ultra budget PC (minor gaming)

[sleepkyng]

Hi, I'm going to be building a computer for the first time and would like to try something that could be used as a hackintosh.

I'm not totally computer illiterate and have fumbled around with laptops and pcs before.

I was wondering if you could tell me what you think about this projected setup, it's a total budget pc, i'm trying to get it down as cheap as possible while still retaining some level of quality

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Light Adobe CS3 and light gaming (orange box, bioshock) - mainly movies / music / internet

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
cheap as possible - sub -$500

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Newegg / USA - but i'll be moving to france so i think i'll hold off on a case and PSU.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Nope, just want something reliable.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Don't have any.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Tons. I've scoured insanelymac and anandtech.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Default speeds / maybe i'll overclock but not in the near future.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
ASAP


GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard $89.99

MSI NX8500GT-TD256EH GeForce 8500GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI $59.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model $124.99

Transcend JETRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
$71.98 (2x $35.99)

Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
89.99

Update SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B
$26.99

Subtotal: $463.93


so maybe i need to upgrade the video card? I was trying to keep it under $400 w/o psu and case.


they have the antec sonata III here for 90 euros which i guess is an ok deal...

thanks for the help, everyone!
adrian

 

[DSF]

Those video cards aren't going to be very effective for gaming. Are you dead set on building this yourself? For that price you might be able to get a significantly better computer from Dell or HP. Keep in mind also that if you pay $650 for a Dell and you don't need the monitor you can always sell it to get a fair chunk of the cost back. Once you start looking under $500, it's difficult to compete with the pre-built computers.

 

[sleepkyng]

I do want to build my own - i'm thinking of going with the hackintosh that lifehacker posted and just using a better video card
http://lifehacker.com/software...r-under-800-321913.php
cheers

 

[DSF]

I didn't notice the hackintosh part. Are you sure that the motherboard you chose will work for that?

 

[sleepkyng]

yeah, I'd love to try out OS X, and these parts work according to insanelymac

ok i'm gonna bump my budget up a bit, so i've tried again, lemme know what you think, and thanks for the help

keep in mind the most hardcore game i'd want to run would be Bioshock

as long as I can run Orange Box i'll be fine.

 

[JackMDS]

You can get E2180 and a more reasonably price memory, and save another $60-70 with no real functional lose.

 

[sleepkyng]

i thought that was a good deal on the ram?
or is it not worth it to have 800 ram on my setup?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: sleepkyng
i thought that was a good deal on the ram?
or is it not worth it to have 800 ram on my setup?

If what you have listed in the OP is two 2GB kits (4x1GB), then you can just do this...
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5475029

But if I were in your shoes, I think you'd be better off getting a refurb'd Dell Inspiron 530 or even 531, and adding something like an 8600 GT. Or, wait and see if you get the version with the better power supply with the 6pin power connector and then getting an 8800 GS instead.

Edit:
Something like this.

 

[sleepkyng]

you guys keep mentioning these inspirion dells, but i'm not seeing anything even close for less than $600 - am I missing something?

here's from dell's website

• 
  PROCESSOR Intel®Pentium® dual-core processor E2180
  MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
  HARD DRIVE 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache?
  OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
  VIDEO CARD nVidia GeForce 8300GS 128MB
  SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
  KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Premium Optical USB Mouse
  MEDIA READER Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader

-$639



if i go with the e2180 and get an 8600 GT on my own, I'd still be sub $500 without a case and psu - let's just say $150 (Cus that's how much the antec sonata III would be in france)

$650 for my setup.

 

[bamacre]

Dell Outlet is your friend.

Exact same warranty. The only difference you'll notice is the lower price.

 

[sleepkyng]

woah, i guess i shoulda just gone with the tom's hardware rig...