Budget gaming rig

[mikegoldwing]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming (FPS, RPG mostly) & development.

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

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

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.
Not really but do have intel cpu on hand

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I have:
- Intel Q8400 processor
- Monitor, mouse, keyboard

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
No plan to o/c in the short term; prefer energy efficient build.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
This month


Greeting,
I'm building a moderate budget computer and would like input on the following parts selection:

cpu: (Q8400 already have)

mobo: GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128358
$114 ($135 - $20 mir)

ram: OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227364
$40 ($50 - $10 mir)

video: PNY VCGGTX260CXPB GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133270
$150 ($180 - $30 mir)

hd: Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB 32MB Cache SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136358
$58

psu: Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817153052
$35 ($55 - $20 mir)

case: Thermaltake WingRS 200 VJ70001N2Z Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811133075
$36 ($46 - $10 combo psu discount)

Total: $433 (after all mir). Mostly free shipping + CA taxes.


I'm really not sure about the psu brand. Any advices?

Thanks!
- Mike

 

[z1ggy]

Corsair is a great brand for psu. 550hx I think is going to be okay for you.

 

[trake1]

I'd prefer you to save $60.00 by getting a GA-G31M-ES2L motherboard, and use that $60 to upgrade your video card to either a gtx275 or hd4890.
With such a good gaming cpu as the q8400, you'll really appreciate the better video more than whatever the P45 motherboard could do for you.

 

[Porter21]

Seems like a good build for a good price. Especially for moderate to heavy gaming. Thermaltake power supplies are pretty nice, so you should be fine. 500W should be efficient enough as well. I'm sure the draw on the PSU from your Video Card is quite a lot but as long as you have a decent power supply you're fine.

 

[M0RPH]

That power supply is fine. Of course some people here are going to tell you that you just have to have a Corsair for 3X the price. :roll:

You're buying an Nvidia card with a Crossfire motherboard. Why pay for the Crossfire when you're not going to use it? You can save $15 by getting the http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128359

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Originally posted by: trake1
I'd prefer you to save $60.00 by getting a GA-G31M-ES2L motherboard, and use that $60 to upgrade your video card to either a gtx275 or hd4890.
With such a good gaming cpu as the q8400, you'll really appreciate the better video more than whatever the P45 motherboard could do for you.

If he overclocks, he's going to want the P45 real bad. They overclock quads like no other.

It really is the difference between 3.5ghz and 2.8ghz.

 

[itisaniceday]

$433 is a good price for me...I find the Dell Vostro 220s 3GB 250GB Desktop..It is only $369.

 

[Lunyone]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
That power supply is fine. Of course some people here are going to tell you that you just have to have a Corsair for 3X the price. :roll:

You're buying an Nvidia card with a Crossfire motherboard. Why pay for the Crossfire when you're not going to use it? You can save $15 by getting the http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128359

So $6 more for a better Corsair 400cx PSU??
Advantages of Corsair 400cx over the TT 500w PSU:
* Active PFC, TT doesn't have it.
* >80% efficient, TT is only >70% efficient so it's wasting power at the plug!
* Has 30A on the 12v rail. The TT could only have 24A at best on the combined rails (500w - 220w for +5v and 3.3v combined = ~280w for 12v rail. This equals ~24A for the 12v rails)
* Longer cables for bigger cases.

The only thing that I see that TT offers over the Corsair 400cx is the TT has a 5 yr. warranty (not sure how their support is) and the Corsair offers a 3 yr. warranty, which we know is pretty good!

So is it worth it to spend $6 more?? It's up to you, but the Corsair 400cx looks like a better option to me. Yeah the TT will do, but if you want an efficient system, you need to start with an efficient PSU!!

Even the $45 shipped Antec Earthwatts 380w PSU is a better buy. It's >80% efficient and has 27A on the combined 12v rails. It does come with a 3 yr. warranty too and I use one currently on my son's computer.

Edit:
You can also buy the Corsair 400cx at Buy.com for $3 less than the TT too.

 

[mikegoldwing]

Thanks all for your input. I decided to make a few adjustments based on suggestions and some more bargain shopping.

For the video card, I'll go with a HD 4890 instead of the gtx 260. I guess it will give a bit more bang for the buck in the long run. I doubt I'll ever run in crossfire mode but will keep it as an option (granted with a stronger psu and better monitor to go along).

MSI R4890-T2D1G-OC Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 (2.0v)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...p?ProductCode=10010282
$139 ($199 - $30 mir - $30 ebill me promo)

On the PSU side, switching to the OCZ brand which seem a bit better based on reviews:

OCZ ModXStream Pro Power Supply - 500-Watt, Modular, Dual +12V Rails, SATA, 80Plus
http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...=4362113&sku=O261-2016
$45 ($70-$25 mir)

With a few other changes on the case, hd, ram and supplier (microcenter), I can save a few more bucks via bing cashback and no CA taxes. Comes within same price and budget in the end.