Making a cheap gaming rig

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860
Hey, I'm putting together a cheap rig for lite gaming and general computing. I usually play games such as ddo, Diablo, Gal civ 2, and older games such as never winter nights. I'm not really worried about being able to max out fps, or anything like that.

I was wondering if anyone would take a look at what I've come up with so far, and give any advice.

I'm trying to keep it cheap, I'll have to buy a new copy of windows 7, and a lcd (22 inch acer). This will cost me 240ish before making the computer. Basically, I want to keep the computer hardware around 500, for a max of 750.

So, here is what I've got so far.

Case and power supply bundle. Will most likely upgrade the PSU later.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811148047

Hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131935

Graphics card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125447

Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233147


AS far as I can tell, this set up should meet my needs, and allow for minor upgrades in the future. Looks descent enough? Should I up the cpu to a Intel i3? Is there a video card close the price range (130) of the one I've mentioned worth looking into?

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
Thanatos Telos
Hell no. A friend of mine's Logisys PSU killed his build in less than a minute into the first boot. Get a 4300, much better performance. For that price, get an XFX 7850. Finally, get a cheaper set of RAM with lower profile heat spreaders.
Sort by date Sort by votes
Thanatos Telos

Thanatos Telos

Honorable
Mar 8, 2013
1,187
0
11,660
Hell no. A friend of mine's Logisys PSU killed his build in less than a minute into the first boot. Get a 4300, much better performance. For that price, get an XFX 7850. Finally, get a cheaper set of RAM with lower profile heat spreaders.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860


Thanks, I'll check it out. Yea, the PSU worries me. I'll drop a few extra bucks and a better psu.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860
Figured I'd post my updated system. Over budget but, should work.

Case:
Rosewill R5 (Bought)

PSU:
Corsair CX500M (Already bought 34.99 with rebate)

HDD:
Same as above

Ram:
Team Vulcan 8GB 2x4gb 1600 (Already bought, while on sale)

CPU:
FX-6300

Motherboard:
ASRock 970 extreme4

GPU:
Sapphire HD 7850

Aftermarket cooler:
CM Hyper 212 evo

Already bought my monitor, Dvd drive, thermal paste, stuff like that.


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860
So, Figured I'd post the finished build. Won't bother with prices, since they will, and have changed. Without considering the extras, fans, cables, monitor, OS, crap like that, this system is costing me around 600 - 650ish.



Case
Rosewill R5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147161

PSU
CORSAIR CX500M 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139050#top

HDD
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840




CPU
AMD FX-8320
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285

Mobo
GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

GPU
PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131473

Ram
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313355



DVD
ASUS DVD Burner 24X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135240

Aftermarket cooler
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099


I caught most of these items on sale. The only item listed that I got burnt on was the case (Great quailty case though), other than that, I saved a lot. =D

*CPU bought, now, have to wait until damned thing comes in. It already shipped (first time I've paid for quicker shipping), and I paid for 3 day (.99 cents), usually I would go free, but, I want to insure I get that SOB as soon as possible, even if it means throwing a few more dollars away. Hoping for Monday, but, Tuesday should be the lastest (Unless it ships from CA). Still waiting for the shipping info to show up.

*It's shipping for NJ =) should be here quick. Though, the weekend will delay delivery, it's still on the road.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860


Hey, finished my system today, so far it's working great. Oc'ed to 4.0 with no troubles, and so far seem to have extremely low temps. Have only tried D3 so far, but, this thing is running above and beyond what I expected. Thanks for the advice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860


212 evo. Stock voltage. When I put the cooler into the system, I had already built it. It took me 4 tires (I had to rig a piece of paper between cooler and base to keep it from sliding out of place) to get it lined up correctly, each time I did thermal paste differently. Once all was said and done, thermal paste had filled all the cracks in the evo, and I went with a x corner to corner (Not fully to corner, but you get the idea, close). Also, when I was tightening the screws, the cooler was slipping around, so, it must of spread the past further. I also made sure the cooler was very secure.

Not sure if something I did is the cause of my really great temps, or just blind luck, but, I think it has to do with the evo's cracks being filled with thermal paste, and sliding around while I was securing the screws.

As for thermal paste, I used Arctic 5.

My max temps so far has been 37c after an hour of Prime95.

xy26.jpg


The above picture was after being on for a few hours, downloading, installing, and playing Diablo 3 for 2 hours.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860


NP, also worth mentioning the case I have (Rosewill R5) with 3 additional fans really makes for excellent cooling. Being able to add up to 2 140mm fans up top (I've got one 120mm) makes for some really nice cooling options, also, I removed the top cover, and pretty much means the top of my case is open. I personally think that benchmark reviews done on this case didn't do it justice, since they only used the 3 stock fans (Space for 10).

Hope the info helps.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chargeit

chargeit

Honorable
Oct 5, 2012
429
0
10,860
=D

Wow, how my rig has already changed.

Disregard my information about OC'ing. I was a OC noob, and didn't know enough about OC'ing.

I now run 24/7 @ 4.4 w/4.16v. I maintain a steady multiplier, and my my voltage ranges from 1.404 - 1.416 at load. I've manged to get stable @ 4.6, but, it was freezing outside, and I had to open the window to keep my system cool for the stability tests. This is on a H100i!


It's funny going back and reading some of this, and seeing myself make some of the same overclocking mistakes I see many others making.


*Oh, that $500 budget, has turned into a $2k beast with monitors and stuff included (hell, I bought them). Though some of the parts I had gotten first, are currently going into my ol'ladys rig, such as the mobo, psu, and gpu.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom