The Poor Poor Poor Man's Gaming Rig

[LShapedAmbush]

I think my options are limited to an upgrade or a rebuild. I posted in the Graphics Card Forum about an upgrade and will probably go with that but I’m wondering if a rebuild at this price is even worth it when considering my situation. I’m on a strict budget but want to improve my gaming experience. Please keep in mind I realize this machine won’t be good by most standards but I really just want a significant improvement over what I already have. None of the games I’m really looking forward to are coming out for many months so I just need something until then.

OPTION 1 (build new)

Some points:
1. I don’t need expandability.
2. Wish to play World in Conflict, BF2 and other RTS games (no real FPS games).
3. Only need system for 8-10 months.
4. Need to include shipping, tax and an OS.
5. I don’t know anything about overclocking.

Some questions:
1. Can I reuse my case, PSU, RAM, HDD & DVD player?
2. Will dual channel work with the memory I have?
3. What is this about for the OS: “Disclaimer: Qualifying proof of purchase must be recent receipts showing the purchase of a mother board, hard drive, RAM and a CPU. The components can be on multiple receipts; not necessarily all on one receipt nor on the same receipt as the qualifying Windows XP/Office 2003 that you purchased.”? Do I need to buy retail?
4. What OS should I buy?
5. Am I leaving anything out?

My current system:
Presario SR2170NX
3.0GHz P4
2GHz RAM (max) ((1GB Kingston DDR2 667 & 1GB Hynix PC2 4200))
7300GT
320GB HD
Samsung 22” 226BW
Vista Home Basic

My proposed system:
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz 2M Shared L2 Cache $121.99
Biostar 945G Micro 775 SE Micro ATX $59.99
MSI NX8600GT OC 256MB 128-Bit GDDR3 PCIe (can get non-OC for $108.99) $109.99
APEVIA X-Infinity w/ 350W PSU (do I need more power?) $59.99
XP Home w/ SP2B 1 Pack – OEM $89.99
Case – can I reuse?
HDD – will use current
DVD – will use current
RAM – will use current

Total from newegg before shipping/tax $441.95

OPTION 2 (upgrade)

I will probably get a 7900GS and a new PSU and that’s it.

OVERALL
What kind of improvement can I expect from my current system from Option 1 & Option 2? What would you do?

 

[maverick7]

first off who in their right mind buys operating systems?? i didnt even know people still did that. so that saves you some money there. Also, your old psu might not be able to supply enough power to a newer card like that.

If i were you, i would just upgrade to a 1900xtx (better than nvidia 7900), and a new psu and then that would last you for a bit depending on what games you want to play in the future.

*and also the psu u picked is too low like way too low, if you go with a 8600 gt then i would suggest at least 450 watt psu, if u go with a 1900 then i suggest 600+

in the end i like option 2 better, except get a 1900xtx or xt.. or if u can manage $350 or so you can get yourself a 8800GTS and then with the money left over a good psu

 

[turboflame]

If you're really on a budget and not OCing you should probably go AMD

4200+ $75
e4300 $121

plus you can get a half decent AMD board with $60 compared to the 945G you picked out.

 

[lunyone]

Here is what I would do for the minimum setup to last you for a bit, plus leave room for upgrade later (at least with most of the parts).

CPU - $80 shipped e2160
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA23881

Mobo - $98 shipped - $20 MIR (if you trust MIR’s) = $78 Hard to beat at this price.
ABIT IP35-E INTEL P35 CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/2xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/4xDDR2 W/SATA2,LAN(Gb),USB 2.0 & AUDIO
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA23929

PSU - $100 shipped - $45 MIR = $55, can’t beat for this price and will easily handle a 8800gtx! Save this for the next upgrade!
Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, TUV, CE, FCC, CCC, CB, C-tick – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103941

GPU - $141 shipped Best Bang for the buck on DX 9, will hold you for at least a year.
SAPPHIRE 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102061

Case - $40 shipped - $10 MIR = $30!! Can’t beat the quality and price on this one.
COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119115

Total ~$390 shipped after MIR's! Use your 1gig of DDR2 667 for now and for ~$40 more upgrade to 2gigs. Another options is to forget the case and buy 2gig's of DDR2 now. Sell your parts on the old system, if you like.

Memory choices here are all good solid brands and cost about the same.

Memory - $102 shipped - $40 MIR = $62!! Solid performing CAS 4 DDR2
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

Memory - $110 shipped - $47 MIR = $63!! Good OC’ing RAM + CAS 4 too.
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

Memory - $93 shipped - $30 MIR = $63!! CAS 4 and good RAM
GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144062

It's up to you, but if you get this setup you will be able to drop in a Penryn chip later next year and still be able to upgrade the GPU and have a kick a$$ system!

My 2cp's

 

[mrmez]

If ur REALLY REALLY on a budget, the best bang for buck is acually a console!
Yah i kno!
An xbx/ps is actually sold at a loss, hoping people dont resort to piracy too much and actually buy the games so they recoup costs and try make $.

 

[tlmck]

I would opt for a 7900gs in the current machine. It only burns about 20 more watts than the 7300gt so your current PSU might handle it OK. I would also replace the Hynix ram with a matching stick of 667 Kingston. Obviously what you have is working, but memory performance is likely suffering because of the mismatch.

If you opt for a new build, lunyone's above is pretty good.

 

[LShapedAmbush]

Thanks for the input. I'm serious about an OS though. What am I supposed to do?

 

[turboflame]

Thanks for the input. I'm serious about an OS though. What am I supposed to do?

1.use an old xp disk

2.torrents of xp are NOT aDVISABLE ok

3. Linux

 

[LShapedAmbush]

I have an xp pro reinstallation disk that came with my laptop, will that work?

 

[tlmck]

Thanks for the input. I'm serious about an OS though. What am I supposed to do?

If you upgrade the old, stay with the Vista Basic. It does not have Aero, but it seems to be the most stable version of Vista right now. I learned this from friends that work over in the Fry's tech dept. They said that low end machines with Vista Basic have the lowest return rate.

If you go new machine, XP home would be a good option.

I don't play it, but I have seen numerous posts about World in Conflict doing better in DX9 mode than DX10. I have not tried WIC on Linux, but BF2 runs just fine on PCLinuxOS 2007(my preferred OS).

 

[andybird123]

They probably have the lowest return rate because people buying Vista Basic are doing nothing other than simple word processing and internet browsing. All that Home Premium gives you over basic is media center, and I can't see this being a major cause of failures.

I think it's far more likely that premium and ultimate users are ALSO doing things like installing niche hardware, installing dubious software and all the other things that people with a little knowledge try to do to operating systems that causes problems.