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HELP $500 on a Gaming Rig
- Thread starter NaiMan
- Start date
If you need a case get an Antec/PSU combo
you could prob find a good deal on a cheap Venice 3000+ 939 socket CPU
939 mobo
get a hd from bb or circuit city when they have one for like 29$ after rebate
good value ram. 1 gig of.
if a socket 939 puts you over budget try stepping down to socket 754 or a Sempron system.
you could prob find a good deal on a cheap Venice 3000+ 939 socket CPU
939 mobo
get a hd from bb or circuit city when they have one for like 29$ after rebate
good value ram. 1 gig of.
if a socket 939 puts you over budget try stepping down to socket 754 or a Sempron system.
cKGunslinger
Lifer
:thumbsup: A good list, but if he needs a PSU (since he only has a P3 right now,) he could go with 1GB ram and pick up a decent one.
El Fenix has a better list of parts than duffman1, imo. 2gigs of value ram is much better than 1gig of ocz gold vx ram.
if you really need a psu though, spend $50 on it and take a gig of ram away. you can always add more later. just buy a 1gb stick now so you can buy a 2nd one in a few months
if you really need a psu though, spend $50 on it and take a gig of ram away. you can always add more later. just buy a 1gb stick now so you can buy a 2nd one in a few months
Venice 3000/3200+
1 or 2 GB value RAM. PLEASE get value ram when you're on that kinda budget, why is everyone recommending expensive crap? Yes it might give you a few more 3dmarks but again at that budget the money can be spent elsewhere to actually see performance increases in sh*t other than benchmarks. Though personally I barley noticed going from 1 GB to 1.5GB, and that was mostly for BF2 as it is.
ASROCK Uli mobo or Epox 9NPA3
Fortron 450w from Newegg (around $50 shipped)
Whatever hard drive is cheap right now in Hot Deals. I like Seagate for their 5yr warranty.
That should easily be under $500, so you could prolly swing 2GB ram or a faster CPU.
1 or 2 GB value RAM. PLEASE get value ram when you're on that kinda budget, why is everyone recommending expensive crap? Yes it might give you a few more 3dmarks but again at that budget the money can be spent elsewhere to actually see performance increases in sh*t other than benchmarks. Though personally I barley noticed going from 1 GB to 1.5GB, and that was mostly for BF2 as it is.
ASROCK Uli mobo or Epox 9NPA3
Fortron 450w from Newegg (around $50 shipped)
Whatever hard drive is cheap right now in Hot Deals. I like Seagate for their 5yr warranty.
That should easily be under $500, so you could prolly swing 2GB ram or a faster CPU.
Pleasure Craft
Junior Member
i put together a nice rig for about that much, use "AMD motherboard Athlon 64" less than $200 on ebay search (and that search will always return mobo/cpu combos), 2x512 corsair value ram off of newegg, and (here comes the critics) a generic 450-550 w PSU.
I got two 40G SATA in RAID mirror at auction, and later bought 120G IDE using Best Buy bucks during the McDonalds Monopoly game season.
my case and keyboard are generic cannibalized. I got a very nice optic wired MS mouse for $7 at the first Saturday computer flea market in Dallas (TX) and a 19" CRT monitor for $20 at the same place. (I've tried the wireless mouse before, but the weight of the battery wore me out and my hand hurt from its use. The wire is not an issue when using optical) I got a spare CD R/W from dad, and a new dual layer multi DVD recorder from Fry's.
Eventually I'll try to pierce together a "portable" rig by purchasing a flat panel, and a micro case set-up. But gotta wait til prices fall and used rigs/components go on sale.
good luck.
I got two 40G SATA in RAID mirror at auction, and later bought 120G IDE using Best Buy bucks during the McDonalds Monopoly game season.
my case and keyboard are generic cannibalized. I got a very nice optic wired MS mouse for $7 at the first Saturday computer flea market in Dallas (TX) and a 19" CRT monitor for $20 at the same place. (I've tried the wireless mouse before, but the weight of the battery wore me out and my hand hurt from its use. The wire is not an issue when using optical) I got a spare CD R/W from dad, and a new dual layer multi DVD recorder from Fry's.
Eventually I'll try to pierce together a "portable" rig by purchasing a flat panel, and a micro case set-up. But gotta wait til prices fall and used rigs/components go on sale.
good luck.
JackBurton
Lifer
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.
cKGunslinger
Lifer
No, you can't play a single game on an A64 3200+ with 1GB RAM and a 6600gt. :roll:
Go spread your FUD elsewhere. Some people here actually know what they are talking about.
XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply $44
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA Hard Drive $84
OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR 400 $84 (-$10 MIR)
MSI K8N Neo4-F $80
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ $201
Total = $493
Can you come up with a few clams for shipping? If not, back off to a 3200+ or a smaller HDD
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA Hard Drive $84
OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR 400 $84 (-$10 MIR)
MSI K8N Neo4-F $80
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ $201
Total = $493
Can you come up with a few clams for shipping? If not, back off to a 3200+ or a smaller HDD
that's bullsh!t. just because it doesnt have the latest generation video card does not mean it cant game. you can play ANY game out now with a 3200+, 1gb ram, and a 6600gt. it may not run at the highest settings, but the game WILL run and will be definately playable. this $500 pc will still be faster then 90% of pc's out there.
Steaksauce
Senior member
True, I have the same specs that you mention of and medium setting on FarCry runs just fine.
Anyhow, I'd get the Fortron 450W for 10 more bucks.
You can play games with that machine, just oc the heck out of it and he'll be good to go. Although at 2.2 GHz, the 6600gt bottlenecks the cpu.
Anyhow, I'd get the Fortron 450W for 10 more bucks.
You can play games with that machine, just oc the heck out of it and he'll be good to go. Although at 2.2 GHz, the 6600gt bottlenecks the cpu.
JackBurton
Lifer
Oooo, that is a great standard on determining if a PC is a "gaming machine." So if a PC can play ANY game, it is a "gaming machine?" Hey, maybe my an old ass PII 400MHz machine with 256MB of ram and a 16MB TNT card is a gaming machine? Hey, it plays the original Half-Life GREAT! And it definitely can be had for under $500. :roll:
When someone says they want to build a gaming PC, I assume they want to build a machine that can play ALL games reaonably well with a decent amount of details turned on in the game. When a machine using a 6600GT can barely play FEAR and COD2 at 1024x768 with minimal detail, I don't consider that a "gaming PC." I consider it a budget machine that can barely play the latest and greatest games, not to mention a machine with a short life span for next gen gaming. A true "gaming machine" today, will just be a regular PC in a few years. And when that happens, I would not still refer to it as a "gaming machine." Just because it can play Duke Nukem' 3D, doesn't mean it is a "gaming machine."
Maybe my standards for a gaming machine are just higher than other. Apparently they are WAY higher than cKGunslinger. He thinks if a machine can play ANY game, it's a gaming PC. Hey, I've got a SWEET PII 400 gaming machine I can sell you cKGunslinger. 🙂
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