Budget Gaming PC for SC2, WoW, DA:O

newfiedave84

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Oct 17, 2010
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So the video card in my dated gaming PC finally died, and now I'm looking to build a new system. It will be my first build. Luckily, I can salvage some parts from my old system.

Approximate Purchase Date: Soon. May be forced to buy some parts now and some parts around Xmas.

Budget Range: $600-750 Before Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Dragon Age: Origins, Audio Recording

Parts Not Required: I'm hoping to reuse some parts from my old comp, but not sure about some of them. I have a Razer Lycosa Keyboard, Microsoft Optical Mouse, 23" Widescreen Monitor, 2.1 Speakers, Headset w/Mic, and a Delta-44 PCI Sound Card that I plan to use for audio recording. Also have a Speed-600ATX 600W PSU and a slightly damaged mid tower case that functions, but ideally I'd like to replace. The DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives from my old comp still work fine, but use PATA. I also have two hard drives, one 40 GB and one 160 GB, both PATA.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.ca, TigerDirect.ca, etccomputers.ca

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: Prefer an Intel CPU (likely an i3) as they seem to give the best results in SC2, but willing to accept AMD if the price is right and the frame rates are playable. I'd like a case with washable air filters if possible (was looking at the Antec Three Hundred Illusion).

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I do not need to run these games on max settings. Medium settings with stable frame rates is what I'm aiming for. I'm not concerned about future upgrades, as I should be in a position to buy a new comp with a less stingy budget 2-3 years down the road. I'm not sure if my old hard drives will cause any gaming performance bottlenecks if reused. USB 3.0 would be a plus, but I can live without it.
 
Hmm most games i would say X2 is fine and Toms concluded that 3 cores are currently the sweet spot. However with Dragon's Age on the table going X4 might just be the way ^^
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I would advise selling off those PATA devices hehe

H/w and prices off
http://www.bestdirect.ca/
 

newfiedave84

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Oct 17, 2010
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Nice build batuchka, but it's a little high priced for me with taxes and shipping.

I should have mentioned I need to squeeze in a copy of Windows 7 64-bit.

The GTX 460 is badass, but I think it's overkill for my purposes. I'd like to save some cash by going for a cheaper card and power supply. I was looking at these:

ASUS GeForce GT 240 550MHZ 1024MB 1.58GHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Video Card

Antec Basiq BP350 350W 24PIN ATX 12V Power Supply

The wattage calculator I used says minimum of 299W and recommended 350W with 20% capacitor aging.

I also found this motherboard and RAM which saves me ~$40, I just hope they are compatible:

Corsair CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1333 CL9 Dual Channel Memory Kit

ASUS M4N68T-M mATX AM3 GF7025 NF630A DDR3 PCI-E16 PCI-E 2XPCI SATA2 RAID Audio Motherboard

The processor, case, and hard drive from your build all look like solid budget buys. With the substitutions I made, and including the OS, the build comes to $658.18 with taxes and shipping. Should this system let me play these games on 1920x1080 with medium settings? I can always upgrade to the GTX 460 sometime in the future if I'm not satisfied with the GT 240, but that will also mean getting a new PSU.

Oh, and thanks for the link to bestdirect.ca! Some great deals on there.

 

cjp3212006

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Oct 5, 2010
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Check these parts out. They are all on newegg

HD: SAMSUNG F3 SPINPOINT 1TB
DVD: SAMSUNG DVD BURNER SATA
CASE: SENTEY DELUX SERIES W/ 600W PSU
GPU: EVGA GTS 450
MEMORY: G SKILL 1333MHZ 4G RAM
MB: AS ROCK P55 PRO
CPU: INTEL I5 750

TOTAL: $651 BEFORE REBATES
 

sonic-boom

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Oct 9, 2009
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OP is talking CAD not USD so i5 is probably out of budget. That PSU has all of zero reviews its most likely junk.
 



Hmm it's a big ask compromising on the most important h/w for a gaming rig namely the GPU @@ I wouldn't hit a GT240: in reality it merely trades blows with the previous gen 9600GT and at the very least try to hit a GTS 250/HD 4850 on the cheap and lower res/settings if your game demands it

Mobo - look for these chipsets

760G
780LE
770
785G

anything Nvidia chipset not based off the following

GF8100-8300
750a
980a

are all merely AM2 mobos/tech with HT Limitation when used with AM2+/AM3 processors and still sporting PCIe gen 1.0/1,1 lanes so be careful when finding that bargain mobo as well

Lastly - ditch power con calculators : hit an 80+ entry level PSU for peace of mind I am thinking Antec Earthwatts 380/430?