Very Budget Gamer First Time Build!

This is my first post ever and I'm looking for advice on my first build. I am on a pretty tight budget and don't want to spend much over $700 if possible. I plan on overclocking. I play lots of games the main ones being cs:s, bf2142, and i want this to be ok for crysis and bioshock on medium/high settings. I will be gaming at 1280x1024 most likely or maybe 1680x1050. I will be ordering everything from newegg. I'm open to any suggestions, but keep in mind my budget lol. Anyway, here it is.


AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3600 PROCESSOR $61.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103046

PNY 7900GS VIDEO CARD 256MB GDDR3 $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814133186

COOLER MASTER CENTURION 5 CASE $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068

BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 AM2 MOTHERBOARD $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138026

G SKILL 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231063

PHILIPS 20X DVD BURNER SATA $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827248008

WESTERN DIGITAL 250GB SATA HDD $68
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822144701

ASUS BLACK SATA DVD-ROM DRIVE $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135151

ROSEWILL 550W POWER SUPPLY $52
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817182017

CYBER ACOUSTICS 14 WATTS 2.1 SPEAKERS $15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836150033

LOGITECH BLACK KEYBOARD $9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823126013

ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER 64 PRO 92MM CPU COOLER $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185125

So there it is.. I want to get the cpu to 2.8 or 3 ghz.. I've heard its possible with that combo. I'm open to suggestions on other cases. I will probably add another gig or two of that memory later. The power supply should be good, right? And I added the speakers mainly for when I have people over.. I won't be cranking em too loud and usually use headphones for games. I just wanted something decent for a low price. Thanks! Any replies are greatly appreciated. (I know there are a million of these threads out there lol)

You would need more ram and a faster CPU.

You may want to check out the Pentium e2140, as it uses the Core 2 architecture ($75) and thus, will be a quicker chip when overclocked. Also, when overclocking Intel chips the RAM speed is not that important.

Also, you definitely want 2gb of RAM. It's so cheap now days there is no reason not to have at leat 2gb.

Ditch the extra DVD-ROM, or pony up a few more $$ and get another burner.

The x1950pro is the bang for the buck champ at about $115-120, and absolutely destroys the 7900gs.

Go with the aformentioned FSP PSU.

Circuit City has a Creative 2.1 speaker set on rebate for $20 all the time. I got the rebate back promptly so I would suggest that to save on shipping and have a better 2.1 system.

Zipzoomfly has the Cooler Master Centurion for $55 shipped and then an additional $10 mail in rebate to make it $45. Sorry for no link, I'm ato work right now and you should be able to find it easily.

Also, check out the Patriot eXtreme Performance RAM at Newegg. It is 4-4-4-12 PC2 6400/800MHz (2x1GB) sticks for roughly $115. There is a $50 mail in rebate on them to make it $65. You can't beat that price, especially since they most likely will have the Micron D9's that are so known for great OC'ing.

Newegg has some 320BG 3.0GB/s SATA HDD's for around $76 shipped and would be work the extra <$10 IMO. I believe one is a WD and I know the other is a Seagate Cuda.

I'd strongly suggest going with the E2140 instead of the AMD. The Intel will overclock much better and provides better performance.

You can find 2GB of DDR2 800 for about $80, and the extra GB is going to help a lot with gaming. Here are some suggested types for budget builds: http://www.buildmyrig.com/content/view/20/52/

If you go with the Intel processor, you're also going to need a different motherboard. I'd suggest the Gigabyte P965 DS3 which is $99.99.

To get the best performance for your dollar on your video card, I'd suggest you check out this page: http://www.buildmyrig.com/content/view/19/53/ and choose from one of the three budget PCIe cards. The 7900GS is a good card, but the 8600GT is cheaper and has DX10 along with better performance in some areas. The X1950Pro will outperform the 8600GT, but you'll also have to spend more for it.

Motherboards with onboard video tend to be made for people who don't really want to do gaming/overclocking. The said, there are some other there that also have a PCIe 16x slot and should run video cards just fine. I wouldn't expect to be able to overclock very well with one, though.

I didn't see an operating system in your list, do you need to add that? That could take a $100 chunk out of your budget The RAM you linked is CAS5, you might as well go for CAS4 since it's about the same price these days. With mail-in-rebates, you can get a 2 gig kit for $64-$70.

The e2140 is a good choice. 3.0GHz should be easy for that. If you get the right motherboard, you can have a quad-core upgrade in your future as well. The FSP PSU advice is good as well. CoolerMaster cases are some of the best for a budget build, the Elite mentioned above has space for 2x 120mm fans (1 included) so you'll stay quiet and cool. CoolerMaster is also one of the only case makers that actually puts HD front audio hookups (and AC'97 as well) in the majority of their cases.

Don't get a 2nd DVD drive. One does the trick.

I don't think the e2140 is a "C2D" it's the older "dual core". I don't think there's much difference but the first thing that I see is only 1MB of L2 compared to the 2MB of the low end C2D family.

Which board are you going with? I'd still go with the Crucial Ballistix or the Patriots. There seem to have been a LOT of problems/complaints about Corsair lately. Many of them saying "Corsair...not what it used to be". Read the reviews on Newegg for yourself. They kinda scared me away from that brand as that is what I initially planned on. Now I'm going with the Crucials.

