Budget Gaming PC!

[LuluTheMonk]

For the price range given I'd recommend a phenom II 955 and an aftermarket cooler with a 900 chipset mobo. Overclocked to at least 3.4 ghz that's fast enough to play any game on the market today with very acceptable frame rates, and can be upgraded easily to a bulldozer in a couple of years for an even faster cpu with twice the cores that can be overclocked using the same aftermarket cooler. That way you don't necessarily save much money now, but you save money in the long run.

I am not to familiar with the AMD family, but is this correct?
ASUS M4N98TD EVO AM3 $140 (this was the only 900 northbridge mobo I could find on newegg?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 $110
+ some $25 cooler

Given mfenn's $555 AR build earlier in the thread you are proposing a $90 more expensive build that is slower today, but 2-3 years from now, could upgrade to bulldozer say, for $100-$150 + GPU for $100-$150. Vs having to buy a new CPU + Mobo + RAM + GPU from an Intel offering? Assuming you would buy a similar CPU and GPU ($100-$150) from the Intel side, but would have to spend another $100 (MB) + $50 (ram), you did have to spend $60 more, but you would have a faster system over a 5-6 year period wouldn't you? At $10/year that seems fairly reasonable at this point.

Or if you go with the AM3+ route with a $60 motherboard, you would save $10, have a faster computer for encoding, but slower for the games of today (although possibly faster for better threaded games in the future), and then be out $160 over a 5-6 year period or roughly $25/year or a little over $2/month. The value doesn't seem to quite be there unless my numbers are off a significant amount, and I didn't include the need for the $25+ third party cooler.

 

[mvbighead]

Outnumbered by the 80% of people who buy Intel? What a surprise. A one hundred difference between your estimate and mine for what is still worthwhile for a budget AMD rig? What a surprise! Perhaps next you'd like to tell us how to suck eggs?

I'd just like to point out, as I did before, that I am a proud owner of an AMD PhenomII x3 740 Black Heka in my main build. I'd rather have an i5 2500k, but I simply don't need to spend money as I don't use my PC nearly enough. And given then $150 or so I spent acquiring my MB/CPU, I'd say I did pretty darned good back in November of 2010.

Also, my guest bedroom has an AMD X2 4000+, my wife has a Core2Duo e6600 (bought off the forums used), and my HTPC has a Core2Duo e6700. So, a 50/50 split more or less.

All anyone is doing in this thread is offering the best suggestions possible with the budget the OP lists.

All you are doing is getting defensive about someone not buying AMD for a budget system. The problem is, SMART people buy the best components they can that fit in their budget. And a "budget" system is basically what fits in the buyer's budget. In this case, the budget is high enough that Intel fits with ease. Drop it down to 400 or so, and there is simply no choice but to buy AMD.

And there is nothing wrong with AMD products, the plain and simple truth is that AMD needs a major break through to simply catch up with Intel at this point. AMD's best area at this point is their Fusion low power systems, and the extreme low budget system (sub $500).

And you've simply lost this argument 100 times over, so until you spec out a system for $600 that beats someone else's suggestion, I think we can just think of you as a troll and be done with it.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I would suggest fitting a i5 2300 because he can probably squeeze it in

 

[mvbighead]

it wasnt towards you, its towards Wul..soething

and also

you got pwned

I got pwned? Do tell...

 

[mfenn]

I would suggest fitting a i5 2300 because he can probably squeeze it in

Yeah, I think that if he took my $555 build and swapped in a i5, it would be right at $600.

 

[mfenn]

Nothing out of context about it. You clearly stated that promoting this website was more important to you then providing people with the most accurate and detailed information possible. You pump out simple formulaic builds for people the way a factory worker assembles parts and criticize anyone who disagrees with your approach. It obviously works for you and I guess it helps promote the website, but don't think that makes you somehow God-like and above criticism.

Wuli, the thread is there in black and white. You can keep making claims without providing supporting evidence until you're blue in the face, but that doesn't make them true. I even made it easy for you to directly quote me to prove your point, but you didn't.

As to your second point, I suppose my builds would seem formulaic to someone (such as yourself) who has never posted one. I am not above criticism, but I am above fanboys with God complexes who quote Shakespeare when they are proven wrong.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I got pwned? Do tell...

not you, the OTHER guy. sorry for the confusin

 

[lotion22]

Thanks for all the replies, I didn't expect this many responses but it seems to have stirred some debates and I learned quite a bit . Sorry for the late response, I was busy the last few days.

Since you are buying a CPU that can't be overclocked you could save a bit of money on the motherboard with either H67 (no overclocking) or H61 (also no SATA 6 Gb).

