Budget Gaming Build -- $800

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Bobsama

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Jan 10, 2007
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Hello! I've been out of the loop for a bit with this entire section, so I though I'd ask a good question. Here's it in short... I'm 16 and there's a high possibility that my mum will give me $500 (from the $1200-$1500 for a college PC) to help build a new computer. So, the budget is $800. Here's what I selected:

Transcend aXeRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800, $75
Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR3, $100
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB (WD3200AAKS), $75
Arctic Silver Ceramique, $5
Arctic Silver Thermal material Remover & Surface purifier, $6
Mitsumi Black 3.5" Floppy and Flash Card Reader, $19
Asus 18x DVD Burner (14x DVD-RAM) w/ Lightscribe, SATA, $33
XClio 188A ATX Midtower case, $50
Windows Vista Home Premium OEM 32-bit, $112

All of that for $27 shipping. Total price for all components is $474, making the final price at $501.

Ok I ordered two items on the list...

1) Thermaltake Purepower 500W W0100RU, $60
2) Scythe SCINF-1000 (Infinity), $38

Shipping: $11
Total: $109

These are already ordered, and thus non-changeable.
Click to expand...
Ok I ordered two more items on the list...

1) Intel Pentium "Dual-Core" E2140, $75
2) Abit IP35-E, $120 - $40 MIR = $80

Shipping: $7
Total: $202

These are already ordered, and thus non-changeable.
Click to expand...

My reasoning on this...
My current computer is horrible, compared to modern machines. It's nearing 5 years old, so it's past-due for an upgrade. Unfortunately, nothing is really salvageable, as it is now. I've filled the 80GB hard drive with about 65GB of stuff, so I definitely need to step-up to a larger capacity. My budget for the upgrade 12 months from now (well, actually 11) is going to be $800-$1000--more then enough to upgrade the components that will be sub-par then. My list for then is going to be an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, a new graphics card (DX10.1), and likely more DDR2 RAM (2GB more). If required, a new power supply as well.

So, what do you think of it? I'm willing to buy from one shop (NewEgg) and I'll be doing the entire system myself, as a truly new build. I would like compatibility with whatever Intel has out in a year. I'll be overclocking to at least 3GHz, hopefully 3.4GHz, and eventually upgrade the processor and overclock that as well. If the Q6600 is still a good deal, that's the processor I'll grab.

EDIT: I intend to do some gaming on this computer, as well as run Photoshop Elements 4, TrueSpace 3.2, Blender, eventually Milkshape 3D, and do a number of other 3D modeling programs. Primary is gaming, secondary is 3D modeling.
 
Spend another $25 on Corsair XMS RAM, 2GB's isn't enough for Vista, besides VISTA sux
I swear by Seagate HDD's, 320GB is ideal.
A Tier1 PSU is recommended.
You don't want to run games on a Burner, a CD/DVD ROM serves a purpose
 
Thank you Zenmaster--I think so too.

Mad-dog--I don't exactly have much money to spare... if I did, I'd be going full-out now. Give me one good reason to put out 33% more--I need fairly generic DDR2 800 for future overclocking. 2GB should be enough for a year... I'll bump it up when I have enough money to do so. I won't spend for XP because it's going to be discontinued, and I want DX10 to start with (I have a FX5200--earliest and lowest-end DX9 part). Tier1 PSU is simply too expensive--the Tier3 is the best I can fit in without the requirement to replace it for a Q6600 and better graphics card. I have another external DVD burner that I've run games off of (my internal CD-ROM has a mechanical defect). If you can convince me otherwise, I won't put anything down for a deticated DVD-ROM drive. Last thing--the 250GB drive I selected seems the best--I trust WD and Seagate for drives.
 
I was actually wondering the same... maybe it's something like mechanical strain on the burner means it will not last as long...
 

It's not better, most DVD burners can also READ, but you wouldn't want to wear it out playing movies, then again maybe you would.
I use a dedicated CD/DVD ROM for music, movies, games, and software...
Then directly below lies a dedicated CD/DVD R/W just for burning..
 
I don't really watch movies on my PC...

Anyways--that sort of says that there's no basis on what you're saying, meaning I'll just have to tough-it-out or RMA the burner if it is worn out within a year (standard return policy--refund in 30 days, replace in 1 year)
 
hmmm .....

Asus 18x DVD Burner (14x DVD-RAM) w/ Lightscribe, SATA, $33

at that price, who cares if you burn it out. It's cheap to replace.
 
That's another thing--it's easy and pretty cheap in the way of burners. Besides--in a few years, HD (HD DVD or BluRay) will be replacing DVD drives.
 
Does the 2600xt have the power to really use DX10?

Looking in the hardware VGA charts, the x1950pro absolutely stomps the 2600xt and can be had for about $120 with rebate.

You may want to look through local ads for a copy of XP Pro, you may be able to find one for $20-30 from someone who upgraded to Vista.
 
