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Acceptable Gaming Rig? ~$650 w/ MIR

B

b easy

Junior Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. Mostly for gaming. I don't need to play games at the highest possible settings, but just high enough to enjoy the games. Internet surfing and watching movies also.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread My budget is $800, so the cheaper the better for my needs. If I could get cheaper parts or if I need better parts, please let me know.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. US
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture. I'm not a fanboy. So, just the best parts for the cheapest prices. Generally, bang for the buck parts.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. I'm probably going to have to use older speakers, keyboard, and mouse about 8yrs old. I'm not sure if that is a good idea. Any suggestions?
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. I plan to OC the snot out of this build. Just the CPU to start and if I need it, the RAM and GPU.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it? I plan to build it within the next few months.

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116072

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128359

SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102822

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR800C44GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227267

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136074

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817341022

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129042

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151171

ASUS VK193D Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824236060

**I was uncertain about the monitor since there was 3 different ones to choose from with the same specs. ASUS, Acer, and HannsG. I'm not keen on monitors. I read the LCD thread here and still don't know which to choose.
**I plan to get a retention bracket for the S1283 and some MX-2. I only plan to lap the CPU if that makes a difference with some of the choices I've made.
***This is my first OC build. I would really like to spend as less as possible, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hey, I'm pretty much in the same boat but I'm reusing a lot more parts than you are (better for my budget hehe).

I'm probably going to jump for a AMD Phenom processor/mobo combo for $200 (the Phenom II X3 720 and Biostar 790GX). That will give you a bit more oomph over the dual-core, but don't think the dual-core isn't a strong little champ either, my current processor is an E2140 (1.6ghz dual-core), and its running at 2.4ghz right now will room to spare.

If you're going for a single card, try maybe the 4850 from Newegg for $90 AR. A little bit more money but also a bit more power.

For the hard drive, the price is ok, but if you bump your budget to $70 you can get a 640gb (twice the size!).

Case/CD/LCD are up to you. Speakers, keyboard, and mouse are definitely a personal thing, if you can game on a ball mouse or trackball or touchpad, then power to you.
 
A few people mentioned the 4770, is that better than the 4830 or 4850? They say it consumes less power but costs $30 more than the 4830.
 
4830 < 4770 < 4850. the 4770 consumes less power because it's a newer core. no reason to buy a 4830 for $90.

and i'm not a fan of the antec 300. imo it's about a $20-30 case, i wouldn't give 60 bucks for it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811112154

that's real nice for the price if you wanna spend a little more. it was 70, i guess they knocked it up ten bucks. there's also a large line of cheaper coolermaster cases that i like a little better than the antec.
 
Originally posted by: brblx
4830 < 4770 < 4850. the 4770 consumes less power because it's a newer core. no reason to buy a 4830 for $90.

and i'm not a fan of the antec 300. imo it's about a $20-30 case, i wouldn't give 60 bucks for it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811112154

that's real nice for the price if you wanna spend a little more. it was 70, i guess they knocked it up ten bucks. there's also a large line of cheaper coolermaster cases that i like a little better than the antec.
Click to expand...

So, you're saying get the 4770?

That's a nice case, but I don't know if any case beats the 300. I read articles that say its the best budget gamer case out there.
 
whatever floats your boat. i don't like the PSU at the bottom and the general lack of features for the price.

i would go with the 4850. it's nearly the same price as the 4770, lower after MIR.

and you only need 400mhz (pc3200) memory to run at stock clocks (you have a 200mhz fsb). 800 would be plenty. you can run your memory faster than the FSB- i.e. with a 266 bus (533mhz mem) you can run a divider of 2:3 which will run your memory at 800mhz instead of 533mhz. whether or not you'll see any performance gain is debatable, though, i try and stick to 1:1 ratios.
 
u can get a UD3L and save another $20 and o/c just as well since you're not using RAID.
i've had good results with an msi p43 in that article as well.
 
The build looks pretty good overall. Things like 4770 or 4850 is relatively unimportant since they're almost the same. However, it's good to note some games might like the greater number of stream processors in the 4850, and some might prefer the higher clock speed of the 4770 (if OC'ed, i've heard they can get up to 1GHz, but that's a bit extreme probably. 900MHz is still very good). It'll probably just come down to preference.

I also think the antec 300 is bit pricey for something rather basic. I mean, it is a nice decent case, but $60 is a bit much.
 
Why not go for the Phenom II 720BE with GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P combo and 4 gigs of OCZ Reaper and the Xigmatek cooler, and that MSI 4850.

My newegg cart is showing $422 for all those things before $45 in MIR. The Phenom II 720BE is so easy to OC it's not even funny.
 
i love my antec 300, i got it on sale for $45 CAD though, i would not pay over $55 for it. This thing has amazing airflow when you add some good fans. I love the HDD cooling also and the basic look.
 
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