$500 upgradable gamer

[toyeboy]

hello I need a computer for games for around $500
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: a few weeks
BUDGET RANGE: $500 or less

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: games, videos, music, documents, internet.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: mouse and keyboard, monitor, speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com or tigerdirect
PARTS PREFERENCES: i want a quad core and then possibly overclock it amd or intel doesn't matter

OVERCLOCKING: maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 non widescreen lcd
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I know this is a low price point for what I'm wanting, but i could get essential stuff now and upgrade to better stuff later on if needed...I'd really like a mobo that supports up to 8gigs of memory for the future. I don't have an OS to use for this (i want 64 bit)

 

[Kill@dor]

Windows 7 RC is right there for you for a year...32-bit or 64-bit. Its on microsofts website for download...but you will need to burn the ISO to a DVD disk. I'm not sure about this either...but you might be able to load through USB as well even though i haven't tried it myself...

 

[Helloworld_98]

you're asking way too much of your budget, you might get a P2 720 X3 with mobo, 4770, antec 300, a corsair 650TX and 2GB of ram with a DVD-ROM, that would come out to $490 if it was a combo deal with a 790GX motherboard.

 

[marco324]

look for deals when you have the money anandtech hotdeals is a good place to find deals fatwallet forums
go for a phenom 2 build the 720 is a good chip for cheap
you can get CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W for $35.00 after 10 rebate this month will
power that setup sleeved cables 30 amps 12v single rail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3528&p=2

 

[marco324]

you can geta decent mobo with newegg email promo's gotta signup for it just give them your email address 70.00 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131381&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL050809&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL050809-_-AMDMotherboards-_-L0D-_-13131381

leaves a case, videocard, memory

 

[Blacklyte]

i came up with this build in a few minutes the downside is it requires you to use integrated video till you can afford a discrete video card but it should be able to run most games at that res with lowered detail

motherboard gigabyte GA-MA780G-UD3H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128382

memory Geil black dragon pc6400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144073

cpu p2 810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650

Case+powersupply combo antec 900+tp 550

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.188810
subtotal is $504

 

[xthekidx]

Do you need everything for $500 besides the peripherals?

 

[Blacklyte]

if you went with the 720be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649 you could also get the optical drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171 and it makes the total $499

 

[toyeboy]

i came up with this build in a few minutes the downside is it requires you to use integrated video till you can afford a discrete video card but it should be able to run most games at that res with lowered detail

motherboard gigabyte GA-MA780G-UD3H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128382

memory Geil black dragon pc6400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144073

cpu p2 810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650

Case+powersupply combo antec 900+tp 550

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.188810
subtotal is $504

hey that sounds pretty good...how does the Phenom II 810 x4 stack up against the Phenom II 920 and 940? it must be a new chip b/c I can't find any benchmarks on it. thanks.
Oh and about the Windows 7 download...is it a stable OS right now? on the microsoft site it says don't use it on your home pc does that matter? When it expires in June 2009 can do you just need to buy an upgrade OS or would you have to reformat harddrives and install full OS? thanks.

 

[Blacklyte]

the 810 will be a littlle below the 920 only 2.6Ghz and 4 megs l3 vs 2.8 ghz and 6 megs

 

[xthekidx]

If you pay $20 more dollars though you get the PII 940, which is a much better processor, I wouldn't recommend the 810.

Look at this combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.190732
$270

VS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650
$170
+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128382
$90
= $260. For $10 more you get WAY more for your money with a much better motherboard and much better processor.

 

[xthekidx]

Or even this combo, which is actually the same price as the 810+UD3H MB, but I would prefer the Gigabyte MB combo that I showed you above for $10 more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138130

 

[Blacklyte]

toyeboy i was in a hurry and left out a couple of parts so here is a revised list

motherboard gigabyte GA-MA780G-UD3H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128382

memory Geil black dragon pc6400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144073

cpu p2 810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650

Case+powersupply combo antec 900+tp 550

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.188810

dvdr/w

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

harddrive WD320

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

puts the total at $585

if you go with this cpu for now Kuma 7850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103678
your total will be $485

insisting on a quadcore cpu is killing your budget and most games can't take advantage of more than 2 cores right now

 

[Blacklyte]

i agree with you kid but a quad on a $500 budget and needs just about everything means you have to cut corners

 

[xthekidx]

He was ready to pay $260 for it, so he might as well get the better deal. A Graphics card is one of the easiest upgrades so you could go with the 790gx biostar combo and just use onboard until he gets the money for a 4770. Going with a lesser CPU now and then just tossing it later seems like a waste of money to me. The Antec 900 is just as out of place in a $500 build as a quad core cpu is.

