Best Bang for the Buck Gaming System

[Foxster]

Hi folks,

Like many here, I am interested in building a NEW system from the ground up. My current system is well... a bit embarrassing. Let's just say it was a mid-range build 4 years ago.

At any rate, I'm wondering at this point in time, what would be a good build for a gaming system to get the best bang for the buck right now? And then perhaps the next step above that (with cost differential) just for comparison.

I'd like a system that will have some staying power over the next 3 to 4 years with only some occasional upgrades during that time.

I will probably run on a 24" 1080p monitor. I'd like to run Vista 64bit for DX10 and more RAM capacity. My primary use of the PC would be RPGs, FPS, RTS, and MMORPGs (e.g. LoTRO, EVE, SW:TOR) run at max settings, as well as general web surfing, video watching, etc... I like to mutli-task (even while gaming) and will have a 2nd monitor as well.

So... I hope you can help me on which way to go. Core2 Duo, Core2 Quad, i7 920, Phenom II, DDR2, DDR3, 4870 (512 or 1GB), etc... a) To get the most bang for the buck and b) have 3-4 years staying power with minimal upgrading. I might consider light OCing. I'd also consider a pre-built system if the extra cost isn't too great.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Rifter]

budget? I would go with a AMD PH 2 720 system with DDR3 for the low end or a I7 920 for the higher end, with a 4890/GTX275 for vid card and plan tp upgrade GPU in 2 years to a decent DX 11 card. I would not even consider the 775 socket as its dead and at least if you go AM3 or I7 you can have a CPU upgrade in the future.

 

[mharr7]

Originally posted by: Rifterut
budget? I would go with a AMD PH 2 720 system with DDR3 for the low end or a I7 920 for the higher end, with a 4890/GTX275 for vid card and plan tp upgrade GPU in 2 years to a decent DX 11 card. I would not even consider the 775 socket as its dead and at least if you go AM3 or I7 you can have a CPU upgrade in the future.

I don't understand this. If I get an E8400 with a decent cooler, overclock close to 4ghz, get 4 gigs of good speed ddr2, and a nice mid-high GPU.....how does that make it a "dead" computer?

I'm pretty sure this build will play just about any game out there today(with exception of some super high graphics on crysis or something).... And I don't see any crazy new games coming out that are going to require upgrading anytime soon....

And if games start to take advantage of quads, all you gotta do is swap in a quad and you're ready to go.


This build will be cheaper than the newer sockets, and I would give it a few years before you need to upgrade again. Can always SLI if having problems at higher resolutions in a game or something too....

 

[heyheybooboo]

PhII 720BE / Gigabyte 790x: $225

The best 'bang fer buck' performance today would be 2 x HD4830s (or maybe 4770s) in CrossFire - with an eye for a 'down the road' upgrade an HD 4870 1Gb would be your best bet.

At the edge an HD4890 1Gb can be found for $230 or so ...

 

[Rifter]

Thats true that a 4Ghz E8400 will play anything now but then when you do upgrade in the future you will need a new mobo and ram, if you go with a AM3 board or a I7 with DDR3 then you will be able to upgrade CPU at a later date to the newest CPU available from AMD or intel with the same board and RAM, there are no new 775 CPU coming out so you will be limited to what is available now as far as upgrading CPU and DDR2 will be phased out in 3 or 4 years when you plan to upgrade. You said you wanted a computer with staying power so it does not make sense to buy a socket that is already dead and use ram thats on its way out. Unless you dont care at all about upgrading and plan to build complete new computer anyways.

 

[MagickMan]

Down the road you buy a Q9650 (or QX9770) and OC the crap out of it, it'll be faster than most AM3 chips for quite some time. 775 still has some life left in it.

 

[brblx]

best deal all depends on budget. i'd say a cheap C2D (e5200) following by a more expensive one (e8400) and then probably the phenom II as it seems to edge out the C2Q in the value category (and there's zero value in an i7 right now). graphics is pretty much entirely budget dependent right now, a $90 4770 is about a good a value as a $160 4870, it all depends on how much you're willing to spend (to a point- the top end cards start costing more and more for less gain).

 

[themisfit610]

Yup.

Getting a new 775 system is only a good idea if you want to go cheap for now. Remember back when AM2 came out, and all of us with 939 boards were pretty much FUBAR? Remember the hideously expensive 939 dual cores versus the dirt-cheap AM2 dual cores? I sure do ><

I'd say an overclocked E5200 + 4GB of DDR2, plus a 4770 or 4850 maybe. It's all so damned cheap who cares if a couple years from now it ends up being more cost effective to put new core components in (CPU, RAM, Motherboard) instead of upgrading to a quad.

BTW, there is plenty of value in the Core i7, if you do any video encoding But for gaming of course, no point.

~MiSfit

 

[fffblackmage]

Originally posted by: themisfit610
I'd say an overclocked E5200 + 4GB of DDR2, plus a 4770 or 4850 maybe. It's all so damned cheap who cares if a couple years from now it ends up being more cost effective to put new core components in (CPU, RAM, Motherboard) instead of upgrading to a quad.

It's been 2 years with my rig (except the HD4830 which i just got), and it doesn't seem to make sense upgrading or building from the ground up. XP

 

[brblx]

maybe the 920. the others are pretty ridiculously overpriced right now. (for a grand the thing better give me a blowjob)

 

[Vertigo0176]

I've read that 2 ATI 4770's in Cfire are the way to go for graphics bang for the buck.

 

[brianlee2007]

budget/long-lasting build for 3-4 yrs hummm that's pretty wide open

questions: AMD guy or Intel guy?

For AMD guy
MOBO: definitely roll with an AM2+/AM3 board (790GX (preferably) or 790FX chipset) that would leave you with extra slots to add more cards for upgrade.
CPU: go with a Dual core KUMA (and upgrade later) if budget's tight or a 940 if within reach
RAM: 4gb 800+ DDR2 / DDR3 depends on components
PSU: Corsair/PCP&C 600W+ get a quality psu to last for years
GPU: 4850/4770 are probably the most appropriate choice especially for AMD build (Dragon build )
HDD: WD Black gets my vote
CASE: get a Mid-tower with removable hdd cages in case future hardware requires more room, most case under $75 (budget ones) aren't gonna be very attractive so you gotta make some sacrificies somewhere :\ but if you want one that can last get a Lian Li / Silverstone some of them may look plain but man they are great in terms of quality. do go for the ones w/ free ship, cuz case shipping can run you $30-40 alone easy.

if you're Intel guy
personally i would not suggest anything below E7xxx's for cpu so, again, on a tighter budget go for a E7200/7300/7400/7500, if want better E8400/8500 to begin with. then get a C2Q 9550/9650 when it gets dirt cheap.
the thing for Intel is that P45 are most affordable platform (budget / performance) and it already shown its limit (C2Q's) so if you want to skip the upgrade cost and go for the kill Q9550 seems to be the most appropriate right now
Mobo: P45 board with good reviews (Asus, Gigabyte etc)
RAM: any obvious choices
PSU: same as above
GPU: same as above
HDD: same as above
CASE: ditto..

main thing is dont try to go for the kill and just stay with 1 of everything so far (1 GPU, 1HDD etc) you can always upgrade when budget allows or on sale later)


gl

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