Building a Custom desktop PC.

Well about the tri core (admitedly, I have not heard a lot). They are just not common and I really don't remember the specifics. Over all, you would be better off with a quad. My recommendation is to get a middle class Intel Quad, (Q8200 anyone?) for about $100, then OC it if you need the power. Mine is sitting at default 2.3 (Too lazy to OC right now) and I rarely get freezes, and barely any lag. I can open about 100 windows and close them all at once with no trouble. :) That may be the RAM though... (only 4 gigs )

As for the Intel/AMD debate, here is my opinion (and a lot of others): AMD is cheaper and makes some good cores, and can even run a little cooler. They are good for gaming, and are awesome for a budget computer. However, Intel (for its slightly higher expense) is worth it. They last a bit longer, can take more OCing, and perform just a bit better over all.

Not going to argue about this with anyone just so you know. Not that I don't want to listen to other opinions, it is just that I think it is pointless. I respect your opinion, you respect mine. :) Keeps the peace better that way

~Lordbob

This is a bit of info that I think you should consider.

The best computer systems do not come cheap. With computers, like most things, you can spend an almost unlimited amount of money on more stuff.


However if you plan on keeping your computer for a while, it often pays to spend a little extra and get a really beefy system. It can be a real pain in the neck changing over to a new system when you upgrade, so getting a fast computer to start with means you do not have to worry about doing that for years.

The main drawback of buying the best computer system available is that sometimes you can pay through the nose for the latest and greatest parts. This is why I recommend getting a processor speed one down from the top.

If you're going to be building/tweaking a box from the ground up you really cannot do without a second, working internet connected box for drivers, reading up, etc. Not to mention it's nice to have a netbook anyway!

1) Cheapest eeePC out there -- seems to be an endless supply of refurbs due to clueless Bestbuy customers but SSD is too slow and small for 7
mwave.com: ASUS EEEPC900A-WFBB01 Eee PC 900A white netbook intel Atom cpu/1gb/4gb SSD hdd/8.9" wsvga/4 cell battery/802.11bg wireless/Linux (refurbished product w/3 month warranty) $179.99

2) Fix the slow and small SSD problem above -- faster than ANY SATA spindle drive -- this one's 16GB but 32 and 64GB units are available for $87 and $144 respectively -- 7057 boots in just under 15 seconds and shuts down in 5.
Newegg.com - SUPER TALENT FPM16GRSE 16GB Mini PCIe Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks $47.49

3) 2GB DDR2 800MHz -- always max out any box you build when RAM is this cheap -- also, the 800MHz rated clock allows a stable Atom N270 25% overclock to 2.0GHz when plugged in with eeeCtl or SetFSB (both free)
Newegg.com - Transcend 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory - Laptop Memory $16.99

4) Optional but super handy for 7 installs and most everything else -- a big ole SDHC card -- the eee has a built in slot for it and the color even matches (aww how cute!) -- ASUS certified -- mine was way faster than advertised at about 19MB/s read and 13MB/s write
Newegg.com - A-DATA 16GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Eee PC Edition Model TURBO SDHC 16G EeePC - Flash Memory $27.75

Now something for your *other* computer if you go with #4 above:

5) Floppies are dead right? Until you need to update a BIOS or a handful of other stuff -- this adds some memory card slots, and an extra front USB port in addition
Newegg.com - Nippon Labs ICR-EE All-in-one USB + FDD1.44" Card Reader w/ 3.5" FLOPPY DRIVE - Card Readers $24.99
-or- Without the floppy, still internal
Newegg.com - Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port - Card Readers $11.99
-or- Cheap out all the way, get all the benefits of a giant USB stick and it's BOOTABLE
Newegg.com - SYBA CL-CRD20007 USB 2.0 Card Reader - Card Readers $5.99

So lay aside about $250 from your desktop budget and get all the benefits of mobility and a second new toy for the price of a video card -- you waste too much time gaming anyway!

So you’ve got $1000 to spend, and you want to experience Crysis in all its graphical glory? You want to know you can juice up Fallout 3 to max lushness. You want the comfort of knowing you’re not missing out on gaming candy by needing to turn the details down.

Impossible, right? Never! Here at gameplayer we work miracles then pass the benefits onto our loyal comrades.

Behold, the bang-for-buck gaming beast. Use this guide as a template to build it just as we recommend if your current rig is past the cobweb stage, or zero in on select items to upgrade your system as needed.

Even better, the prices we’re quoting today are ballpark RRPs. Shop around on staticICE :: Australia's comprehensive computer hardware and gadget price comparison search engine to find the cheapest prices on all the bits. Either way, it’s nothing but win for your gaming and more bucks in your pocket.

(and be sure to check our other two ultimate gaming PCs that are in different price brackets, plus our three tiers of ultimate gaming laptops).

