Is it possible to build a gaming rig on $400

[Shotgun333]

I'm searched at parts, and see there are cheaps parts out there, But I also know that some parts dont work well with others. Everything would be new, nothing reused. I lso don't plan on overclocking. thanks for any input.

I would like to be able to play some of the new games, I dont have to play on the highest settings, I just want to be able to play. I like playing games for the fun of it, not because they have the best graphics around.




Shotgun

 

[Skott]

IMO its a yes and no answer. Yeah but its not going to be a very good gaming rig. By that I mean you wont be able to play today's games at high settings. Probably not very good at low settings even. At a $400 price tag (we'll exlude the monitor) you'd be better off buying from Dell or such companies because they can get the parts at a lower cost. Problem is even those parts are not going to be very powerful due to the budget. A good video card is required for today's games and that can take up 1/3 to 1/2 the allowed budget of any rig. At $400 it doesnt leave you much to play with as far as a video card goes. Honestly I think you need to increase your budget.

 

[accguy9009]

What games are you talking about playing? Don't expect to be able to play Crysis with decent frame rates at your budget. Do you have any existing parts you can "bring with you" for this build? By overclocking you can get yourself a nice little rig, but be realistic about the gaming experience. You may want to consicer a console if high end gaming is your goal.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

$400 hits the ps3 spot =]

otherwise look for a mixture of new/used parts. parts that i suggest get new:
-Motherboard, too many things can go wrong with a used board if u dunno what has happened to it, can have many parts missing.
-psu, u want a new psu to ensure that it isn't old for the capacitors so they begin aging
-hard drives, some hard drives are unlucky and are louder/click for no reason, people often sell these

parts that IMO can be purchased used:
-cpu's
-video cards
-cooling solutions
-cases
-dvd drives
-ram

 

[mageslayer]

I suggest you attempt to muster up another $300 or so in order to get the best bang for your buck.

Consider this, operating systems alone can burn $50-100 from your budget making your real budget $300-350.

I will spec you out a system at your current budget if you still want me to.

 

[Shotgun333]

I'm borrowing a geforce 7800 GT 256MB DDR3 Dual DVI VIVO PCI-E.
I can see if I can cont. to borrow it for a little bit longer



Shotgun

 

[narreth]

http://configure.us.dell.com/d...&l=en&oc=DDCWDA2&s=dhs

if you save 200 more you can get this dell and a 1 Gb stick of ram. (this is assuming you don't need a monitor)

you will get a Q6600 2.4 Ghz, 2gb RAM ( if you buy a new stick) and an 8600GT which is all decent for the price

 

[Trey22]

What size monitor do you use? Resolution?

$400 is a challenge for a gaming PC... maybe something from the FS/FT forum? Any way you could scrounge up another couple of hundred dollars?

 

[RedShirt]

You are probably better off going with a Dell computer for this price point, but I tried my best to hit your $400 mark.

If it all works, this should be able to play many games OK, not great, but OK.

Some of these items have rebates.

An extra $200 would buy you much better equipment (example, PC Chips isn't the best motherboard maker out there, as well as the SIS chipset not being spectacular, but the budget laid out there doesn't give one much choice).

Motherboard:
PC CHIPS A33G V1.0 AM2

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 LE-1620 2.4GHz Socket AM2 45W

RAM:
Transcend JETRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

Hard Drive:
EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8080S 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD/CD:
Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE

Case:
Rosewill R103A Black SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply

Video:
MSI NX8600GT-TD512EZ GeForce 8600GT 512MB

Monitor
Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor

Total (After Rebates) 418.92
Shipping (for me at least): $39.86

Grand Total (After Shipping and Rebates): $458.78

This does not include OS, speakers, keyboard, and mouse.

You get a free game, The Witcher, with the Video Card

It's just not possible to build a new rig from scratch that can play newer games respectfully for under $400. Especially if you have to factor in OS and Monitor.

