Need help building a good gaming computer!

[Patarico828]

I need help building a custom made gaming copmuter but the price has to be from 400 to 600 bucks please help!

 

[aceofskies05]

what do u want amd or intel? please give a idea of what componets

 

[raildogg]

Here, quick list:

A AM2 Geforce 6100 or 6150 based motherboard - $70
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ AM2 - $105 (get AM2 for future upgradebility)
1GB(2x512MB) - not sure about the prices, but lets say around $80 or so
Antec Sonata 2 - $85 (comes with power supply)
NEC dvd+rw - $35
Windows XP home - $80
Western Digital 250GB hard drive - $85

The total will be around $550 or so. Keep in mind that these prices are just generalized and not specific. The onboard graphics card will not be so great for gaming, depending on the games you play. But it will be ok. You can add a Geforce 7600GT for $150 or so to make it a truly great gaming system.

 

[Howard]

For that much, you should be willing to buy second-hand parts.

 

[LW07]

Use your current monitor, case, optical drive, and hard drive. Do you have windows XP?

Here's some good parts:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569
Asus A8N5X

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141307
1 gig of Kingston Ram

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104954
Fortron Source 450W Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533
Athlon 64 3500+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102663.
X1800XT 512MB(there's a 256mb version for less, but the 512mb will help a bit in higher resolutions).

Total: $660 after 3-day UPS shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102022
X1900GT if you can't afford that

Total: $610 after 3-day UPS shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102008
X1800XT 256mb version, if you decide against the X1900GT

Total: $602 after 3-day UPS shipping.

 

[Patarico828]

good gaming not amazing gaming

 

[shortylickens]

Wow!
A newb actually made a first post with useful info.

600 bucks for a game rig is challanging, but not impossible.

Looks like LW07 made a good system. But if you need all new parts then you wont get such a nice rig for that price.
If you have to buy every little piece then you will need to cut back on the CPU and GPU to afford the other parts.

OR................
Go buy a budget machine from dell. For 600 dollars you can probably get an acceptable game machine.
OR.....
Get a cheap eMachine and slap in a good video card with the leftover money.

 

[akshayt]

wait for price fall

get amd 3000 64bit and oc
anything less than 7300GT is pure crap
7300GT is crap
7600GT is not good either
but 7600GT is the max you may get

 

[Newf]

I agree with raildogg, his list is about the best you can do building your own for the money. If you buy a Dell you're stuck with it until you throw it away. A mobo with 6150 integrated graphics will play games "good" and can be expanded anytime.

 

[bamacre]

This does not inlcude a monitor, keyboard, mouse, nor OS. So I hope you have those.

Antec Solution Series SLK1650B Mini Tower Case (Black) Retail
$69.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140036

Gigabyte M51GM-S2G
$87.49
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=242678

AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3000+ Socket AM2 (62W) Retail
$91.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-8

Corsair VS1GBKIT667D2 1GB Kit DDR2-667
$78.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85016-44

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB Serial ATA II
$65.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101208-11

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A
$34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058

MSI NX7600GT-T2D256E GeForce 7600 GT PCI Express 256MB
$169.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321983

Total Price Shipped:
$598.26

 

[jordanpr]

I really like bamacres system.

 

[herm0016]

i would sugjuest getting a cheap case to save money. if you can find them the Skyhawk cases are really great for the price. the antec mentiond above is good with its powersupply also. watch for systems going on sale in fs/ft. you can get some good deals and then you can upgrade to whatever you want with the rest of the money, and sell the parts you replace.

 

[dBTelos]

First, getting an operating system that will play games for cheap is very hard. I suggest xp home or pro, or win 2k. Thats $100 right there. I suggest getting a lot of parts from tiger direct, they have some good bundle deals for budget gaming rigs. You should be able to get a 19" refurb. CRT for $50 or so.

 

[dBTelos]

Originally posted by: bamacre
This does not inlcude a monitor, keyboard, mouse, nor OS. So I hope you have those.

Antec Solution Series SLK1650B Mini Tower Case (Black) Retail
$69.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140036

Gigabyte M51GM-S2G
$87.49
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=242678

AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3000+ Socket AM2 (62W) Retail
$91.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-8

Corsair VS1GBKIT667D2 1GB Kit DDR2-667
$78.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85016-44

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB Serial ATA II
$65.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101208-11

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A
$34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058

MSI NX7600GT-T2D256E GeForce 7600 GT PCI Express 256MB
$169.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321983

Total Price Shipped:
$598.26

$70 for a case on a budget system? Get an ultra mid tower from TD for $10 or something like that.

With that extra money you should be able to upgrade to 2x 1GB of DDR2 OCZ or Patriot RAM.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: dBTelos
$70 for a case on a budget system? Get an ultra mid tower from TD for $10 or something like that.

With that extra money you should be able to upgrade to 2x 1GB of DDR2 OCZ or Patriot RAM.

With an included PSU, yes. I wouldn't recommend anyone a case/psu for much less.