System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: $500 Gaming PC

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Its decent enough, but why the author put lots of emphasis in "this is a good gpu not as much as cpu"... at the end of the day a build as a whole item is what it counts, seams more coherent than the 1000/2000 builds anyway.
 
It's a shame that we're once again forced to see AMD increasingly lagging behind Intel. Phenom II can already demolish most multithreaded benchmarks at this price point, so if Zambezi offers higher instructions per clock and optimizations for games, then we could really have a winner.

Meanwhile though, I'm forced to acknowledge the potency of Core i3 processors in gaming and some productivity software.
 
You have to keep the $500 budget build to keep the builds within the economic reach of a larger percentage of your readership. However, if you would like to expand, a $750 and $1500 would be a worthy addition. It would expand flexibility, and the comparisons would be a good read.
 
[citation][nom]Lovecheapbuilds[/nom]You have to keep the $500 budget build to keep the builds within the economic reach of a larger percentage of your readership. However, if you would like to expand, a $750 and $1500 would be a worthy addition. It would expand flexibility, and the comparisons would be a good read.[/citation]

I'm not sure what percentage of the website's monthly income is put towards these builds, but I think 3 is more than generous. In addition to monthly builds, maybe once every Summer do a water cooled rig, as long as you can get companies to sponsor it with parts.
 
[citation][nom]Proximon[/nom]It was a good comparison, and the right build to do, because we got an honest look at the differences and advantages to each platform. That said, I would have to say that it's not the right $500 system f[citation][nom]Outlander_04[/nom]Its a good $500 build .except it cost $520 and the motherboard is a dead end part .For another $30 you can include an AM3+ board with the latest 970 series chip set that is fully compatible with Bulldozer.[/citation]

Which board would you suggest then?
 
Figuring in a monitor at 200 I'd like to see a build for ~750...Everyones talking about 650, lets see what an extra 100 can do.

That leaves 50 for a keyboard/mouse upgrade.
 
You guys are heroes to be able to squeeze 3.8GHz on the puny boxed cooler. Alas, my own 955BE gave me an idle temp of 56 on the stock cooler. This problem disappeared by under-volting only. I wish summer here wasn't a scorching 36+C which prevents OC'ing unless you have an A/C.

I would like to add one more thing.

AAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMDDDDDDDDD, WHERE IS THE NEW STUFF? YOU'RE GETTING KILLED OUT THERE
 
[citation][nom]iceveiled[/nom]Interesting that a $500 PC can finally play Crysis maxed out at respectable gamer resolutions. Next up: Metro 2033. In 2 years.[/citation]


Let's make it 3
 
[citation][nom]maxinexus[/nom]Great value build. But you can save at least $30 by getting Phenom II X2 555 and unlock all cares. It works 100% of times.[/citation]
I heard 60% of the time, it works everytime.

But seriously, that is a real hit or miss.
 
[citation][nom]maxinexus[/nom]Great value build. But you can save at least $30 by getting Phenom II X2 555 and unlock all cares. It works 100% of times.[/citation]

Why take a chance though?
 
Okay I bought these components and built the system. However when I turn on the power switch, all the LEDs light up for a split second, the fans start rolling, and then it just turns dead. I haven't even been able to see the BIOS screen yet. Any ideas?
 
Okay I bought these components and built the system. However when I turn on the power switch, all the LEDs light up for a split second, the fans start rolling, and then it just turns dead. I haven't even been able to see the BIOS screen yet. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
First guess is the PSU, but if you pull out all of the items out of the case and set them up on a cardboard piece and try and power up the system from there. It's possible that you might have something shorting out the mobo from the bottom or somewhere else in the case. Just need to isolate the system from the case as best we can.
 
Sometimes you can get a brand new board that doesn't have the BIOS default settings. Remove its battery for about a minute, and retry. I always set up the system right on top of the motherboard box before potentially wasting any time getting it in and then back out of the case.
 
Nice build. On the $635 budget, I'd say do it but don't make 625 the cheapest build. You can skip the more expensive stuff and do $400-450, $600-650 and $1k.
 
should include noise levels too. for comparison sake between the sbm $$ tiers.
 
Hello All,
Is there a list of compatible components out there for a build around a i7 2600X CPU? I'm not stuck with $500 and a little more power would be nice to keep a few days(?)weeks(?)year ahead of game development.
Fast HD and big capacity video cards would be desired.
Is that list(s) available anywhere?
Thanks any advice appreciated.
Kenn
 
I have a question. The Sapphire website states that the system power requirement for their HD 6870 Video Card is 500W. How is it that this system works with this PSU that is only rated at 430W?
 
[citation][nom]chinooscar[/nom]I have a question. The Sapphire website states that the system power requirement for their HD 6870 Video Card is 500W. How is it that this system works with this PSU that is only rated at 430W?[/citation]

Check the Amp requirement on the 12v rail.
 
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