I want to get a new PC for gaming, including BF2, Oblivion, Flight Sim and others. For about $800 whats the best I could put together?
Gaming PC for about $800
- Thread starter Gusty987
- Start date
$500 to play video games with a POS controller, no upgradeablity, and crappy TV resolution?
No thanks.
No thanks.
You're trying to buy a "gaming" PC on a console budget. Save up some more money if you want to play with the big boys.
bamacre
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2004
- 21,029
- 2
- 61
Utter nonsense.
Thermaltake Mambo VC2000BNS Mid Tower Case (Black) Retail
$49.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371295
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN 400W PSU
$46.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953
Asus A8S-X SIS 756 Athlon 64(FX)/64 X2 Dual-Core Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard
$67.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247045
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor (Venice) Socket 939 Retail
$154.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80701-5
Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail
$81.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-21
Western Digital WD Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
$49.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101206-1
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A
$37.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058
XFX PV-T71G-UCF7 GeForce 7900 GT 470M Xtreme PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/VIVO Retail
$299.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321068
Total Price Shipped: $787.35
Some of those parts are pretty cheesy. SIS motherboard with integrated sound? I'll pass on that one. I also wouldn't get anything under a 3500+ processor. Also, BF2 and Oblivion run better with 2GB of ram. And where is the OS? Is he going to run Linux.
You're basically comparing a LOW end PC to a high end console. The only thing high end on that config is the video card and DVD burner, which makes for an unbalanced machine. I think you'll have a better experience play Oblivion on the 360.
bamacre
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2004
- 21,029
- 2
- 61
That is your opinion.
Yes, some games play better with 2GB of ram. But this system is upgradeable, unlike a console. The OP doesn't want a console, he wants a PC he can play games on. This is what he wants. The cpu is fine, faster than my Pentium 630, and I run a 7800 GTX along with 2GB of ram. And I don't think the system above is unbalanced, I think it's a perfect system considering his budget.
Personally I would go with the 3000 as there's pretty much zero difference between the two. Then he can put the money into a bigger HDD or somthing. Other than that, great system. I'd also get a dfi ultra infinity instead.
JackBurton: This machine is not really "low end". It doesn't have an ultra-high end cpu, but 95% of games are GPU limited. 2 Gb of ram is not needed. So far, I have seen almost no benifit from upgrading to 2gb other than in FEAR and BF2.
bamacre
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2004
- 21,029
- 2
- 61
Yeah, I forgot about the 3000+. And there is room in his budget for a better mobo and bigger HD. Revised...
Thermaltake Mambo VC2000BNS Mid Tower Case (Black) Retail
$49.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371295
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN 400W PSU
$46.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953
Asus A8N5X nForce4 Athlon 64(FX)/64 X2 Dual-Core Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard
$79.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247024
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (Venice) Socket 939 Retail
$110.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-5
Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail
$81.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-21
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer
$89.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101220-12
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A
$37.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058
XFX PV-T71G-UCF7 GeForce 7900 GT 470M Xtreme PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/VIVO Retail
$299.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321068
Total Price Shipped: $797.33
Couldn't add the other GB of ram without sacrificing too much. But that's always something he can add later, and not something that is definitely needed now.
Thermaltake Mambo VC2000BNS Mid Tower Case (Black) Retail
$49.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371295
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN 400W PSU
$46.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953
Asus A8N5X nForce4 Athlon 64(FX)/64 X2 Dual-Core Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard
$79.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247024
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (Venice) Socket 939 Retail
$110.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-5
Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail
$81.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-21
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer
$89.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101220-12
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A
$37.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058
XFX PV-T71G-UCF7 GeForce 7900 GT 470M Xtreme PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/VIVO Retail
$299.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321068
Total Price Shipped: $797.33
Couldn't add the other GB of ram without sacrificing too much. But that's always something he can add later, and not something that is definitely needed now.
good selections, but i would seriously reccommend him finding some where to squeeze 2 gigs in there...
plus the processor really isnt a big deal, its simply a breeze to overclock A64 now... i mean spend 2 mins in the bios and everything is sweet
first thing i did with my 3200+ (and my geil value ram) was to run a divider, drop the HT down to x4, pump the FSB up to 250 and increase the Vcore abit ... runs like a champ at 2.5Ghz day in day out
If you want 2 gig's you might go over $800 a little.
