Gaming PC for $600 with core i5

[mfarrukh]

My younger brother has a Core 2 Duo. 2 GB RAM and Radeon 4650.
I am planning to upgrade his system
He only do gaming and little browsing
I have only a budget of $600 since I am too building my new PC.
I was thinking of getting him:

Core i5:
$189
Intel® Desktop Board DP55WB:
$120
CORSAIR XMS3 DDR3 TRIKIT 3X3G-1333 (1GBX3):
$107
COOLER MASTER CHASSIS CM GLADITOR:
$65
SEAGATE 500GB 3.5" HDD 7200RPM 16MB Cache (ST-3500418AS):
$54
A4 TECH X7-G500 Keyboard:
$10
A4 TECH OP-620D mouse:
$5
LITEON DVDROM 18X SATA (iHDS118):
$17
COOLER MASTER 500 WATTS EXTREME POWER (RS-500-PCAR-A3):
$48


Now we are left with
Graphics card
and Monitor

I will try to convince him to use his old monitor so leave it aside
All parts above reach $615 easily.

Should i buy 5750 for him?
Should i wait for 5670?
Should i...
Do what?

Target resolution is 1680x1050
Any advice?

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

HD5670 is bound to be slower than the HD4770 and initially to high a price for much value even to new buyers, let alone upgraders. I wouldn't bother adding it to the equation as it would be only a mild difference from the current HD4650, so either the HD5750 or HD4770, or wait for the HD5770 to come down in price for a bit more of a boost.

You could also go the nV route, but pricing is currently not great in most areas, but if you can get a cheap GTX260 for the same price it'd be worthwhile, but anything less than those would be a waste.

 

[jyjjy]

The HD5750 is a good card for 1680x1050, if you can afford it an HD5770 would be great and last a good long while.
The i5 chips use dual channel ram so I recommend a 2 x 2gb rather than 3 x 1gb;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
That memory is faster and cheaper as well to go along with the extra gigabyte.
I also highly recommend this hard drive instead for the same price;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
Can you really not afford $10 extra for a DVD burner?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151197
They do come in handy.
In general if you are on a tight budget you may want to consider an Athlon II x4 based system instead. The performance difference isn't all that large, especially for gaming and the price difference is a big one.

 

[mfarrukh]

GTX 260 is way out of the budget since i have to build my own PC
I have replaced the board with:
MSI P55M-GD41 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
thanks to PsycoSaysDie
and
the drive to
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
thanks to
jyjjy

But not sure about video card yet

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

What's the price diff?

Performance is HD4770<HD5750<5770

Comparing price/performance depends on the price, performance is pretty well laid out here;

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5770-hd5750.html

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5770-hd5750-crossfirex.html

 

[mfarrukh]

My budget was $600
but already out of it without GPU
Damn it
Help me guys

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

What's the price diff of the cards for you though. That would help, they are all capable, but may not be worth the premiums. Like I said the HD4650 means you need the HD4770 and above to make it a noticeable difference worthy of more than $50, but depending on the price of the cards some may be better deals than oters, but any of those 3 above will be an upgrade and the cheapest of the 3 may be what you're limited to.

 

[jyjjy]

If you need to stick to the $600 budget then the only thing I can see that will help you do it with a reasonable graphics card is switching to an Athlon II based system like I pointed out earlier.
You can also save some money with a cheaper case and you might want to look around for some combo deals.

 

[mfarrukh]

Problem is i have never used any AMD CPU and have absolutely no experience about them

 

[jyjjy]

There is no practical difference in assembling or using an AMD based system compared to an Intel based one. The only changes you would have to make to your build is the motherboard and processor.
There are 2 Athlon II x4 chips;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%201050749422&name=Athlon%20II%20X4
If you are going to overclock don't bother with paying extra for the 630.
Here are two good motherboards depending on what you want to spend;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131619
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397
With the 620 and the MSI you will be saving $125.

 

[jyjjy]

Also this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.308218
is an excellent combo. The savings aren't as large but that's a very nice motherboard and it's Phenom II which is good although the difference isn't huge compared to the Athlon II(when clocked similarly.)

 

[mfarrukh]

It looks perfect but still i am a little afraid on using AMD CPU
Never experienced it before
Is it good?
because from the deal it looks amazing
I have read some reviews about the AMD CPU
It left a positive impression on me
Should i go for it without any hesitation?

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, go for it. The only difference at all in terms of assembly is a slightly different procedure for mounting the cpu fan/heatsink and if anything the stock AMD is easier.
Other than that the overclocking process is slightly different and once again I'd say the AMD chip is slightly easier especially considering it's a black edition with unlocked multipliers. I really can't think of any other practical differences. In terms of gaming performance that processor should perform almost exactly the same as the i5.

 

[sparky13]

I would say go for it. I built my first PC a few months ago and it was an AMD system. It's all very straightforward, just take your time and you'll be all set.

 

[mfarrukh]

Thanks all
Now looking forward for my own
I will be needing help from you all