Budget System Builders: $400 Gaming PC

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Yes, I kid you not. Today you can go on the internet and make a gaming PC that will handle almost every game at 1920x1200 at High settings. Here's what you'll need:

Intel Celeron G530: $57
ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155: $54
Patriot 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz: $25
HIS Radeon HD 6850: $145; $135AR
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB: $40
Xigmatek NRP-PC402 400W: $40
NZXT Gamma Black Case: $35
Samsung DVD Burner w/LightScribe: $18
Subtotal: $414
Total: $418 OR $408AR

If you want, you can go even lower at just $383 or $373AR if you choose to downgrade to a Radeon HD 6770. If it was me, I'd recommend the HD 6850, though. It's a whopping 40% faster for only 30% more and will allow you to enable more in-game settings.

Why the Celeron G530? Because it's faster in everything than the Athlon II X2 250 and comparable to faster in gaming than the Athlon II X3 445 and Phenom II X3 720. It's also a lot more efficient. Full system load (CPU+GPU+everything else) shouldn't go any higher than 200W or so, and idle it shouldn't pass 50W. Given the low power consumption it'll also run cool, and given everything is of high quality it should be a reliable system for a long time.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would agree with you if you said "Med" settings. I don't think that a single 6850 is good enough for "High" settings in most games released this past year. Certainly not BF3, and not the Witcher 2 either.

And where is that gaming rig going to be in two years? If more and more games utilize quad-cores (and essentially require them), then it will be frighteningly obsolete in a short time.

I agree though, for "most" (not all) games, it would make a perfectly fine gaming rig, quite cheap too.

I just remember how those dual-core Athlon 64 S939 gaming rigs went by the wayside, they used to be all the rage too. I think going quad-core for a gaming rig these days is almost essential.

It's a pity that Intel locked out overclocking on their lower-end SB chips, otherwise, they would be truely killer for gaming, if you could get them to 4.5-5.0Ghz.

Edit: PS. Are Xigmatek PSUs any good? I've never used them.

Edit: I stand corrected. Thanks for the benchmarks. I had no idea that 6850 was adequate for 19x12.

 

[SithSolo1]

To be honest that computer is a lot nicer than I thought it would be.

I've had good luck with the 500w Xclio PSU for the same price on NE. I dunno which one is actually better though.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

I would agree with you if you said "Med" settings. I don't think that a single 6850 is good enough for "High" settings in most games released this past year. Certainly not BF3, and not the Witcher 2 either.

And where is that gaming rig going to be in two years? If more and more games utilize quad-cores (and essentially require them), then it will be frighteningly obsolete in a short time.

I agree though, for "most" (not all) games, it would make a perfectly fine gaming rig, quite cheap too.

I just remember how those dual-core Athlon 64 S939 gaming rigs went by the wayside, they used to be all the rage too. I think going quad-core for a gaming rig these days is almost essential.

It's a pity that Intel locked out overclocking on their lower-end SB chips, otherwise, they would be truely killer for gaming, if you could get them to 4.5-5.0Ghz.

Edit: PS. Are Xigmatek PSUs any good? I've never used them.

We can't really infer what future games will require, but looking at the fact they're not that much demanding than what we have now I'd say this is fine for 1920x1200 for most games at High settings even a year from now or so. For some current games:

Maybe due to mins. not completely playable to some people, but I think just by lowering one or two settings you can get into 30 FPS min, which I think would be enough for most. If you don't want to do that you can also raise the GPU clock to 850MHz.

Also, the Xigmatek NRP-PC402 is given a review by Tom's Hardware.

 

[lehtv]

Nice, should handle most games alright on 1080p med-high.

I'd change the PSU to Corsair CX430V2 for $25 AR, it's not as powerful as the Xigmatek but should handle such a low power system easily (28A = 336W on the single +12V rail, the CPU and GPU use not much more than 150W.) That would actually bring it under $400, and the budget gamer might afford a 6870 on a discount, e.g. Powercolor 6870 for $140 after rebate and promo 🙂

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Nice, should handle most games alright on 1080p med-high.

I'd change the PSU to Corsair CX430V2 for $25 AR, it's not as powerful as the Xigmatek but should handle such a low power system easily (28A = 336W on the single +12V rail, the CPU and GPU use not much more than 150W.) That would actually bring it under $400, and the budget gamer might afford a 6870 on a discount, e.g. Powercolor 6870 for $140 after rebate and promo 🙂

I try to include parts that have lower upfront price and if they have rebates I mention it as well, but if you take advantage of them then that's a better option given the Powercolor HD 6870 only $5 more AR than the HIS HD 6850.

Because of that it's why I, too, chose the Xigmatek over the Corsair. Another thing I took into account is the extra efficiency you'll get from 80+ Bronze. But again, if you want to fill lose rebates, it's a great option too.

Interesting to know you can get a lower tier high-end graphics card in a complete build for so little money. :thumbsup:

 

[Fefster]

but won't the g530 bottleneck the 6850?

 

[fffblackmage]

but won't the g530 bottleneck the 6850?

In some games, yes, but for most, I think the beefier gfx card is still your best bet.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Nice work. The $115 GTX 4601 GB at NCIX would also be a good match for these parts, saving $20, though supposedly the AMD drivers stress the CPU a little less than nividia's.