CPU – Intel E8500
Price: ~$200
The Intel Core 2 range has been a massive success for gamers, delivering performance, popularity, and price. The E8500 sports a 3.16GHz clock speed with 6MB of L2 cache; perfect for demanding tasks. Its 9.5x multiplier is a blessing if you’re willing to overclock - 4GHz can often be obtained on stock cooling – now that’s impressive! The power of this dual core processor also frees the GPU to perform at its best so you’re minimising any bottlenecks, and at this price, it’s impossible to find a better performance to price ratio.

RAM – DDR2 4GB 800MHz RAM
Price: ~$100
The techies of yesteryear claimed that you should buy as much RAM as the budget would allow. These days, RAM is so cheap that if we were to take that advice we’d be hard pressed to find a capable motherboard to fit it all in. We recommend 4GB of 800MHz DDR2 RAM. 4GB has recently become standard for gaming rigs, and the 800MHz clock speed not only gives great performance, but also features enough grunt to allow decent overclocking of the CPU and FSB. You may have noticed that there’s no specified brand. This is because it doesn’t really matter; even generic is fine, get anything with good warrantee.

Expensive RAM may have tighter timings, but the performance gain is negligible unless you do some serious overclocking. 32-bit OSs won’t address the full 4GB – but should manage between 3 and 3.5GB. So you lose half a gig? So what, we say. 2GB is pissing on a bushfire, 3+ is where it’s at, baby.

Motherboard – Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3
Price: ~$130
The P45 chipset continues Intel’s legacy of budget performance solutions. This Gigabyte offering provides two 16x PCI-e 2.0 expansion slots allowing you to insert another GPU into Crossfire configuration. Four RAM slots are provided allowing a massive 16GB to be installed if you ever feel the desire to do so. The inbuilt high definition Realtek sound chipset removes the need for an add-on APU (Audio Processing Unit – or ‘sound card’ in old-fashioned talk), unless of course, you have high quality speakers or headphones which demand the best. It’s LGA775 socket supports a wide range of Intel CPUs, including the E8500 above. The greatest element of this motherboard is that it’s cheap, yet still delivers the performance and bandwidth required by a gaming rig. Simply outstanding value.

GPU (Video Card) – ATI 4870
Price: ~$300
Nvidia held the crown for cheap (and expensive) performance until recently when ATI brought down the hammer with their 48xx series of cards. The 4870 in particular is a gaming powerhouse, a masterpiece of graphic processing glory. The 4870 was enough to force Nvidia to bring out refreshes of their current line of offerings and drop prices across the range, yet they still fall short of this DDR5, DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.1 driven performance solution. We’ve managed to squeeze this card into the budget, and as you can see, it’s worth a 3rd of the total build. But we’re gamers, we want need it.

PSU – Silverstone Strider ST50F 500W
Price: ~$80
There is common misconception regarding PSUs that higher wattages are better. This is not always so, it’s all to do with efficiency and the 12v rail. A better PSU will have a high efficiency of 80%+ (also known as 80 plus certification) and a large distribution of the current to the 12v rails. The Silverstone Strider ST50F 500W does both, and again, at a nifty little price tag. Rest assured that your new gaming machine will have enough juice to power through intensive gaming sessions. New graphics cards need 6 or 8 pin PCI-E connectors. Most Nvidia cards need 2 x 6-pin connectors, the 4870 needs 1 x 6-pin and 1 x 8-pin. Matching a PSU’s connectors with your current and future graphics card needs is critical – and catches many people out.

Case - Antec NSK4000
Price: ~$65
Antec are known for their quality budget cases. The NSK4000 combines elegance with a functional ATX design, perfect for this gaming system. The case has 8 drive bays, 3 of which are 5.25” for any optical drives, fan controllers, card readers and other gadgets you may be inclined to use. Yet another case (pun!) of cheap quality.

Optical Drive – Pioneer 215BK SATA
Price: ~$30
Pioneer is best known for producing the highest quality optical drives on the market. And their best consumer model DVD burner happens to be dirt cheap. It’s not uncommon for other brands to use re-branded Pioneer drives with nothing more than a price mark-up, useless bundled software, and outdated firmware. For these reasons, there’s no better choice than this display of optical omnipotence.

Storage – Western Digital 640GB
Price: ~$93
This 7200RPM HDD is one of the fastest on the market. Encased inside the black metal exterior are two 320GB platters - a wonderfully huge platter density - meaning extra performance without breaking the bank. If you were a fan of high speed (and high price) 10000RPM Raptor drives, you’d be happy to know that this drive exceeds them in performance. Can’t get much better than that!

Cooling – Stock
Price: Free!
Stock cooling sounds boring, but with a budget so low the coolers you’ll get bundled with the CPU do a decent job, there is really no need. Even overclocking is still feasible, just watch those temps.

