advice for inexpensive gaming machine

[mikeg610]

hey,

im in the market for a new pc and could use some tips. ive got a very limited price range, i can spend $500 and would like to avoid going over that. i realize this puts me at a disadvantage when dealing with gaming components but so far, ive seen a few that are affordable. ive already got a monitor and mouse, so forget about those.. all i need is a box. id like to use this computer primarily for online gameplay, specifically darkfall. its system requirements are:

Operating System: Windows XP or Vista
Processor: 2.5GHz Pentium 4, or equivalent
RAM: 1GB for Windows XP, or 2GB for Windows Vista
Graphics Card: 128MB PixelShader 2.0 support
Hard Drive Space: 12 GB Free Space Minimum

any help you guys can give is appreciated. thanks in advance.

[Major_A]

First off are you in the US? I can build a wishlist on Newegg than you can actually use. For $500 what do you need (i.e. a monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, etc...)? Do you have any current hardware you plan on reusing? All these things help.

[mikeg610]

yeah man im in the US. thanks for helping out. right now all ive got is an acer monitor that ill be using along with a mouse but i suspect a mouse and keyboard will come as a package deal. i do have an oem copy of windows xp but i had a lot of trouble installing it last time, i dont know if ill run into the same issues again. if this computer came with a windows os, thatd be ideal. as far as a sound system, it is the least of my worries since ive already got a stereo that i hook my current lap top up to.

$500 or so price range is tight so ill have to make some sacrifices. preferably this computer will have a good video card tho.

[Major_A]

I just found a plain case. Cases are like shoes, what I might like you might hate and vice versa. This is just a sample build. You might be able to find the parts cheaper at different vendors. I also didn't include an OS but I would recommend XP. As much as Vista is the latest and greatest (arguably) I still feel that XP has better compatibility with software and requires less resources to run. I also went with the nVidia card because it is still a fast card and it supports CUDA.

Wishlist isn't working correctly let me fix it.

*EDIT*
See if the wishlist is working, if not let me know.
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... er=6397089

[stopthekilling77]

Under $500 if you use your existing Windows XP license

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case: $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119115

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W Power Supply: $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817703016

Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 AM2+/AM2 740G mATX motherboard: $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128342

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Black Edition Kuma 2.7GHz AM2+ CPU: $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103300

Corsair 4GB DDR2 800 (2x2GB) CL5: $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145184

Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200RPM SATA HDD: $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136098

LITE-ON Black 22X SATA DVD Burner: $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106287

HIS Hightech H485FN512P Radeon HD 4850 GPU: $134.99 - $5 instant savings $129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161259

Total cost here w/out shipping and handling: $477.92
Total cost after mail-in rebates: $427.92

I'd also buy a 120mm case fan so your intake/outtake airflow is even (that's best for optimal cooling)
The fan I'd buy: Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm case fan: $14.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835185005

Total price with fan: $492.91
Total price w/ fan after MIRs: $442.91

This is all from my point of view, so if you have questions fire away!

**EDIT** lol major_a beat me to it, but I'd definitely suggest a faster dual-core CPU over a slower quad-core for gaming, as they are cheaper, faster, and produce less heat. not to mention that most games don't scale past 2 cores (if they scale at all)

[Major_A]

Yeah I thought that too but then I thought about how antiquated the Athlon 64 X2's are. The newer CPUs also have more instruction sets (SSE specifically) than the older CPUs.

Don't forget to price your parts around.

Chiefvalue.com - Newegg's sister site
ZipZoomFly.com
Mwave.com
Tigerdirect.com
3btech.net
Directron.com - I've personally never used it because I'd have to pay taxes
Buy.com
Overstock.com
Amazon.com

[DX]

That's a decent build there Major_A for the buck.

[mikeg610]

these are great suggestions guys. im going to do a little shopping around today with all these components in mind and ill post what im considering. thanks for all the feedback.

[pwcmed]

The Athlon chip that stop the killing listed is based of AMD's Phenom chip.

I just built a machine for brother with a e5400, P5Q Pro, 4 gigs 1066 Memory, 4850 for about 474. It took me a while but he wasn't in a rush. I looked for combos, shell shockers, and "I know its a little dangerous" open items. They have a 30 day policy on them so I knew I could return it. I have purchased 3 open items and I haven't had an issue, yet. Keep your eye out, other sites have a lot of good deals too.

[smack323]

i love the fact you can build a decent gaming system for under $500 now days.

If you have problems with XP you could always use the beta version of WIndows 7 until you can save up to by XP. Thats free until august I think.

[stopthekilling77]

The Athlon chip that stop the killing listed is based of AMD's Phenom chip.

Yup, the best of architecture, price, and clock speed ;)

[Major_A]

The Athlon chip that stop the killing listed is based of AMD's Phenom chip.

Yup, the best of architecture, price, and clock speed ;)

I learn something new everyday. I would change the CPU I picked to the one stopthekilling77 recommended. As he said most applications don't scale past two cores at this time. No need to waste more money for 2 more cores.