$500 Gaming PC

[Xyrus]

Ok, so I'm looking for a decent gaming PC on a tight budget. This will be my first system I've built, and I'd like to be around $500 (including the OS), but going over a little won't kill me... I'll be gaming on my 26inch HDTV (720p), mostly RTS and RPGs like Demigod (coming out soon), Starcraft 2, and some MMORPGs (WoW/Warhammer), and would like to play comfortably at medium-high settings. Also, I already have a this 500W PSU left over from a iBuyPower PC i bought a year ago and returned.

What do you guys recommend? Thanks!

 

[Proximon]

Xion is a tier 5 PSU and I won't help you destroy good hardware

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

You'll have a hard time meeting all your requirements on that budget. Warhammer Online in large battles gets pretty CPU and GPU intensive.

PSU and GPU combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181882

Case and CPU combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.180802

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219

MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380

 

[Xyrus]

Ok, I'll nix the PSU. Here's what I've been thinking.

Vista Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
$99

Pioneer Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129023
$25

HD4830/Antec 430W Combo (Provided by you)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181882
$145

Intel e5400/Antec Case Combo (Provided by you)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.180802
$130

RAM (4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219
$40

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380
$85

Total: $525

Doesn't seem too bad. Would the HD4830 handle the requirements I mentioned? (Starcraft 2, Warhammer, Demigod, etc.) I'll only be playing on a 720p monitor, so the resolution won't be too much of a factor. Of course, if anyone sees any other deals out there, I'd be delighted. Thanks for the quick response!

 

[Proximon]

It's really not too bad a build. I would say you would get the best improvement on it by purchasing a Xigmatek Dark Knight CPU cooler and getting a good overclock going:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

The 4830 is roughly equivalent to an 8800GT So it's probably enough for most games at your resolution.

Consider the Xig and a couple 120mm case fans as your first upgrade.

 

[Xyrus]

Thanks. And just to make sure, the Antec 430W PSU should be enough to power all of this?

 

[shoota]

you can get a decent OC with the stock heatsink on the 45nm cpus. Your temps will be just as affected by case airflow as anything else. since the antec 300 has decent airflow you should be fine.

 

[Xyrus]

I've heard that the e5200 is good for overclocking, and sells for less. Any truth to that? How would that compare to the e5400?

 

[shoota]

This combo deal is much better, after the rebates it's $10 cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.179734

This board is great, just set one up yesterday, OC's easy as pie. $32 cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357&Tpk=ga-g31m

And this ram, you can tighten the timings (I did), $20 more saved:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

There you go, $62 saved.

 

[shoota]

they're both good for overclocking, but that combo deal is pretty darn decent.

 

[Xyrus]

Just want to make sure, the 425W and 450W are good enough for a E5400 and HD4830? And thanks for the combos Shoota

 

[Proximon]

E5200 does OC well, but as to which is better I can't say for sure. See if you can Google up a review of the E5400 where they compare the two

Yes the EA430 will cover that all, just. It's possible there could be a better deal on something. I just pulled that one out of my head...

BFG LS-550
That's a good one with more actual power (Don't always believe wattage claims).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702008

OCZ 500SXS
Not quite the same quality but this one is inexpensive and might give you a bit more power. 3 year parts warranty.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012

Hmm here is a fairly nice alternate combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.178282

 

[Proximon]

Shoota has found some pretty good deals too.

If you are going to OC though, stick with the P43 board.

 

[shoota]

yeah man it's not so much the wattage that matters it's the efficiency and amps. the Enermax (good brand btw) is 82% efficient (very good) and provides 22A on each 12V rail (also very good). trust you'll be happy with this setup. You have a hard drive?

 

[shoota]

I just setup a build for a friend using the G31 board and set his e5200 at 3.0 ghz just like that. google the overclocks people are getting with this board. I'm not saying the p43 board is bad cuz it isn't i'm just going for budget here. especially since i don't see a HDD listed yet.

 

[Proximon]

*nod*

I've seen 3.6Ghz with an E5200, stable, on a P45 board with air, so I'm guessing the less expensive P43 board would do almost as well.

