Decent gaming computer under $500...

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kinson

Honorable
Jan 13, 2014
2
0
10,510
I have a pretty good case and honestly have no use for the older hardware anymore if I'm upgrading (except hdd's)...

I have a 8800GTX video card, I'm not really sure how it fairs anymore...

I have an amd board, but would like to go to intel this time for other fun reasons...

So, I guess I would need cpu, ram, motherboard, a ssd would be sick, and a video card if the gtx isn't worth a turd anymore and I can replace it with something else within the price range...

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
ScrewySqrl
if your old system is a 939 board, I'd say NOTHING in it is re-usable. 939 belongs to the IDE era, not SATA. The power supply would be worn out, the Memory would be useless, and the optical drive and hard drive would most likely be incompatible with modern SATA connections. Sound cards built into motherbaords are at least as good as your old Sound Card.

That said, here is an i5 build, which had to step dowm the GPU a couple notches
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X...
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ScrewySqrl

ScrewySqrl

Champion
Aug 2, 2010
11,199
232
53,540
AMD is still the best bet under $500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.84 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $508.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-13 16:05 EST-0500)
 
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K

kinson

Honorable
Jan 13, 2014
2
0
10,510
I appreciate your response, but I have a case, an optical drive (didnt think of adding that), a really good sound card, and a power supply that went with the amd 939 boards.

I would prefer to go intel, I have reasons. I love amd, and have enjoyed them since I built my first many years back... Unless one of you can tell me how to frankentosh/hacintosh with an amd. I guess all I really need is a good CPU, motherboard, ram, video card, and poser supply. Would love a good sized solidstate drive to put windows and current games on as well...
 
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ScrewySqrl

ScrewySqrl

Champion
Aug 2, 2010
11,199
232
53,540
if your old system is a 939 board, I'd say NOTHING in it is re-usable. 939 belongs to the IDE era, not SATA. The power supply would be worn out, the Memory would be useless, and the optical drive and hard drive would most likely be incompatible with modern SATA connections. Sound cards built into motherbaords are at least as good as your old Sound Card.

That said, here is an i5 build, which had to step dowm the GPU a couple notches
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.84 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $500.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-14 09:24 EST-0500)

 
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