CAS Latency 5 is perfectly fine for what you're doing. The timings don't play a major role. The RAM you chose is perfectly fine, despite what BS6749 said. He does have a point in that you may as well get the faster RAM he mentioned when it costs less. There's also absolutely nothing wrong with Corsair and basing information like that off Newegg reviews is just dumb. Corsair is a lot more stringent about quality control and they typically have very good products, but they also usually come at a price premium.

The lack of extra L2 cache isn't a big deal. It'll help performance, sure, but even then an overclocked E2140 will be plenty for gaming.

The Gigabyte board is a good choice, especially since it will let you upgrade to almost anything you want later down the road. Whatever you get, make sure it supports an 800MHz FSB.

Upgrading to Vista was entirely painless for me. The only downside I've ever had is fixable compatibility problems with some software or games. Keeping your iTunes stuff is just a matter of making sure you transfer it properly.

OverClockability

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/c [...] html#sect0

Looks like a pretty good list of componants. It is amazing to me how much CPU power can be bought these days for so little money.

One thing: I would switch out your video card choice for a GeForce 8600GTS or something similar from Nvidia, just in case this DirectX10 thing takes off.

If you are sticking with XP, then as someone mentioned, go with 2 gigs of ram. If you are heading for Vista, 2 gig should be the minimum, but you'll probably want to go beyond that, especially with Vista x64

Based on a quick look at NewEgg, I can't find any reputable x1950 close to $120 so that would seem like a good deal for his 7900GS.

The 8600GTS is really not going to give you much in regards to DX10.
It may support the calls, but most likely the card will need to turn off so many options to get good performance that you will not truly see the DX10 benefits. Its better than the 8600GT but still less powerful than the 7900GS which should OC well.

If your budget is 700 you should include shipping fees with all those parts it could be around 60 bucks

oh.. so you recommend a g33 or a p35 instead?
such as this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

That would be a good board. I forgot the 965 chipset only likes RAM sticks with 5-5-5 timings.....with this board you can go with any of the sticks I told you about. I'm using ths GA-P35-DS3R board in mine and the Patriot ones willl work fine, as will the Crucial Ballistix. They should work in yours as well.

800 will be fine. The -DS3R board is even higher quality than the -DS3L, but costs more.
I'm running a 7900GS, and for the games I play (mostly Guild Wars), my frame rate stays pegged on the monitor refresh rate. It should be fine for your games too.

The 8600GTS beats the 7900GS quite often:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=293
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=291
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=290
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=289
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=294
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=295
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=296
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=303
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=304

Generally speaking, motherboards with onboard video are oriented toward budget builders. They can overclock, yes, but the only thing I said was to not expect much from it. I never said it was lacking in options. I'm sure there are some boards out there that would work quite well.

Actually, P35's do support 800FSB. Using the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R for example, e2140 and other 800FSB CPU's are on the manufacturer's CPU support list.

Suggesting someone may have found some crack is hardly a tantrum. Now, your last post, otoh...

The memory standard on the Gigabyte P35 boards is DDR2-800. Same on the G33, or you can oc to 1066. It does work, and I'm far from the only one around here who has done it. A detective can't use the same clue to solve every case. I'm sure that will make more sense as you get older. For my part, rather than saying "across the board," a better choice of words would have been "in general, in aggregate, and in all the games the OP cited, the 7900GS outperforms the 8600GT." I truly am sorry that my hastily selected phrase was not more precise; I should know better on a technical forum. But the bottom line?

As you say, "and that's only a couple of games," your multiple listings for the same for 2-3 games, none of which were mentioned by the OP, doesn't refute my suggestion that the 7900GS is the better choice, and I stand by it, as well as about the 965 vs. the P35/G33 and memory issues.

this is what i have so far. $675 after shipping and rebates is pretty sweet.
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio [...] dget+Gamer

hooray. thats what it is yeah i'm like $10 over but o well. The extra 120 goes in the front i take it which usually makes the air come inwards. so i'll have 2 in and a one out and a vent. sounds awesome.

Let's agree to be civil because I have no desire to argue over the internet.

I'm not sure why you're directing the memory part to me, I don't recall ever stating that it wouldn't work. I made the mistake in not factoring in the games in the OP. I agree that for his purposes, the 7900GS could be a better choice.

I don't disagree with you about the RAM either, and I don't think I ever have. You're right about the motherboard, though. Newegg doesn't list an 800MHz FSB for that board, but the Gigabyte page does. It's unusual for Newegg to be off with things like that. I'll make a note of it for the future.

esmith7075, that list looks good. I agree with jtt in saying that I personally wouldn't buy a Rosewill. Supposedly they're rebranded Antec products, but I don't know for sure.

Cool beans.

CoolerMaster is on "do not buy" Tier-5 of the PSU list (other than Real Power, on tier-4). I had one go bad on me, so with better choices available I have no reason to ever buy another.

So let me get this straight. I new person to the forum posts a link to his own site, and gives some "advise" that some older people on the forum (myself included.) found to be possibly incorrect. I did manage to laugh at his reply, as he threw a tantrum while implying you shouldn't do that. Would anyone like to see a list where the 8600GTS loses to the 7900GS? They are close in performance, and trade blows depending on the game/setting. When this is the case, I tell people to buy whichever one is cheaper, unless that card does much worse (10% or more) on their favorite game.

To the OP, can you update your list please. Some people have made suggestions, and I'm not sure where you stand right now. Both optical drives are still on your list, as is the aftermarket cooler. (I'd drop both BTW.) Dropping both of those would add $40 to your budget. I also suggest the x1950pro/xt. Although it requires a rebate, there is one around $120.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814241038
There is a better one at $130.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161060