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Cheap Gaming PC

D

dertyo

Junior Member
Building a Cheap Gaming PC

I'm putting together a < $800 computer build, here's what I've got so far:
APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro ATX Tower Computer Case
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
SAPPHIRE 100283-2L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active ...
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
ASRock H55M Pro LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-750


I'm trying to build cheaply but with some upgrade options. In a year or two I'll either get another 5770 and run it in crossfire or I'll upgrade to a next gen card, depending on performance vs two 5770's. Space/looks is not a big issue, but smaller is better (apartment) so it has a microATX case. I am worried a little bit about if I go crossfire if there will be enough airflow and would appreciate input on that (or suggestions of alternative cases). Also anywhere I could be getting a cheaper alternative with comparable performance.

Thanks!
 
I'd go a completely different route if saving money is the issue.

A phenom II 955 is will play any game. It's not as future proof as the i5 and won't do as well with some games, but its a lot cheaper for both the cpu and mobo.

For gaming skimping on the gpu is a definite no-no. Two cheap graphics cards do not equal one good one. You can get a really good gpu these days for $140.oo and that is where I'd be sure to spend any extra money.

Never, ever, buy a cheap power supply. If it isn't a reliable brand name like Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, etc. then make damn sure it isn't a piece of crap.

If you can afford a full sized ATX mobo buy one. Gigabyte and Asus make the best. Cheap micro atx with all the bells and whistles tend to have problems and not last as long. If you have to go cheap again forget about the bells and whistles and make sure it is a reliable mobo. Placing an expensive cpu in a cheap mobo with a cheap gpu and cheap power supply is no way to build a gaming rig.
 
All this talk of compromising the CPU and GPU is premature. If you don't need OS / peripherals, you can get an fantastic gaming rig for $800:

i5-2500k + Gigabyte P67 UD3 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.622956

Corsair XMS 8gb RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145315

XFX HD 6950 1GB GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150523

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

LG DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136236

XFX 650W 80+ Bronze PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817207007

Antec Three Hundred Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

Total: $884.88 (w/ EMCKFHH39 free shipping promo) - $95MIR = $789.99

You can get an aftermarket HSF later on if you wish to OC. And I think if you give up overclocking and get an h61 m-ATX board, you can even bump it up to a gtx 570.

Edit: If you go for cheapo case and mobo you can get a gtx 570...not recommended.
 
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i5-2500 + EVGA Superclocked gtx 570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.630039

Asrock H61M Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157237

Corsair XMS 8gb RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145315


Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

LG DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136236

XFX 650W 80+ Bronze PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817207007

Apex Mid-Tower case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811154095

Total: $901.68(w/ EMCKFHH39 free shipping promo) - $100MIR = $801.68

Smaller m-ATX mobo, no ability to OC, and cheapo case. In return you get 10% or so graphical performance against an already very fast GPU. I think its not worth it.
 
aphelion02 said:
All this talk of compromising the CPU and GPU is premature. If you don't need OS / peripherals, you can get an fantastic gaming rig for $800:
Click to expand...

Seriously, 8gb of ram and $800.oo just for the PC is not a cheap rig. That's a mid-range rig and even then you are making trade offs between the cpu and gpu. Why not buy an i7 and two graphics cards? Because it isn't in his budget.
 
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aphelion02 said:
He says his budget is $800. I also fail to see the tradeoffs you are talking about.
Click to expand...


Like you said, without knowing whether $800.oo includes peripherals or not its impossible to make specific recommendations. A phenom II 955 will overclock as well as anything up to the AMD hex cores making it an idea cheap quad core for gaming. As for the other trade offs, I listed their advantages already. It is possible to go even cheaper, but I wouldn't recommend it and it wouldn't fit with the general specifications he has already listed as possibilities.
 
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Obviously, I assumed from the OP's build that he didn't need OS/peripherals, and built a rig around that.

I can't see how anyone can fault the use of a i5-2500k for gaming. So I assume you must be talking about a GPU tradeoff. Are you saying that a 6950 isn't good enough for normal gaming? Or are you, by any chance, talking about the gtx 570? Point to specifics.
 
aphelion02 said:
Obviously, I assumed from the OP's build that he didn't need OS/peripherals, and built a rig around that.

I can't see how anyone can fault the use of a i5-2500k for gaming. So I assume you must be talking about a GPU tradeoff. Are you saying that a 6950 isn't good enough for normal gaming? Or are you, by any chance, talking about the gtx 570? Point to specifics.
Click to expand...


No, your suggestions are great. Just not real cheap. You can definitely get by with 955 for at least a couple of years yet and save at least a hundred bucks. If anything I think a gpu like the 6950 is a much better investment then an i5 right now.
 
I really really disagree with that. The i5 is one of the best value CPUs in years. If it fits within your budget, you should get it. You will not save a hundred bucks going with the inferior old gen technology. At most $60-70. And the 2500k will last at least 2 years longer than the 955. Thats not even counting its superior overclocking capabilities.
 
It's much easier to upgrade the graphics card than the motherboard / CPU, so I'd agree with getting the 2500 or 2500K over the phenom.

Of course waiting a month, saving an extra $100 and getting both the 2500K and midrange GPU is the best of both worlds.
 
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DaveSimmons said:
It's much easier to upgrade the graphics card than the motherboard / CPU, so I'd agree with getting the 2500 or 2500K over the phenom.

Of course waiting a month, saving an extra $100 and getting both the 2500K and midrange GPU is the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...


Buying cheap has never been easy. If you want easy then buy a pre-built. But I agree, if he can I'd suggest waiting until bulldozer comes out and see if the prices drop.
 
aphelion02 said:
I really really disagree with that. The i5 is one of the best value CPUs in years. If it fits within your budget, you should get it. You will not save a hundred bucks going with the inferior old gen technology. At most $60-70. And the 2500k will last at least 2 years longer than the 955. Thats not even counting its superior overclocking capabilities.
Click to expand...


A large percentage of PC gamers still have dual core processors and a quad core 955 will be just fine for many years to come. It's certainly not the best and isn't as future proof as an i5, but that's more of a concern for an enthusiast then someone building cheap. For a lot of people a hundred bucks is lunch money, but for others its a significant difference.
 
I don't understand why you keep going on about this.

1. Its not $100. A Phenom 955 will cost you about $150. There is only a $75 difference. And I'd say if you are really at that price point, you should go for the i5-2400 for $190 or so. You are crippling your $800 system to save $50, and killing your future upgrade path by getting a dead socket. The i5-2500k will offer much better performance, longetvity, and overclockability on a new socket with at least an Ivy Bridge upgrade. There's a reason why its the consensus best gaming CPU.

2. The i5-2500k is great bang for the buck. It fits under his budget nicely without compromising on his other components. What you are arguing with is the OP's budget. For anything over $700, Intel is the way to go for a gaming rig. Who are you to decide how much the OP should spend on a computer, especially when none of the parts are overpriced? $800 is a perfectly reasonable number, and I challenge you to build a better rig in the same price range.

Edit: Just to add, between the i5-2300 and the i3-2100, there isn't really much of a pricepoint where AMD is still competitive for gaming. And as I've shown, $800 puts you squarely in the Intel camp.
 
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aphelion02 said:
I don't understand why you keep going on about this.

1. Its not $100. A Phenom 955 will cost you about $150. There is only a $75 difference. And I'd say if you are really at that price point, you should go for the i5-2400 for $190 or so. You are crippling your $800 system to save $50, and killing your future upgrade path by getting a dead socket. The i5-2500k will offer much better performance, longetvity, and overclockability on a new socket with at least an Ivy Bridge upgrade. There's a reason why its the consensus best gaming CPU.
Click to expand...

It isn't just the processor itself, but the cost of the mobo as well. I agree if he can afford the difference it is best to get an i5 system, but not at the cost of replacing other computer parts with really crappy ones. A great cpu and a really bad power supply still equals a bad computer. AND, once again, we still don't know what all he needs to buy with this $800.oo. A monitor alone would make a huge difference in the budget. If you can't follow this simple logic I'm sorry, but I don't know how to make it any plainer then that.
 
I don't appreciate you condescending to me. Name one component in my system that was a crappy one. That XFX I listed is bronze certified and a quality seasonic made PSU. I clearly stated that I was making the assumption that he wasn't needing a monitor.

Once again, give actual hardware recommendations, not talk in vague generalities. I didn't sacrifice component quality for that CPU, and you are going to have to prove otherwise instead of handwaving.
 
