600 budget, what kinda of computer can I get?

[Amitojc]

I have a budget of about 600 bucks that I would like to stick to. If i need more cash Ill put it in. I was wondering what kind of computer can I get for that much? I want to make it a gaming computer and I know I cant really get top end stuff, but whatever is best bang for your buck. Thanks!

 

[Kantastic]

You can get a fairly good one if you buy your parts used. $600 can probably get you:

Phenom II X3 720 - $80
HD 5770 - $140
4GB RAM - $100
HDD - $50
PSU - $75
MB - $80
Case - $50

Totals to $575.

 

[alyarb]

barebones setup based on AM3 785G comes to $321:

Biostar A785G3 $58
4GB DDR3 $100
LG DVDRW $23
500GB HDD $55
Antec 550w $65
Case $20-30

This leaves you with $279, which is enough money for either an Athlon II X3 at 2.9 GHz with a Radeon 4890, or a Phenom II X4 (2.8 or 3 GHz) with a Radeon 5770.

Personally I would take the Phenom + 5770 and also a coolermaster TX3 for another $20, and overclock both. A 3.6 GHz Phenom with a 950 MHz 5770 is a very good $600 machine.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Phenom II X4 940 BE - $130
MSI 785GM-E65 - $90
A-DATA 2x2GB DDR3-1333 1.5v - $95
HIS HD 5770 1GB - $150
Western Digital 500GB Blue - $55
Corsair 450VX - $60 AR
NZXT M59 - $40 AR
Total: $620 after rebates, not including shipping.

You'll need to add your own heatsink, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, and operating system. You can save a bit more by going with a cheaper processor (Phenom II X2 550 for ~$90).

 

[v8envy]

Do you live next to a Microcenter? They've got several hot deals on AMD CPUs + motherboards. Their pricing on i5s and i7s may even put an Intel box within reach.

I'd also recommend looking into an older, cheaper 4850 or 9800GT. Save $60 on the GPU to upgrade in the future. You won't need a 500+ watt PSU with an extreme budget box, so the $35 AR corsair 400CX is another place to cut small corner.

I would not recommend a dual core in this day and age, stick to a tri or quad.

 

[LoneNinja]

Phenom II X4 940 BE - $130
MSI 785GM-E65 - $90
A-DATA 2x2GB DDR3-1333 1.5v - $95
HIS HD 5770 1GB - $150
Western Digital 500GB Blue - $55
Corsair 450VX - $60 AR
NZXT M59 - $40 AR
Total: $620 after rebates, not including shipping.

You'll need to add your own heatsink, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, and operating system. You can save a bit more by going with a cheaper processor (Phenom II X2 550 for ~$90).

Not bad but the Phenom II 940 isn't compatbile with that board or ram. Phenom II 940 is an AM2+ processor and doesn't have the DDR3 memory controller so it can't be used with AM3 boards or DDR3 ram.

Personally I would go with a similar set up to this, but grab an Athlon II X4, they're not much slower than Phenom II.

 

[richierich1212]

Yeah if you are near Frys or Microcenter, they've got great deals on cpu+mobo combos.

 

[taltamir]

You can get a fairly good one if you buy your parts used. $600 can probably get you:

Phenom II X3 720 - $80
HD 5770 - $140
4GB RAM - $100
HDD - $50
PSU - $75
MB - $80
Case - $50

Totals to $575.

those are some ridiculous prices, expecially for used stuff.
A brand new box from newegg is about 40$.
PSU is 40-50$ for a good 500watter.
MB can be had for 60, but I recommend a brand new 100$
a brand new Athlon II X4 will cost 100$ and is much better then an X3 phenom2. (phenom x4 is slightly better than an athlon2 x4, but the althon2 is a lot cheaper).
and 4GB of ram should cost 50$ not 100$.

also... the video card there is for gamers (with money)... he never said he is one... if he isn't he should get an IGP on his motherboard instead.
op, do you play modern 3d games. (3d games that are more then 5 years old, or flash games in your browser, or 2d games, or solitair, etc don't count)

 

[VirtualLarry]

and 4GB of ram should cost 50$ not 100$.

I guess you haven't checked prices lately.

