building a budget gaming computer?

[xoduzz786]

i already have a monitor and speakers. I would like to have at least a geforce 6600 GT in this system...is it possible for under $700?

 

[KoolDrew]

No offence, but why don't you do some research yourself and then post here for us to look at?

 

[Spike]

thread with $800 gaming machine

that setup is close and about as cheap as you want to go to get a good gaming system. If you go much lower you are cutting out some of the more essential pieces. I say save a little more and get a better pc. You can get a computer worlds up for just a few hundred more. The $900 range seems to be perfect for a nice gaming rig, at least thats what I have seen.

If you are stuck at that price range then look for an older cpu (like a Athlon XP) or hit up gotapex.com and get a cheap dell for $500ish, then add a better gpu (6600gt or X800XL).

-spike

 

[EQTitan]

I just built this under $800 (maybe $700)

Antec SLK3000 -$50
Antec 550w true control -$60
DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra-D -$131
A64 3000+ (Venice) -$130
BFG 6600GT OC 128 -$171
PQI Turbo 2-3-3-7 2x512mb -$88 ($68 after rebates)
Hitachi 160gb -$75
NEC 3520a -$42
Lite-On x16 DVD -$20
Floppy -$5

Total = $772* not including monitor

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: EQTitan
I just built this under $800 (maybe $700)

Antec SLK3000 -$50
Antec 550w true control -$60
DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra-D -$131
A64 3000+ (Venice) -$130
BFG 6600GT OC 128 -$171
PQI Turbo 2-3-3-7 2x512mb -$88 ($68 after rebates)
Hitachi 160gb -$75
NEC 3520a -$42
Lite-On x16 DVD -$20
Floppy -$5

Total = $772* not including monitor

hmmm, thats not bad at all. I stand corrected on my assumptions. May I ask where you got that antec 550w for $60?

 

[EQTitan]

Originally posted by: Spike

Originally posted by: EQTitan
I just built this under $800 (maybe $700)

Antec SLK3000 -$50
Antec 550w true control -$60
DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra-D -$131
A64 3000+ (Venice) -$130
BFG 6600GT OC 128 -$171
PQI Turbo 2-3-3-7 2x512mb -$88 ($68 after rebates)
Hitachi 160gb -$75
NEC 3520a -$42
Lite-On x16 DVD -$20
Floppy -$5

Total = $772* not including monitor

hmmm, thats not bad at all. I stand corrected on my assumptions. May I ask where you got that antec 550w for $60?

Good Ole' Anandtech =)

 

[xoduzz786]

thanks EQtitan....i think i'll go with that and maybe change up the case a bit

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: EQTitan

Originally posted by: Spike

Originally posted by: EQTitan
I just built this under $800 (maybe $700)

Antec SLK3000 -$50
Antec 550w true control -$60
DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra-D -$131
A64 3000+ (Venice) -$130
BFG 6600GT OC 128 -$171
PQI Turbo 2-3-3-7 2x512mb -$88 ($68 after rebates)
Hitachi 160gb -$75
NEC 3520a -$42
Lite-On x16 DVD -$20
Floppy -$5

Total = $772* not including monitor

hmmm, thats not bad at all. I stand corrected on my assumptions. May I ask where you got that antec 550w for $60?

Good Ole' Anandtech =)

not a bad deal at all. And I thought my Antec Smartpower 500 for $50 was a good deal...

 

[EQTitan]

I have to say that the SLK3000 is a very nice case though I wanted thermo. management LCD display but I could not justify spending another $50 just to see how hot my CPU/PC/VGA was running...

I'll post some pics after I get her all put together. Right now I'm waiting on that PS, and the VGA to get here. Now to find a 19" monitor.

 

[shoRunner]

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146

Motherboard
Chaintech nforce4 $87

Ram
OCZ Value $81

Video Card
6600GT $162

DVD/RW
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - $40.00

Hard Drive
Samsung 160GB $78


Case and PSU
Antec Case $50

XClio 450w $53

[/quote]

$697

*edit...i'm alittle late...but at least i made it under $700..accept with shipping*

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146

Motherboard
Chaintech nforce4 $87

Ram
OCZ Value $81

Video Card
6600GT $162

DVD/RW
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - $40.00

Hard Drive
Samsung 160GB $78


Case and PSU
Antec Case $50

XClio 450w $53

Everything looks good. If you want to save more PQI has some RAM that is $33 per 512MB stick at newegg.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: shoRunner
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146

Motherboard
Chaintech nforce4 $87

Ram
OCZ Value $81

Video Card
6600GT $162

DVD/RW
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - $40.00

Hard Drive
Samsung 160GB $78


Case and PSU
Antec Case $50

XClio 450w $53

Everything looks good. If you want to save more PQI has some RAM that is $33 per 512MB stick at newegg.

And you just hope it works. PQI and I have never gotten along, though I hope thats just me. I would stick with the OCZ or Corsair value ram.

