$500 Budget Game Rig

[Gorrillasnot]

Hello,

My friend wants me to build him a a decent game rig with a $500 budget.
Here's the newegg wishlist of parts I have come up with so far.
With the cost of shipping on some parts I am more then $60 over budget.

Please look over my list and let me know what I could change to get closer to the $500 budget.

BTW he already has kb, mouse, and a monitor and I have an oem copy of Windows XP I'm gonna donate to the build.

Also there is a chance that the budget could be raised slightly if the performance hit of a lower performance/priced part is gonna be so much it's not worth it to save a few bucks.

thanks all

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I think you did a pretty good job. Here are my suggestions:

1. Do you have to have a retail burner? Newegg has some OEM Samsung drives around the $20 mark, and they're good drives.

2. Newegg has an ADATA 4 GB DDR3 kit that got great reviews for $95 and it had free shipping. GSkill is great but you might be able to go cheaper. What about going with 2 GB now and he can upgrade to 4 GB later?

3. You might want to eventually get another PS -- not sure about the one in the case. I'd try the one in the case out first, obviously.

4. You might want to spend another $2 or $3 and get the Athlon II x4 630. It is probably worth it for 200 Mhz more clock.

I would probably tell him you can do it if 1) you switch out the DVD burner and 2) go with 2 GB instead of 4 GB. If he insists on the 4 GB, he will have to spend a little more.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Note that the Samsung OEM DVD does not include burning software, keep that in mind if he doesn't already have Nero or similar.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Note that the Samsung OEM DVD does not include burning software, keep that in mind if he doesn't already have Nero or similar.

Who needs nero when cdburnerxp is free?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Yeah, that was mainly why I asked if he needed the retail package, as the software is the only difference.

 

[Arglebargle]

The Saphire 4860 is five dollars more (the value of that instant rebate) on Newegg, if you all were comfortable with that choice.

 

[mfenn]

I would advise that you get another case and PSU. I bought the exact case that you have selected for use in a "toy" box. Let me tell you, that PSU is beyond shitty. Do yourself (and your friend) a favor and dump that piece of trash.

You should be able to get a ~$20 case w/o PSU and an decent OCZ, FSP, or Antec PSU for ~$40.

Regarding the other components:

• $125 is WAAAY to much to be paying for a 4850. Take a look at this 4850 instead. I realize that this one is 512MB instead of 1GB, but at a $500 budget, you can't afford $30 to double the VRAM.
• You can save $10 by going with this DDR 1333 instead of the 1600. You lose the heatspreaders, but also lose the silly "Ripjaws" branding, so it's a wash in my book
• You will also probably want to drop the X4 down to an X2 to save ~$30.

 

[Vaulter]

you might get a good dual core instead of a low end quad, most games dont use all 4 cores. Maybe go with a micro atx board, its not as customizable, but usually about $10 cheaper, and as im looking at the build on newegg, its $500 with no case or psu.

Go with the adata ram, go on craigslist for a $10 dvd burner someone replaced with a blu-ray drive or something, search ebay for a cheaper card, and get that boy a case and psu. Antec 200s have AWESOME reviews, or a 300 illusion if he wants pretty lights and such, though its 20-30 more.

 

[jchu14]

Are you/your friend willing to wait for rebates? If so, OCZ powersupply/ram have some great deals

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W + OCZ Obsidian 2x2gb DDR3 1600
for $158.50 - $45 rebate = $113.5 (remember to apply coupon code "FEBC10")

add this

Gigabyte MidTower case at mwave
for $22 with free shipping
Not the best case in the world, but I personally believe it's better to skimp on a case and put the money in other parts.

Instead of that 4850, you can get a
Sapphire HD5750 1gb at ewiz
for $126 after coupon code "VDAY10". It won't perform faster than that 4850, but it has dx11 and uses less power.

 

[mhouck]

+1 on getting a cheaper 4850
and +1 on ddr3 1333 over 1600. Actual realife performance as opposed to benchmarks will bear it out especially if you are on a tight budget. GL

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

1GB 4860 for $115.

 

[Gorrillasnot]

1GB 4860 for $115.

Where? newegg only has 1 and it's $129

Also I have changed the motherboard and CPU. Went with a Phenom II 550BE in hopes of unlocking the other 2 cores..If not I figure a 3.1GHz Phenom II x2 should still spank a Athlon II x4 in gaming and general PC use right?

I noticed fry's has a combo deal on a phenom II x4 925 for $169ar but it would cost me $30 in gas to round trip it to the nearest fry's. would that be a decent deal.

Still looking for a decent case. most places have good prices but usually the s/h charges sour the deal.

 

[mfenn]

Where? newegg only has 1 and it's $129

Also I have changed the motherboard and CPU. Went with a Phenom II 550BE in hopes of unlocking the other 2 cores..If not I figure a 3.1GHz Phenom II x2 should still spank a Athlon II x4 in gaming and general PC use right?

I noticed fry's has a combo deal on a phenom II x4 925 for $169ar but it would cost me $30 in gas to round trip it to the nearest fry's. would that be a decent deal.

Still looking for a decent case. most places have good prices but usually the s/h charges sour the deal.

If you can pick up a case locally, that's a great way to save on shipping.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

4860 $115: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2045920

 

[Gorrillasnot]

4860 $115: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2045920

unless I am missing something the code and rebate on that deal has expired

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Oh, never mind then. Still, it's only $5 more than the 4850 you chose.

 

[jae]

Go with an Athlon II x3 435.

 

[Gorrillasnot]

would something like this $300 barebone kit be a good deal?
looks like it would need a hsf, optical drive, vid card, and maybe another 2gb ram.

would it be worth it or should I stick with my newegg list?

thanks

 

[batuchka]

Negative on barebone

1. Free PSU with case = no no Get an 80+ with active PFC for peace of mind for 24/7 ops
2. 1st gen Phenom i.e Agenas/Tolimans/Kumas = slow, power hogging and the current AthlonIIs Propus/Ranas/Regors are far more cool running and hell a lot more OC headroom
3. Biostar MCP6PB M2+ effectively AM2 (HT 1.0/PCIex16 gen 1.0)
4. If not solved yet - suggested config for up to 1680 x 1050 gaming mid/high

5. Other 'info' of interest: enthusiast review of mobo
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=243311
Potential unlocking results
a. Rana --> Propus
b. Rana --> Deneb
c. No change