PC gaming build on a budget

[Sonikku]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Bobthelost]

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.

 

[Sonikku]

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.

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.

 

[Bobthelost]

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)

 

[Ctrackstar126]

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.

 

[bamacre]

Same ram, free shipping...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-34

HSF cheaper, and free shipping...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373033

Hard drive with free shipping...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101206-1

 

[imported_fx]

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.

 

[Sonikku]

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.

 

[Porter21]

i like the choice of x850xt, mine works well.

 

[EvilGavin]

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.

 

[furballi]

Cheap rig? Spend as much as you can on the video card. Go with a Fortron 400 to 500 watter for about $45. There's a 250GB Seagate for $70 AR at Fry's (check the hot deal forum).

You should be able to overclock the CPU to 2.25GHz. That's more than enough speed to run any game.

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4705559

http://www.bestbyteinc.com/HSK-TRI-XP90.html

http://www.provantage.com/antec-slk3000b~7ANTG02Y.htm