If you swap out the ram in the above config with this stuff then that'll give you 2 gig's, but it'll raise the price to ~$850 (I think it was $856?).
You can also get some value ram for $120? I think?
But I'd spend the extra $$ on the G.Skill.
Yep. I like how the OP talks trash about consoles (which he doesn't even have his facts straight) and then has this budget which barely makes the grade to play the games he wants to play. Oblivion is a b!tch to run on a PC. Good luck when you get outdoors running the machine at 1024x768 with HDR turned on.
I'm not trying to convince him to buy a console, I'm just working with his budget. With that budget, a 360 will be able to play Oblivion better than the PC he's trying to build. If he doesn't like consoles, no problem. Knock yourself out with that kickass $800 "gaming" PC.
Just a reminder, you need to add in the cost of Windows. For some reason people keep forgetting to add that cost in, hmmm....
Spicedaddy
Platinum Member
- Apr 18, 2002
- 2,305
- 75
- 91
If all you're gonna do with that system is play games, then the Xbox 360 would probably be a better idea. It'll end up being cheaper, and it works out of the box instead of having to build it, then spend time tweaking it for every game you install...
If you need a computer for other tasks as well. then go with the parts mentioned earlier.
BTW, the 360 can be hooked up to an HDTV or monitor with VGA input for 1280x720 res. The controller's good, but it won't beat a keyboard/mouse for FPS games. And no, it's not upgradeable, but it's a console so the hardware's here to stay for a few years.
If you need a computer for other tasks as well. then go with the parts mentioned earlier.
BTW, the 360 can be hooked up to an HDTV or monitor with VGA input for 1280x720 res. The controller's good, but it won't beat a keyboard/mouse for FPS games. And no, it's not upgradeable, but it's a console so the hardware's here to stay for a few years.
Something is wrong with those benchmarks... i'm running a 2.0PM, 2GB ram, 6800Go Ultra, and i played at 1280x800 with HDR on, and outside in the very worst areas, i was getting 20fps... that's in the very worst areas, usually with lots of grass and around the Oblivion gate. Otherwise i was consistently gettin over 30+
Thanks for all the replies. Thanks alot for the list, bamacre, very good suggestions there. As for the concern about running Oblivion, its fine if my PC won't run it, my brother has a 360 so if I have to I can get it on there. In fact the main games I'm playing right now are Battlefield 2 and Flight Sim 2004 which run fine on my old PC. I'm also gonna need to get a monitor for this, so I'm thinking a 19" CRT from Samsung or Viewsonic for around $200 (in addition to the 800 for the computer), or are there any budget LCD that are any good?
bamacre
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2004
- 21,029
- 2
- 61
Here is a nice 19in CRT...
http://www.accurateit.com/details.asp?iid=13
And, remember to check my revised list, and also Oblivion will play just fine on that PC.
http://www.accurateit.com/details.asp?iid=13
And, remember to check my revised list, and also Oblivion will play just fine on that PC.
Powermoloch
Lifer
- Jul 5, 2005
- 10,084
- 4
- 76
Some of those parts are pretty cheesy. SIS motherboard with integrated sound? I'll pass on that one. I also wouldn't get anything under a 3500+ processor. Also, BF2 and Oblivion run better with 2GB of ram. And where is the OS? Is he going to run Linux.
You're basically comparing a LOW end PC to a high end console. The only thing high end on that config is the video card and DVD burner, which makes for an unbalanced machine. I think you'll have a better experience play Oblivion on the 360.[/quote]
I wouldn't believe that Oblivion would do better w/ 2 gigs of ram. infact I have 2 gigs of ram, and the game takes up only half a gig of ram space. Other games like FEAR and BF2 does benefit on 2 gig ram. It just load faster, nothing more.
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