Need proc/mobo suggestions for a budget PC system

Ilmater

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2002
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I'm trying to put something together for a friend (haven't really kept up on processor and motherboard stuff for years) and I need some suggestions. He is NOT a heavy gamer, but I would assume for a total system cost of around $600 (with a decent 21"+ monitor) he should be able to get something to play Starcraft II at pretty high quality with very good framerates.

So, I'm starting here. He WILL NOT be overclocking, so I'm looking for stock performance. I'm looking at spending around $100 there, so that leaves me with this:

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus
Core 2 Quad Processor Q8200
Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300

Of course motherboard cost will come into this to, and the Athlon I can get @$100 at Newegg (so I can probably grab a combo discount) and the other two are from Microcenter (the 8300 is $120). Which is the best for cost/performance, and which motherboard should he choose (he needs a basic, rock-solid stable board, nothing special).

Thank you all very much for your help.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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I'm trying to put something together for a friend (haven't really kept up on processor and motherboard stuff for years) and I need some suggestions. He is NOT a heavy gamer, but I would assume for a total system cost of around $600 (with a decent 21"+ monitor) he should be able to get something to play Starcraft II at pretty high quality with very good framerates.

Here's your first problem. "Very good framerates" is a bit subjective, but Starcraft II at high resolutions does not mix with cheap processors AND no overclocking.

If you're not going with high resolutions, then maybe this won't be a big problem for you.

So, I'm starting here. He WILL NOT be overclocking, so I'm looking for stock performance. I'm looking at spending around $100 there, so that leaves me with this:

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus
Core 2 Quad Processor Q8200
Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300

Straight off, you should take everything LGA775 off your list, especially if there is no overclocking involved.

Since Starcraft II is the game you've listed, you need to keep in mind that it is not currently capable of utilizing more than 2 cores, which means that, at most, you'd want three cores (one extra for background tasks) or a dual-core with Hyperthreading (so background tasks can be shunted to a logical core).

That means you should be looking at either a Core i3-530/540/550 or a Phenom II/Athlon II x3. I would probably recommend the Phenom II x3 720BE, even though he isn't going to overclock, THOUGH, Starcraft II seems to heavily favor Intel processors.

So basically you're looking at the Core i3 530 ($100) vs. the Phenom II x3 720 BE (also around $100, maybe a bit less). The Core i3 530 might yield better framerates, but the x3 720 BE might result in lower system cost if you've got spare DDR2 that you can use with an AM2+ board.

Of course motherboard cost will come into this to, and the Athlon I can get @$100 at Newegg (so I can probably grab a combo discount) and the other two are from Microcenter (the 8300 is $120). Which is the best for cost/performance, and which motherboard should he choose (he needs a basic, rock-solid stable board, nothing special).

Thank you all very much for your help.

Since there is no overclocking involved, you can get a metric ton of cheap motherboards for an x3 720 BE; just make sure the board has whatever features you need. Also, you have not mentioned RAM at all, and this is an issue since the x3 720 BE can either use DDR2 in an AM2+ board or DDR3 in an AM3 board.

The Core i3 530 needs an LGA1156 H55, H57, or P55 board with DDR3. Presumably, he will not be using the i3 530's IGP, but that doesn't mean he can't go with a cheap-ish H55 board so long as it meets his other needs. Is he going to go with Crossfire or SLI? Otherwise his requirements shouldn't be too stringent.

But really, unless he needs Crossfire or SLI, I'd focus on getting something with a rep for reliability above anything else, since you've listed no feature requirements that might require a niche product. He doesn't need fancy stuff like extra PWM cooling, quadfire support, 8-phase power, blah blah blah. He just needs a board that won't go up in a puff of magic purple smoke (that goes for the i3 and the x3).

And since I'm a G.Skill fanboy, I'm going to recommend this RAM to you:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231321

. . . because 1.35v DDR3-1600 is awesome, and the price is right. Both the x3 and the i3 will enjoy that stuff. As alternatives:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226122

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104175

That is, assuming, that he goes with DDR3. Buying DDR2 new these days doesn't make much sense, but he might get a killer deal on an AM2+ board and have some leftover DDR2 lying around, making the x3 an obvious choice since he can spend his savings on a nice video card.

Beyond that you've got to worry about the PSU. For modest single-GPU setups he could go with a Corsair CX400 or TX450 (an HD5970 or GTX 480 might require more than this, but I don't think those cards fit in his budget). He's going to want more juice for Crossfire/SLI.

Case . . . well, I'm going to punt on the case. My taste in cases is generally pretty bad, or shall we say, overly spartan.

Also he's going to need a harddrive. I like my 640 gb WD Black drive (64mb cache model), but for a bit extra you can get 1TB with the same cache that should run a bit faster (better platter density).

Have you looked at video cards at all yet? What resolution is he planning on running, and what are his framerate expectations?
 
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Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
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+1 to everything but this bit.
THOUGH, Starcraft II seems to heavily favor Intel processors.
http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...p-quads-without-performance-benefit/Practice/

With no overclocking, it's a tough choice. An Athlon II X3 3GHz could be worth looking at, too, to shave more of the total cost, to stay under budget. I really don't see the favoring of Intel (the overclocked numbers don't count, here). At stock, the i3 does well enough to make it not worse in terms of performance per dollar, but not great, either.

While you can't max out the detail settings, medium and high look awfully good for their performance, and reviewers don't seem to want to take the time to test them. If $600 has to include a monitor, I would wait, and save up a little more $. If you can get to, say, $750-800 for budget that includes a monitor, the increase in current performance, and overall system longevity, will not be subtle. In addition, there's always a chance that the GT(S?) 450 cards will come out by then, which could be ideal fits for such a budget.

For non-IGP builds, I've been using this board, lately. If expansion slot use is likely, though, an 870 board would be a good way to go.
 
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Ilmater

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Jun 13, 2002
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+1 to everything but this bit.
http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...p-quads-without-performance-benefit/Practice/

While you can't max out the detail settings, medium and high look awfully good for their performance, and reviewers don't seem to want to take the time to test them. If $600 has to include a monitor, I would wait, and save up a little more $. If you can get to, say, $750-800 for budget that includes a monitor, the increase in current performance, and overall system longevity, will not be subtle. In addition, there's always a chance that the GT(S?) 450 cards will come out by then, which could be ideal fits for such a budget.
OK, let's say I can get him to spend $750 - $800... what would you recommend then?

As for processors, here are the best prices I found for the ones you two are suggesting:

Phenom II X2 555 BE $94
Core i3-540 $100
AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE $101

As for resolution, I'm looking at monitors @ 1920 x 1080 but details like AA/AF aren't as important.
 

khon

Golden Member
Jun 8, 2010
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I tried to put together a system for 600$ on newegg, and it's certainly possible, but you don't have $100 for the CPU. Especially if it's an Intel CPU since that also raises the cost of the MB.

The best I could come up with was:

CPU: AMD Athlon X3 445
MB: Biostar A770E3
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5770
Memory: 4GB OCZ Obsidian DDR3-1600
Harddrive: 500GB Samsung Spinpoint F3
DVD : LG 22x burner
Case: Cooler Master RC-690
PSU: Cooler Master Elite 460
Monitor: Asus VH226H 21.5" 1080p

Total (after MIRs): $592.92 + shipping

With this sort of budget though you are really pushing it.
 
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heyheybooboo

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Jun 29, 2007
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Rosewill ATX Mid Tower Computer Case: $40

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana / Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3: $213

Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB: $55
(the Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB is only $5 more but may have reliability issues based upon reviews)

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333: $94

Samsung 22X DVD optical: $18

Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W PSU: $83 (before $10 rebate)

Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB: $150 (before $15 rebate)

Asus 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor: $160 (before $10 rebate)

$810
- $35 rebates = $775




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khon

Golden Member
Jun 8, 2010
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Rosewill ATX Mid Tower Computer Case: $40

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana / Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3: $213

Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB: $55
(the Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB is only $5 more but may have reliability issues based upon reviews)

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333: $94

Samsung 22X DVD optical: $18

Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W PSU: $83 (before $10 rebate)

Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB: $150 (before $15 rebate)

Asus 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor: $160 (before $10 rebate)

$810 - $35 rebates = $775




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A $150 MB to go with an $80 CPU, seriously ?
 

heyheybooboo

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2007
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A $150 MB to go with an $80 CPU, seriously ?

AMDRoadmap.jpg


S'rsly




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Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
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Let's say...
OS: $100 ($280) <-- kind of important, guys (look for -$10 combos, if buying from Newegg)
Case & PSU: $100 (a little more might not hurt, but it depends on prices at the time, rebates, etc.)
RAM: $80 ($180)
500GB drive: $55 ($335)
Burner: $20 ($355) (you might be able to swap this from the old PC, though, if it's not being repurposed)
21.5" 1920x1080 monitor: $160 ($515) (5ms Asus at Newegg w/ free shipping)

Now, you can go a bit lower on the case and PSU, but still, not too much, and what's left will barely fit an OK board and a low-end CPU. You simply cannot fit a video card into that. if you cheap out to do so, it will still not be remotely be a gaming PC.

Now, if he has a home brew now, or at least a usable case (some Dells, and most gateways, FI, use plain uATX cases), that can shave a bit off of it. Still, it will probably warrant a new PSU.

So, let's put the budget at $800, and go with my little no-frills board (again, if expansion slots are likely to be used, an extra $10-15 for an 870 board might be worth it). That makes it about $590, leaving around $210 for a CPU and video card. Not a lot, but...

Realistically, you should be able to find deals, combos, and rebates to work in a bit more. Just start hunting down combos on effectively equivalent parts at Newegg, and look at hot deals. Even without going insane gaming it all, another $50 should be doable.

Then, get something like a Athlon II X4 640, or Phenom II X4 945 (both 3GHz). Whether the Phenom II X4 is worth it for SC2 is up to debate (it looks slightly faster, but not 30% faster). Alternatively, AII X4 635, with G.Skill RAM as a combo at Newegg. However, if the budget can fit it, chips with more cache always stand up better as time goes by. Also notice, here, that the PII X3 beats the AII X4. While the methodology is a bit suspect (gone into that over in the thread in the video section :)), I don't think there's any reason to disbelieve that there is a significant relative performance gain, there.

For video...wait just a bit. Just a wee bit. I don't know a launch date, but the GTS 450 and 440 should be out before September, from the rumor mills. If they are anything like the 460, in terms of giving some real competition to ATi, an AII X4 635 or 640, and one of them could be a good balance, and fit at least within $800 for a complete build (assuming the lower end one being $130 or so is true).

$810 - $35 rebates = $775
$875
 

Jesusthewererabbit

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Mar 20, 2008
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As an alternative, look at getting him a Dell from their outlet, and putting a 5750 or Gt 240 in there. You can come in well under budget like that.
 

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
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There are a crap load of really good combo deals at newegg. You need to take advantage of them to be able to get the best CPU and video card possible. Here are a few which you should probably use:

Rosewill Challenger and 500GB Western Digital Green ($25 savings)


Bunch of deals with 500W OCZ ModXStream. Including Video card (HD5770), processors, DVD burners, Windows 7, RAM In the end this getting this power supply will probably be the most cost effective solution.

And there are tons more combos. Just about every processor has a combo deal of some kind that you can use.

Also whether or not your friend needs to buy Windows, or if he can reuse his current copy, will make a huge difference as to what hardware you can get. With Windows and a Monitor, you have to skimp on a lot on even an $800 budget, to get the performance you're looking for.
 
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Termie

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Aug 17, 2005
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I really like the benches I've seen for the Core i3 for general computing and gaming. I'd spend a little extra on it. Here's a nice setup for $525 (without monitor or OS):

(1) Coolermaster case with 460w PS ($70): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119218

(while I would usually say get a better PS, in this case, it's not necessary - this is a low power system without overclocking, and the Coolermaster PS included here is a decent one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171046)

(2) Samsung F3 1GB ($60): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

(3) Intel Core i3-540 with Biostar H55 motherboard ($177AR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.459161 (in my opinion this is a screaming deal)

(4) Patriot 2x2GB DDR3 ($66AR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220435

(5) Samsung DVD Burner ($18): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151176

(7) Sapphire HD5770 ($135AR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-873-_-Product

Add $250 for monitor and OS and you've got an awesome system for under $800. This highly-rated Samsung 21.5" monitor is available with the HD5770 above for an additional $160 and no extra rebates: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...82E16832116754
 
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Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
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As an alternative, look at getting him a Dell from their outlet, and putting a 5750 or Gt 240 in there. You can come in well under budget like that.
Anyone know if the 580 i3 PCs use the same mobo & PSU as the 580 i5? if so, there's a i3/4GB/Win7-64 model that just needs a video card that looks like a good deal (however, if they don't share those two parts...).
 

crimson117

Platinum Member
Aug 25, 2001
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So... I'm gonna throw this out there:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.472789


  1. Rosewill R519-BK :$59.99
  2. GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H :$89.99
  3. Intel BX80616I3530 :$114.99
  4. Crucial Technology CT2KIT25664BA1067 :$93.99
  5. Seagate ST31000528AS :$74.99
  6. Lite-On iHAS124-04 :$19.99

  • Combined Total:$453.94
  • Combo Discounts:-$53.95
  • Combo Price:$399.99 (expires Aug 16th)
Throw in a 9800 GT ($50 AR!) and you're golden (see performance charts for SC2).