 

[0roo0roo]

if u pirate the os...
cuz gaming on the linux...not so hot. open source is a bit of epic fail when it comes to making games.

 

[RebateMonger]

If you don't already have the OS, then you'd pretty much have to get a Dell or such to have any chance of building something for $400. Even then, you won't be getting anything close to state-of-the-art graphics capability. It makes it a lot easier if you are OK with two-or-three-year-old games. That's what I do.

 

[chinaman1472]

Originally posted by: mageslayer
I suggest you attempt to muster up another $300 or so in order to get the best bang for your buck.

Even an extra $200 would help out tremendously. A low budget gaming rig at $600 is reasonable for a custom built system.

 

[Roguestar]

Time to put your cash back in the piggy-bank and save up for another few months. The difference between scraping together something closely resembling a working PC for $400 and spending wisely on a $700 budget is huge.

 

[Shotgun333]

Ok, thanks for all your help peeps. I will see if I can get ahold of more money.

thanks again

Shotgun

 

[trevor0323]

I disagree,

I know it can be done because my buddy wanted me to do the same exact thing. He gave me a $400 budget and told me he could use his old 17" CRT. I know the games he plays (WOW, Few FPS's Mythos Beta, CIV 4 etc...) <Mostly games that can run mid to high on a midrange GPU.

Anyways I calculated and I just could not build him something that I felt was acceptable for his needs for $400. So what to do?

I ordered the Vostro 200 mini tower when it was on special for $379. I normally am against ordering from companies but the times are a changin. I knew I could build him a decent system with a E21*0 CPU and OC that sucker to high hell but then I knew I would blow my budget.

With the Vostro he got
E2160
120GB HD
DVD-ROM
1 GB Ram
3100 On board graphics
19" LCD (w/DVI)
XP OS
Some sort of warranty

He ordered this and I told him it was going to be slim on gaming and to wait to buy a different videocard. Well he wasn't to pissed about going over his $400 budget and we didn't go over by much. Frankly he was pretty impressed with the machine for $379 and that he got a new lcd with it. Also the fact that he could play WOW and Mythos much faster then his old rig (1.4ghz, 512mb, 5200agp).

Anyways I convinced him to order a 8600gt for $65 AR and now the thing just cruises on most games. I also sold him one of my 1gb HP sticks for $5 and he now has a pretty nice little gaming system. Sure it is not the best but it can play every game he wants to play on mid to high settings.

Final cost $450

 

[trevor0323]

Also I forgot to mention that I plan to do the BSEL mod that Zap posted to that sucker to squeeze a little more speed out of her.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: trevor0323
Also I forgot to mention that I plan to do the BSEL mod that Zap posted to that sucker to squeeze a little more speed out of her.

:thumbsup: I did my Vostro BSEL mod using aluminum foil taped onto it, but finally figured out the "trick" to making the conductive ink (defogger repair kit) work. Tape off area, apply, wait 1 minute so that the ink starts to haze over (dry) and then peel off tape BEFORE it totally dries. Tried it twice and had a friend try it, and it works beautifully. After tape comes off, double check work (can make minor corrections using a pick set) and then let it sit for 15-20 minutes to set. Then, clear CMOS and install.

 

[mageslayer]

Here is your best bet for a non-dell system.

Specs:
Antec NSK4480B with 380 Watt Earthwatts Power Supply
Text

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L
Text

Intel Celeron 420
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A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB)
Text

Western Digital 160GB
Text

MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo GeForce 8600GT
Text


Newegg Prices:

Total after shipping & tax to my location (shipping and tax will be different for you)
$432.86

Rebates
$30

Grand Total (Total - Rebates)--$402.86

OS not included

Options:

Try Linux, with W.I.N.E (you can play windows games)
"Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine does not require Microsoft Windows, as it is a completely free alternative implementation of the Windows API consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, however Wine can optionally use native Windows DLLs if they are available. Wine provides both a development toolkit for porting Windows source code to Unix as well as a program loader, allowing many unmodified Windows programs to run on x86-based Unixes, including Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris."


