Buying a Cheap Gaming Computer

[Piston45]

It's time to upgrade, and this computer I have now is so terrible that if I posted the specs you would die of internal bleeding. So, I'm getting a new, cheap computer that will run all of today's games nicely. I'm getting it from newegg.com, which to me seems like a great place to get it.

Specs:

Proc: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 - $146
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-K8NSC-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD - $77
RAM: CORSAIR 1GB (2x512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $78.99
VC: Leadtek A400 GT TDH Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X (Yes AGP) - $284
Case: NZXT GUARDIAN OR Orange SECC STEEL ATX (Has 2 fans; do I need more) - $56.00 - $30 Rebate = $26
PSU: Fortron FSP530-60GNA ATX 530W Power Supply - $80
HD: Seagate 7200.7 SATA NCQ 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 - $83
CD/DVD: NEC IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - $45.99

TotaL: $850.98 + Shipping/Tax (I have Win XP Home)

I already have a good monitor, speakers, keyboard, but I still have an old ball mouse; I'll probably get a Logitech MX 510 in the near future.

I don't plan to OC. I need suggestions, comments, concerns, flames, whatever. Is dishing out the extra cash for PCI-e and a different mobo worth it? Or will I run games like BF2 nicely with this? Is everything compatable? What problems will I have building it?

I'm sure I can find a nice guide for the building part, as this is my first time. Thanks in advance.

 

[d2arcturus]

Maybe you should go the PCIe route, easily upgradable in the future:

Motherboard
Video Card

 

[SuperFreaky]

I agree w/ d2arcturus, might as well go PCIe. Power Supply might be a overkill, but its never a bad idea to have a good quality one. I wouldn't worry about anymore fans, those Venice core A64s run very cool.

Other than that, great system. Should run any game you throw at it.

 

[Cares]

I too would recommend PCI-E for everyone upgrading new computers these days. It PCI-E motherboards do cost more than AGP but if you get an AGP you will be limiting yourself in the future.

 

[shiranai]

I'd recommend trying an OC. It's relatively simple, and doesn't necessarily require any overvolting at all to achieve stability at modest overclocks (the Venice should be able to do +300~400 Mhz without any overvolting, for instance). The performance difference that you can get 'for free' is quite substantial, and since this is a gaming machine I think it'd be worth a shot.

If you'd like to try OCing, I'd put down a little extra cash for the DFI Lanparty nF4 Ultra-D.

I don't know anything about Fortron PSUs, may want to check reviews and specs (amps on the 12V rail is particularly important).

Otherwise looks pretty good?

 

[kb3edk]

Count me in with the others... go the PCI-E route. Pop an Athlon X2 in there some time next year when they go down in price.

Haven't used Fortron PSUs before (I use Enermax) but in forum post after forum post I hear raves about how good they are.

 

[dguy6789]

Remember rule NUMBER 1: Do NOT overclock at all, unless you are prepared to replace the part you are overclocking.

Overclocking is a risky way of improving performance, as overclocking WILL shorten the life of the part being overclocked, and may cause immediate damage.

 

[d2arcturus]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Remember rule NUMBER 1: Do NOT overclock at all, unless you are prepared to replace the part you are overclocking.

Overclocking is a risky way of improving performance, as overclocking WILL shorten the life of the part being overclocked, and may cause immediate damage.

.....:thumbsdown:

 

[rickn]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Remember rule NUMBER 1: Do NOT overclock at all, unless you are prepared to replace the part you are overclocking.

Overclocking is a risky way of improving performance, as overclocking WILL shorten the life of the part being overclocked, and may cause immediate damage.

spoken like a true amateur

 

[Piston45]

Thanks for the input. So PCI is worth it, and it looks like switching to the Geforce 6800 GT to the X800XL and another mobo (thank you d2arcturus, btw) is only a small increase in price. Is the performance relatively the same?

As for OCing, it seems two faced to me. I get some extra processor power for "free," but I need to upgrade the motherboard to do it, so it seems like two steps forward and one backward. I'm really going for price over power here, but thanks for the suggestion. I'm sure with future upgrades and computers I will try to overclock.

Anyway, thanks. One last thing, though: can someone really quickly explain the SATA, PATA and ATA 133 or ATA 150 parts of the HD? I was mostly ignorant when I chose that HD. Is everything compatable? I'm slightly paranoid because a friend mixed someone incompatable parts when he was building his, and he had to return and replace stuff.

EDIT: I just realized I've never heard of connect3D as a card manufacturer before. Any comments? Also, I might switch to this HD for this middle-end rig, because I figured I wouldn't need that 530 W. Every dollar saved here is some for the next upgrade (Probably to the processor + mobo) in a year or so.

The HD:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817104954

 

[d2arcturus]

Yep that HD is OK, but I would recommend this WD Caviar SE which is 40GB bigger for the same price.

As for the video card, the X800XL performs as well as the 6800GT, and generally costs less.
Connect 3D is OK, maybe you may want to look at this Sapphire perhaps, they are good.
Maybe you are comfortable with another card on this list, just make sure it has GDDR3 memory.

 

[xeodragon]

so does oc actually shorten the life of the component?

 

[shoRunner]

if your upping voltages and such the yes, if not and its only a modest overclock like 200-400mhz probably not significantly.

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: rickn

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Remember rule NUMBER 1: Do NOT overclock at all, unless you are prepared to replace the part you are overclocking.

Overclocking is a risky way of improving performance, as overclocking WILL shorten the life of the part being overclocked, and may cause immediate damage.

spoken like a true amateur

If you do not understand that overclocking is taking a risk, then you are the amateur. Yes it can be extremely beneficial and provide phenominal performance gains, but there is a risk that will always exist and you must take that into account. If there is no way for you to replace a part that would break due to overclocking, then you should not overclock in the first place.

 

[Piston45]

Should I stay with integrated sound or buy a cheap sound card like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102177

 

[d2arcturus]

Originally posted by: Piston45
Should I stay with integrated sound or buy a cheap sound card like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102177

Depends on what kind of speakers you have.

 

[zendari]

I'd wait for a nice Circuit City HD deal.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Most Circuit City/Best Buy/CompUSA/etc HD deals are PATA. Personally, I prefer SATA because of the nice small cables If you're overclocking, get the DFI Lanparty Ultra-D. It's the best S939 overclocking board on the market. Otherwise, the Chaintech nForce4 Ultra board is fine. Oh, and the XClio 450W PSU is excellent. Only about $50 at Newegg.

 

[Dystien]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=A64-3000BP