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PC gaming build on a budget

Sonikku

Sonikku

Lifer
Trying to come up with a cheap gaming build. Here's what I have so far:


Opteron 146 OEM w/ $60 off coupon. $158.90
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120331

ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu LED 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling S 939 Fan/Heatsink $29
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118118

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black with 450 watt PSU $91.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

DDR 1GB PC3200 (400MHz) 184-Pin CORSAIR Value Select 69.99
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4452326?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

SAPPHIRE 100106-RD Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card $169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102483

NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM $39.75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $53
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106

EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $85.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123258

Total Price: $696.63
I hope this is good for a rig under $700. I already have a copy of Windows ready to go.
Please critque.
 
The Epox mobo is an nforce3, so more than likely its meant to support AGP, not PCI-E... So I suggest you change it to something else. If you aren't overclocking, the asrock 1695 mobo is always a good choice (just lacks voltage options for overclocking). Otherwise if you are, dfi ultra-d FTW.
 
A good budget build, but if i were you i'd ditch the 7000 fan, it's not going to be much better than the stock one and you can get a larger HD with that money. Also that way you've got a cheap upgrade path in the future.
 
I would ditch the Zalman, but I do need some kind of heatsink. 😛 The 146 Opteron is an OEM after all. It doesn't come with a retail heatsink, does it? I figured if I had to get some kind of heatsink I might as well go with a Zalman. But if you can think of a better heatsink for the price please link one. Coolers are not really my specialty.

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
The Epox mobo is an nforce3, so more than likely its meant to support AGP, not PCI-E... So I suggest you change it to something else. If you aren't overclocking, the asrock 1695 mobo is always a good choice (just lacks voltage options for overclocking). Otherwise if you are, dfi ultra-d FTW.
Click to expand...

Huh? After clicking the link --> EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

After looking at the specs, it's slot includes:
1 PCI Express x16
2 PCI Express x1
3 PCI Slots

It doesn't even look like it supports AGP... Oh yes, and I forgot to mention. I do intend to overclock. (Hence going with an Opteron 146 and a Epox Socket 939) I'm sure Corsair value ram would hinder basic overclocks, but I'm hoping I can just run a divider on the Epox.
 
Ok missed the OEM bit, in which case spend the extra for a TT big typhoon or the AC A64 or a zalman 9500. Any of those three will be much, much better performing. (if you can find the extra cash, if not then the 7000 will do)
 
For 700 dollars thats a very nice setup kind of makes me want to sell mine for a grand and pocket the 300. A lot of people spend triple that to do things a little better than a 700-1000 dollar setup can do.
 
That motherboard is NF4 Ultra.. pretty decent motherboard for low price. I'll buy it someday and try it. That rig look good for 700 bucks.
 
Wait a moment, will an Opteron work with the Epox right out of the box? I've heard it works with a bios flash, but I couldn't really do that until I got it working in the first place... I don't have any other 939 to use in it's place until I can get the latest drivers and bios.
 
I just built a budget gaming PC in the late summer/fall. Trust me when I say buy a bigger hard drive! You will spend MORE in the long run by skimping here. Just look at all the drives you're interested in and buy the one with the cheapest $/gb ratio. the 80gb sounds like a nice value buy, but when you price it out you'll see the differance. i did this with WD Caviar's (sata) a week ago at newegg. this is just an example: (the prices have changed a bit)

size [$$$] [ppgb]
------------------
080 [053] [.662]
160 [087] [.543]
200 [092] [.460]
250 [095] [.380]
300 [118] [.393]
320 [120] [.375]
400 [200] [.500]

You can see that the 80gb is actually the most expensive drive they sell!

Don't make the same mistake(s) I did.
 
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