System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $500 Gaming PC

[caamsa]

Nice build, but a little weak on the PS and a bit too much on the CPU. Also the HD is way to weak. A 1TB hard drive is IMO the standard you need for a gaming machine. The video card is a bit steep as well. I have no problem with the choice just the price. Great MB choice and DDR3 is a steal.

 

[dirtmountain]

Another excellent build Mr. Henningsen. I like to see the different cases used in all 3 of these builds, i also like seeing the $500 budget machine given a bit more leeway when an extra $30 or $40 makes a big difference.

 

[pauldh]

[citation][nom]abswindows7[/nom]worst case in the world.[/citation]
How so? What alternatives would you suggest for $30?

 

[touchdowntexas13]

The $500 builds are definitely my favorite. They put to rest the comments about how pc gaming is "too expensive". For $500, you get better game performance/visuals than consoles as well as a fully functional computer that can be used for media and work. For myself, I tend to set my budget more around the $1200 mark, but it's simply awesome how much performance you can get for half that. Plus, when every dollar counts, its exciting to see how far an extra $10 on a certain component can go as far as performance.

Awesome once a again.

 

[pauldh]

[citation][nom]LuckyDucky7[/nom]"I’ll certainly entertain the possibility of Intel’s newly-available Core i3-2100 for the next SBM."Have fun overclocking that rig![/citation]
Very true, but should this sour taste be a deal breaker for an i3-2100 build?

[citation][nom]Dyers Eve[/nom]The unanswered question that everyone is dying to know is how does your system compare to a i3 - 2100 SB? The i3 has the same price as the CPU in the article but the motherboards are at least $40 more expensive and no OC possible.[/citation]
Actually, H61 boards start at $60 on Newegg, so it is possible to have the same initial platform cost as this X4 925 AM3 build.

[citation][nom]Dyers Eve[/nom]After reading your "Who's Got Game? Twelve Sub-$200 CPUs Compared" and thinking that your OC CPU is close to a Phenom x4 970 I would say you are very, very close to i3 - 2100 SB performance. Apart from a few CPU intensive games like Starcraft 2 I think you might have a real winner here that is most cost effective than Core SB systems.[/citation]
Oh, there's nothing wrong with this build in my eyes. Yes, with the CPU-NB OC, I'd agree we are sitting between the X4 965 and 970 in performance. But the Sandy Bridge launch article plus the sub-$200 gaming processor story you mention show a stock i3-2100 is on par or better than the 970 in gaming performance and will kick efficiency up a notch too. Of course, the gaming machine must also compete in the Encoding/Productivity apps, so there is more to take into consideration.
[citation][nom]Dyers Eve[/nom]
I was thinking of building a Core i3 system but I can grab a x4 965 BE + mobo for $160 and after reading this article it really seems like that is the way to go for a budget build.[/citation]
Killer combo price assuming it's a stable mobo; In the SBM, we don't factor in available combos or rebates, so you have the shopping advantage there.

 

[icemunk]

[citation][nom]themarin8r[/nom]Totally Agree. Not only that, but there was still plenty of wattage left to add a HDD or dvd burner as they do not take up that much power to be that concerned.[/citation]

Oh I'm sure the 380w earthwatts could do the job, however in my pricing range I would use a thermaltake 500w, or Cosair 500w for around the same price. ATI recommends a 500w powersupply for the 6850, and its always better to have more power available, then tax your supply to the max. I've build a couple hundred gaming PCs, and thats just my opinion, the 380w would work fine, but I like systems that run for many many years.

 

[Onus]

The Corsair isn't around the same price (their CX-430 is, but its output is essentially the same as the EA-380D). A Thermaltake in that price range is likely to be overrated junk; not as bad as a Logisys, but still junk.

 

[Big Daddy Rhino]

Uhmmmm... OS? You're missing a good $115 there.

 

[icemunk]

[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]The Corsair isn't around the same price (their CX-430 is, but its output is essentially the same as the EA-380D). A Thermaltake in that price range is likely to be overrated junk; not as bad as a Logisys, but still junk.[/citation]

I get my parts pretty cheap, especially at ncix.com with my PP membership, so I can't really say for your pricing. The Thermaltake is actually pretty darn good, I've installed about a half-dozen with no problems in the last 3 years.

 

[weaselsmasher]

Good article.

I'd like to add one consideration for these low-budget builds: shipping. That can make a serious difference as a percentage of cost, and since your sponsor allows filtering for "free shipping", you may find that you can save 20-30 dollars even with an item that has a higher base cost. This is of particular interest for the case, and to a lesser extent the optical drive, motherboard and video card.

Rebates are another consideration. They are notoriously unreliable, but it's a possibility.

Therefore, my list would be:

Vid: $170 PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB
CPU: $125 Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz
M/B: $60 ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX
Mem: $40 Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) PSD34G1333K
H/D: $39 HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM
DVD: $19 LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive Black SATA Model GH22NS50B - OEM
Case $40 HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition ATX Mid Tower
Ship $11 (key was searching on "free shipping" for the case)

One of the items has a $20 rebate. I didn't count that.

If you're not in California, you're out the door for $544. This is actually a touch cheaper than the test build once shipping is taken into account, plus you get your Core i3 and a larger hard drive.

 

[icemunk]

[citation][nom]weaselsmasher[/nom]Good article.I'd like to add one consideration for these low-budget builds: shipping. That can make a serious difference as a percentage of cost, and since your sponsor allows filtering for "free shipping", you may find that you can save 20-30 dollars even with an item that has a higher base cost. This is of particular interest for the case, and to a lesser extent the optical drive, motherboard and video card.Rebates are another consideration. They are notoriously unreliable, but it's a possibility.Therefore, my list would be:Vid: $170 PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GBCPU: $125 Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHzM/B: $60 ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATXMem: $40 Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) PSD34G1333KH/D: $39 HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPMDVD: $19 LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive Black SATA Model GH22NS50B - OEM Case $40 HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition ATX Mid TowerShip $11 (key was searching on "free shipping" for the case)One of the items has a $20 rebate. I didn't count that.If you're not in California, you're out the door for $544. This is actually a touch cheaper than the test build once shipping is taken into account, plus you get your Core i3 and a larger hard drive.[/citation]

Yeah, shipping is very important to consider. I like the free shipping deals, but their few and far between. Rebates are sketchy, unreliable, and slowwwww. Just wondering.. where's your power supply?

 

[walterm]

Free shipping changes often on many products. In a week or two or three you would likely find a different list of products offerred.
This is one reason Tom's does not use combo or short term sale prices.
I like to wait for $35 free shipping deals on cases, but to use short term not available when published prices would just pOUT everyone off.
I used the rescent 15% off mempry deal, the $45 free shipping then $20 rebate PSU deal (cx 430), and watch many pass by.
gEESH, tOM'S SAYS SO.
So you are a shopper. The point of Tom's builds is you can duplicate the performance for the same price or less.
How long does it take you to pick. order, receive, build, and test a build?
Then take the time to write it, proof it, and post it. Geesh again.

 

[weaselsmasher]

[citation][nom]icemunk[/nom]Yeah, shipping is very important to consider. I like the free shipping deals, but their few and far between. Rebates are sketchy, unreliable, and slowwwww. Just wondering.. where's your power supply?[/citation]

D'oh.

It's the EA-380D (great supply for the price), 39 bucks. It's in the total, I just neglected to cut-and-paste (I used the shopping cart to keep track of the total).

Mea culpa.

