Building a gaming rig. First timer.

[Heroxoot]

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.

 

[RileyRandom]

i have a monitor mouse keyboard and might be able to get an old hard drive (like 340 gigs) and dvd burner.

 

[pparks1]

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.

 

[Wishmaster]

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.

 

[pparks1]

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)

If it were me, I think I would would just go in a extra $10-15 and go for the HD4850 GPU.

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.

 

[Heroxoot]

@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.

 

[pparks1]

@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.

 

[Heroxoot]

@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.

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.

 

[pparks1]

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.

 

[Heroxoot]

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.

 

[pparks1]

Again, I was only making suggestions and staying within a budget.

I don't think much about upgrades honestly...because i "always" replace the entire box every 2-3 years. Case, motherboard, etc. I typically keep the current machine 100% intact and just give it to somebody else in the family and upgrade other things. Therefore, the upgrade-ability of lack thereof between Intel and AMD isn't a big deal to me. I just try to go with the best bang for the buck CPU...and lately for me it's been Intel. I had numerous AMD boxes back in the Athlon X2 64 days when they were stomping the P4's.

My last build was purchased in June of 2009 and built in July 2009 and I went with an Intel Q9550 with the larger L2 cache. It was $200 even and overclocked very easily to 3.20ghz on the stock air cooler with almost no increase in temperature whatsoever. At the time, there wasn't anything available from AMD which could match that performance for that price. And I wanted to stick with DDR2 RAM and got some nice 4-4-4-12 timing ram now running at 1:1 with my CPU.

 

[th3r0ck]

500-700? I don't really know of a real one, i just want a cheap rig thats good quality and can run fairly good games at decent settings.

follow my rig,
but take core2quad instead of Dualcore/ HDD: keep urs
and
ATI RADEON 4700HD or 5X series

 

[Heroxoot]

Now see thats not very budget friendly. I personally intake the old with the new. I will probably change my mobo and ram to ddr3 shortly. In turn I will get a SLI ready mobo too. From there I will either upgrade my gfx card or sli with what I already own. Instead of buying a brand new rig you can use the money on an uber powered gfx card. Maybe you buy a really big monitor. MAYBE YOU BUY MORE GAMES. Upgrading is always better than from scratch.

 

[pparks1]

Also, don't forget to factor in the cost of the operating system on this new box. That can easily add $100-$300 depending upon which version (upgrade or full, as well as home premium, professional, enterprise)

Upgrading is always better than from scratch.

I don't think so. As I said, I have other uses for the fully configured computers around my house. They can even be sold outright since they are fully functioning boxes. And I can keep the old ones running and transition over to the new boxes over time versus having to cut and run on any particular day. And it gives me lots of spare older equipment to test with...which is important for a systems admin like myself.

And with hardware changing as rapidly as it does...I don't want to get a brand spanking new CPU and plop it into a 2 year old motherboard. I would rather have a new mobo with fancy new bells and whistles. And when I change CPU's and mobos..I often have to change the RAM. And if I am changing the RAM, CPU and MOBO...the case and the power supply aren't that much more expensive. I think you can see where I am going here.

But everybody is different and not everybody is going to agree with my stance. But it's worked out very well for me and I haven't regretted many new computer decisions in my past.

 

[Everlong]

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.

Well not really. Getting an E7500 leaves you with room to upgrade way up in to the Core 2 Quads, which are still great processors today. Like I started with an E8200 on a 750i motherboard with DDR2. Upgraded the CPU to a Q9550, upgraded the motherboard to a 790i and DDR3 RAM a few months later, still with my Q9550. Now if I wanted to upgrade again, I could just pick up an i7 and decent motherboard, keeping everything else I have. So it's pretty much the same for Intel as you described for AMD.

 

[pparks1]

Well not really. Getting an E7500 leaves you with room to upgrade way up in to the Core 2 Quads, which are still great processors today. Like I started with an E8200 on a 750i motherboard with DDR2. Upgraded the CPU to a Q9550, upgraded the motherboard to a 790i and DDR3 RAM a few months later, still with my Q9550.

Now see, for me...I wouldn't be able to justify upgrading from the E8200 to the Q9550. I mean, you essentially go from a 2.66Ghz dual core to a 2.83Ghz quad core. I don't think that I would find that much difference to justify this. (and I have a Q9550 at home and an E8400 at work...so I have some experience with these levels of CPU's) But like I said, I'm not one for the upgrade here and upgrade there route. To me, upgrading like this seems to be a constant outpouring of cash slowly getting to what you want. I'd rather save up all of the money and invest in everything at once. But hey, it's just me.

 

[Everlong]

Well not really. Getting an E7500 leaves you with room to upgrade way up in to the Core 2 Quads, which are still great processors today. Like I started with an E8200 on a 750i motherboard with DDR2. Upgraded the CPU to a Q9550, upgraded the motherboard to a 790i and DDR3 RAM a few months later, still with my Q9550.

Now see, for me...I wouldn't be able to justify upgrading from the E8200 to the Q9550. I mean, you essentially go from a 2.66Ghz dual core to a 2.83Ghz quad core. I don't think that I would find that much difference to justify this. (and I have a Q9550 at home and an E8400 at work...so I have some experience with these levels of CPU's) But like I said, I'm not one for the upgrade here and upgrade there route. To me, upgrading like this seems to be a constant outpouring of cash slowly getting to what you want. I'd rather save up all of the money and invest in everything at once. But hey, it's just me.

Play GTA 4 on an E8200, then try it on a Q9550 with double the cache and 2 more cores and you'll see a difference

Well obviously it wasn't just that one game I bought it for. It helped increase fps in a few games, especially while I had SLI.

 

[RileyRandom]

AHHHHH, now this is just an argument over processors.

 

[kurahk7]

I would recommend:
Cpu: AMD ATHLON II X4 620 OR 630
GPU: ATI RADEON HD 4770/5750/5770 OR NVIDIA GEFORCE 9800GT(if you can find one on sale that is, I got mine for $69)
Motherboard: AMD 785g chipset if you're planning to run 1 card (ATI), 890gx or 790fx if you're planning to run multiple ATI cards, or an nvidia chipset(I have no idea since I use mainly AMD chipsets because of the simplicity)
CASE: wait for the newegg shell shocker deals, but make sure it has good reviews
PSU: wait for the newegg shell shocker deals, but make sure it has good reviews
HDD: Try to use one that you already own
DVD Drive: Try to use one that you already own as well
RAM: Because AMD processors (AM3 ones) are able to use both DDR2 or DDR3 RAM, buy the ones that are supported by the Motherboard, make sure the CAS ratings are good (lower the better)
HSF: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+

 

[kurahk7]

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.

Well not really. Getting an E7500 leaves you with room to upgrade way up in to the Core 2 Quads, which are still great processors today. Like I started with an E8200 on a 750i motherboard with DDR2. Upgraded the CPU to a Q9550, upgraded the motherboard to a 790i and DDR3 RAM a few months later, still with my Q9550. Now if I wanted to upgrade again, I could just pick up an i7 and decent motherboard, keeping everything else I have. So it's pretty much the same for Intel as you described for AMD.

Except AM2, AM2+, and AM3 all use the same socket, so a simple bios upgrade can let you upgrade from a really old athlon x2 to an Phenom II x6 (when they come out); you can't do that with Intel (LGA775)