And don't be afraid to go for at least a small OC on the Core i3 - even a few hundred MHz can make a difference.
 

Termie

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Aug 17, 2005
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So... I'm gonna throw this out there:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.472789


  1. Rosewill R519-BK :$59.99
  2. GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H :$89.99
  3. Intel BX80616I3530 :$114.99
  4. Crucial Technology CT2KIT25664BA1067 :$93.99
  5. Seagate ST31000528AS :$74.99
  6. Lite-On iHAS124-04 :$19.99

  • Combined Total:$453.94
  • Combo Discounts:-$53.95
  • Combo Price:$399.99 (expires Aug 16th)
Throw in a 9800 GT ($50 AR!) and you're golden (see performance charts for SC2).

And don't be afraid to go for at least a small OC on the Core i3 - even a few hundred MHz can make a difference.

Actually, I started with that combo and tried to see if I could beat it. The parts I listed above end up being about $10 less than Newegg's bundled combo because the Patriot memory, Samsung drive, and i3-540/Biostar motherboard combo deal were so darn good. I think either would be fine, but I'd probably go with the setup I selected as I favor Samsung over Seagate, in particular, and you're getting a faster processor and memory.
 
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crimson117

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The parts I listed above end up being about $10 less than Newegg's bundled combo because the Patriot memory, Samsung drive, and i3-540/Biostar motherboard combo deal were so darn good.
Nice!

I'd probably go with the setup I selected as I favor Samsung over Seagate
I had some trouble with a samsung F1 drive never waking up after putting a Vista/Win7 computer to sleep. Have you had any similar experience?
 

Termie

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Aug 17, 2005
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Nice!


I had some trouble with a samsung F1 drive never waking up after putting a Vista/Win7 computer to sleep. Have you had any similar experience?

I've been very happy with my Samsung F1 750 and my Samsung F3 500, and I don't believe I've had that problem with waking up from sleep. Then again, I've never used the F1 as a boot drive, so that could be the difference. The F3 hasn't caused me any problems as a boot drive, but I have the sleep function disabled since it's an HTPC, and I'm either in front of it or it's shut down.

Edit: I guess that means I can't really answer your question. Sorry!
 

Bman123

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2008
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Go 1680x1050 instead of 19x10 it will give you some lee way with your video card. For $600 it's doable for sure
 

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
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that psu = fail. keep your eyes on hotdeals, corsair 430cx was $22 AR the other day.

same goes with cpu/mobo combos. frys/microcenter typically offers very aggressive deals on these, and since he's not oc'ing he wouldn't even have to sell the cheap-o mobos that come with the package. it might take you a couple of weeks of checking out hotdeals, slick deals, and the frys/microcenter weekly specials, but you should be able to get ~ $100 amd cpu with a mobo basically for free.

Once you keep the costs down on the cpu/mobo and psu, then other components become easier to manage. This will also enable you to get a better gpu, say maybe a gtx 460 768 mb. those are going for ~ $165 in fs/ft nib.
 

Termie

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Ilmater

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Jun 13, 2002
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You mentioned buying Intel at microcenter, why not AMD? You can get an Athlon II X4 with motherboard for $100 at microcenter.
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/0810_AMDbundle.html

They may still have their $40 off any motherboard with purchase of AMD processor deal going on right now too.
WHOA! That's a great price, thanks!

OK, so he came back and said he'd like to have a 23" monitor and has a budget of $800. That should leave me with a great video card to go with that processor/motherboard combo from Microcenter.
 

Termie

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WHOA! That's a great price, thanks!

OK, so he came back and said he'd like to have a 23" monitor and has a budget of $800. That should leave me with a great video card to go with that processor/motherboard combo from Microcenter.

Note: if you select everything but the CPU/MB that I posted above and one of the amazing deals on a cpu/mb from MicroCenter, your friend will have an incredible system for under $800. I'd choose the Phenom II X4 965 combo for $176 over the Athlon II X4 635 for $99 - it's a huge step up, and since you're basically getting the motherboard for free, why not splurge on a serious CPU.
 
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