Budget gaming rig

[crazyeyesreaper]

all good points i think the op has a number of options to look through he already said he had to research it more but otherwise theres alot of good options here

 

[Kenshai]

http://img.techpowerup.org/100112/Capture218.jpg

Looks like win to me, why get a 5770 when you can get a 5850 for under $700 OC up the 720 and crush games with that setup!

I'm going to have to agree here.

Also I think I missed it what resolution is your friend gaming at?

 

[LagunaX]

MaximumPC mag just featured your question in it's latest issue:

How to Build an Awesome Gaming PC for $647

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_awesome_pc_647

 

[HyD3]

Actually, I totally forgot about the OS too. So I guess my friend is gunna have to opt for a HD5770 for sure.

Hey thanks LagunaX...for that link. I might consider that. Do the AMD Athlon II X4 620 overclock well?

But it seems to me that most ppl on the thread recommend going dual core tho. hummmm. gotta think about this....

 

[HyD3]

http://img.techpowerup.org/100112/Capture219.jpg

Man......this setup is freakin awsome too!!!!!! I think I might show my buddy this.
thanks much!!!!

 

[HyD3]

I'm going to have to agree here.

Also I think I missed it what resolution is your friend gaming at?

He said that he'd get a 22 inch LCD......
so i'm guessing 1680 X 1050

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

then a 5750 or 5770 will be more then enough at 1680x1050

 

[HyD3]

then a 5750 or 5770 will be more then enough at 1680x1050

yeah.....I agree.


hey all.......thanks for the advice!!!! this really help me alot!!!!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

after looking through the tpu reviews seems the 5750 trades blows with the 9800gt gts 250 and gtx 260 from nvidia depending on game and resolution and of course the 5770 is faster

 

[1Kurgan1]

http://img.techpowerup.org/100112/Capture219.jpg

Man......this setup is freakin awsome too!!!!!! I think I might show my buddy this.
thanks much!!!!

Glad to help, I would highly suggest your friend spend that $30 over the $700 budget, will end up with a more rounded machine with the tri-core and 5770.

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

A friend of mine wants me to build him a budget gaming rig. But he's looking to only spend $700. I, myself, know what parts are good on the Intel side. And from what I read, an AMD setup would be good for a budget gaming rig. My problem is this: What parts do you guys recommend as far as Mobo and CPU (brand name and model). As far as GPU....either a GTS 250 or HD5770.

What do you guys think? And remember $700 is the limit.


CPU:
Motherboard:
Memory:
Video card:
Hard Drive:
Optical Drive:
Chassis:
Power supply:

I just built a gaming rig for my brother with the same budget in mind.

Motherboard : ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 $95 USD

CPU : AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition $99 USD

Memory : CORSAIR XMS3 4GB $95 USD

Video Card : XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB $125 USD

Hard Drive : Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB $55 USD

Optical Drive : LITE-ON Black 24X DVD $27 USD

Power Supply : COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS $30 USD

Case : COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP $40 USD

Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $104 USD

Total = $670 USD, leaveing money for tax.

This rig is running stable 24/7 @ 4.2 GHZ, and does everything he needs it, to and has alot of room for upgrading. He just upgraded to a 600w Corsair PSU, and a XFX 5850, he plans on increasing the ram, and buying a quad core CPU. This rig will meet almost everyones needs, and has a lot of room for upgrades alowing someone to get 5+ years out of this set up.

Also you can pick up the case and ram and processor from Frys ( I saw that you live in San Diego ) and save on shipping.

 

[Bluefox1115]

amd phenom II 720, 4gb ddr3-1333, asus m4a series board, ati hd 5750, antec 200, corsair 520watt psu, 22x samsung sata dvd-rw, WD Caviar black 500gb, windows 7 rtm. stock cooler is fine. done.

 

[1Kurgan1]

amd phenom II 720, 4gb ddr3-1333, asus m4a series board, ati hd 5750, antec 200, corsair 520watt psu, 22x samsung sata dvd-rw, WD Caviar black 500gb, windows 7 rtm. stock cooler is fine. done.

Better RAM, cheaper mobo, cheaper case, better vid card is a better way to go. Isn't goign to need a top of the line mobo now, just something that can run DDR3, odds are they wont need all the OCing options of a 790FX board.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

hell open box Asus m4 770 is $69 great board good for overclocking for the most part which is what i linked in my posts not hard to get a good bored just gotta think outside the box

 

[1Kurgan1]

hell open box Asus m4 770 is $69 great board good for overclocking for the most part which is what i linked in my posts not hard to get a good bored just gotta think outside the box

Right, but you can get a 785G chipset for $69 and thats a far better OCing chipset than a 770, and its brand new not open box. Granted it's not an Asus, but you can get an MSI 785G for $79.

 

[BlackOmega]

Here's about the best build I can put together for $702/shipped. But there is a $20 rebate on the PSU. So $682. And the HDD is SATA 3.0.