As far as I know you'll hit a clear FSB ceiling with a G31, but I don't know where that is. 400 maybe.

 

[shoota]

yeah prolly. good luck xyrus, i'm going to bed. have fun with your build

 

[Xyrus]

Thanks for all the help! I'll probably order tomorrow, so I'll keep working on it!

 

[Xyrus]

Ok, so I'm going to try and get Windows 7 on this thing, and save about $100 in the process. Anyone else tried this? I believe the public beta is good until August, so that'll offset some of the initial costs of this computer. The latest builds, which expire March 2010, have been leaking on torrents, but I'm not exactly sure if it's legal or not to download them. Anyone know? I have a beta key provided from Microsoft, already.

 

[irkjab]

Shoota, how much were you able to tighten the timings on that corsair ram?
Just wondering since I have the same 4gb set in my pc.

 

[croc]

Ok, so I'm looking for a decent gaming PC on a tight budget. This will be my first system I've built, and I'd like to be around $500 (including the OS), but going over a little won't kill me... I'll be gaming on my 26inch HDTV (720p), mostly RTS and RPGs like Demigod (coming out soon), Starcraft 2, and some MMORPGs (WoW/Warhammer), and would like to play comfortably at medium-high settings. Also, I already have a this 500W PSU left over from a iBuyPower PC i bought a year ago and returned.

What do you guys recommend? Thanks!

Anandtech just did a buyers' guide. You might find it helpful.

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3542

 

[shoota]

Xyrus i was actually thinking of suggesting that you try windows 7, i've been using it for a little while and it's pretty nice. There are a few things to get used to but it all works which is the most important thing. I'm not sure of the legality of the one that expires in 2010 but the public one is fine.

irkjab- i didn't have time to do extensive testing but ddr2-800 4-5-5-18 @1.8v was one and oc'ed to ddr2-902 5-5-5-15 @ either 1.9 or 2.0 can't remember but it was still fairly low. i'm sure with some volts they can do even better.

 

[Xyrus]

Thanks for all the help guys, this is the build I'm considering, after all the wonderful help:

250GB Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
$55

Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129023
$25

4GB RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
$45 ($20 after MIR)

Gigabyte P43 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380
$85

Intel e5200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
$70

Enermax 425W & Sapphire HD4830 Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.179734
$180 ($120 after MIR)

Antec 300 Case
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hundred-External-Internal/dp/B000GQMHBI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239659952&sr=1-1
$63

Windows 7
FREE!

Total: $523 ($438 after MIR)

I chose the Antec 300 at Amazon because it came with free shipping, while Newegg charged $15. I'm also considering maybe bumping up the GPU, but the Enermax/HD4830 combo seems like a VERY good price, and maybe replacing the e5200 with the e5400. What do you guys think?

 

[irkjab]

I would recommend this WD 640gb hard drive instead, it is a much better value for $15 more than your current one. Its also fast and quiet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
$70

For getting a more powerful gpu, I'd recommend the radeon 4850, specifically this sapphire card. You could go with a cheaper 4850, but they've received mediocre reviews.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770
$140 ($130 after MIR)

Corsair makes excellent power supplies, and this one provides 550W of power at a good price after rebate. It also comes with a 5 year warranty.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
$90 ($60 after MIR)

You could certainly go with the e5400 if you wanted to. Its faster and only $20 more.

 

[xthekidx]

The E5400 has a 13.5x multiplier I belive vs. 12.5x on the E5200. Honestly its not worth the extra multiplier, both chips will OC to the same level. If you were running at stock, then yes get the E5400, but when OC'ing all the E5x00 chips are the same.

Get the WD3200AAKS HDD, its faster and larger than that seagate for the same price. Or the WD6401AALS if you can spend a bit more, it will be faster still.

On windows 7- you cannot DL it from microsoft anymore, but Microsoft will give you a legal license for it if you have the Software. DL from a torrent then get a key from microsoft. Its not illegal as far as I know, since they are giving you a valid license to use it. And really on your budget I think its your only option.

 

[Xyrus]

Thanks all! I replaced the hard drive with the 320 WD, and just ordered the computer parts, should all be here thursday!