 

[BD231]

those are some ridiculous prices, expecially for used stuff.
A brand new box from newegg is about 40$.
PSU is 40-50$ for a good 500watter.
MB can be had for 60, but I recommend a brand new 100$
a brand new Athlon II X4 will cost 100$ and is much better then an X3 phenom2. (phenom x4 is slightly better than an athlon2 x4, but the althon2 is a lot cheaper).
and 4GB of ram should cost 50$ not 100$.

also... the video card there is for gamers (with money)... he never said he is one... if he isn't he should get an IGP on his motherboard instead.
op, do you play modern 3d games. (3d games that are more then 5 years old, or flash games in your browser, or 2d games, or solitair, etc don't count)

That's the most ill advised piece of information I've seen posted around here in a long time. The Athlon II has no L3 cache and the OP said it specifically, he wants a gaming machine. Please don't mislead people on hardware purchase's, every penny counts in this situation and you've effectively shown him how to decrease the value of his dollar with your post.

Knock it off.

 

[BD231]

You can get a fairly good one if you buy your parts used. $600 can probably get you:

Phenom II X3 720 - $80 (Perfect choice, the L3 cache makes a huge difference gaming, also has ddr 3 memory controller)
HD 5770 - $140 (Radeon HD 4890 is a good bit faster and costs the same)
4GB RAM - $100 (Make sure you get DDR3 1600)
HDD - $50 (Fine)
PSU - $75 (Antec truepower PSU's are great while remaining cost effective so you might save a few bucks there)
MB - $80 (Make sure you get an AM3 board to ensure a CPU upgrade path)
Case - $50 (No comment)

Totals to $575.

OP this is your best bet (the most performance for your dollar), you might want to check frys as others have suggested as well for mobo/cpu combos.

 

[NTAC]

I have a budget of about 600 bucks that I would like to stick to. If i need more cash Ill put it in. I was wondering what kind of computer can I get for that much? I want to make it a gaming computer and I know I cant really get top end stuff, but whatever is best bang for your buck. Thanks!

What game do you want to play? It would be a shame to have one in mind, then spend $600 on a setup that won't get you there.

 

[Arkaign]

Fry's :

Retail Athlon 2 X4 630 + Biostar AM2+ Mobo $80
500GB HDD $50
Thermaltake 600W PSU $40
4GB PC8500 DDR2 $80
Generic Mid-ATX Case (toss the PSU that comes with it in the closet) $40
Sata DVDRW $35
ATI 5850 XFX 1GB $290 (newegg)

$615, should play anything out there.

 

[fffblackmage]

I hope you can get the L3 cache unlocked if you do go with an Athlon II. Otherwise, you're likely to be better off getting a PhII X3 instead.

 

[taltamir]

That's the most ill advised piece of information I've seen posted around here in a long time. The Athlon II has no L3 cache and the OP said it specifically, he wants a gaming machine. Please don't mislead people on hardware purchase's, every penny counts in this situation and you've effectively shown him how to decrease the value of his dollar with your post.

Knock it off.

1. gaming doesn't benefit THAT much from the L3
2. many games DO benefit from quad core, especially the intensive ones.

Phenom II x4 > Athlon II x4 > Phenom II x3

 

[heyheybooboo]

I hope you can get the L3 cache unlocked if you do go with an Athlon II. Otherwise, you're likely to be better off getting a PhII X3 instead.

There is no L3 cache on the Athlon IIs to unlock ....

1. gaming doesn't benefit THAT much from the L3
2. many games DO benefit from quad core, especially the intensive ones.

Phenom II x4 > Athlon II x4 > Phenom II x3

Phenom 720 @ 2.8GHz beats Propus quad @ 2.8GHz in gaming - takes WinRAR

--

 

[MrRamon]

I assume you have a OS.
Case and PSU try to snag a deal

Hard Drive: WD Black 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136319

Motherboard Biostar 785G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138156

Video Card: HIS 5770(comes with a free 6 foot hdmi cable) lol
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161317

Memory: G. Skill 2x2Gig DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

CPU: Phenom II x 4 3.0ghz 95Watt AM3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103809

 

[taltamir]

4 games =! all games.
you should have properly linked anandtech's bech comparison for the two rather then a photobucket image of a cropped portion of it without labeling which CPU is what.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Prod....36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50
here is the link.
Indeed for fallout 3, left 4 dead, far cry 2, and crysis warhead the phenom II x3 @ 2.8ghz outperforms the athlon II x4 @2.8 ghz.