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

Here's about the best build I can put together for $702/shipped. But there is a $20 rebate on the PSU. So $682. And the HDD is SATA 3.0.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=32039&d=1263379132

Sata 3 on a mechanical drive, is like putting a spoiler for an F1 car, on your grandmothers buick, it will just never go fast enough to even think about making any kind of use of it.

 

[BlackOmega]

No matter it was cheap enough. Either sata II 320GB drive for 48 bucks or Sata 3.0. I think thats a badass build for $700. The case is cheap but whatever, it'll hold all the parts.

 

[1nf3rn0x]

You want cheap, that runs crysis at ultra high pretty good?

Motherboard: Asus P5QL-SE
Processor: Intel e7500 core 2 duo/ Intel e8400 core 2 duo__both easily overlclock with stock cooler
Ram: 4gb Kingston ram ddr2 @ 800MHz
Psu: Corsair 400w ATX can run any 6 pin card out today, easily.
HardDrive: 500gb Seagate Barracude 7200rpm
Graphics card: XFX 4770(around the performance of a 4850)/ Asus 4850: extremely fast for the price
Case: Antec two-hundred
Just forgot to add these... CD/DVD: Any good one that is about $60 dollars
OS:Win 7 64bit

All that exactly $800 dollars Australian Imagine what savings you could get from using newegg. About $100 dollars or more!!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

everyone completely avoid reading the thread and thus completely misses the need that he forgot about an OS ie win 7 64bit so most of you have to tack on an extra $100 to your builds thus they dont fit the budget figured id bring to the awareness of those late to the game

 

[1Kurgan1]

No matter it was cheap enough. Either sata II 320GB drive for 48 bucks or Sata 3.0. I think thats a badass build for $700. The case is cheap but whatever, it'll hold all the parts.

Problem is you used ZZF, it's a great site for a deal now and then, but their average price is higher. If you want a real HDD you need to look around $60, $50 is just to low, for around $60 you can get a 500GB or a 640GB drive.

You want cheap, that runs crysis at ultra high pretty good?

Motherboard: Asus P5QL-SE
Processor: Intel e7500 core 2 duo/ Intel e8400 core 2 duo__both easily overlclock with stock cooler
Ram: 4gb Kingston ram ddr2 @ 800MHz
Psu: Corsair 400w ATX can run any 6 pin card out today, easily.
HardDrive: 500gb Seagate Barracude 7200rpm
Graphics card: XFX 4770(around the performance of a 4850)/ Asus 4850: extremely fast for the price
Case: Antec two-hundred
Just forgot to add these... CD/DVD: Any good one that is about $60 dollars
OS:Win 7 64bit

All that exactly $800 dollars Australian Imagine what savings you could get from using newegg. About $100 dollars or more!!

the e7x00 and x8x00 over here just aren't worth it with the PII 720 on the market. A still growing family and socket and a bit faster with that extra core, also normally the 720 is a cheaper processor also.

 

[BlackOmega]

Problem is you used ZZF, it's a great site for a deal now and then, but their average price is higher. If you want a real HDD you need to look around $60, $50 is just to low, for around $60 you can get a 500GB or a 640GB drive.

Nothing wrong with ZZF, I used them for my current build; they were $40 cheaper than newegg with better RAM.

Of all the builds I saw, I think mine would be the most powerful quite honestly, and most of the pieces are quality parts. The worst thing about my build is the case, and it is a cheap flimsy piece of shit but it would suffice until he got paid again and could get an OS and a better case.

PS: I went with those drives simply to keep as close as I could to $700. I know that for a few dollars more you could get double the storage.

 

[Kenshai]

Nothing wrong with ZZF, I used them for my current build; they were $40 cheaper than newegg with better RAM.

Of all the builds I saw, I think mine would be the most powerful quite honestly, and most of the pieces are quality parts. The worst thing about my build is the case, and it is a cheap flimsy piece of shit but it would suffice until he got paid again and could get an OS and a better case.

PS: I went with those drives simply to keep as close as I could to $700. I know that for a few dollars more you could get double the storage.

Even at that point you're missing an OS, so essentially you're over budget, people set a budget in mind for the complete system.

 

[Bo_Fox]

If you decide on a GTS 250, watch out for underclocked versions!!!

A 5770 is like $20 more than a 5750 (which is pretty much worth it), and a 5750 is like $20 more than a GTS 250 (also worth it), heh heh!

 

[BlackOmega]

Even at that point you're missing an OS, so essentially you're over budget, people set a budget in mind for the complete system.

I know, I should've read through the whole post. Although, he coud've edited the first post to reflect what he needs.

Regardless, I personally would run Ubuntu for a couple of weeks so I could put together that rig. Then I'd save up for an OS, it's not like they're super expensive ~$100 OEM. $120 for w7 64 IIRC.

Also, why doesn't he just use his old OS for the time being?