Best Bang for the Buck on the Cheap

[drunkles]

i want a new pc but i'm strapped for cash. i was hoping to spend no more than $500 or so. My old box is in dire need of retirement, about the only thing i'll be reusing is the keyboard and mouse. i play games (but i don't need the run them at max settings). World of Warcraft is my fave but i also hit up CS:Source and AA:O. Other than games it will just be used for general purpose stuff, browsing, music, etc.

i saw a Dell E521 for $389 (3800x2, 1gig ram, 160Gb HDD) that i was thinking about, esp if i threw in a 7600GT. That would bring me to around $500, but i'm wondering if i could build something similar on my own for that kind of price. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[apt403]

for $500 that dell might be your best option.

 

[MrSiko]

True story...

My friend is putting together a cheap gaming rig for exactly the same games...

He opted for Intel LGA775 (£50, 3 GHz), Asus mobo, Nvidia 7600GT etc...

Dunno why you aint gonna re-use your case and psu (so long as ATX), given your budget.

Good luck, and please let us know how you get on.

 

[jp_zer0]

well the 200W PSU will surely destroy your computer if you strap on that 7600GT tho.

 

[yquo]

The Dell with the 3800 X2 with 19" LCD cost 619 usd in USA + a video card (it comes with onboard video) the same with the Athlon64 3200+ with a 17" LCD you have to add a video card, it comes with onboard video. If you want to give a try and build it yourself here is my humble opinion. I hope the advise can help. Good Luck

AMD Athlon64 3500+ 90 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103033
ECS nForce4 56 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135028
or Asus M2N 94 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131022
1 Gb DDR2 667 90 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161675
Seagate 250 Gb 16 Mb SataII 75 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148144
evga 7600 GTS 112 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130054
evga 7600 GT 110 usd after MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130054
evga 7900 GS 160 usd after MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130056
case & psu
40 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811147031
45 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811147055
55 usd after MIR Antec http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129150
LCD
17" 160 usd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116013
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009088
19" 190 usd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009091

621 usd if you choose the cheapest parts

+38 usd if you want an Asus motherboard
+50 usd if you want an 7900 GS videocard
+30 usd if you want an 19" LCD
+15 usd if you want an Antec case

 

[AMDThunder]

Try this. Threw it together pretty quick, but it's close to your budget. Unless you need a monitor... Everything should be compatible, but someone may look it over. Like I said, I threw it together pretty quick.

AMD X2 3800+
ECS AM2 Mobo
COOLER MASTER Centurion Case
Coolmax 500W PSU
Ampo 2X512 667 Memory
eVGA 6600GT vid card
Samsung 160GB IDE HDD

$545 shipped thru Newegg. Before anyone slams my selections, remember he's on a tight budget. The ram is only a 1GB stick, but you can get another later when you can afford it for dual channel.

 

[SEALBoy]

Try this. Threw it together pretty quick, but it's close to your budget. Unless you need a monitor... Everything should be compatible, but someone may look it over. Like I said, I threw it together pretty quick.

AMD X2 3800+
ECS AM2 Mobo
COOLER MASTER Centurion Case
Coolmax 500W PSU
Ampo 2X512 667 Memory
eVGA 6600GT vid card
Samsung 160GB IDE HDD

$545 shipped thru Newegg. Before anyone slams my selections, remember he's on a tight budget.

That's not a bad setup on a shoestring budget, but I'd switch out the HD for this WD 160GB SATA2 drive. It's the exact same price, so why the hell not?
I might be wrong about this, but I think this might be a better choice for a graphics card: X1300XT 256MB. Other than that, it looks pretty good.

 

[AMDThunder]

That's not a bad setup on a shoestring budget, but I'd switch out the HD for this WD 160GB SATA2 drive. It's the exact same price, so why the hell not?
I might be wrong about this, but I think this might be a better choice for a graphics card: X1300XT 256MB. Other than that, it looks pretty good.

I don't think the mobo supports SATA, that's why I chose the other one. Maybe I missed something...

 

[drunkles]

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys. Since someone asked, i don't need to buy a monitor i will be reusing that. But i can't really reuse my case/PSU. Please keep the suggestions coming.

 

[DennyCraneBL]

New Egg have a special on Pentium Ds, now if you're very strapped for cash - it looks like a good offer, bang for the buck wise ... maybe not a great performer.

ABIT AB9 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual Core,EM64T Processor Model BX80551PE2666FN - Retail

$200.

The processor/board will OC to around 3.25GHz.

That would leave a whole $300 for hard drives, optical drives, graphics cards.

I would reccomend a Pentium D for the budget dual core.

 

[AMDThunder]

Try this. Threw it together pretty quick, but it's close to your budget. Unless you need a monitor... Everything should be compatible, but someone may look it over. Like I said, I threw it together pretty quick.

AMD X2 3800+
ECS AM2 Mobo
COOLER MASTER Centurion Case
Coolmax 500W PSU
Ampo 2X512 667 Memory
eVGA 6600GT vid card
Samsung 160GB IDE HDD

$545 shipped thru Newegg. Before anyone slams my selections, remember he's on a tight budget. The ram is only a 1GB stick, but you can get another later when you can afford it for dual channel.

Swap the mobo, cpu and vid card for these. And the hard drive sealboy linked for you above.

ECS KN1 Extreme Socket 939
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Venice 2.2GHz
eVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT

Puts you at $497.08 shipped thru Newegg. Don't know how many more suggestions we can give. That puts you right at your budget, and I'm sure would be a nice upgrade to what you currently have.