Out of the loop, need tips on ~$500 gaming build for friend

[OCNewbie]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for - Entertainment mostly (Games, Web, Video, Music, etc.)

2. What YOUR budget is - Around $500-600

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from - USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference - Prefer Intel/nvidia, but I'm out of the loop, so unsure what is the best bang/buck that fits into the target price range. Bang/buck is the goal.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are - Will not need monitor or OS, all other non-input devices are needed.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads - Yes, some things are close, but not close enough IMO

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds - Unlikely that he will overclock, unless it's ridiculously easy. Basically no trial and error involved.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with - 1920x1080 I believe (he'll be using his 32" LCD for now)

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? - Within 1-2 months at the most.

My friend wants a PC that will play WoW and Diablo 3 with most of, if not all the eye candy on, at reasonably smooth framerates. He hasn't had his own desktop since Quake 3 first came out.

This is the hypothetical break down, on a per-component guesstimate.

Case - $30

CPU - $125 - Possibly Core i3-2100, unsure if he should pay the difference for a higher end sandy bridge chip or not.

Motherboard - $100 - Really clueless here, though it would be nice, if he does go with the i3-2100, that the mobo he chooses is likely to accept, and potentially overclock another chip down the road.

RAM - $40 - 4GB at least

Video Card - $150

Hard Drive - $50 - Guessing around a 1TB

Power Supply - $35 - Maybe a ~550w brand name unit

DVD Drive - $20

I haven't been in the loop since I built my Q9550 a few years ago. I'm more comfortable purchasing an Intel chip, though if an AMD chip in the i3-2100's price range can be > or = to the i3-2100 in games, then I'm definitely open to an AMD chip as well. Even open to some mild overclocking if it's nearly a guaranteed OC, and can run on the (hopefully) provided retail heatsink/fan.

Also unsure about what would be sufficient as far as a GPU card would be to run decent frames at 1920x1080. He will mainly play WoW, and I might try to get him into Left for Dead 2 (and might try to get myself into it too) or some other games.

Just looking for best bang/buck. I don't mind shopping around for a few weeks to get some good prices. I know slickdeals has some good bargains on brand name stuff if you're patient.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/tips. Feel free to ask questions if I haven't specified something that needs it.

 

[mnewsham]

600 is IMHO a bit lacking for a solid build. You really want a 40-60 PSU for example and probably a $60 case. RAM is right around $10/GB so 40 for 4GB is fine. I would try and get an i5 (quad core) CPU just because quad cores are now becoming the main stream. A GPU at 150-200 would be fine for that kind of build.

 

[aphelion02]

i5 2400

Asrock H61M Mobo

PNY 8GB RAM

Asus HD 6850

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB

Thermatake Case

Corsair CX 430

Sony Optiarc DVD Drive

Total : $682.69 - $70 = $612.69

Its possible to lower costs even more to go under $600, but I think its not worth it for what you lose in quality.

 

[aphelion02]

Btw Microcenter has the i5 2500k for just $179.99 now, do you have one near you?

 

[jterrell]

I'd never go below 50 bucks on a PSU.

The less money you have to spend the less risk you want to endure with a cheaper PSU.

500 is really a price point for a web surfing pc that can play some games as opposed to a gaming machine which is why suggesting land to the high side.

You want to try and grab a used but known good condition video card and/or hard drive. You may save 50-75 total on those two items used which gets you to 600 out of pocket and about the bare cost of a gaming machine.

WoW is an oddity in the gaming market in that it is CPU bound almost as much as GPU. (This is first hand knowledge for me so perhaps others experience differs) It can also be a memory hog if the user turns on add-ons or makes UI adjustments.

The pc aphel suggested should handle your needs quite well at about the lowest possible price for new with warranties.

 

[OCNewbie]

Thanks for doing all that leg work aph, it's really appreciated! Already picked up the 1st gen version of that PSU. It's currently $17 after $20 MIR at newegg. I will likely pick up some of the other items you linked/suggested as well.

What's the deal with these new Z68 motherboards? I take it that is the latest/greatest Intel chipset? Is that worth waiting for, assuming it will be out within a month or less.

 

[mfenn]

I'd never go below 50 bucks on a PSU.

The less money you have to spend the less risk you want to endure with a cheaper PSU.

The 430CX got a 9 from Jonny, so it's a good buy at $30.

What's the deal with these new Z68 motherboards? I take it that is the latest/greatest Intel chipset? Is that worth waiting for, assuming it will be out within a month or less.

Rumor is that Z68 with appear at the high-end first, and I don't think that anybody can justify a $200 mobo for a $600 PC.

 

[fffblackmage]

I'd never go below 50 bucks on a PSU.

There are plenty of PSUs priced much higher than $50 and they still blow. Price alone does not dictate the quality of a PSU. You always need to do your research.

 

[OCNewbie]

How does this look @ $140 after coupon - 5850 Extreme

Is that as good or better than the 6850? - 6850

 

[fffblackmage]

5850 vs 6850 - Anandtech bench

In general, the 6850 is more efficient than the 5850, sacrificing a bit of performance for a sizable reduction in power consumption.

I would probably go with the cheaper 5850.

 

[mfenn]

Rumor is that Z68 with appear at the high-end first, and I don't think that anybody can justify a $200 mobo for a $600 PC.

Looks like I was wrong, though the cheapest Z68 with IGP support is $125 on the Egg right now. That's probably still over the budget for a $500 machine.