You can build a bad ass pc for 500 bucks considering you have a few older parts (monitor, dvd, keyboard and mouse, etc.). I built mine for 638 total and it should play crysis on high with my natural resolution. So give us a budget and we can help you much better.
Note, I needed a monitor but had keyboard, mouse, dvd burner.
i have a monitor mouse keyboard and might be able to get an old hard drive (like 340 gigs) and dvd burner.
Here is a build that's solid for $705 after rebates
500GB WD Caviar Black HD $69.99
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
22X Samsung DVD Burner: $21.99
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Antec 300 Case. $54.99
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Corsair 550W Power Supply $79.99
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU: $159
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte GA-790XTA $124.99
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
XFX Radeon 4770 video card. $90
Newegg.com - XFX HD-477A-YDFC Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
4GB G.Skill DDR3 10666 RAM. $104.99
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ
Edit: That gives you a box with a good case, plenty of room with a very solid quality power supply. The video card is fine for your needs, but you could always upgrade it later.
If you want to get down to $500..you will have to make some sacrifices. I'll see what I can come up with closer to $500.
That would certainly be a very nice build at a resonable price point. Quite solid.
If it were me, I think I would would just go in a extra $10-15 and go for the HD4850 GPU.
And if you needed to be closer to $550, here are some options
500GB WD Caviar Black HD $69.99
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
22X Samsung DVD Burner: $21.99
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Antec Sonata III case with 500W PSU: $119.99
Newegg.com - Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo, E7500: $117.99
Newegg.com - Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Asus P5Q Plus Mobo: $86.99
Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
XFX Radeon 4770: $90.00
Newegg.com - XFX HD-477A-YDFC Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
2GB Muskin DDR-800 RAM. $44.99
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Memory,Desktop Memory,240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM,DDR2 800 (PC2 6400),2GB (2 x 1GB)
That's always the rub. Unfortunately, I was already $5 over the max he wanted to spend of $700.
However, if he wanted to reuse a hard drive or a DVD ROM drive...that could make up the difference between the 4850 and the 4770.
Edit: I don't like to take too many chances with power supplies and I don't ever go super cheap there. However, if the OP wanted to save some cash..you could opt for cheaper components here. But they won't be as stable, won't be as quiet and could provide less solid, reliable power.
@pparks
See here is your mistake. You picked an Intel cpu for a budget gaming pc. Why would you even want a core 2 duo for a gaming pc anyway? Go AMD and get a lower phenom at least. Not to mention that way he can upgrade to a phenom hex later.
Since the Intel core 2 duo line...Intel has had the performance edge. I don't believe that the lower AMD Phenoms would really perform better than the C2D that I spec'd in the $550 build. Had I needed to trim more out to get the price down, I might have gone with an AMD...but at $550 I could go with the Intel CPU on this build.
In my slightly over $700 build, I went with an AMD Phenom II X4 black edition. So as you can see, I'm not a fanboy of either company.
3DMark06 CPU Benchmarks - HardwareCanucks Charts
The phenom x4 beats the core2duo E8400, but obviously less than an i7.
You picked a 7500, and I am unsure how intel cpus go, but I though higher number was a better cpu? Yes this chart uses the Phenom quad BE, but its still better. all around.
Yes, I understand. But I wanted to keep the box at $550 or less. The Phenom Quad BE runs around $160 and also comes with it a more expensive motherboard. You can see that I picked one of these on the nicer build.
The E7500 is not as good as an E8400..this is correct. However, it is also cheaper by $40 and has a cheaper mobo to boot. This combination got the price down and as you can see from your same chart of benchmarks...outside of the x4's...the Core 2 Duo's are scoring better than the other AMD chips.
EXACTLY! So he gets an athlon II x4 620. Its 100 bucks and can be changed easily. Intel destroys every cpu they make with the need of a new socket type. Even though the LGA775 was used for a long time, they messed it up between the p4 and the core 2 quad. If the mobo doesn't support it, it does not work. However if a AMD board supports the phenom II it can support the Athlon II. It also supports athlon x2 and phenom x2 on am2+ socket boards. I use a athlon II x4 620 and it works amazing for gaming. Going AMD also means he can use a ddr2 or 3 motherboard with his quad core. The possibilities for upgrades are possible without changing much.
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