Budget Computer Build

[Capo]

Hey Gang,

 

I am attempting to help a friend build a new budget gaming rig and am wanting everyone's opinions. A few months ago and I would have been fine, but now with the recent price drops of AMD products and many of the video cards, I'm not sure where the current "sweet spot" is, so any assistance will be appreciated.

 

Budget: $600.00 USD (it's actually 700, but he needs to buy vista home 64 bit, so take off 100)

Parts Needed:

- Case (just something big enough to hold the video card with enough clearance)

- PSU (He isn't going to OC and won't OC, so he doesn't need a 800 watt PSU)

- Motherboard (SLI probably isn't needed)

- CPU (is AMD or Intel better these days for a budget rig?)

- Memory (definitely 4 gigs, just what brand?)

- Video Card (is ATI or Nvidia better these days? Does ATI still have its driver issues?)

- Hard-drive

 

Thanks for the help all. If you're suggesting parts, any links to the products would be wonderful.

[Capo]

I forgot to mention, within that 600, don't worry about shipping, just do 600 bucks for products.

 

Thanks!

[tkrow21]

AMD is definitely better for a BUDGET build.

4GB of RAM isn't needed. My old computer has 2GB and runs fine with Vista.

I have an ATi HD4850 and have not run into any driver issues. Their 4670/50 is a great bargain for a budget build.

[pkilway]

If it's a gaming rig you want, here's what I'd suggest.

 

Parts Needed:

 

INTEL SYSTEM

Case: Rosewill R6426-P BK ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $26.99 (w/$5 off and free shipping)

- PSU: Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $69.99 (w/$30 off and free shipping) * On the OCC Recommended PSU List*

- Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $84.99

- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - $119.99 (w/free shipping)

- Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail - $55.99 (w/$20 off and free shipping, price doesn't including $20 rebate )

- Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $159.99 (w/$10 off, but it has a rebate every other week so wait and get it while the rebate is on)

- Hard-drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $74.99 (free shipping)

 

 

Total Intel System (inclulding discounts but NOT including rebates): $592.93 + shipping

 

 

AMD SYSTEM

Case: Rosewill R6426-P BK ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $26.99 (w/$5 off and free shipping)

- PSU: Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $69.99 (w/$30 off and free shipping) * On the OCC Recommended PSU List*

- Motherboard: JetWay HA04-Extreme AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - *Currently combo priced with CPU*

- CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - *Currently combo priced with CPU* $180.00 for both the CPU and Mobo ($25 discount for combo deal).

- Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail - $85.99 (w/$10 off and free shipping, price doesn't including the $30 rebate)

- Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $159.99 (w/$10 off, but it has a rebate every other week so wait and get it while the rebate is on)

- Hard-drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $74.99 (free shipping)

 

 

Total AMD System (inclulding discounts but NOT including rebates): $598.94 + shipping

 

Optional:

DVD Burner: ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD

Edited December 10, 2008 by pkilway

[T3mpest]

as much as i hate to say it (i heart nvidia) the above is probably about the best your gonna get for 600 unless you can find a really good barebones system... Like this one.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...u=P450-9112%20C

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=3585 HD4850( if this is a bad card maker let me know, i dont know my ATI cards at all)

 

 

Its a little light on the motherboard but the CPU is right on. Oh, and the PSU is iffy, but you should be able to afford to replace it at that price.

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...u=P450-9118%20E

 

 

Another good barebones system, AMD rather then intel but should hold up to gaming pretty well, the 4850 is a better card but 9600 isnt terrible and the board is able to SLI for future upgrades, in fact you could grab another 9600 and SLI right off the bat and still be in your budget. OR with the left over money buy a better video card to replace the 9600. Might want to stick with nvidia since its an SLI board.

 

EDIT:: Both need CD-Drives and the first would need a CPU cooler. CD-Drives are easy to find and i use liquid so i dont know a good cooler, though i used a http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=1588 in a build on a q6600 for a friend, also no OC, and it did very well. but this was in a CM690 case with plenty of airflow.

Edited November 13, 2008 by T3mpest

[ocmooz]

ok lemme give this a shot

Mobo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813186143 $53.99 Foxconn A7VMX-K 780V

CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103211 $59.99 AMD 2.6GHz Brisbane

GPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150314 ://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16814150314 $189.99 XFX 9800GTX+

Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164114 ://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811164114 $19.99 Linkworld Prescott 43701-222FU

PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182062 ://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16817182062 $59.99 Rosewill 600W

Memory- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 ://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16820231122 $49.99 G-Skill DDR2 800MHz

HDD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136073 $59.99 WD Caviar 500GB (16MB cache)

DVD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827118012 $23.99 Sony 20X DVDRW

Total- $521.93

Just OC the mem and gtg.

Edited November 15, 2008 by ocmooz

[tkrow21]

Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164114 ://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811164114 ://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811164114 $19.99 Linkworld Prescott 43701-222FU

 

What the FACK is that?

[T3mpest]

yeah... same question. that case kinda scares me a little, no airflow and whats with the front USB/audio on right hand side of the case?

[Capo]

Thank you all for the options, it's really appreciated.

[ocmooz]

Its a perfectly capable case for mild gaming. Of course one could always get creative with a dremel later in order to make it an ultra cool lan box. B:)