 

[toyeboy]

yeah I hear you about the quad core thing, I knew I was pushing the limits with my budget...so would the Kuma 7850 run older games pretty well like Quake 4, Doom 3...what speed does it run at? if i got that and upped the budget to $600 should I get a radeon HD 4770?

I'm coming from a Pentium 4 2.6ghz so I'd imagine the 7850 would be a huge improvement and I could always upgrade drop in a quad later right? Oh and could you answer the question about the Operating system at the bottom of my previous post(if you know)? thanks!!!

 

[toyeboy]

yeah good point the kid...the antec 900 is like top of line with that PSU was $200...I can this Raidmax case with 500w PSU for $90 ($60-rebate) then I could afford a better CPU huh?

 

[xthekidx]

Don't get a raidmax psu, they blow up. Look at something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147124
this is a decent case for the price, and free shipping makes it much cheaper (like $18 off). It has very good cooling for a $45 case, I think its the best deal on newegg right now honestly.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012
Good PSU at a very reasonable price. MUCH better than a Raidmax.

That saves you $100 bucks right there.

 

[xthekidx]

Other PSU options:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194038
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163109 <==spendy but good rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 <==Best one here, but $70 after the rebate, $100 up front. Good deal for the price but probably out of range on your budget

Those are all excellent PSU's, they are in ascending order of power output (and for the most part quality as well). They are what I would look at on your budget, some of them require you to wait a few weeks for the rebate for them to be affordable. I think the 550w OCZ or 500w OCZ are your best bets most likely.

The Second one on down will all support 2 4770's in crossfire if you decide to get a crossfire board, so keep that in mind when making your selection.

 

[xthekidx]

I think Win 7 RC is good for a full year, until 2010...And when it expires I think all you need to do is buy a full version of the OS with a valid product key and reactivate, maybe do a repair install when you do...I'm not sure about that, I haven't looked into it that much honestly.

 

[toyeboy]

oh okay, glad i know that about raidmax...so if i use blacklyte's setup with your case/psu recommendation I could get the hd 4770 with everything on his list for around $600...until windows 7 expires in march....probably no way around that right it'd be another $100 for the OS next year...I think I could manage that though....but just a little unclear on how you would install a new OS ontop of windows 7 beta verison? I wouldn't have to reformat everything would I? thanks for the help!!

 

[xthekidx]

This case is also a favorite, and a good value. Can be combo'd with some decent antec PSU's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=antec%20300

 

[xthekidx]

So I know you are really wanting a quad core toyeboy, but honestly on your budget, I would be building much differently. If it were me, the build would look like this:

E5200 (OC'd to 3.5ghz or higher, it overclocks like mad and performs quite well, much better than the AMD dual cores)
GA-EP43-UD3L (can be combo'd with the E5200 for $10 off)
That Rosewill case I showed you
The OCZ 500w StealthXStream
4770
Cheap CPU cooler, like Xigmatek HDT-SD964 with the ACKI7753 retention bracket
4gb DDR2-800 ram
WD3200AAKS

 

[Blacklyte]

default is 2.8 GHz but has an unlocked multi should be able to hit 3 or 3.2 on stock but thats about it.

the case is a matter of personal choice

generally you don't want to buy a case that has a power supply they tend to be low quality


as for windows 7 most people have loved it since beta 1 never tried it myself

for older games the integrated video should do fine your problem might be having to install older versions of direct x on top of dx 10 or 11 whichever is in win 7rc I keep an OLD xp machine around just to run a couple of DX6 games

at this point you probably should build a parts list and then ask for advice to improve it within your budget

 

[Blacklyte]

you will have to do a complete reinstall acording to microsoft