$500 Gaming PC Day 2 Testing & Analysis

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Try using price engines like Pricegrabber and Froogle. I had the same concern until I found a popular vender selling them for $65 through "google product search"
 
[citation][nom]cah027[/nom]I think I would rather have this case and psu combo for $89 after rebaithttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129024[/citation]
well, it wouldn't have been a $500 build then would it?
you can always say, $20 more for ram, or $25 more for a better GPU, but the point is not to do that, but keep it at $500
 
I must say that this $500 build is about a 9/10 for price. You can get better prices on some days and maybe a bit higher on others, so their attempt to keep under $500 is quite good. This build is probably the smartest build to date that TH has done in quite some time. Way to go guys/gals!!!! All of the parts used are of good quality and there really isn't much wasted on the budget here. The NZXT case/PSU combo last month wasn't needed. You could've use the case/PSU combo in this build to run it, which would've saved $60-70. They could've even gone with a 5000+ BE w/a $25 CPU HSF and would've saved about $100 over the Phenom used. That would've made more sense in a budget orientated mindset. Then the total build price would've been around $600, which makes more sense to me for a budget gaming build. But I'm not going to harp too much, since this April build makes more sense than what they have built to date.
 
I agree smartest build to date from TH, but they still crippled it with the E2160 and 8800GS. I posted this on part I.

my current $500 build for gamers. Which do you think would win?
Intel E4500 $125
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L $88
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400-2GB $36
ECS N9600GT-512MX-P $125
Seagate Barricuda 7200.10 250GB $53
RAIDMAX Sagitta ATX-912 w/ 450W $40
Samsung SH-S203N $33
 
Great build for the price. Just wondering how stable the CPU is running at 3.2 GHz with a $25 cooler would make me nervous. Its also good to point out in crysis at 1040x768 the $500 pc out performs its overclocked version, most likely due to its temp.
 
Thus proving that for most people (even most casual gamers!), a relatively cheap PC will do the trick.

'Course for "normals" you'd have to figure in OS, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, and the normal suite of software that is necessary for day to day use. That can add another $200-$300 if you're not careful.
 
You can have a similar config with AMD. Athlon x2 5000 BE with the same video card, same case and ECS mobo would provide roughly the same value as the whatever CPU they're using. A big plus would be scalability. I recommended a build to a fellow tech I work with, 100$ asus am2+ board, 2 gbs value ram 70$, x2 5000BE ~ 110$, HD3650 DDR2 ~95$.

Basically that's a decent upgrade from a barton 2500, 1gb ram and r9600pro agp for 375$ +tax. Plus he's got great CPU and video scalability. Next year he will be able to easily double or even triple his performance by buying a better video card and CPU for less than 500$

 
[citation][nom]Porksmuggler[/nom]I agree smartest build to date from TH, but they still crippled it with the E2160 and 8800GS. I posted this on part I.my current $500 build for gamers. Which do you think would win?Intel E4500 $125Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L $88Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400-2GB $36ECS N9600GT-512MX-P $125Seagate Barricuda 7200.10 250GB $53RAIDMAX Sagitta ATX-912 w/ 450W $40Samsung SH-S203N $33[/citation]


The one THG Built.

#1) Stock Cooler will not allow for a Good OC.

#2) SubStand Case & PSU. This is not about the cheapest parts you can find. It's about making a quality build.

#3) It's an Invalid Price on the 9600GT. MWAVE.COM is lowest price on Froogle unless you count Ebay Results. They were not Counting Rebates if that is what you are trying to count.
 
[citation][nom]wild9[/nom]Are the colors on the graphs the right way round?[/citation] The charts are orgnanized by "overall performance leader", so the order changes depends on which system finished first. Check the color keys to make sure the color per configuration is consistent and let everyone know if you find a chart that isn't.
 
I think you can still acheieve good performance with an older system..there's a lot of S939 boards available, able to take dual-core processors. You could for instance, overclock a S939 3800+ X2 and get some fast RAM, as well as use say, an 8800GT or 9600GT. I'd like to see the actual performance difference between such a system and these latest builds. However, the almost non-existent nature of S939 processors and their resulting high cost would be prohibitive, so the test would be one of interest rather than practicality.
 
