March 2013 $500 canadian budget gaming rig

[Ventury91]

Hello everyone, this is a first post regarding my first ever homebuilt gaming rig. I have been doing research for a few months and i have been slowly gathering the confidence and know how to begin this project.

So here is what I have chosen to work with thus far, i am looking for the completed build to be around $500 Canadian, as of this point i am willing to hold off for a month or two on purchasing a HDD in hopes of either a great sale or the long awaited pre flood price balance, also i have 2x 120mm case fans to compliment the case choice which does not come with any installed as well as i do not need a CD/DVD burner at this time. I do need an operating system and i am wondering if there would be any issue with me using Windows XP, or Linux for that matter. Not to say a newer windows OS is out of the question, i have just been partial to Windows XP for quite a while. Anyways here is my current list of parts, any help regarding price point recommendations, incompatibility issues or the like would be greatly appreciated!!

_________________________________________________________________

1)AMD FD4100WMGUSBX FX-4100 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 2MB L2 Cache, 3.60GHz (3.80GHz Max Turbo), Socket AM3+, 95W, Fan, Unlocked

2)MSI 970A-G46 AMD 9 Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket AM3+, AMD 970 Chipset, 2133MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, SLI/CrossFireX Ready

3)Kingston KHX1333C9D3K2/4G HyperX Desktop Memory Kit - 4GB (2x 2GB), PC3-10600, DDR3-1333MHz, 240-pin DIMM, CL9, 1.5V, Non-ECC, Unbuffered

4)Thermaltake TR-500 TR2 ATX Power Supply - 500W, 120mm Fan, Active PFC

5)Ultra XBlaster Mid-Tower V2 Case - ATX, MicroATX, USB 2.0, Audio, 6x 3.5" Bays, 4x 5.25" Bays, 7x PCI Slots, Lifetime Warranty with Registration

Tigerdirect.ca Total= 363.15*

*shipping included

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1)GIGABYTE GV-R667D3-1GI Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card*

*shipping included

Newegg.ca Total= 92.92

Grand Total= 456.07

So keep in mind this does not include a HDD, which is being purchased at a later time, i am hoping to get a reliable 500GB for somewhere under $50 which other than refurbished or open box I simply cannot find at this time

Thanks ahead of time everyone

Cheers

 

[dudewitbow]

my sugesstion is to use the older phenom 965be over the old zembezi 4100

 

[dudewitbow]

my sugesstion is to use the older phenom 965be over the old zambezi 4100

edit function on toms is working horribly

 

[Ventury91]

@dudewitbow, i considered that for a good long time, but that deal is OEM, for around 10$ more i can stay with the fx-4100 which comes with, from what i gather, a reliable stock cpu fan (i will not be overclocking...atleast immediately). I realize the 965 black edition is a slightly beefier cpu but i felt the newer model amd chip would be better for my needs

 

[ARICH5]

ok....with windows xp you wont take advantage of the 64bit components..also microsoft has stopped supporting xp and is not releasing any more service packs for it. and games arent being released for it anymore.

thermaltake tr2 series psu is terrible...not 80+ efficiency..get antec seasonic xfx

your gonna bottleneck that cpu with a 6670 gpu........new gpu's today are gddr5...get at least a 7770/650

 

[mikerockett]

I think something like this should suit you better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G2120 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.88 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.79 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($46.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $451.12
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-13 04:38 EDT-0400)

 

[djjmc]

Here is what I just ordered for $430usd from Newegg USA. Shipping to a drop box in WA and picked up on the weekend.
Windows Score 7.3 out of 7.9. (processor is lowest score then ram)
XCLIO 320 Black Finish Steel & Plastic & Brushed Aluminum Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Kingston HyperX Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model KHX16C9B1RK2/8
AMD FX-4300 Vishera 3.8GHz (4.0GHz) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4300WMHKBOX
HIS H785F2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ($180.00)
*
Already have a DVD rom and newish power supply from my old setup.
Kingston SSD 120 gb $70 @ staples canda -free shipping. This is additional to the $430 quoted above.

BFBC2, M&B Warband, Oblivion, Skyrim. All max.
Tomb raider 2013 looks awesome on this build!
Existing screen is a AOC 24 inch 1080p LCD.

Good luck.
(Also note I priced my build -part for part- on Newegg.ca and it was $620)