Possible budget gaming PC build?

[ratman]

Hi

I am trying to build an Intel budget gaming PC for the first time. I have a budget of AUD$1000 and have come up with this so far (price is AUD at my local parts store):


CPU - Intel Core i5 760 LGA1156 CPU - $211.00
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 P55 MB - $159.00
RAM - 4Gb DDR3 1333Mhz Kingston Kit - $84.00
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 5770 1Gb VGA - $159.00
Hard Drive - Western Digital caviar blue 1Tb 7200 rpm sata 3 - $101.00
Optical Drive - Benq Black 24X SATA DVD Writer - $34.00
PSU - Antec EarthWatts 750W - $148.00
Case - Antec Dark Fleet DF-35 - $147.00

This is a total of $1,043 if my math is correct. I can't find a way to get it under $1000.

I would like to find out if all the parts will be compatible with each other, and also if there are cheaper/better parts that i should use instead.

It must stay around or below $1000!

Thanks!!

 

[Golden]

Actually thats not bad for the kit you have. You already have a monitor?

Check out www.allneeds.com.au for price comparison. You could get the motherboard cheaper by $30. Check out my system : all in just over $2,000.

 

[Fumz]

CPU - Intel Core i5 760 LGA1156 CPU - $211.00
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 P55 MB - $159.00
RAM - 4Gb DDR3 1333Mhz Kingston Kit - $84.00
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 5770 1Gb VGA - $159.00
Hard Drive - Western Digital caviar blue 1Tb 7200 rpm sata 3 - $101.00
Optical Drive - Benq Black 24X SATA DVD Writer - $34.00
PSU - Antec EarthWatts 750W - $148.00
Case - Antec Dark Fleet DF-35 - $147.00

If it were me, I'd shave here and there to get a better video card. Instead of the 760, get the 750. As far as games go, you will not notice any difference between the two cpus; actually, you won't notice a difference no matter what you do.

Instead of the Gigabyte, see if you can find another decent P55 with fewer features. Budget machines can spare a bell or whistle here and there, so maybe SLI/Crossfire capable and USB 3.0 is something you can forgo?

You're not going to need anywhere near a 750 watt PSU, so if you can find a good one (less expensive, but not cheap) ~ 500-600 watts that will be more than sufficient.

Case... hmm, you gotta look at it so I guess it's a keeper, right?

All these cuts I'd make to spend ~ $50.00 more for a GTX 460 or better.

 

[DirtyElf]

why spend $150 on a case for a budget machine? get something functional for ~$50

for gaming all of the budget should go into the GPU - get a HD 5800 series or a GTX 460+

 

[mickey megabyte]

why spend $150 on a case for a budget machine? Get something functional for ~$50

for gaming all of the budget should go into the gpu - get a hd 5800 series or a gtx 460+

+1,000,000

 

[Mashed1316]

It has to be specifically Intel? and yeah, i agree with DirtyElf, 150$ on a case it's ridiculous for a Budget PC, buy an Antec 300 or a Cooler Master HAF 912, they're like 60$...

AMD had cheaper processors and they're O.K., not a fan boy here, just getting along with your budget... Let me see what i can find, i'll post in a while

 

[Mashed1316]

AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ 3.0GHz: 100$
ASUS M4A78TD/USB3: 100$
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 @ 1600MHz: 80$
SeaSonic X650 80 PLUS GOLD Certified PSU 650w: 120$
Cooler Master HAF 912 Case: 60$
Samsung F3 Spinpoint HD103SJ 1TB @ 7200RPM HDD: 70$
XFX HD6870 1GB GDDR5 256-bit PCI-E x16 2.1: 250$
ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD-RW: 20$

TOTAL: 800$

It's still a "high end budget" PC, and you have 200$ to probably spend on a SSD..

My .02 Cents

 

[ratman]

Sapphire AMD Radeon 6850?

Ok, thanks for all the help so far. Assuming I cut down a lot on the case and maybe something else, would it be ok to use a Sapphire AMD Radeon 6850 as the graphics card? Or would the i5 760/750 be under powered for it?

 

[pparks1]

The 6800 series cards consume less power...but are somewhat slower across the board than the 5800 series ATI cards. You won't have a problem with your CPU being underpowered. Get a lesser case and cut back on the power supply..you don't need that much power.

 

[TechnoMan]

Hi

I am trying to build an Intel budget gaming PC for the first time. I have a budget of AUD$1000 and have come up with this so far (price is AUD at my local parts store):


CPU - Intel Core i5 760 LGA1156 CPU - $211.00
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 P55 MB - $159.00
RAM - 4Gb DDR3 1333Mhz Kingston Kit - $84.00
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 5770 1Gb VGA - $159.00
Hard Drive - Western Digital caviar blue 1Tb 7200 rpm sata 3 - $101.00
Optical Drive - Benq Black 24X SATA DVD Writer - $34.00
PSU - Antec EarthWatts 750W - $148.00
Case - Antec Dark Fleet DF-35 - $147.00

This is a total of $1,043 if my math is correct. I can't find a way to get it under $1000.

I would like to find out if all the parts will be compatible with each other, and also if there are cheaper/better parts that i should use instead.

It must stay around or below $1000!

Thanks!!

CPU: Wait a month for Sandy Bridge
MOBO: See above
GPU: AMD 6870
Hard Drive: You can get a 2TB Samsung Hard Drive for the same price. It might not be as fast though.
PSU: I don't think you'll need 750W
Case: Look for something around $50. Maybe a Coolermaster Elite?
Optical drive: You might like a bluray drive

 

[ratman]

Update

Sorry Technoman, i can't wait a month for the Sandy Bridge CPU's. I have my reasons... =)

How about this?