Checkout

• CPU: Intel E8500 - $200
• RAM: DDR2 4GB 800MHz RAM - $100v
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3 - $130
• GPU: ATI 4870 - $300
• PSU: Silverstone Strider ST50F 500W - $80
• Case: Antec NSK4000 - $65
• Optical: Pioneer 215BK SATA - $30
• HDD: Western Digital 640GB - $93

Total Price: $998

The Verdict
What can you expect from a PC of this calibre? Well it should play any game at high frames per second, with detail at the high end of the scale. Only large resolution monitors will slow this beast down – and we’re talking 1920 x 1200 or higher, and even at that res you can still expect fluid play with rich detail for many months or even years.

It’s quite amazing how far $1,000 can go in computing these days. Even the resource hog that is Crysis will run smoothly, depending on the settings and resolution used. As of now, you can’t get a better system for this price.

Gameplayer - Ultimate PC Gaming Machine < AU$1,000

It is quite uncommon for prices for equivalent products to rise in the IT industry, but that’s exactly what has been happening of late. A combination of lower demand and a relatively weak Aussie dollar have conspired to make many items more expensive than they were the last time this list was compiled. Fear not, however! Gameplayer is still here to give you the lower-down on how to make the very most of your hard-earned cash (or someone else’s hard-earned cash, if you can manage it). Here we have a beauty of a box that will see you through the financial crisis, whatever your needs may be.

(Note: Be sure to check out our Intermediate and Extreme Options)

CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9550 ($200)
While Intel seems to have a lock on the upper end of the performance market, AMD is still pushing out some competitively priced lower end parts. Their 9550 gives you 4 cores of goodness to play around with, and gives you a good performance return on your dollar.

RAM: 2x2GB generic DDR800 ($70)
In the budget space, one RAM stick is much the same as another. Kingston, A-DATA, Apacer, Transcend – there’s a whole list of brands for you to choose from. 4 GB will be more than enough for most needs, and using two 2GB sticks will let you double your RAM when the need arises, while still giving that dual-channel speed boost.

Motherboard: Gigabyte MA790GP ($220)
While not exactly the cheapest board around, the 790 chipset does allow for a great deal of flexibility when planning out the future of your build. With relatively decent onboard graphics, this could theoretically see you through while you save up for something a little beefier; when you feel like upgrading, throw in a 4850 or a 4870 into the PCIe 16x slot and use Hybrid Crossfire to bring some pretty solid improvements. After that, drop the 16x slot down to 8x and slot in another 48x0 for a further boost.

GPU: Foxconn 9600GT ($150)
For the budget-conscious gamer, the 9600GT is an excellent performer for the price. You’ll be dialing the detail down a bit on the latest games, but you’ll be able to run anything out there right now. If you need a bit more oomph, a 9800 should just let you squeeze in under $1,000 if you shop around a bit.

HDD: WD 750GB HDD ($110)
At 14c/GB, this hard drive is damn good value. There’s plenty of room in this build to drop in another as the need arises.

Optical: Pioneer 216 SATA DVD burner ($35)
Pioneer is still king when it comes to burner hardware. This one’s a no-brainer, and one of these little beauties should be an automatic inclusion in any build.

PSU: Silverstone Strider ST50F 500W ($90)
There hasn’t been a whole lot of movement of late when it comes to power supply development, so we’ll leave this right where it is. It gives you plenty of juice for the system we’ve outlined here, as well as leaving enough headroom should you decide to trade a few items up for something better.

Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + Scythe Slipstream ($95)
Stock cooler not good enough? The Phenom listed above doesn’t run terribly hot so you could get away with leaving this one out altogether, but if you really feel the need to push you budget box as hard as you can then the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + Scythe Slipstream combo from last quarter is still hard to beat for the price even though that price is now likely to be a good $10 more.

Total: $970

Gameplayer - The Best Budget PC Money can Buy

Mr GRiM said:

This is a bit of info that I think you should consider.

My rule exactly!

~Lordbob

Ahhh...at last, some are talking about the PSU as well.

How many times have people wanted to build a bargain PC and totally cheaped out on the PSU only to find their machine sucks, when it probably shouldn't. Cheap PSU's are cheap for a reason, they suck and most likely will never reach their posted specs, send dirty power to your nice new parts, and probably cause them to fail prematurely.

Always get a quality PSU. Do some research on these and remember...unlike other hardware, the PSU touches EVERYTHING in your system!

Chappy said:

Ahhh...at last, some are talking about the PSU as well.

How many times have people wanted to build a bargain PC and totally cheaped out on the PSU only to find their machine sucks, when it probably shouldn't. Cheap PSU's are cheap for a reason, they suck and most likely will never reach their posted specs, send dirty power to your nice new parts, and probably cause them to fail prematurely.

Always get a quality PSU. Do some research on these and remember...unlike other hardware, the PSU touches EVERYTHING in your system!

Oh so right, sir. I'm amused by folks who proclaim their hardware chops but don't own a multimeter or the faculty to use it...