HELP $500 on a Gaming Rig

[NaiMan]

I have $500 to upgrade my P3 rig.

Already got a 6600gt pci-e from my friend...

so I would need:

CPU
MOBO
RAM
HARD DRIVE

Recommendations?

 

[thesob40]

cant really do much with $500 bucks....

 

[Smartazz]

Can't spend any more than that, $500 won't get you much of a rig.

 

[JMoore]

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.

 

[cKGunslinger]

1) If he only needs a CPU, Mobo, Ram, and HD, $500 is plenty. (see ElFenix's post below)

2) OP, this question gets asked very often - I've seen it posted at least 2 other times just today. Try searching a bit:

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[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: NaiMan
I have $500 to upgrade my P3 rig.

Already got a 6600gt pci-e from my friend...

so I would need:

CPU
MOBO
RAM
HARD DRIVE

Recommendations?

3200+ $150
dfi infinity $100
2 gb valueram $150
300 gb sata seagate $100

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: NaiMan
I have $500 to upgrade my P3 rig.

Already got a 6600gt pci-e from my friend...

so I would need:

CPU
MOBO
RAM
HARD DRIVE

Recommendations?

3200+ $150
dfi infinity $100
2 gb valueram $150
300 gb sata seagate $100

: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.

 

[duffman1]

get a 3000+ venice
dfi ultra-d mobo
40gig raptor hd
ocz gold vx ram
that should be under $500 if u buy them off the forums

 

[NaiMan]

nice...thanks!

I think i'll go 1 gig value ram and get a 450watt PSU

 

[alimoalem]

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

 

[duragezic]

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.

 

[Ike0069]

Opteron 144 $165
EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA $90
400W Fortron $40
1 GB Corsair VS RAM $80
80GB HD $75

$450 Total

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: NaiMan
I have $500 to upgrade my P3 rig.

Already got a 6600gt pci-e from my friend...

so I would need:

CPU
MOBO
RAM
HARD DRIVE

Recommendations?

3200+ $150
dfi infinity $100
2 gb valueram $150
300 gb sata seagate $100

: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.

agreed, he can easily go with 1GB Ram and a smaller HDD for less money...esp if u get a seagate or wd with rebate.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: duffman1
get a 3000+ venice
dfi ultra-d mobo
40gig raptor hd
ocz gold vx ram
that should be under $500 if u buy them off the forums

those small raptors are slower than modern 7200 rpm drives

 

[Pleasure Craft]

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.

 

[JackBurton]

A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

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.

 

[JasonE4]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

Opteron 144 $165
EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA $90
400W Fortron $40
1 GB Corsair VS RAM $80
80GB HD $75

$450 Total

Those components along with a 6600GT actually would make a great budget gaming machine. He could probably play everything at medium settings at 1280x1024.

 

[Green Man]

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

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: duffman1
get a 3000+ venice
dfi ultra-d mobo
40gig raptor hd
ocz gold vx ram
that should be under $500 if u buy them off the forums

that raptor is the worst recommendation you can have for hard drive of this budget. anyways, the 37gb raptor is a waste of money. it's slower then the 74gb one, and hte 74gb one isnt much faster then good 7200rpm hd's now.

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

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]

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.

 

[emilyek]

Opteron 144/146
Xclio 450
1 gig of Corsair Value
80gig HDD
Epox nf4ultra

Youre good to go.

 

[Dragoon42]

go with the epox combo.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

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.

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.