-spike

 

[xoduzz786]

can two sticks of PQI that were bought separately run in dual channel for sure? i've never heard of PQI...anyone have any experiences with them? TIA

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: xoduzz786
can two sticks of PQI that were bought separately run in dual channel for sure? i've never heard of PQI...anyone have any experiences with them? TIA

check my post. They, like PNY, have never worked well for me, but that may just be a one time thing.

-spike

 

[EQTitan]

I usually use Consair or Kingston memory but I have read good and bad reviews on all memory. This time around I was thinking strcitly budget machine. But If it doesn't work as well as I'd like I'll be upgrading....

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: xoduzz786
can two sticks of PQI that were bought separately run in dual channel for sure? i've never heard of PQI...anyone have any experiences with them? TIA

I have friends that have never had any problems with PQI. Also you do not have to buy a dual channel pack to run dual channel. That is just a marketing thing.

 

[myrcgarage]

Originally posted by: EQTitan
I have to say that the SLK3000 is a very nice case though I wanted thermo. management LCD display but I could not justify spending another $50 just to see how hot my CPU/PC/VGA was running...

I'll post some pics after I get her all put together. Right now I'm waiting on that PS, and the VGA to get here. Now to find a 19" monitor.

Do you know if the RAM will work with the DFI board?

Edit: Never mind...didn't read the whole thread before posting...

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: myrcgarage

Originally posted by: EQTitan
I have to say that the SLK3000 is a very nice case though I wanted thermo. management LCD display but I could not justify spending another $50 just to see how hot my CPU/PC/VGA was running...

I'll post some pics after I get her all put together. Right now I'm waiting on that PS, and the VGA to get here. Now to find a 19" monitor.

Do you know if the RAM will work with the DFI board?

The PQI I suggested works fine from what I hear.

 

[shortylickens]

I'd like to support what some other folks have already said here.
Buy a cheap Dell or eMachines and slap a decent mid-range video card into it.

OR
get the absolute cheapest Alienware you can build.
I am of the opinion that their high-end systems are overpriced. But their low-ends are pretty reasonable and you would have a hard time making your own for the same money.

 

[Topweasel]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I'd like to support what some other folks have already said here.
Buy a cheap Dell or eMachines and slap a decent mid-range video card into it.

OR
get the absolute cheapest Alienware you can build.
I am of the opinion that their high-end systems are overpriced. But their low-ends are pretty reasonable and you would have a hard time making your own for the same money.

Actually i reread what everyone said and not one person recommended purchasing a pre built machine. From what I read this person wants to bubild it. Building computers is fun if you don't turn it into a chore. I absolutly love building a computer and not having it post the first time. the time spent on figuring it out is useful helps me with my tech support issues at work. On the other hand nothing feels better then to build a computer and have everything work.

 

[svi]

If you buy a cheap Dell or eMachines, you get stuck with low-quality parts (cheap fans, creaky cases, etc.). If you buy a relatively inexpensive Alienware, you'd still pay hundreds more than you should, and people would laugh at you for wasting your money on an Alienware.

Plus, yeah, building is fun and all that.

 

[Grimbor]

Building your own computer is much better in the long run. The main thing you need to realize is that while buying a cheap dell and slapping a vid card into it will work, you'd be paying more for the next dell just because of the OS. I got win XP oem a few years ago for $80 and it has lasted me over several builds and upgrades. Buying a prebuilt system means buying a new OS if you ever want to change the MB.

My builds usually consist of getting mid range gear of the latest technology that is priced at it's lowest and close enough to top end for my uses, then upgrading at some midpoint later with just a new CPU and vid card.

Thus my current build cost me $600ish, but I got a Nforce 4 ultra board, an AMD 64 3500 and a $60 refurbed 6600 that is OCed to 550/700 and gives me a good 45 fps in every game a play now anyways and a 74 gig raptor. I made sure my MB would support an X2 CPU before I got it and will wait a few years and slap in a better CPU, possibly a 5 Mhz rated FX or whatever is available at a mid range price point then and a mid range refurbed vid card for a cheap but pretty much complete upgrade.

My last build just involved upgrading my XP CPU and adding another RAM chip which brought the 9700 pro using system right on par with the latest full prebuilts for about $100 2 years into the life of the system.

Building your own system might not save a lot of money right off the bat, but it's the OS and other stuff you can reuse that saves money over the long haul plus you have a good enough PSU and non propriatory case that can be used for many years as well. Buying a dell, not only will you pay more, but you'll get a crap PSU, a bad thermal pad, possibly a system built by a chimp, a propriatory OS and case, and poor quality optical drive and a mother board equivalent to a PC Chips blue light special. Not to mention a OS cluttered with garbage. However, there is also a risk with building your own system, you can fry something due to lack of knowledge or if something is bad through no fault of your own, it can be a real pain to track down the cause and RMA it. Building a computer is easy as cake, unless something goes bad, then it can be a real chore with you sweating over the carcass of your open computer case trying to figure out why the damn thing won't post. Five out of six times the build will go perfect the first attempt and you'll have it complete in 15 minutes, it's that sixth time where there is some risk involved.