$500 casual gaming build

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Coastaltuba

Coastaltuba

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
293
0
18,780
I have been on here before asking about an AMD build, but by talking with other members, have decided to go the Intel route. So this is what I will need:

Usage: College (music notation, internet, open office), casual gaming (I love playing the new games, but I am by no means very good, so I just do campaign usually)

Items not needed: Case and monitor

Best site: Newegg or Amazon, whichever one I can get a better price on.

I want this build to be future proof. Also, I would rather have a true quad core than a hyperthreaded dual core.

When I say I need everything, I mean also cables, and keyboard and mouse.

Can someone please help me?

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot that I don't need an OS either. Sorry.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160
Hmm, for $450 (accounting for mouse/keyboard) you really should go AMD. They have the market locked down. However if you can stretch the budget to $600, we can make a very nice Intel rig that will smoke even the Phenom II x6's. But for <$500, the Phenom II X4 955 is the processor to get.

What's your monitor res, and what case do you have?

I'll get back to you.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Outlander_04

Titan
BANNED
Nov 18, 2008
20,308
4
74,960
At $500 you are probably better off with AMD

Have a look at the $500 System Builder Marathon build .
The march system using a lower spec Phenom 925 was a better all round build than the current system using an intel i3 2100 .

And with the price shifts since March you can afford a Phenom 955 quad core , and a better motherboard
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Coastaltuba

Coastaltuba

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
293
0
18,780
I know the AMD route is better, but with Bulldozer coming in, can you really say that it will be future proof to get one now with bulldozer coming out so soon? I don't want to wait for bulldozer either, as I need to build this computer within the next month.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160

Ideally you want something like an i5-2400. It smokes even the Phenom II x6 1100T, the AMD flagship. Fair warning, Outlander will probably yell at me for being an Intel fanboy.

*Disclamer* I am running an AMD system right now, and I have benchmarks to prove my point. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=363 Pay attention to higher/lower is better. There is absolutely no reason to get a Phenom X6 right now. It costs the same, but the i5 well outperforms it. The upgrade path is also better with Ivy Bridge just around the corner, and those will be drop in CPU's for LGA 1155 unlike Bulldozer's AM3+.
If you can stretch the budget a tinnnyy bit, we can squeeze this stuff in.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Coastaltuba

Coastaltuba

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
293
0
18,780
Well, the only reason I wanted the case that i have was the fact that it had 4 fans in it already, plus a built in fan controller. But do I really need them? And why wouldn't I need a lot of GPU power? It all depends on the res? I have never bought GPU, so its all new to me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160
Ok, got a build. I had to take a hit in a few places, but I got it done.

CPU/Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.669640 $236

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348 $160

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815007 $30

HDD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.667921 $50

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157233 $86

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231394 $35

It comes to $597. Pretty much best you can get for the money. I splurged a little on the case, but whatever.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Outlander_04

Titan
BANNED
Nov 18, 2008
20,308
4
74,960
At $600 and a pretty lightweight gfx card then the Intel i3 2100 is an option , but Id probably still go with the Phenom 955 because the extra cores will make a difference in the real world where you are likely to have a lot of extra windows services running while you game .

You can definitely afford an AM3+ motherboard that will let you install a bulldozer CPU later on .
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600138080&IsNodeId=1&name=AM3%2b

Theres even an ASUS 970 chipset board for $120
and an 880G board for $100
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160
I agree that the 955 is better for him since he's not building a harcore gaming machine. But since he can stretch a bit, what are your thoughts on my i5-2400 build? I went CPU heavy because of his res.
I'd appreciate your feedback.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
N

need4speeds

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2009
1,573
41
20,190
A cheaper alternate to the i5-2400 system. That system is good too, but more cash. Edit cause the case is not needed...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154002
$24.99 $9.99 after mail-in rebate Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm
Total overkill for a regor, but it's one of the cheapest coolers i could find. (someone's used 939,am2,am3 cooler will work, look locally for a used cooler for sale cheap)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148340
$34.99 Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660253
$84.98 AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX245OCK23GM - OEM bundled with:1x BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
$64.99 ($54.99 with $10 code) +free shipping, Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.667921
$50.98 LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
bundled with:1x Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA ..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363
$109.99 $89.99 after mail-in rebate card ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB

Subtotal: $370.92 (not including the mail in and pray rebates)

It's basically a die-shrunk 6000+/4870 system. That pair was known to play games well. Instead of a 90nm cpu and 55nm gpu, you now have the much cooler running 45nm parts.

Later on you can sell the board/cpu/card/ used and upgrade to the new "ivybridge" 6 core intel or the new 8 core bulldozer cpu/board and the new hd-7950 card or geforce 670.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc-overclock,2699.html

If you look at the phenomIIx2/4890 system, this regor o/c 3.5ghz/5770 o/c would be close to that system. As you can see it's important to match the cpu and gpu.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Coastaltuba

Coastaltuba

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
293
0
18,780
Yes, that seems good, but there is no way that is future proof. I need something that will last me for at least a year, and with these new games coming out, there is no way that that CPU will be able to handle it, at least not very good.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom