Building A Budget Gaming PC For Friend

Hello,

My friend is in need of a new computer, He currently has a 2002 Dell which is extreme slow and plays almost no games. He is slowly going to buy items to make his gaming more enjoyable, first a new desktop than a monitor and so on.

He is mostly going to play these games: Battlefield 2, World In Conflict, Comand & Conquer Generals.
He also wants his computer to be as fast as possible for budget of $1100.

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Processer: $230 w/ Heatsink & Fan
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

Memory/Ram: $60 w/ Heatsink
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel TWIN2X2048-6400C5DHX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145175

Video Card: $260 w/ Fan
EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130319

Motherboard: $150
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131232

Case: $85
NZXT HUSH Black SECC Steel/ Aluminum/ Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146035

Power Supply: $125
Thermaltake Purepower RX W0144RU ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817153049

Hard Drive: $175
Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136011

Optical Drive: $40
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135156

TOTAL: $1125

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
SUGGESTIONS?

Oh Ya, my friend only wants Intel, Nvidia, and he wants a Raptor.

Message edited by neoxblu1 on 02-04-2008 at 06:09:55 AM

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you dont need a raptor if you're saving money, get a seagate 7200.11 500gb drive or something and put the money towards a better component.

I would suggest putting any extra money from ditching the raptor to get the E8400 ($220) or Q6600 ($299) processors.

OR

Get an 8800GTS 512MB graphics card over the GT for a bit extra.

If i can't convince u of anything there, then what you have chosen should suffice, but all I'm saying is you could save some $$$ by ditching the raptor which seems to be out of place in that system and would not be the bottleneck. Put it towards something else.

------------------------------ Intel C2D E8400 OC @ 3.6GHz.--TRUE 120 W/ Scythe S-Flex 28.0dB.--EVGA 8800GTS 512MB.--ASUS Maximus Formula X38 (0907).--Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 4-4-4-12 @ 800Mhz.--WD 150gb Raptor.--Corsair 620HX Modular PSU.--Antec P182 Case.-- Vista 32bit.
Reply to Beurling

No your card is good, gts bad choice, save a little on mobo, raptor rocks but you could save money. If you can save a little on those and get nicer case. Oh ya could go with 2 gb of ram instead of 4

Reply to harly2

Get 2gb not 4gb of RAM if you are going 32bit Vista/XP. 32bit systems can only read up to 3gb of RAM. 64bit can read more. Generally speaking, most games only use 2gb of RAM anyway.

Can you get an 780i MoBo for the same price? 680i's are an old technology and can be hot. Really hot. Like cook a steak hot.

Skip the raptor. Quick load times but will barely change your FPS. Get a 250gb SATA and spend the difference on a better processor.

Reply to chefman21

I haven't purchased my builld yet, but you should change the following

Faster Processor - Core 2 Duo E8400
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115037

Better Motherboard - This is the 780i from eVGA, only a bit more expensive but worth it (You picked out a 680i)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188024

Better HDD - This is a 7200.11 320GB Seagate, I believe it is almost as fast as the raptor and has much more space
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148288

For the RAM just get 2GB, almost nothing needs more and 32bit windows will only use 3.33 of it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146565
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231114

Reply to nossr50

If you end up with an extra 100 the G92 8800GTS is a better card than the 8800GT, but is a lot more expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130312

Also, your friend is going to be doing pretty much every game with this kind of budget FYI. I can play BF2, C&C Generals, and C&C Tiberium Wars with no lag on a 4 year old gaming PC.

Reply to nossr50

The TT PSU only has 23.3 amps on the +12v rail which is not enough for a high end vid card. Their web site lists it as 29a, but the label on the PSU only lists 280w on the 12v. 280 divided by 12v = 23.3 amps.

The PSU is also not SLi capable. I point this out since you picked an SLi board.

This would be a much better choice. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004

------------------------------ I know what I know, and I don't know what I don't know.
Reply to tlmck

Depeding on how much of a budget your friend is on, you might benefit from an AMD setup instead, I'm thinking you could have maybe a 5000+ black edition, which should overclock decently for the price of that processor you quoted. Also as someone said, lose the raptor, look into some of the new seagate drives, some are faster, as well as cheaper and more storage space.

