posted their review early and it was taken down lol

[Milks]

the new cards are up now on newegg.

[Olo401]

Wow AMD's really pricing these new/refresh cards aggressively right at the GTX460..