Buy Windows for extra cash--
Microsoft Vista Home Basic $49+sh
Text


PRO--

Immense upgradability (supports Penryn duals and quads)
Huge overclockability
2GB ddr2-800 ram
Bang for the buck overclocked video card (8600gt)[it can be overclocked even more because of the excellent cooler]
Free The Witcher Game
Nice Antec Case
Reliable 80%+ efficient Earth Watts PSU
$400!!!!!!!

Cons---

Celeron Processor(easily overclocked or upgraded to a Penryn in the future)
No OS (Look at options)
No Monitor


Edit: Forgot the DVD burner
Add another $30 to the price

Samsung Lightscribe Burner
Text

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: mageslayer
PRO--

Immense upgradability (supports Penryn duals and quads)
Huge overclockability

With minor work the Dell setup is overclockable. I got a 1.06GHz overclock with mine using the 800-1333MHz BSEL mod. The Dell board uses the G33 chipset, so it supports all the latest CPUs and FSBs. trevor0323's $450 Dell (after adding 8600GT) is great! I actually wouldn't mind using such a machine. Hey wait, I actually have one (minus GPU) in the garage! Mine was around $430 shipped with a 20" widescreen. Can also add a $35ARFS Antec EarthWatts 500W (recent deal) to support any GPU you want to toss in there.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: mageslayer
Try Linux, with W.I.N.E(a windows emulator) you can play windows games

WINE is not an emulator!

 

[teambarnes]

I bought a clearance Acer model at Circuit City for $359 and for the first month used the onboard ATI 1250 IGP, and I played modern games at medium settings. (I was quite impressed actually!) But not nearly as impressed after I dropped the 150 on a ATI 3850!

 

[mageslayer]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: mageslayer
Try Linux, with W.I.N.E(a windows emulator) you can play windows games

WINE is not an emulator!

srry edited

 

[nerp]

Maybe not $400. But I'm building a $550 rig with the following:

LIAN LI PC-A05B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $89.99
ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $86.99
Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor $79.99
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $89.99
Western Digital Raptor WD360ADFD 36GB 10,000 RPM SATA-150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD360ADFD $94.99
Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler $79.98
Subtotal: $521.93

Not bad.

Parts I'm bringing into the mix from the Opty 180 in sig:

WD Raptor 36 GB = giving me a total of 2 in the intel box, one for OS/Office, other for games.

ATI x1950Pro -- as a holdover until I see prices fall for the ATI 3870 or the 9600GT/9800GT or whatever NVIDIA has got up its sleeves. . .

Vista Business license

FSP 450W PSU.

I plan on OC'ing the 2180 and milking it for a while. In the meantime, I'll buy a Vista HP OEM license for the Opty180 and throw in an old 6800GS and turn it into a MCE box. I have a 150GB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA that I'll use. I'll toss in an EA380 I think and the Opty should have a decent life. When I buy a new video card for the Intel rig, it will re-inherit the x1950Pro which is more than good enough for being an MCE box.

The beauty of all this is that I have a WHS box being built with 2x500GB samsung Spinpoint Ts and a 320GB Seagate 7200.10. I no longer have to worry about storage and can just make each dedicated computer -- gaming/workstaiton, MCE, Girlfriends's desktop -- a pure client with just the OS and apps on it. All media, backups, music, junk, etc, is kept on the WHS box safe and sound.

So even though what I'm doing is a lot larger in scope, for only $500, I've not only got a great core Intel build which can easily move to a 45nm wolfdale quad with 8GB of RAM and a new video card down the road. $500, and that's including the Lian Li and a Raptor.

 

[mageslayer]

Nerp your build is pretty bad because you are sticking things like lian lis and raptors in a budget build

I would prefer a cheaper antec case/psu and a samsung 500gb drive
36 gb gets eaten pretty fast

 

[mageslayer]

$80 tuniq for a $80 e2180?