Example....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103194

AMD 5000+ Black edition, 99.99, of course you need a cooler, but still not bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128075

Gigabyte AM2/AM2+ mobo, 149.99

For myself, I'm running a Gigabyte mobo and an Athlon X2 5200+, very very nice motherboard, I'm very happy with mine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820134586

Kingston memory ddr2 1066, is a little pricey at 79.99, but if you look around at the specs on that board it might take ddr2 800, or you can look into another board, b/c most amd boards take the ddr2 800, which is a lot cheaper.

So that is another option to consider, your saying budget system and your friend is supposed to be saving money here, AMD would do that job just fine, get him a reasonably fast chip, take some off that motherboard but leave him some expandability, then your saving him money and he may not have to wait on that monitor and what not.

Reply to ohiou_grad_06

Judging by the parts he listed he can afford the intel processor

Reply to nossr50

Perhaps, but he is talking about a budget, and his friend wanting more for his money, just throwing out an idea. As AMD is still great performance for less bucks.

Reply to ohiou_grad_06

And a lot less performance...unfortunately

Reply to nossr50

Thanks for the suggestions, I forgot to post this...but my friend wants 4GB of Ram I told him he dosent but thats him, I'll tell him about the PSU, Processer, and mobo changes.

AND Thanks for the coments.

Please continue to post suggestions, ill post a the new components soon.

Reply to neoxblu1

^^ Question...will he run SLI

If not don't waste money on the 680i motherboard. Also don't go by the "later it will be cheaper" deal, because by the time it happens, buying the better card will be better than SLI. Get a nice P35 motherboard instead (or X38 to go crossfire but thats the same deal as SLI).

Also, don't get a Raptor. They're outdated and not worth it. Get a seagate or a WD AAKS drive. I have the 32o gig which was $80.

Based on the above, using the saved cash, upgrade to an E8400 or Q6600 and if you can, push the G92 GTS. The GT runs very hot and loud (I know from personnal experience)

On another note, try to get a better wattage PSU. I can personally suggest the Corsair 520HX. Its modular which is nice

Edit: Run off my system if you want (hardware config). It was $900 so you can upgrade off that.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Silverion77 on 02-04-2008 at 12:51:49 AM

I have to agree with many of the posters here. Grab an e8400 for sure, i would go with a P35 based mobo. Here is the prob with SLI, unless he plans on buying a second vid card in the VERY near future, i.e. 6 months max, it is going to end up being a waste. By the time he gets to the point that he *needs* to get a second vid card to play new games well (which will be 1.5-2years+) The 8800gt 512mb are going to be very hard to find and will likely be very expensive, and he will be better off purchasing a newer gen card (9xxx or 10xxx series, or whatever is out at that point...)

Moving along, i wouldnt worry too much about the RAM issue, an extra 2gb shouldnt really be breaking the bank, unless you're overspending on the RAM, which is only neccessary if you plan on heavily overclocking. If not, stick with some budget RAM and you'll do just fine.

I agree also on avoiding the Raptor. You could get a good 320gb HDD that will be plenty fast. The only advantage on the raptor is your load times will be a bit better. Really most games load times are less than 20 seconds (on the high end), so whats the point in spending that much extra to get say a 16 second load vs a 20 second load. Honestly not worth it.

Also, if this is strictly for gaming, avoid the quad core, most games still only utilize 1 core, and even when they start multi-threading games to utilize multiple cores, they most likely wont bother with anything over 2. Quad core is only going to be useful if he intends to do a lot of 3d modeling, video or pic editing, etc.

Also, get a better PSU. I'd stick with a 600w+. Coolermaster makes some damn fine PSUs for relatively little money. If you decide to stay with a 500w PSU than you are really wasting money buying an SLI mobo, because i can assure you when you slap a second vid card in that PSU won't be able to handle it.

Message edited by kutark on 02-04-2008 at 01:14:44 AM

------------------------------ "The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Reply to kutark

^^ agreed

BUT if he overclocks, the Q6600 at 3.6 or even 3.2 will be just as good as a dual. Games are not very cpu dependent and the quad will give better longevity

Also PATRIOT INTERCEPTION AT THE 5 YARD LINE W00T!!!

Silverion77 wrote :

^^ Question...will he run SLI

If not don't waste money on the 680i motherboard. Also don't go by the "later it will be cheaper" deal, because by the time it happens, buying the better card will be better than SLI. Get a nice P35 motherboard instead (or X38 to go crossfire but thats the same deal as SLI).

Also, don't get a Raptor. They're outdated and not worth it. Get a seagate or a WD AAKS drive. I have the 32o gig which was $80.

Based on the above, using the saved cash, upgrade to an E8400 or Q6600 and if you can, push the G92 GTS. The GT runs very hot and loud (I know from personnal experience)

On another note, try to get a better wattage PSU. I can personally suggest the Corsair 520HX. Its modular which is nice

Edit: Run off my system if you want (hardware config). It was $900 so you can upgrade off that.

SLI is a no

Reply to neoxblu1

Then P35, upgrade proc. to E8400 or Q6600.
And dump the raptor and try to get the G92 GTS over the GT

Message edited by Silverion77 on 02-04-2008 at 03:46:41 AM

budget huh? $1200 is not usually classified as "budget". $500-600 is a budget rig, that's what I have. $1200 is high mid-range at least.

that said, I would recommend the 750i if SLI is important to him. $150, just a little more than the p35 ds3, cheaper than the 780 by far. the gts would be worth the extra money as well. 15% faster for 15% more money is the right ratio. the dual cooler is also better than the gt's single slot. the new E8xxx would also be good if he's going dual core, but I still like the q6600 for "future proof". that dvd drive is ok, but the samsung 203n is better rated. little cheaper too.

just my opinion.

Reply to nvalhalla

good suggestions^^

The P35 or not really depends on SLI or not. P35s overclock better than nvidia chipsets

OK, I have posted the new version (look up top) and tell me what you think.

Reply to neoxblu1

My personal suggestions:

If your friend considered ATI, the price could have been a lot cheaper
Gigabyte x38 - $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128080

Gigabyte 3870 - $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125086

and if you pony up an extra $100 for the psu you won't have to worry about
future upgrades. like a
Seasonic 700w psu - $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817151031

Suggestions with your conditions:

CPU: Wolfdale all the way. - $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

Motherboard: Evga 780i(we get the g92 for a reason ) - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188024

Graphics Card: Considering your friend is only looking at Nvidia
I will suggest a 8800gts(g92) only if you want to wait for the $75 rebate - $265
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814133215

Case: NZXT LEXA Black-line - great all around case and it's black with clear side panel -$80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146038

RAM: Get any 2gb ddr6400 ram. Gskill is good. - $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231098

Hard Drive: Rapter X - I would rather not, but hey it looks cool with all black case - $175
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136011

Optical Drive: Get Samsung DVD burner - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151153

PSU: Get a mushkin(modular)5 year warrenty - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817812004

Price $1162+tax after rebates.

OR replace the evga mb and vga with
gigabyte mb and vga and the upgraded psu

Price $1187+tax after rebates.

Hope this help you a bit, good luck

Message edited by narutard on 02-04-2008 at 08:27:24 AM

Reply to narutard

Are you really suggesting DDR3 memory modules?

/slap

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts
-Shakespeare
Reply to nossr50

nossr50 wrote :

Are you really suggesting DDR3 memory modules?

/slap

/cry

I will until you show me benchies for 3870 vs 3870 that prove me wrong otherwise.
And when you do, I will then add to it that a 3850 512 mb cost almost as much as
the 3870 ddr3 version consistently and most 3870 ddr4 are going for $250+ at that
amount I rather get the 8800gt. =D

Reply to narutard

Just dig around, everyone knows the price/performance ratio on DDR3 is horrid right now. 200$ for a stick that has latencies higher than your budget and the DDR2 still outperform (this will likely be the case for a while).