[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]The charts are orgnanized by "overall performance leader", so the order changes depends on which system finished first. Check the color keys to make sure the color per configuration is consistent and let everyone know if you find a chart that isn't.[/citation]

Thanks for your reply. I always associated green with AMD and blue for Intel.
 
[citation][nom]wild9[/nom]http://media.bestofmicro.com/V/X/9 [...] 3dsmax.pngSeems they've used blue for AMD, and green for Intel.[/citation]

LOL, well it's a little late to change ALL the charts now isn't it?

Duly noted.
 
I just built a system for a friend using some his old case and OS which helped.

E8200- = 164.00 25.00 instant rebate free ship
Gigabyte- P35-DS3L = 76.99 25.00 instant free ship
Corsair 2x1gb 6400C4 = 29.00 40.00 MIR free ship
BFG 650 PSU = 49.00 45 inst 25 MIR 10.00 ship
My old 8800GTS 640mb = 150.00
Seagate 80GB 7200.10 = 44.00 6.00 ship
his old case, OS, dvdrw = 0.00
total = 528.99 with shipping
Obviously not quite the same scenario but it is pretty amazing by adding a little over 500.00 to his current system he went from a:
2.66ghz Celeron
Crap board
DVDrw
1gig ddr 333mhz
9600xt
40gig crap HD
Crap PSU

to
e8200
gigabyte P35 DS3L
2GB Corsair 6400C4
XFX 8800GTS 640MB
BFG 650w PSU
Seagate 80GB 7200.10
dvdrw

It's pretty amazing what you can build today with 500.00, hell I think I paid that just for my card last year.
 
[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]LOL, well it's a little late to change ALL the charts now isn't it?Duly noted.[/citation]

Thanks. I do appreciate the work that goes into these articles, and I don't want it to look like I am nit-picking :) Perhaps a little re-touching with Photoshop could help? I'm so used to seeing green for AMD and blue for Intel lol.
 
[citation][nom]zenmaster[/nom]The one THG Built.#1) Stock Cooler will not allow for a Good OC.#2) SubStand Case & PSU. This is not about the cheapest parts you can find. It's about making a quality build.#3) It's an Invalid Price on the 9600GT. MWAVE.COM is lowest price on Froogle unless you count Ebay Results. They were not Counting Rebates if that is what you are trying to count.[/citation]

you again, and your still wrong.

1) have you ever actually overclocked a E4500 on stock, obviously not.

2) not nearly the cheapest, and more than comparable to THG's pick.

3) not an invalid price, google is apparently not your friend.

 
Why they are not using an separate sound card. From my experience integrated sound cards use also CPU recourses and it will make the overall performance little bit lower. For an ecample, when I used my SB Live or Audigy series card things got faster, EAX etc.
 
Dual vs Quad, 8600, 9800, 1.55V... overclocking numbers, numbers...

I do remember the green, monochrome CGA monitor, the most old DOS commands, the old Quantum Bigfoot hard disks and the 5" FDD, the cool 'Turbo' option on the old 286 machines giving you 12 instead of 8 MHz... Consider me an oldtimer. My friend bought the first Pentium 166 in our town. It cost him a fortune, and few years later it was just a pile of useless junk. The 'new hope' that came with K6, burst in fireworks in the revolution Athlon caused...

But hey... Where all that goes? Numbers, numbers, numbers. At one time, I cought myself in 'following numbers'. Wasting money fot the new hi-tech, just for knowing that i have better numbers on paper. Then i said STOP!! I do not follow the market anymore. I do follow my real needs of hardware potential, and believe me, i am low below the 500$ (yet i did play Crysis). Some preffer FPS (ironically, it fits for both First Person Shooter = Frames Per Second) and games Doom-like, other like me preffer games like Planescape:Torment, or NOX.

I do remember the first years of Tom's hardware guide, with its simple, but easy to find design, when even Tom Pabst used to write articles. Now it became a large portal, where oldtimers like me feel completely lost. Well, maybe this is just a nostalgy.

