Need help with $500- $800 pc gaming build

[jtf8751]

Hey guys, I've been out of the pc hardware world for a while so i don't know whats the best out right now. My budget for my gaming machine is $500 - $800 and I do not need speakers, keyboard, mouse, monitor or anything like that. Just need a pc built and ready for gaming. I need to know what the best is for the money. Would like to stay with Intel processors and possibly a quad core but I'm open to everyone suggestions, I want a good quality gaming pc and I need good cooling in the case. Thanks guys, hope someone can help. Do have one question though. do you really need two graphics cards or can you do just as well with one high end card? Would like to overclock and need good drive speed.

 

[drunknmunkys]

Motherboard: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.190879
258$

RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227297
66$

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...119077&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-11-119-077-_-Product
50$

GPU: HIS Hightech H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276
200$

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
75$

PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V
70$

Heatsink: Scythe MUGEN-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093
37$

Thermal Compound: Tuniq TW-2
5$


Total (/w shipping, no MIR): 808$

 

[jtf8751]

Thanks, appreciate the reply, looking for more choices guys, keep it coming. Thanks. Anybody else?

 

[beef1218]

Hi, I just had a similar new build plan here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=266230&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0
Hope that can help.

 

[jtf8751]

Thanks beef, appreciate it, what did you end up going with on your build? Also, would like to hear from some guys that like to build with Intel and see what kind of build is possible. Thanks.

 

[drunknmunkys]

Thanks beef, appreciate it, what did you end up going with on your build? Also, would like to hear from some guys that like to build with Intel and see what kind of build is possible. Thanks.

Your Intel option is e7xxx or e8xxx series at this price, but honestly, read around some. Seems like most people agree that unless you're budget is ~1300+ and you go i7, AMD has the edge is price/performance right now.

 

[beef1218]

Thanks beef, appreciate it, what did you end up going with on your build? Also, would like to hear from some guys that like to build with Intel and see what kind of build is possible. Thanks.

I have ordered half of the build:
PhenomII 740 + HSI HD4850 = $213.5 after $10 rebate (from newegg.com)
Hitachi 1TB = $70 (from zipzoomfly.com)
OCZ OCZ550FTY 550W Active Power Supply (modular) = $50 after $25 rebate (from zipzoomfly.com)
Antex300 = $58.05 + $4.55 shipping (from buy.com)

I have RAM, motherboard, and cooler to decide.

 

[jtf8751]

Ok cool, anybody else have any more specs, let me know. I need one that will last me a while.

 

[drunknmunkys]

Don't think you're going to pack much more punch for 800$

 

[Fortunex]

drunk's build looks great, it's about the best you're going to get at this price range.

I would definitely change that Scythe for the Xigmatek Dark Knight, though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

In benchmarks, the E8400 appears to be faster than the 720, but that's on a newly formatted rig with nothing running in the background, which is hardly typical. The 720's advantage comes in with it's third core being able to run all of the background processes, leaving two for gaming, and if you're like me and tend to run Firefox with a few tabs, MSN, temperature/usage desktop gadgets, and an anti-virus in the background, you'll see the 720 start to lead over the E8400.

Intel's strong points are super-budget (E5200) and high-end (i7), AMD covers mainstream.