------------------------------ All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts
-Shakespeare
Reply to nossr50

OK I will say it again,

You even said that he will not use SLI, so why should you pay extra for an SLI board if he is not going to use it. Trade up the 750i for a good P35 motherboard. They are more stable, better overclockers, and are better with intel chips.

Secondly, DROP THE RAPTOR. I understand he wants one....but tell him hes a retard if hes that ignorant to realize how stupid it is to buy one now. ONCE AGAIN, it is outdated and not worth it at all. Regular drives are just as fast now. Unless he cares for that 1 second less load time justifies an extra $120 over regular 150 drives. Get a good 320 or 500 drive for $80-90. They are just as good.

With the saved money upgrade to a G92 GTS. The GT is loud and runs pretty hot.

Message edited by Silverion77 on 02-04-2008 at 12:38:07 PM

Take a look at these components, I think they will fit your budget and well past your performance needs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 620W Power Supply

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB

Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Samsung SH-S203B SATA

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to mlaporta

what mlaporta said... for sure... that GTS will kill

Reply to amd_fanboi

^^ hey mlaporta

Did you get the system working yet??

I want to kno how well my...I MEAN YOUR computer is doing

Edit: Agree with Above system!!

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Silverion77 on 02-04-2008 at 09:07:37 PM

Still waiting for some prices to fall... you will definately be one of the first ones I give details to on the specs, performance and such.

OMG... I just looked at your profile, is that right are u only 15...
geesh that makes me feel like a retard

Reply to mlaporta

14 :kaola:

Ok.. I agree with Silver on this one. Take our advice or don't, I really don't care, we're just trying to help.

P35 will beat the crap out of any 750i in overclocking. I would get a P5K-E (non-Wifi) for cheaper than that 750i.

Get 2 Seagate Barracudas for $100 and put them in RAID 0. Cheaper than a Raptor and it's a lot faster than you would think.

I would get an eVGA 8800 GTS.

E8400 is a good choice if he wants dual... How long does he want the system to last?

I stay away from Corsair DDR2. Crucial or Transcend there.

It's his money, feel free to waste it for him.

------------------------------ TeamBAG Member
Reply to cnumartyr

Hey neo, this computer your building for your friend is almost exactly the same as the one I'm building for myself.

I have the exact same budget and am spending $1,050 including shipping.

Take a look at the parts and spec's im getting, it could help you out.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ver-budget

Listen to silverion, he is genius. Also anybody can see that having the raptor in there and an SLI board for a non-SLI now or in the future computer is just plain stupid.

Reply to zerep

Geesh these young kids now-a-days (Silverion77) they know it all (or at least he thinks he does)

I'm going back to school

Reply to mlaporta

I understand I dont know the real world stuff (Cnumartyr) but I do my best to know what I can

Message quoted 1 times

Silverion77 wrote :

^^ hey mlaporta

Did you get the system working yet??

I want to kno how well my...I MEAN YOUR computer is doing

Edit: Agree with Above system!!

ROFLMAO HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I just got your comment... "my I mean your system" yes all your recommendations are GOLD

Now help me in my "financial" affairs

Reply to mlaporta

Silverion77 wrote :

I understand I dont know the real world stuff (Cnumartyr) but I do my best to know what I can

Lol, just because I make fun of you on Steam doesn't mean you have to bring it here. :kaola:

------------------------------ TeamBAG Member
Reply to cnumartyr

o whoops my bad :lol:

Thank You for suggestions, I'll see what I can do this time.

Reply to neoxblu1

My suggestions

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ntec%2b900
(a little more, but well worth it)

PS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371001
(What can I say TT Sucks 4 builds with TT = 4 dead builds)

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136161
(More space half the price)

Vid: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150261

Reply to IH8U

mlaporta wrote :

Take a look at these components, I think they will fit your budget and well past your performance needs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 620W Power Supply

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB

Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Samsung SH-S203B SATA

Reply to mlaporta

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