Building a Gaming PC on the Cheap

[Magelord]

I may be getting the following

10008824 WESTERN DIGITAL WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB SATA 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive $94.99

10010373 ASUS M4A78 Plus AMD 770 AM2+/AM2 Phenom X4/Phenom X3/Athlon /Athlon X2/Sempron Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3 2000 MHz PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) ATX Motherboard Retail $77.99

140146 Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Mid Tower Case Retail $108.99


85026-4 Corsair Dominator Series TWIN2X2048-8500C5D 2GB Kit DDR2-1066 PC2-8500 Memory Retail $48.59

617016 Mesh Pop-Up Hamper - Double, Black (23in x 24in ) 1 Free Gift

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated Subtotal $330.56
Free shipping on everything
No tax
ZipZoomFly.com

I still need to pick a PSU and CPU

I want a PSU that uses Blue led fan(s)
That is 450w or better (600w+ best)

The CPU should work with AM2+ or AM3 and support 1066 for memory

What do you all think of the items I have picked out. Im a noob to todays tech, so if i got something in there that everyone else knows is a bad choice, let me know please

Suggestions on PSU / CPU welcome

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

picking a psu on the led colors is not a good idea

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
picking a psu on the led colors is not a good idea

Well said.

 

[Zap]

What about a graphics card?

If you were really building SUPER cheap, then you need:

640GB WD Black $75
Gigabyte G31 chipset mobo $55
Pentium Dual Core E5200 $65
Cooler Master Elite 331 case $45
cheap 4GB DDR2-800 $45
etc.

You do realize that 4GB of cheap DDR2-800 is better than the 2GB of expensive DDR2-1066 memory you chose, right?

Oh yeah, Antec is probably the only company that makes decent PSUs with blue LED fans, their "True Blue" units (part of True Power series).

 

[Magelord]

Ty for the input all

I am consistantly changing my mind about many things

So far I have made the following Purchases

Buy.com

Antec Nine Hundred TWO Case
107.99 +$10 shipping

WD Black 500gb 7200 rpm 32mb cache - $70
( grrr.. now newegg has the same drive for $60, for another 40 hours anyways)

Bluetooth Dongle - $15
4gb MicroSD card and adapter - $15

TigerDirect.com

Razor Keyboard - free with my gift cert.
Samsung DVD burner - $23
Netgear Wireless Router - $15 (just to use for a better line of site to my PS3 )

I made a mistake on the Ram I posted, I thought it was 2x2gb sticks.

TY again, i will post my next purchase considerations soon

 

[BaboonGuy]

Get a dual core definitely. Triple and quad cores will only help you in like 1 or 2 games right now.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: Magelord
Antec Nine Hundred TWO Case
107.99 +$10 shipping

wtf? mid tower ATX - $20. Then again I can't really talk because I got ripped off as well, I think I paid $80 for mine.

I'll go against the grain and recommend a quad core. AMD's cheapest quad is $145 on newegg and Intel's cheapest is $160. Sure they look horrible but you can overclock em quite a bit. The Phenom 810 can apparently hit 3.3ghz at 1.50V, but that's a bit unrealistic on stock cooling so maybe 3ghz or so is a reasonable expectation. The Q8200 should also hit 3ghz on stock cooling.

Get a dual core definitely. Triple and quad cores will only help you in like 1 or 2 games right now.

Flip it around and ask "are there any games where a quad is too slow?"

Pentium Dual Core E5200 $65

That processor can barely run today's games. If he buys that, he'll end up needing a new system in a year. Spending an extra $100 right now to get a higher end CPU will last a good 3 years.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
Get a dual core definitely. Triple and quad cores will only help you in like 1 or 2 games right now.

Very, very, very wrong. Trip/quad are definitely worth it. Although a fast dual core should satisfy most people

 

[Insomniator]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: Magelord
Antec Nine Hundred TWO Case
107.99 +$10 shipping

wtf? mid tower ATX - $20. Then again I can't really talk because I got ripped off as well, I think I paid $80 for mine.

I'll go against the grain and recommend a quad core. AMD's cheapest quad is $145 on newegg and Intel's cheapest is $160. Sure they look horrible but you can overclock em quite a bit. The Phenom 810 can apparently hit 3.3ghz at 1.50V, but that's a bit unrealistic on stock cooling so maybe 3ghz or so is a reasonable expectation. The Q8200 should also hit 3ghz on stock cooling.

Get a dual core definitely. Triple and quad cores will only help you in like 1 or 2 games right now.

Flip it around and ask "are there any games where a quad is too slow?"

Pentium Dual Core E5200 $65

That processor can barely run today's games. If he buys that, he'll end up needing a new system in a year. Spending an extra $100 right now to get a higher end CPU will last a good 3 years.

wtf?

<--- has e5200 @3.5 no gaming issues

 

[ShawnD1]

A 3.5ghz E5200 is not much better than what I'm using right now and right now I'm starting to see CPU limitations. GTA 4 and Ghostbusters are a bit slow. Far Cry 2 is unplayable. Games coming out in the next year will likely not work at all on that processor.

 

[Zap]

GTA4 is known to be badly coded and/or CPU limited. What you consider "unplayable" may be just fine to someone else.

The OP did title this thread "on the cheap" so I was giving cheap (but still reasonable) options.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1
A 3.5ghz E5200 is not much better than what I'm using right now and right now I'm starting to see CPU limitations. GTA 4 and Ghostbusters are a bit slow. Far Cry 2 is unplayable. Games coming out in the next year will likely not work at all on that processor.

Of course GTA4 is CPU limited, it's so poorly coded

Dunno about ghostbusters

Far Cry 2 was perfectly playable with my old 9800gt and my e7200 at 2.5gHz. Definitely now with a 4890 and at 3.5gHz

COD4/5/WoW/others run fine with my e7200 at 2.5



So, no, e5200 CAN play today's games well. Especially when overclocked to 3.2+. Of course it's going to be no i7, but it's no slouch either

 

[Magelord]

Thank you again

I just wanted to add some more info on what I think I am doing.. lol

I could have gotten a cheaper case, but i really liked the Antec 900, and the new version, the Antec 900 TWO is suppose to have has better fans, better space behind MB tray to hide cables, etc

On Newegg, this case is $140 +9.99 shipping, so I got a ok deal at 107 +$10 shipping

Now I need a Power supply.

It sux that %80 of the PSU's out there are junk...

I want a PSU that is black, be nice to have a Bluie Led Fan also, but not required
I think I can paint the PSU black if needed, but not sure if that would cause issues with it or what

Why black?

The Case has a window, inside the case there is no silver, its all black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129058

Also, the PSU on this case sits on the bottom. Having a white or silver PSU there would not look good with all that uber black in the window

I like this PSU but question its quality

SILVERSTONE ST50F Strider Series 500W Active PFC Modular Power Supply
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...p?ProductCode=10010743

I also came across this PSU
Sigma Shark SP-635
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817226002

Reviewed and granted clubOC award
http://www.cluboverclocker.com...wer/sigma/shark/p4.asp


I may just get an Antec PSU and call it a day... looking for sales, codes and deals to get something cheap

As far as a Vid Card goes, I have a MSI SE Geforce 8800GT OC which so far has met all my gaming needs.

as far as CPU, i do want to go for Quad so I qam "future compliant"

I am curious about something. Windows 7
I have seen info that suggests some CPUs do not work well with Windows 7 / xp mode among other thngs

I need to figure out which ones have problems so I do not buy any of those.
I do not care about AMD or Intel.. I care more about saving money, so whichever is on sale is all good

Of Coarse, once I make a CPU choice then I can make a choice on a MB and Ram

My goal, which is not so frugal, is to be on a min 1066 bus and to use ddr2 1066 mem, or ddr3 if I have to.

anyways.. looking for a PSU now... 500w or better i suppose is enough for 2 DVD, 500gb stata HDD, 1 8800GT and whatever CPU/MB i end up with.

Thank you again for the input.. I am learning alot.

 

[yh125d]

The silverstone is a solid unit. I've had one for the last year and it's great. Quietest PSU I've owned, and even after hourse of gaming it blows out cool air. There might be better options for $70 though



Also, the fan is blue, but no LED's