XFX PSU's are not lousy by any stretch. They are selling pretty well where I am at and I can't even get a hand on a XFX unit myself as they run out of stock fast.

Although a Phenom II X4 955 can hold on its own with almost any games but there are going to be more game titles that are going to make good use of CPU performance. For games like Starcraft II, having the Core i5 2500 makes more sense as you wouldn't want to run into a bottleneck. Bulldozer may change that but it is not out yet so SB is still 'the best' for now. link
 
aphelion02 said:
I don't appreciate you condescending to me. Name one component in my system that was a crappy one. That XFX I listed is bronze certified and a quality seasonic made PSU. I clearly stated that I was making the assumption that he wasn't needing a monitor.

Once again, give actual hardware recommendations, not talk in vague generalities. I didn't sacrifice component quality for that CPU, and you are going to have to prove otherwise instead of handwaving.
Click to expand...


I already told you your build suggestions were great, just not the cheapest. It was the original poster's choices that I was questioning and if you can't understand what I've written then I'm sorry, but that's your problem. I suggest you try reading what I wrote again before deciding you've somehow been insulted.
 
Phenom II 955 vs 2500k

Motherboard costs would probably come out as a wash or within $10-$15. Going to agree with aphelion here and say by going with the Phenom, going to cripple the system, especially if the budget is around $800. Answering the sticky in the first post however, would have alleviated a lot of this back and forth...
 
You're not backing out of this one. Lets review what happened.

1. OP listed an old generation i5 build with suboptimal GPU.

2. You suggested he cut on costs by going for a Phenom II

3. I put together a rig that gave him a top tier CPU, better GPU, and all the while fitting under his budget.

4. You quoted my post, saying that I was making tradeoffs between the CPU and GPU. You talked about the choices not fitting within the OP's budget - despite the fact that it does.:

wuliheron said:
Seriously, 8gb of ram and $800.oo just for the PC is not a cheap rig. That's a mid-range rig and even then you are making trade offs between the cpu and gpu. Why not buy an i7 and two graphics cards? Because it isn't in his budget.
Click to expand...



5. When you couldn't prove it, you started talking in handwaving generalities about the need for a good PSU - despite the fact that the XFX unit is one of the best for the price range, and indeed, better than several PSUs that are more expensive.

6. After a lot of crap and you not proving a single statement you put out, you switch back to claiming you were talking about the OP's build, not mine - despite the fact that you were quoting my post.

Who are you trying to fool? I can reconstruct what happened here pretty well: you had a preconceived notion that the $800 budget was too expensive for an i5 rig, and you either not knowledgeable about the components or simply didn't read them closely enough . You switched first from saying the GPU was crap, then that the CPU was compromising component quality, the finally in claiming that you were talking about something else. Throughout this whole time you could not dive into specifics of the build or provide a comprehensive build of your own. Admit to your mistakes and stop pretending that you were misunderstood. Its crystal clear.
 
aphelion02 said:
Who are you trying to fool? I can reconstruct what happened here pretty well: you had a preconceived notion that the $800 budget was too expensive for an i5 rig, and you either not knowledgeable about the components or simply didn't read them closely enough . You switched first from saying the GPU was crap, then that the CPU was compromising component quality, the finally in claiming that you were talking about something else. Throughout this whole time you could not dive into specifics of the build or provide a comprehensive build of your own. Admit to your mistakes and stop pretending that you were misunderstood. Its crystal clear.
Click to expand...


How old are you? 12?

You still don't know if the guy needs a monitor, keyboard, or anything else yet you insist your build is cheap enough for him. It isn't me you have to convince fool.
 
aphelion02 said:
All this talk of compromising the CPU and GPU is premature. If you don't need OS / peripherals, you can get an fantastic gaming rig for $800
.
Click to expand...

Can you read? Also, I thought you said you weren't talking about my build, but the OPs? Or did you decide to flip flop your argument again?
 
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Here's an i5 rig I put together for a smidgen above $800, including monitor ,keyboard, mouse, OS

i5-2400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115074

Asrock H61M mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157241

G.Skill 4gb RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231253

Sapphire HD 5850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102932

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

Corsair CX 430
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139017

Apex Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811154095

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754

Mouse + Keyboard combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.622305

Asus 22" 1650x1050 LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236050

Total: $840.89 after shipping - $30 MIR = $810.89
 
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