The RAM is 1.65V, look for some DDR3 - 1333 that is 1.5V instead.

You missed listing a hard drive, a Samsung Spinpoint 1 TB is a good choice.

For just a single video card a good 5xx-watt is enough, there have been Antec PSUs in the Hot Deals forum for as low as $35

With some savings on the motherboard and PSU, you might be able to move up to a core i5-2400, which would give you quad core and turbo boost.

I was originally going to go for the Biostar P67XE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138308. I can make do without overclocking since I'm leaning more towards Intel at this moment and they don't appear to be overclocked often (correct me if I'm wrong). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138308 Would this H67 be proficient enough? The 50 bucks difference looks nice.

I'm going to be using a single video card but I'd also like the opportunity to crossfire without upgrading my PSU in the future. Any suggestions there? From what I've gathered, I'll need something around 600 watts for 6850s. I'm also considering the H61 but I'm not sure exactly how much I'll be missing from not having 6GB SATA.

Just curious, would going for the i5-2400 instead of the i5-2500k be worth the 30~ dollars saved?

Ignoring all of the fanboi raving in here, this is mostly good OP.

However, this Antec 300 is probably a nicer case than the Rosewill if you're OK with dealing with rebates.

I would not use that 5900 RPM Seagate as my only/boot drive. As mentioned earlier in this thread, go for this Hitachi drive, the Samsung F3 1 TB looks too pricey in Canada.

Everything else looks good. That power supply is more than enough, even for CF. I have an older modular Antec 650W powering a folding machine with a Phenom II and two 9600GSOs.

I'll check out Hitachi or Samsung. Someone else gave me a similar response as well. I'll check out the Antec 300. Yeah, I just want to 'future-proof' it in case I decide to upgrade the rig and CF in the future.

Good advice. OP, here's some linkage:

i3 2100 + Biostar H61MH combo $180
Mushkin DDR3 1333 8GB $50
6870 $155 AR
Samsung F3 1TB $75
Antec Neo Eco 520C $40 AR
Rosewill Challenger $55
Total: $555 AR

Thanks for the build. It's certainly cheaper than what I have at the moment. Would the H61 restrict me to the i3? Would I have to purchase a new MOBO if I were to upgrade to an i5 in the future?

I bothered to look at lotion22's user profile. 1 post. Last time he logged in was yesterday night, before the topic turned into this mess. I can only wonder what he'll think when he gets back.

"But... but... I only wanted help!"

He'll and up buying a DELL or a Wii/XBOX/PS3 only to never have ask again about a budget gaming build on a internet forum.

That said, I'm a huge, huge AMD fan. My first ever PC was a K6-II, and my favorite one to date was an Athlon XP 3200 + Abit AN7 combo. But I went Intel on my last couple builds and did not regret it at all. As for the upgradeability, this is one of the rare times in which Intel may have the upper hand. Ivy Bridge will be S1155 compatible, only a BIOS flash needed. Socket AM3+, on the other hand, may be a one hit wonder as Trinity will need a new socket for the integrated graphics.

As for the OP, I think that Intel is the best choice for his budget. If cheaper or in need of heavy multithreading in a budget, AMD.

Hahah, the replies were quite expected but I'm not complaining, they were informative. I'm not great with computers and I'm still learning .

Roger that....

My recomendation to OP: ignore the discussion on AMD versus Intel; look at the concrete suggestions you've received; use www.anandtech.com/bench to compare the recommended CPUs; consider your interest in overclocking; and, finally, make a selection.

For what it's worth, I think you got it pretty much correct from the start.

It seems Intel is the most ideal CPU from what I've gathered from feedback and data. I don't know much about overclocking but I'm not reluctant to learn as well. It seems Intel CPUs are still quite powerful without overclocking?


I'd also like to ask a general question, is the jump from an i3 to an i5 a big leap? And is it necassary for gaming? From what I've gathered CPUs aren't a big factor in gaming in comparison with GPUs.

Thanks for all the replies. You've all been a big help. Any suggestions to shave off a few bucks or get an extra bit in performance are appreciated!

 

[mfenn]

With Sandy Bridge CPUs, the models that end with a "K" can be overclocked whereas the models that do not, cannot. Thus, if you are looking at an i3 (a capable gaming CPU), there isn't a need to get a P67 or Z68 motherboard because it can't be overclocked anyway. H61 and H67 have the same capabilities in terms of CPU support, the main differences are the number of USB ports and the number and speed of SATA ports.

An i5 2400 is certainly a lot more powerful than an i3 2100, but for gaming I'd rather spend extra money on the GPU. If I were given the choice of two gaming systems, one with an i3 2100 and 6950 and the other with an i5 2400 and a 6870, I'd take the i3 every time.