Legit Reviews

I want to make a computer for between $500-$600. I'm going into computational research and I want to be able to game a little on it.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
-wikiro

If you want the best bang-for-your-buck machine, go with an AMD dual-core system. Current games don't scale past two cores, so you'll do well with a system like that. An after-market cooler for your CPU would be advised by almost anyone here. DDR2 RAM is cheap these days, so go with 2 or 4 gigs of DDR2 800. (you want an even number so you can run them in dual-channel mode for increased performance). Go with an after-market cooler compatible with the AM2/AM2+ motherboard of your choice (ASUS or Gigabyte boards are the preference for the majority of this forum, although MSI and Foxconn are pretty alright as well). Two good solid chipsets for a motherboard choice would include the 780x or 790x series from AMD and as for graphics cards, if you need one then you might want to let us know what kinds of games you're looking to play, but if you aren't going to game then integrated video on the motherboard would be acceptable. Go with a case that is compatible with the form factor of your motherboard, and be sure to look around for a power supply from a reputable manufacturer with a reputation for longevity like PC Power & Cooling, Antec, Corsair, or Thermaltake.

Poke around on an e-tailer site like Newegg.com or Frys.com and piece together a system and post back here with a possible build!
If you have more questions about this, let us know - but just remember that building your own system is worth nothing if you don't understand how it works and why the parts are compatible

I picked up a motherboard, CPU, 2GB of RAM and an aftermarket cooler from Fry's one day for $165. It isn't the best or the fastest but it gets the job done, I'm writing this post from said PC. From there all you would need is a case, power supply, hard drive(s), optical drive and video card. If you do have a Fry's near you and decide to go with one of their combo deals please for the love of all that's holy do NOT get an ECS motherboard. I've seen where they have combo deals with Biostar motherboards and while I've never owned a Biostar I've had the displeasure of using several ECS boards and they were all flaky as hell.

Well simple games like half-life 2, TF2, and basically most first person shooters.

Intel Core2Duo
or
AMD Phenom II X3 or X4

Since I don't know what size monitor you're looking at using I'd recommend either the 9800 GTX+ or HD4870 or better.

If you plan on running XP x86 I don't think you'll need more than 2GB of RAM. If you plan on running Vista x86 or x64 then get 4GB. While you will lose useable RAM in the x86 version it is still better to have more than 2GB.

If you do plan on using Vista I'd recommend looking at either the Home Basic or Business editions. They appear to be less bloated than the other options.

Those are my suggestions.

Go with an AM2+ board that supports triple and quad phenom IIs but plan on buying a cheaper dual-core if you want to keep this in the realistic "500-600 dollar" range including windows license. buy with the ability to upgrade in mind, as that's a lot to pack into a small budget like that.