 

[weaselsmasher]

[citation][nom]walterm[/nom]Free shipping changes often on many products. In a week or two or three you would likely find a different list of products offerred.This is one reason Tom's does not use combo or short term sale prices.I like to wait for $35 free shipping deals on cases, but to use short term not available when published prices would just pOUT everyone off.I used the rescent 15% off mempry deal, the $45 free shipping then $20 rebate PSU deal (cx 430), and watch many pass by. gEESH, tOM'S SAYS SO. So you are a shopper. The point of Tom's builds is you can duplicate the performance for the same price or less.How long does it take you to pick. order, receive, build, and test a build?Then take the time to write it, proof it, and post it. Geesh again.[/citation]

Good thing there are people like you to protect others from people like me.

But you're wrong.

The same principle which you use for your "geesh" applies to the list in the article. By the time the article is published, some prices will have gone up as well as down, some items will be unavailable, and some parts will be better deals than others. My entire point was that paying attention to shipping deals will often allow you to hit budget with better parts; the true cost of purchase includes the shipping.

My list was accurate on the day it was published. The article's list was accurate on the day it was composed. By the time a week passes, I absolutely guarantee that both will have changed.

Your "geesh" comes with free shipping, I assume?

 

[megamanx00]

I say a Athlon II 640 X4 or try your luck unlocking a Phenom II 555 BE. Either way the savings could have gone to a decent tower cooler for a better overclock . Still, good job all around. I was looking at that case and board for a friends budget build myself.

 

[walterm]

icemunk; Corsair CX430 is at Newegg $40 with 15% off coupon code for 48 hours. Not sure if $40 price includes code or not. $20 rebate available till 3/31. Also Antec EA500D for $50 E-special I think.
Weaselsmasher, so you understand the realities of shopping, Day to day changes.
The tom's choices I find a within $10 of their price and easily matched or bettered by choicing similiar items at current discunt.
The actual choices are yours, for yourneeds.
They have also given a professional evaluation of the parts and the result working together.
When you buy your parts, give a professional evaluation, then you have the reality.
I love my builds, that does not mean you will.
The article helps me choose components, all your list does is say this is my $500 build choices today.

 

[eddieroolz]

This build, in my opinion, was a demonstration that a lower-clocked Quad can defeat a higher-clocked triple/dual. Even with that disappointing overclock it managed to kick the December PC's ass signifiantly which speaks volumes here.

Makes me glad I went for a laptop quad Phenom instead of higher-clocked triples. Especially considering that one can't upgrade laptop processors.

 

[unclesam6]

How well could this run Starcraft II?

 

[Dyers Eve]

Toms reviewed a similar system in Starcraft II performance here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850-barts,2776-8.html.

The ~$500 SBM build here is about the same as the one in the link, the SBM build being maybe 10-15% slower and it ran SC2 at Ultra High settings 1920x1080 at 38.7 avg fps, min of 23 fps.

I'd say that is certainly playable and quite surprising that such a system can run the latest games fine. If anything, these Tom's cheap SBM builds prove time and time again you don't need to break the bank to get very good gaming performance.

 

[kckrich]

wow great build, maybe i can finally build my friends a decent pc that they can game on.

 

[masteren]

[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?[/citation]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEhDZN0RFjw

Sorry, I just couldn't restrain myself.

 

[sudeshc]

Impressive, was looking forward for this got a similar PC to build. Thanks Toms.

 

[youssef 2010]

I think this is a very good compromise. The case used is excellent in its price range. This configuration has much more potential with an aftermarket cooler and a later GPU upgrade.

I think this is the first time we've ever seen a quad-core CPU in a $500 Build. Great job, toms.

 

[hangfirew8]

[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]I think this is the first time we've ever seen a quad-core CPU in a $500 Build. Great job, toms.[/citation]

There was a spate of articles when the $99 Athlon 620 came out, and a few more on each successor. They are not hard to find.

This might be the first PHENOM II $500 build I've seen, though, outside of forums anyway.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/build_a_kickass_500_gaming_pc_play_crysis_40fps

 

[oneoldgeek]

Reading @cangelini post. Could TH please add a Cata performance reference? I realize that WoW is not everyone's cup of tea. Just as FPS's are not mine. But, it would be nice to see how the builds would perform for WoW.