Need help making budget gaming rig a bit cheaper

[wakeen]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within about a month
BUDGET RANGE: About US$ 500-650 Max

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Mostly for games and surfin' the net, then some media.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg for sure

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would like to use whatever is cheap and good. I was reading the Guide to Choosing Parts, and it sounded like AMD and ATI were good and much cheaper than Intel and Nvidia, so I chose accordingly. If you guys recommend other brands, that's fine with me.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, of course :lol:
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: In due time probably CrossFire

MONITOR RESOLUTION: At first I would be running at a kind of low res, with an old CRT monitor. until I get enough money for a 22" LCD, *1680x1050*

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Doesn't need to look cool necessarily, but I wouldn't mind if it did. And please, any help to make this cheaper, but still good. It's a little too expensive with what I have on it.


What I was thinking for parts:

ABS Aplus ABS-CS-Monolith Black SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ... - Retail

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996585 - Retail

AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX920XCGIBOX - Retail

XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

 

[hunter315]

The ram you chose is not compatible with the motherboard and processor you picked. You cannot use DDR3 ram on an AM2+ motherboard, you are going to need DDR2.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298
High speed, tight timing DDR2 ram.

That power supply is extreme overkill for the GPU you are using and do you really need a full tower?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
The corsair is cheaper and still way more power than you need.

 

[wakeen]

Heheh. I'm a newb at building computers.
Thanks.
And should I get an AM3 Motherboard then, because doesn't it support and use the DDR3 RAM?
And I guess I wouldn't really need a Full. Good point. I have just always liked everything in my life roomy. Heh.

Thanks for the info though, anything else would be appreciated too.

*edit*

Also, any recommendations on mid towers would be nice.

 

[wakeen]

Ehh, sorry to do this, but I would like a little help on finding a good prices mid-case.
Bump.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

This is what I would get in your price range:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=Antec%20Three%20Hundred

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=wd6401aals

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.204205 $119.94 (Case + HD combo)

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211637 $234.98 - $10.00 MIR (CPU + motherboard combo)

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 $54.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=550vx $86.19 - $20.00 MIR

XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150351 $119.99

LG GH22NS40 22X SATA DVD Burner Black Drive Bulk
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010555&prodlist=celebros $31.99

Total - $648.08 - $30.00 MIR's


Edit: If you want to use DDR3 RAM and an AM3 CPU you could swap the CPU, motherboard, and RAM for these and the new total would be $638.09 - $35 MIR's.

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=phenom%20ii%20720

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.205337 $204.99 - $15.00 MIR (CPU + motherboard combo)

G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBTD - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231259 $74.99

 

[hunter315]

Alright, lets see what we can throw together based on an AM3 system.

It comes out to $610 before mail in rebates, $575 after MIRs, and still gives you the option of crossfire in the future.

PII 720 and Asus 790GX motherboard

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail

XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail AND Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

Edit: Damn my slow internet, shortstuff beat me to it.

 

[wakeen]

Hehe thanks Shortstuff for all those links and deals. It lowered it buy about $80+, but I think I may keep the 650W PSU, in case I go Crossfire or such. Or will I still not need it that big?
Am I better to go with the 550?

And also, Thank you hunter, but he did beat you too it
I remember when I had slow net, it freakin' sucked man. Dial up FTL (For the loss)

Also, do I really NOT need DDR3, I'm kind of confused about this part?
Should I stick with the quad core Phenom 940 and the AM2+ Mobo, and DDR2, or would it be really helpful to get DDR3 and an AM3 Mobo?

Again, thanks for all the help from both of you

*edit*

You guys ever heard of the Novint Falcon?
I WANT ONE SO BAD!
Lol

 

[hunter315]

Well unless newegg realizes it, the corsair 650tx and 550vx are currently the same price before and after MIR. So as long as it stays that way get the 650tx.

Currently the difference in performance between DDR2 and DDR3 are negligible so you dont NEED it, but an AM3 motherboard with DDR3 gives you potentially longer upgrade life as future AMD processors might not have DDR2 controllers.

Most games are only optimized for two cores right now so you wont get a significant upgrade from the 940 over the 720 right now but when the next generation of quads comes out the difference will likely be significant.

 

[wakeen]

So I should just get a triple core?
That sounds pretty shnazzehh.
I probably will do.
Because I want to be able to buy a monitor and Novint Falcon eventually.
Hmmm.
So x3 core 720, with AM3 Mobo and DDR3? I think i'll do that and see how much it comes too.

*edit*
Also, sorry for all the edits in my posts, but how much better is the GX than the X models of AMD Mobos?

 

[hunter315]

Make sure to watch for combos as some nice combos have been showing up with the AM3 processors lately, got my 955 and Asus 790FX board with an $85 off combo so keep your eyes open for deals like that and buy when you spot them.

The GX boards are mostly just an X board with a graphics chip built in, other than that they are basically identical.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Hey, right now there's a combo for a phenom 2 940 and biostar board for 209. And 20 dollar rebate on the mobo. So basically a free board.