 

[lsv]

What's 'nice' to you people? 25fps? I'm sorry but if you only have $400 and 'nice' is 25fps you may as well get a console.

 

[DaveSimmons]

What's 'nice' to you people? 25fps? I'm sorry but if you only have $400 and 'nice' is 25fps you may as well get a console.

You don't have to game with this set to 19x12. Even at 10x7 it's going to look better and run smoother than the consoles. And just try finding $5 Steam sale games for a console.

 

[Maximilian]

Dont have to play the latest stuff either, a rig like that would tear up league of legends on max :thumbsup:

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

but won't the g530 bottleneck the 6850?

In the vast majority of cases, no. The G530 should be good for up to something like a GTX 560 Ti in most games. It's faster in gaming than the Athlon II X2 260 and the Athlon II X3 450 and Phenom II X3 720, a testament that in most gaming scenarios single-threaded performance is key. Most games take advantage of two-four cores, but if you have two strong cores (G530) against three weak (X3 450), more often than not even in multi-threaded games the stronger cores will come out winning.

In some games, yes, but for most, I think the beefier gfx card is still your best bet.

It's not really a bottleneck, but more noticeable speed can be had from something like a Core i3-2100 over it in extremely CPU-limited games like Starcraft 2.

What's 'nice' to you people? 25fps? I'm sorry but if you only have $400 and 'nice' is 25fps you may as well get a console.

Trololol. If you don't have anything good to contribute you're free to leave.

And this combination should be good for most games from 2010 and this year at 1920x1080 with High settings at above 30 FPS min, like I posted examples of above. Only exceptions are extremely demanding games like Metro 2033 and Crysis 2 and extremely CPU limited games like Starcraft 2, but for those going with Medium-High it'll bring it to speed again.

 

[mfenn]

Great build Axel! It really is amazing what $400 will buy. I'm with lehtv with regard to the PSU and GPU, but I can understand not wanting to factor in AR prices.

 

[Fefster]

And this combination should be good for most games from 2010 and this year at 1920x1080 with High settings at above 30 FPS min, like I posted examples of above. Only exceptions are extremely demanding games like Metro 2033 and Crysis 2 and extremely CPU limited games like Starcraft 2, but for those going with Medium-High it'll bring it to speed again.

I'm really interested in this build since i'm completely broke and i have to find a way to play bf3 decently.Since BF3 is supposed to be extremely tough on dual core cpus,would you say a 955+6770 would deliver better performance compared to this rig?Or maybe i3 2100+6770?Don't really want to get a dead socket right now..

 

[M0RPH]

As usual you don't include an OS. Games don't run without an OS. Add $100 to that total.

 

[lehtv]

There are no peripherals either. It's not obviously meant to be a complete setup, just the PC itself

 

[SithSolo1]

I'm really interested in this build since i'm completely broke and i have to find a way to play bf3 decently.Since BF3 is supposed to be extremely tough on dual core cpus,would you say a 955+6770 would deliver better performance compared to this rig?Or maybe i3 2100+6770?Don't really want to get a dead socket right now..

Well I personally think a 6770 is a step in the wrong direction for BF3.

The G530 and H61M run you $111 Shipped

You currently have a few options but all of them are gonna cost you more.

Option 1) If you have a Microcenter near by you can pick up a Phenom II x4 965 and a Gigabyte AM3+ mobo for $119+ tax, gas, time. Problem is it will use a lot more power than the G530 and I don't know if that PSU will be up to it. Also the newest BIOS for the board appears to only support the 95w Bulldozer chips. *Best Option if Available*

Option 2) MSI 970A-G45 and AMD Phenom II X4 830 and ARCTIC COOLING ACALP64 Pro Will still use more power than the G530 but should be a little less power hungry than the x4 695. Can buy everything online, I linked to Newegg but you may be able to find parts cheaper else where. Costs $85 + $95 + $20 = $200 Shipped

Option 3) Same Processer/Heatsink from option 2 but with Foxconn M61PMP-K AM3 In theory it should support that CPU, however Foxxcon doesn't list CPU support like other brands so I'm not 100%. Also, unlike Options 1 and 2, this socket is dead with ZERO hope for any Bulldozer support. On the plus side it will save you $43. Total = $157 Shipped

Option 4) Same motherboard as Options 2 or 3 but with AMD Athlon II X3 445 Only a Tri-core but it comes with a heatsink so overall you are saving $30 over the x4 and 3rd party heatsink. It also lacks the L3 Cache the Phenom IIs have. Total = $170(Opt 2 board) or $127(Opt 3 board) Shipped

Based on what the Beta has shown us all of the above processors should be stronger in BF3 because of the extra cores. I would wait until release to make a final decision. Final release reviews will give you a better view of how both cores and different video cards affect game play.

 

[Fefster]

Thanks for the help Sith but i'm european and i can't take advantage of any of those offers.I agree with you,i'll wait until benchmarks of the final game are out and then i will make my final decision.

 

[Bman123]

This is good for people who don't live by a microcenter. The phenom 2 quad combos are around the same price starting off.