Go, runners, go, go, go... Read articles for the newest hi-tech, spend your money for the components in such an articles, feed the industry with your money wasted for nothing. In few years later, your computer will be just a pile of useless junk, coz our favorite Windoze will have new version, requiring new hardware support.

I work as tech support in computer shop. Every day i see bad assembled computer machines. It cost a treasure 2 years ago. Today its far behind the wave with its DDR memory and IDE drives. Client comes and want to buy 8800GTS for webdesign with Photoshop, another one comes and wants to buy a mainboard for his old computer with Cyrics 200MHz.


"Money for Nothing" - an old song of Dire Straits
 
Dual vs Quad, 8600, 9800, 1.55V... overclocking numbers, numbers...

I do remember the green, monochrome CGA monitor, the most old DOS commands, the old Quantum Bigfoot hard disks and the 5" FDD, the cool 'Turbo' option on the old 286 machines giving you 12 instead of 8 MHz... Consider me an oldtimer. My friend bought the first Pentium 166 in our town. It cost him a fortune, and few years later it was just a pile of useless junk. The 'new hope' that came with K6, burst in fireworks in the revolution Athlon caused...

But hey... Where all that goes? Numbers, numbers, numbers. At one time, I cought myself in 'following numbers'. Wasting money fot the new hi-tech, just for knowing that i have better numbers on paper. Then i said STOP!! I do not follow the market anymore. I do follow my real needs of hardware potential, and believe me, i am low below the 500$ (yet i did play Crysis). Some preffer FPS (ironically, it fits for both First Person Shooter = Frames Per Second) and games Doom-like, other like me preffer games like Planescape:Torment, or NOX.

I do remember the first years of Tom's hardware guide, with its simple, but easy to find design, when even Tom Pabst used to write articles. Now it became a large portal, where oldtimers like me feel completely lost. Well, maybe this is just a nostalgy.

Go, runners, go, go, go... Read articles for the newest hi-tech, spend your money for the components in such an articles, feed the industry with your money wasted for nothing. In few years later, your computer will be just a pile of useless junk, coz our favorite Windoze will have new version, requiring new hardware support.

I work as tech support in computer shop. Every day i see bad assembled computer machines. It cost a treasure 2 years ago. Today its far behind the wave with its DDR memory and IDE drives. Client comes and want to buy 8800GTS for webdesign with Photoshop, another one comes and wants to buy a mainboard for his old computer with Cyrics 200MHz.

"Money for Nothing" - Dire Straits
 
The 1-2 years the processor will last is plenty. By then I can imagine even a $500 user will have enough spare change to be able to at least purchase a comparable processor of the same socket. For years whenever my Pentium 3 went bust, I just bought whatever that would fit the socket. Last one I ever purchased cost me $34.

Then no one supported the socket, so I bought a new LGA775 motherboard and I will probably do the same thing until all else goes south.
 
And to stunny: it all depends. In your case you aren't following the hardware now because you don't use it.

I have a Apple G3. Yep. That pile. I have several computers. The G3 is still in use today: it just does email, IE7 and flash. I sometimes make stuff on it.

If all someone needs is to do simple tasks, then you really never do need to upgrade. Again, my G3 still does everything it did brilliantly. But this is about games. And games require hardware. And people keep wanting more and more stunning looking games, which means we need more powerful hardware.

A Pentium 4 machine of mine will actually run Crysis. So will the G3. They just play incredibly slow and if I want to play the game for its real use, to be visually awed, I throw it in my QX6850, 8800 Ultra in Tri-SLI rig. A rig that has been good since Tri-SLI landed and will probably be good until 2009 at least.

This post has been all over the place, but the point is that if you don't want to play the most visually stunning games, you don't need to spend money on hardware like those of us who do. To this day World of Warcraft has never been on my Tri-SLI rig. I still play it on my four year old HP Laptop. Probably will until the hard-drive goes bad. At which point I'll probably just by another laptop, because buying the harddrive will probably cost as much as buying an (used) laptop that will also play WoW and do Office 2007 and XP.
 
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