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Help with gaming rig under 500

H

hii

Junior Member
I'm a first time computer builder and I have no idea where to start..any rec for parts?

I want to play sc2 at 1920 x 1080 at high/ultra setting 😀

I have no brand preference.

Will be running Windows

Live in the US, no Frys or Microcenter nearby

I already have a monitor/mouse/keyboard, so only need a tower

I'd like a quad-core...

Thanks()🙂
 
Do you already have a Windows license? It'll be tough to get a rig that can run Starcraft 2 on Ultra for (effectively) $400. $500 should be doable though.

Here's a build:
Athlon II X4 635 + MSI 770-G45 combo $164
4GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $82
Radeon 5770 $140
Samsung F3 500GB $55 - Blain in 3...2...1.. :awe:
Samsung DVD Burner $20
Corsair 400CX $50 - $20 rebate = $30
Rosewill case $30
Total: $521 the quad core blew the budget a bit but you could stay under by going with a tri or dual core combo like this.

EDIT: better combo
 
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yeah you are going to have to go AMD in that price range. The 460 is a gread deal i would pony up the extra cash for it over 5770 to be honest, it will last you alot longer than a 5770.
 
How about going used? You could get a used quad core amd, 4gb ram and if you can find a 5770, you should be set.


Hell, I'm on:

Triple core AMD 435
4gb DDR3
HD4850


Granted I'm gaming on 1680x1050, not higher, but still, mine plays perfectly fine (at least fo rhte small amount that I've played it so far).

If you can go used, do it at that price point.
 
hi!

thanks alot people

I've done some thinking and I will go with

Phenom II x2 555 BE
asus radeon HD 4870 1gig
Corsair 400w
4gig g skill 1600 ddr3
samsung f3 500gb
samsung cd drive

I'm still not sure about
case
motherboard

any suggestion for the build above? thanks!
 
This one, because it's the same price, newest revision, and a quad.

It may only be 2.9 Ghz (vs. 3.2), and may not have cache/unlocked multipliers, but it has double the corecount. As games continue to use more cores, it'll offer the better experience. It will also be more fluid for desktop use.

You can try unlocking the X2, which may present a better value, but if the unlock fails you're worse off in terms of chips compared to an AX4.
 
oh boy..back to the drawing board 🙁

would corsair 400w be enough to power all these components btw? or something with more?
 
hii said:
oh boy..back to the drawing board 🙁

would corsair 400w be enough to power all these components btw? or something with more?
Click to expand...

What specifically was wrong with the build that I posted as the first response (other than the combo discount not being available any longer)?

EDIT: And yes, the 400CX is sufficient. That's why I recommended it.
 
mfenn said:
What specifically was wrong with the build that I posted as the first response (other than the combo discount not being available any longer)?

EDIT: And yes, the 400CX is sufficient. That's why I recommended it.
Click to expand...

no your build's good, its just that I will be pretty much be gaming only sc2 and maybe diablo 3 when it comes out and I only recently found out it only uses 2 cores instead of quad 🙁 and techspot says in sc2 benchmark "Furthermore this will also mean that those with budget quad-core processors, such as the Athlon II X4, will also suffer." so i got scared 😱

I probably don't need future proofing as I'm too old.😱

Also the Rosewill case won't let me add to cart for some reason, saying it's combo special deal even though it's not and shipping is liks $13 which is fishy.:\

so I am pretty much following your build except I got stuck on the case, and cpu,mobo, and wasn't sure how PSU changes when I change diff parts
 
Got a copy of SC2 yet? If not, here's a build for $562.90 after $40 rebate that includes a copy of SC2.

Athlon X3 3GHz and ASUS M4A785-M $125
Gigabyte 768MB GTX 460 and SC2 $240
OCZ ModXtreme 600W and dvd-burner $69-$20MIR
Patriot Extreme 2x2GB ram DDR2$90-$20MIR
Samsung F3 500gb $55
Apex case$21 after coupon EMCYVNV26

+ $3 shipping.

The OCZ PSU is just okay, not great. But it's a good value in the combo and should be good enough for your needs. DDR2 is not much slower than DDR3 in most cases.

Oh the 5770 is good choice too. I have a 5770 and Thuban at 3.5GHz @ 1920x1080. It runs ultra settings between 45 and 60 fps. Smooth enough for me to not notice a slow down.
 
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hii said:
no your build's good, its just that I will be pretty much be gaming only sc2 and maybe diablo 3 when it comes out and I only recently found out it only uses 2 cores instead of quad 🙁 and techspot says in sc2 benchmark "Furthermore this will also mean that those with budget quad-core processors, such as the Athlon II X4, will also suffer." so i got scared 😱

I probably don't need future proofing as I'm too old.😱

Also the Rosewill case won't let me add to cart for some reason, saying it's combo special deal even though it's not and shipping is liks $13 which is fishy.:\

so I am pretty much following your build except I got stuck on the case, and cpu,mobo, and wasn't sure how PSU changes when I change diff parts
Click to expand...

Sorry about your difficulties. I wouldn't worry too much about the Techspot quote because Blizzard games are optimized to run on lower-end hardware. I'm just trying to help you out if you decide to branch out. 🙂

Here's another CPU+mobo combo (or you can use jchu's): Athlon II X4 640 + Biostar TA880GB+ for $174.

Regarding the case, it was on free shipping the other day. Just pick out one that has free shipping when you buy.
 
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