600$US computer build gaming/School

inwood07

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Dec 30, 2008
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within a week or so....
BUDGET RANGE: 600$US
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming/school
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: monitor, keyboard, OS
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, zipzoomfly, microcenter, anywhere that wont jip me
PARTS PREFERENCES: none just need quality
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 will upgrade to 1680x1050 later
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: computer is for little bro who is going to high school.

Video card:
XFX GS250XZDFC GeForce GTS 250 1GB Core Edition 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 145$
Free - Nvidia Gift Call of duty - World at war - OEM

RAM:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail 49$

Cpu Cooler:
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail 40$


CPU/Mobo:
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 218$

Case/PS
Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 95$

HDD:?

Total after everything: 557$

Trying to get the most for my money!
 

inwood07

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Dec 30, 2008
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I would change the graphics card...
Like you said you want to get the most out of you money...
Change the card to HD 4850, which would perform as good as the GTS 250...
Though 1GB is not required for that resolution but its fine...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150351

The main reason why I had suggested the 4850 is that it opens up the option of crossfire later on that mobo...so that is fully utilizing the potential of the components...
And change the PSU to this and it will easily handle 2 4850s in crossfire...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001

This increases the budget by $40 but gives you better power supply and option for crossfire...

But there is also a very good alternative - the HD 4770...It would cost about $40 less and change the PSU to this - This can handle 2 HD 4770 in crossfire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022
So you still save money and you can get one more HD 4770 in crossfire later, which is very powerful...

 

erdinger

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Dec 26, 2008
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Two 4770 sound great. What you could also do is get a Gtx 260 which is worth the extra money compared to the 250...

WoW I'm going to build a very similar build soon :)
 

IzzyCraft

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Nov 20, 2008
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Use the sbm 600 as a reference and change the things around to get a better cpu cooler etc :) they don't have a bad build going on with a oc e5200 and GTX 260