CPU - Intel Core i5 760 CPU - $211.00
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 - $159.00
RAM - 2 x 2Gb DDR3 1333 Corsair Memory - $56.00
GPU - Asus ATI Radeon HD5850 1Gb - $289.00
Hard Drive - 1000Gb 1Tb Samsung SATA2 32Mb - $79.00
Optical Drive - Benq Black 24X SATA DVD Writer - $34.00
PSU - Antec Basiq Plus BP-550 550W - $129.00
Case - Antec Three Hundred Tower - $59.00

TOTAL: $1016

I think i will keep the i5 760, it is listed as the exact same price as an i5 750.

Will the 550W power be enough to last for some future upgrades, or will i need to go 600/650W in order to be somewhat future-proof?

Lastly, i chose the cheapest 4Gb DDR3 ram i could find. Will that be good or will it be a bit 'dodgy'?

 

[TechnoMan]

Sorry Technoman, i can't wait a month for the Sandy Bridge CPU's. I have my reasons...

How about this?


CPU - Intel Core i5 760 CPU - $211.00
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 - $159.00
RAM - 2 x 2Gb DDR3 1333 Corsair Memory - $56.00
GPU - Asus ATI Radeon HD5850 1Gb - $289.00
Hard Drive - 1000Gb 1Tb Samsung SATA2 32Mb - $79.00
Optical Drive - Benq Black 24X SATA DVD Writer - $34.00
PSU - Antec Basiq Plus BP-550 550W - $129.00
Case - Antec Three Hundred Tower - $59.00



I think i will keep the i5 760, it is listed as the exact same price as an i5 750.

Will the 550W power be enough to last for some future upgrades, or will i need to go 600/650W in order to be somewhat future-proof?

Lastly, i chose the cheapest 4Gb DDR3 ram i could find. Will that be good or will it be a bit 'dodgy'?

650W would he ideal. Choosing Ram isn't a huge thing to worry about. You may want to look at the speeds of them but if you're buying from a reputable band, it won't really matter. I do suggest that you spend an extra $30 and get a bluray player though Maybe you could sell your old PC/Laptop for a few hundred dollars?

 

[ratman]

I will be selling it for $400, which will get me up to the required $1000, with a bit to spare (maybe for a bluray drive). Do you think i will need anything extra like audio card, TV tuner etc?

 

[TechnoMan]

I will be selling it for $400.

and maybe sell some more unused items. a psp perhaps?

edit: save a bit more for a sound card (a good one I consider is at least $100) so you can get that later. TV Tuners are fairly cheap these days and you can get a good digital one for as low as $30.

 

[ratman]

Ha ha, i have just sold my PSP... Déjà vu?

 

[TechnoMan]

it may be worthwhile to consider an SSD. The cheapest you can get them is about $150 for 60GB but it will make your computer a whole lot more futureproof and is probably the best thing you can do to it in terms of performance

 

[pparks1]

SSD's and budget machines simply do not go hand in hand. As an owner of an SSD, and a systems admin for a living....for the average computer user....an SSD is simply unnecessary. These devices are for the extreme performance conscious, the technical and the nerdy guys who want the best benchmarks. I use a ton of computers at work, which all have 7,200RPM spinner drives and these machines are also super fast and get the job done quickly and efficiently.

 

[whs]

AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ 3.0GHz: 100$
ASUS M4A78TD/USB3: 100$
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 @ 1600MHz: 80$
SeaSonic X650 80 PLUS GOLD Certified PSU 650w: 120$
Cooler Master HAF 912 Case: 60$
Samsung F3 Spinpoint HD103SJ 1TB @ 7200RPM HDD: 70$
XFX HD6870 1GB GDDR5 256-bit PCI-E x16 2.1: 250$
ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD-RW: 20$

TOTAL: 800$

It's still a "high end budget" PC, and you have 200$ to probably spend on a SSD..

My .02 Cents

This is an excellent alternative. And you need not even spend $200 for the SSD - $100 will suffice for the OS if you move the games to the HDD.

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX40G 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&cm_re=intel_40gb_ssd-_-20-167-030-_-Product

 

[LiquidSnak]

I can't find a way to get it under $1000.

Thanks!!

AMD chipset will help you get under $1000 and quick

Also, 1000 is your max, is there an "optimum amount" you would like to spend? Like, I bought a graphics card, my optimum amount was $100, but my budget was $150.

There are some good suggestions already in this thread, however

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/111632/CPU_AMD_SOCKET_AM3/AMD/HDZ955FBGMBOX.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/140395/MOTHERBOARD_AMD_SOCKET_AM3/MSI/770-C45.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/122963/MEMORY_MEMORY_DDR-3_RAM/Corsair/TW3X4G1333C9A.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/83066/POWERSUPPLIES_600W_-_699W/Antec/761345-27650.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/133182/VIDEOCARDS_RADEON_PCI-EX_5XXX_SERIES/MSI/R5770-PMD1G.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/128886/HDD_INTERNAL_SATA-II_DRIVES/Hitachi/0F10383.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/160322/CASINGS_MIDI-TOWER/Antec/0-761345-10025-0.asp

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/157985/DVDROM_DVD_WRITERS/LG/GH22NS50.AYBU11B.asp

Total of 850.90 AUD

 

[chev65]

I just built a budget gaming machine for 200 bucks with some old parts I had laying around and a 50 dollar Asus socket 775 board. Of course it helped that I already had an old E6750 dual core, an 8800GT, an old compaq case with a DVD drive and an old harddrive. The board, 4GB of DDR3 memory and power supply was 200. Even has a 10 percent overclock, it's my garage machine.