At 30 bucks who cares if you waste a dvd burner, but the setup ooks good, just kinda wondering why you didnt, go for a e4500(i thinks its only 30 dollars more), it would be better for game, in any case sounds like a good system, hope you have fun with it, and want to hear about your overclock when you get there.
 
go for the vista 64 bit. And I if you aren't overclocking then tuff it out with the stock heatsink for now. Spend 15-20 more and get a 320-400gb hd more space for not much more money.

bad choice of ram. Buy this for 2 buckeroonies less afte MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227231

Spend the $20 for this hd, its highly worth it for the money: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152085

As for a PSU go for this. It is $70 after MIB but I would highly recomend this. Highly!: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817226002


Great choice for the motherboard though. You can tweak the other stuff but these are the components and suggestions that I highly recomend. Let me know what you think. Thanks
 
You didn't make a new build --for me--, you did it for a little recognition. I have a few quips about your build and your behavior...

1) Double-posting... don't double-post if your replies are within 12 hours of each other. Just edit your previous post.
2) I've heard it was good from a few other people--I'll trust them on this.
3) It's not a "mess"... I have a good idea of what I'm doing and what I want.
-Subpoint a) I said I was overclocking it to 3.0+GHz (to rival the X6800--at a tenth of the price)
-Subpoint b) I don't need a gigantic hard drive right now--I use about 75% of a 80GB drive, and if I need more in the future, I can buy another drive (it's not worth upgrading the nearly-5-y.o. computer).
-Subpoint c) I have money up-front... MIRs will work for me if I can afford it in the first place. As in the selection of your RAM, I'm sure it's great, but I can't afford it up-front.
-Subpoint d) I don't trust that brand--I would pay a bit of a premium for Western Digital or Seagate ($7 difference between lowest-price 250GB and the one I choose).
-Subpoint e) I never heard of "Sigma Shark"--they're not on the XS PSU Tier list so I would never shell out for a brand I never heard of.

Sorry if this seems offensive, if this seems defensive... I only mean to point out your errors in your approach.

Noya--No it doesn't, I don't think. Even if it does, the PSU has a PCI-E cable. I would prefer to buy a DX10 part--even if there are no DX10 games really out there. I purchased a FX5200 back about 3-4 years ago... I wish I would have purchased the next generation, but I was too young and inexperienced to know.

Recon--I would go with a Core 2-branded processor, but XBitLabs did a review of the E2140 and E2160--the E2160 looks to be the best value, especially as the Scythe Infinity is under $45 with AC5. I'll fix the power-draw problem (150+W TDP?!? at 3.4GHz) about a year after I do the build--with a quad-core processor. (70-95W TDP)
 
In regards to Vista-64, you need to be a little careful with that.
It contains no support for 16-bit applications.
Many 32-bit programs until very recently used 16-bit installers meaning they would not be installable under Vista-64.

If everything you want to use is very new you should be fine, but if you have alot of software lying around that is not shiny new, it may not install on Vista-64.
 
If you're buying a DX10 parts, just try to keep in mind that a lot of reviewers have been less than impressed with the midrange offerings from either Nvidia or ATi. (8500 GT, 8600GT/S, 2400XT, 2600XT). A good DirectX9 card can be found for $120 and will hold you over for a year or two.
 
looks good, if you can stretch you might want to consider a 320gb hdd and if you don't plan on upgrading the graphics card for a while get the x1950gt/x1950pro/7900gs/7950gt. also unless you plan on a cpu upgrade soon you might want to consider the amd x2s. a 4400-4600x2 is about the same price as the pentium dual core but faster
 
Looks like you've got a good system set up for yourself, there's a few changes that could be made here and there, but most of them that I could think of would be lateral moves, and just based on personal preference.

I've never heard of that brand memory, I've got a 2gb G.Skill kit of the same speed that's about $10 more on Newegg and I've been loving it.

I could also recommend the Gigabyte P35 DS3L ($100 on the egg) but you wouldn't get the rebates with it.

Personally I'd recommend XP Pro over vista, especially with 2gb ram. If in the future you wanted to upgrade to vista 64 and get another 2gb that'd be understandable, especially because by that time they'll have better support and hopefully a service pack out for it.

The video card you picked doesn't look bad, but I would honestly recommend one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229 if you can swing the extra cost. I know a lot of people will disagree, but I've got a friend with one down in TX that has one and he's currently playing Bioshock with no problems whatsoever.

Best of luck with your build, like I said it seems like you know what you're doing and know what you want, I just offered a few bits of advice/possible changes that I would do if it were my money.
 
Okay, thanks everybody. I don't think I'll change anything... I'm looking at ordering the power supply, heatsink, thermal grease, and motherboard on Monday or so (to get the MIRs on PSU and case--hopefully to get the Infinity with $20 instant). I'll get the rest after a little time passes (to make sure I get basically the best price--I have a computer that works).

Anyways--hopefully I'll have a complete computer within the next two weeks. At that time, I'll post about my overclock and my first real experience building a computer from scratch.

Cheers!
 
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