Building a cheap Gaming PC for $800?

[Katie2012]

I just turned 16 and haven't got a job yet, but i am looking. But when i do get a job i am going to buy parts to build a gaming PC. My mom's friend builds them all the time and he said he would build me one if i bought the parts. So on top of that my current PC is really bad off. It is old and was never really for gaming. I think it will break any day now, it has shut down before and would not start up. It has got stuck in power save mode. I have to go to F1 + F8 then "disable driver signature reinforcement" to get the computer to start. Fiesta Online cant even run properly, takes 5 minutes or more to shut down.I do not play Grand Fantasia yet. My computer often stops responding and Ctrl+Alt+Delete takes many minutes to work. Everything is super slow...

Here is some my current PC info.
-Intel [R] Celeron [R] CPU 430 @ 1.80GHz 1.79GHz
-Memory [RAM] 1.00GB
-32 bit operating system
-ATI Radeon HD 2400

I plan on only playing Fiesta Online/Grand Fantasia. My budget...I want to keep it around $800.
I don't want to go overboard i just want enough Graphics to support the 2 games I chose with medium settings.

So i need information on which graphic card and stuff to use and where to get it, also the price if possible. Thanks very much for any and all help.

 

[Redneck Techy]

Hey im not pro at this but i just built my own pc about a month ago and only paid about $1300 for it. So with that siad im sure we can find the stuff u need to fit ur budget. My specs are for lower high end gaming with a coolermaster 932 case, evga x58 cpu, 2 evga 9800gtx+ video cards, WD black 500gb hard drive, and 750w power supply. You are goin to spend most of ur money on ur cpu and motherboard but i would start with a case.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

$800 can get a very good system, actually.

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit: $100
Intel i5-2500 $210
AS Rock H61-M/iCafe: $75
Samsung 1 TB Hard drive: $60
Mushkin 4 GB DDR3-1333 dual channel: $31
Xigmatek 400W PSU: $35
Rosewill R-101 case: $30
120mm LED fan: $7
80 mm Fan: $3
HD 6850: $160
DVD Burner: $20
Keyboard/Mouse combo: $20
Speakers: $16
$742 total plus shipping.

This will do Fiesta Online at max settings, and can do other free MMOs at high quality, like City of Heroes or World of Warcraft or All Points Bulletin.

 

[Redneck Techy]

To continue my 1st post i recommend www.newegg.com for all parts they have great prices.

But back to ur build to keep ur build under $800 i would save on the case and get a mid size tower like any from the Cooler Master Elite series or something like the Thermaltake V3 or V4 for around $50.

Next i would find a motherboard. im personally a fan of EVGA so im goin to recommend the EVGA P67 for $199 which you can see at ths link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188073 .

Now on to the CPU the Evga P67uses a Intel LGA 1155 chip set which means that is what ur CPU has to match in order for it to fit. For gaming i would get a newer Cpu its not needed but it will help with speed and graphics so i would say get the Intel i3-2100 for $124 or i3-2100T for $134.

Both theses CPU's come with heatsinks that will work just fine but if ur like me and want something a little better there not hard to find.

Next i would say power supply. now u dont need one really big just one that will get the job done but still have a little room for if u want to ever upgrade so i would say something from 450w to 600w like the Thermaltake TR2 500w for $79 or 600w $54w/rebate on newegg.

Next lets do hard drive nothing fancy but something with good storage. The Western digital Caviar blue 320Gb at 7200rpm will do just fine for around $45

Video card ok so this is where u want to spend a little more money. Chooseing a card is tricky so make sure of some things one that it will work with ur board two it will fit in ur case. im not to good at chooseing video cards but i would say look for one from the companys PNY, EVGA, and ATI these are good brands. you need to look for something with around 512mb or high ram of DDR# or higher...your looking at about $70 to $150.

You will need a CD/DVD drive anything from sony, Asus, LG, and Samsung in my opinion are good brands. Your lookin at about $15 to $25 for a good one.

After all that you'll around $117 left which you need for ram. the evga board uses 1333mhz so will looking look for that. i like corsair so ill recommend the Corsair XMS3 (2x2GB) Gaming ram for $33. that is 2sticks of 2gb ea for a total of 4gb of ram or the Corsair XMS (2x4gb) gaming ram for $88 that is 2 sticks of 4gb ea for a total of 8gb of ram. the more u have the fast ur games will play...

u can put up to 4 sticks on that evga board so u could buy two packs of the XMS3 ram to fill all the slot and still get 8gb of ram.

