System Builder Marathon: $625 Gaming PC

[dirtmountain]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379
could be substituted at same price.

Better choice for $10 more, both support the AMD3 CPU listed
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128382

 

[pauldh]

dirtmountain that looks like a solid build you spec'd out there and it would be nice to see what it could do at 3.7-3.8GHz.

Currently there is just a $30 difference between the HD 4850 and Sapphire HD 4870. A little less CPU and the 4870 would be possible. Although, I'd be leery of the HT ref. clock we could hit to pair with the locked 13 multiplier on the PII X3 710.

 

[dirtmountain]

I'm also a bit curious about the 9800GTX+, some recent benchmarks i've seen after the newest Nvidia drivers seem to give it a solid edge over the HD4850. As always i'm looking forward to the next SBM builds no matter which components are tested, they're probably the best build benchmarks out there in terms of real life performance at real life budgets.

 

[pauldh]

Agreed the 9800GTX+ is a very nice option at current prices. Without doubt it will considered when the time comes to price/spec the next SBM.

The struggle with the $625 build is our Crysis and Forged Alliance max details are just too much for any of these cards. It's a fun challenge to try and reach playability as pricing allows bumps to better hardware. But more realistic (playable)settings would be better for outright comparing these current sub $200 Graphics solutions (HD4850, 9800GTX+, HD4870, crossfire HD 4830). Gotta like the the increasingly better deals we are seeing on these cards. Although one graphics disappointment for me is the GTX260. 192SP supply pretty much dried up without any killer price drops, and the the 216SP models have remained well north of $200.

 

[nkhlgeorge]

hey what if i buy a cpu case with an inbuilt power supply of 400W will it still work??

 

[nkhlgeorge]

could u also suggest an alternative for the cooler mentioned in the article, as this brand is not available in the country i live. thanks

 

[Onus]

I'm sure you will get a lot of good advice if you start your own thread in the forum.

 

[JesseBUSMC]

Would i have any troubles running vista 64 bit ultimate on this setup?

 

[xchopstickzx]

the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L is not available here in canada i cant find it anywhere.Is there any alternatives to this? i am building a new computer following this guide.I am using the intel E8400 instead.

Thank you

 

[crickee]

What's up with the CPU

 

[rooseveltdon]

[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]Couldn't edit my comment; trying again......so really a sub-$500 build). I was going to go AMD, but discovered that an Intel 5200 is actually going to be cheaper, unless I give up a lot of performance. So, Caamsa, I expect the SBM articles will continue to use Intel chips at this price point.[/citation]

how is the intel going to be cheaper?? you could get a black edition 7750 kuma for less than the e5200 and with an l3 cache! i think you need to do more research unless you are just another biased intel fanboy

 

[Onus]

On 2/10, when I made that remark, it was accurate. I haven't checked lately, but I'd be very happy for it to not be true today, because I was not impressed with the 5200. Three out of four of my most recent builds have been AMD. The only thing about which I believe it might be appropriate to consider myself a fanboy is Antec PSUs, but I think there is a lot of evidence to support it.

 

[Guest]

Please do a new one of these soon. I think that the monthly PC build recommendations are one of the best features on the website, right along with the Video Card pricing charts.

 

[C_Ray]

Please do another PC build feature again ASAP! I truely love to read these.

 

[Raidur]

Lol jtt283 your silly! E5200 runs circles around the 7750 for like... $5 more? Not to mention it OCs ~400mhz higher. So much for research and fanboyism!