I would like to see some benchmark for unreal 3 engine which is very good at making use of quad cores. As well as supreme commander.
here are a list of UE3 engine games:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games#Unreal_Engine_3

for all the accusation of being canned, 3dsmark does a pretty good job in many respects. here is an example from it:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/amd_propus_athlon_2_x4_630_620_performance/page5.asp
And yes, elsewhere in the article the compare crysis and farcry 2 and left 4 dead just like anandtech did and those three shows the advantage to the P2 X3 over the A2 X4.
I am still looking for comparisons of good quad core utilization like UE3 engine games (ex: mass effect 1&2) or games like supreme commander.

Why does it matter?
Lets look at the engine of each game:
Fallout 3 uses the same engine in oblivion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebryo

Far Cry 2 uses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunia_Engine which is unique to itself... it is the only game with that engine and its performance is unique.
Far Cry 1 used the cryengine 1, shared only by it and Aion: Tower of Eternity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryengine

Crysis warhead is an expansion of crysis, both and a slim picking of in development games use the cryengine 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryEngine_2
interesting that one game Entropia Universe switched from Gamebryo to cryengine 2 via a patch... Raises questions about their similarities and possible collaboration between the companies.
here is the family tree of CryTek engine games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CryEngine_family_tree.png

In all those games are a very specific slice of games known to be extreme under-performers. using related game engines (far cry and crysis especially).

However, you do have an outlier, Left 4 Dead uses the source engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_(game_engine)

the source engine actually has some decent standing and a wide array of games; I would definitely take the performance in a source game to be a good sign... it is also old enough and non demanding enough that propus gets 95 fps and heka gets 110 fps... recall that your monitor is limited to to 60fps unless you are using nvidia's 3d thing with the glasses (and a capable monitor) in which case you need 120 fps. (source engine debuted in 2004... IIRC the first dual core processor came out later than that; although, naturally it has been improved since)

 

[Arkaign]

The PHII X3 can sometimes pull out wins over the Propus, and vice versa. I do like the unlockability/overclockability of the PHII's.

That said, if the OP lives in an area near a fry's, getting an $80 quad-core Propus+Mobo is unbeatable, and leaves room in the budget for the 5850 (see my list above).

No matter what, a 5850+4GB PC8500+Athlon II X4 is going to game better than anything with a 5770. I have a 5770 and it's a decent card, but for gamers, even a liquid-cooled 5770 with an overclocked dual i7-980X rig on 24GB of DDR3-2200 is still going to play games worse than the Propus w/5850.

 

[taltamir]

that is a very good point, as a gamer your video card is the most important component

 

[dac7nco]

What resolution are you playing at, OP? I built my cousin a very capable machine for around $60 less, but he games @ 720p on a 32" TV - but with AA etc. to make it good. It actually looks VERY good. He already had the LCD.
At 1080p your budget is doable for a lot of games, but not all.

EVGA 111-CD-E630-TR (mATX)
Core i3-530
A-DATA 4GB
Samsung F3 500GB
Rosewill mATX Mid-Tower (CHEAP CHEAP, no PSU, Not Bad)
ASUS DVD_RW (CHEAP CHEAP, Reliable as hell)
Sapphire HD 5750 1GB
<I gave him a Logitech wireless Keyboard/Mouse - Not Included>

This came to around $540, maybe 550; shop around, because Newegg can be great, but you'll pay extra for real shipping so UPS doesn't play soccer with your equipment. I've had some interesting experiences with the Egg's "standard" delivery. E.G. tracking - "Santa Rosa, Delivered. Location: Porch."

Daimon

EDIT: There's a PSU in there as well, but I don't remember what. I thought the system was a steal, but I have NO experience with AMD CPUs from the last several years - they may be a better choice with your budget. The 530 clocks frighteningly well though.

 

[heyheybooboo]

I'm going to be really lazy this AM and bust your budget with this AMD 890GX/Phenom II X3 HDMI SuperCombo.

With a HD 5770 ($150), a WD Blue 500Gb hard drive ($56), optical drive ($30) and HSF ($30) that is going to bring you in around $730.

For the extra $$$ you get DDR3, USB3, SATA 6Gb/s (including eSATA!), 2 x PCIe x16 and a 650w PSU with 2 x 6-Pin, 2 x 6+2-Pin (not that you need them all right now but who knows what the future may bring?).

And the case looks pretty damn cool, though maybe a bit pricey.


edit: The latest BIOS release supports ACC for possible core unlocking --- they have not listed Thuban x6 support (but I assume it will be coming for this mobo).


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