This should put u right at the $800 mark. this would not include a monitor, mouse, or keyboard. but if u play with the options you could probaly squezze them in. i hope this helped.

If you have any questions please ask i know this is alot of info at once lol

 

[Redneck Techy]

Case will come with fans and the other guy is right window will only be $100and most all parts listed in my post have free shipping from newegg

 

[therealcold187]

Make sure the i5-2500 is a i5-2500k as you can overclock it since it's unlock and it will make it so you cpu will last the next 5 years or more.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I stand by the $742 build I posted, with everything but a Monitor.

 

[Katie2012]

Thanks I really appreciate it ^_^

 

[ScrewySqrl]

Why not try to work in a nice 22-24inch monitor in there for him as well?

lol nvm just looked at your post :O

I could squeeze one in.

Thers a 21.5" Acer 1920x1080 monitor for $118.

trim back the keyboard and speakers to an inexpensive package deal ($30)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823165020 ($6 saved)

a 500 GB drive ($20 saved)

and a 2400 instead of 2500 ($20 saved)

and we saved enough to get this 1920x1080 Emachines monitor (but only through 8/8)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824114009

New price would be $798

 

[lp231]

First, it's recommended that you use this template when asking for a new build.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 840 @ 3.2GHz $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103921
M/B: Asus M5A88-M $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131758
RAM: A DATA DDR3 4GB (2x2GB) $31.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364
GPU: Sapphire HD6790 1GB $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102931
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767
ODD: Samsung DVD writer $18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233
PSU: Rosewill 530w $49.99
subtotal so far is $515.93

Now assuming OP is who they say they are, then trying to configure a build for the female gamer is a challenge especially when
selecting a computer case. Inwin made 2 cases just for that, but it's not easy to find it these days.
It's called the Inwin Allure and Inwin Diva.

Inwin Allure


Inwin Diva

The Allure carry a heavy price tag due to its elegant design and finished off with Swarovski crystals. Diva on the other hand is well within the affordable price range, but other components may put a dent such as a slim DVD drive.
After looking at most of the case so far, 99.9% of them are hideous as you don't see it designed with the female gamer in mind,
especially with those giant "bling" fans and other nonsense.

Here are two alternative cases in my book that fits for a female gamer
-Silverstone SUGO SG02 $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163112
-Lian Li PC-V351B $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112222
Looking at them you can see it's
1. Simple
2. Elegant in a black finish
3. It does not have any nonsense you'll find on most cases.
Lian Li gets extra points for a clean front but its odd side bay position, and more expensive price may give
that Silverstone as the better pick.

Adding them cases to the overall build
Silverstone case comes out
subtotal $590.92
Lian Li comes out to
subtotal $625.92
Both should give you plenty more for monitor and other peripherals

 

[Katie2012]

Wow thanks, i really appreciate this! But the case isn't a big deal for me Lol. plain black is fine, will match my room perfect that way anyways ^_^

 

[008Rohit]

Wait for AMD Bulldozer Quad cores built on 32nm process if you really wanna go for AMD.
Even a i3 2100 beats a Phenom II X4 955 BE in almost every game.

My suggestion :

Processor : Intel Core i3 2105 with Intel HD 3000 Graphics - $135
Motherboard : Intel DH67 - Specific Model according to your needs. - $110
RAM : 2x4GB Corsair or Gskill DDR3 1333Mhz - $60
Graphics Card : Honestly I have no idea on this.
Case : Cooler Master Elite
Case Fan : CoolerMaster XtraFlo 120mm
PSU : Antec or Corsair 500-550 W

 

[008Rohit]

@ ^^

Its been proved that the second gen. Intel Core i3 SB processors outperforms lowe priced AMD Phenom II Quad Cores in gaming.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=88

FAR CRY 2 (1680x1050) :

i3 2100 : 59.2 FPS
Phenom II X4 955 : 51 FPS

The i3 2105 has Intel HD 3000 graphics and should perform even more better than the 2100.

However, Phenom II X4 965BE and above should outperform i3's in games which NEEDS 4 or more physical cores.

 

[lp231]

Core i3 is faster in games than a AMD quad core, but no one even who buys a computer just for games, is only to play games and do nothing else. What they will do is web surf, encoding, and so forth.
For this a processor with 4 true cores is better than dual core turning into a fake quad.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I posted a true quad buid that outperforms any AMD build including 6-cores