Seeking advice on gaming computer

[nlcurry]

Hey Guys,

I'm a first timer here trying to figure out which components will work well together for my desktop. List of priorities: surfing web, streaming videos, SOME gaming nothing heavy. So far I have a list and I'm trying to keep the budget low ($500ish complete). Haven't decided on the monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers yet. As for the others:

CPU & Mobo combo: AMD Athlon II X3 455 Rana 3.3GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX455WFGMBOX
BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $124.98

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case - $49.99

GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R775OC-1GI Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - $109.99
OR EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $139.99

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - $44.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - $29.99

HD: Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $85.99

DVD Burner: LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS90B - Retail - OEM - $17.99

Sums up to $464-$494. Any suggestions to make the price lower without sacrificing performance would be appreciated =)

Thanks!

 

[HEXiT]

personally i would get the i3 2100 for about 30bux more than the cpu you have chosen... its a dual core but supports 4 threads. then buy a cheaper h61 motherboard for about 70 bux which will save you about 50 bux all told and give about a 3rd more overall performance compared to your cpu/mobo combo.
as you dont really want a big gaming monster then a gtx 550 or even a hd 6850 would do the trick and again you can pick 1 of them up for about 120bux... even the 550 can be had for less than what your gonna pay...
if you can spend a little more on the ram to get lower latencies... and look around for a spinpoint f3 you should be able to pick 1 up for about 80 bux and it will be faster in most cases than the barracuda...
with all these changes you should still be around 30-40 bux ahead and this can then be added to your psu and case... if you want ...


sorry i cant be more accurate on the prices as im in the uk where tech costs a little more...

 

[nlcurry]

Hi HEXiT,

I appreciate your input. The price of $124.98 is the sum of mobo and CPU. I find that with the Intel and Asus combo it will be around $190. Is a third more performance necessary?

 

[HEXiT]

if you dont play demanding games then no not really but having a little extra under the hood when you need it is handy... as the saying goes, its better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it...
but if it really is that cheap then go for it... it will do everything you want it to and then some.. most gamers would say get more, get more, but if you dont really need it then save the money...

 

[AntiZig]

for your budget I don't believe you will be able to go any cheaper, and considering you probably still need OS & monitor, M&K, I really don't think you'll be able to get a good gaming set up.

the only suggestion I'd make is look at G620/630 intel cpus they are slighly slower than performance level of i3, but live in the same socket, which leaves you with room for upgrade to sandy or ivy bridge in the future.

Another thing I'd point out that since you're in this budget range and still looking for monitor, you'll have to pick up sub-1080p monitor, because your GPU won't be able to handle 1080p very well.