$500 gaming budget build

[agamemnonuo]

Here's the situation. Got a friend at work who is a little weary of building his own computer. I gave him a link to the Tom's Hardware article (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-graphic-game,1810.html)of the $500 budget build and told him as of now he can get a e2180 for the same price as the e2160 listed in the article, and gave him a few more suggestions for RAM. Today he gives me this link http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3883600&CatId=3443 and tells me about how great of a deal it is. I really question the video card this computer is using (an 8500GT??), along with the RAM. I don't even see where they list the brand of power supply or the number of rails it has or anything. I have also read that the mobo listed does not overclock well. Would the 533Mhz RAM bottleneck? I hadn't even heard of an 8500GT video card until today and from what I read about it, it probably won't cut it for the new games coming out he is wanting to play.

Here's my question.. Are the cons I wrote correct? Is there anything else I should tell him? Or is this actually a decent buy? Also is there anything that should be changed as far as the hardware listed on the $500 budget build machine article?

 

[gators1223]

the ram isn't such a big problem given that the processor wont use better the 400 speed ram, as for the psu and graphics card, your worries are warranted.
this is what i came up with really quick

CPU: Intel e7200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35-DS3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337
Memory: Super Talent 2gb ddr2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609027
GPU: Sapphire radeon 2600xt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102703
PSU: FSP 400w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104047
Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.10 250gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
DVD Burner: Asus 20x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135156
Case: Cool Master Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
$517

yes the psu has less power but fsp is a good brand and it should be fine, it has a better motherboard gpu and cpu all in all probably worth the extra 7 dollars
and if your willing to fork out a little more you can pick up 4gigs of ram

 

[akhilles]

^^^^ ***STAMP OF APPROVAL ***

You can even swap the cpu & gpu out for a cheaper cpu & faster gpu if it's a gaming pc.

 

[zenmaster]

#1 - It's a 945 Mobo. Long Gone. Two Generations Old. The 965 has come and gone to be replaced by the P35. Such a Mobo will not OC, Will not handle newer CPUs, and could easily have driver issues with Vista since it's probably been many years since any drivers have been written.

#2 - PSU - Its probably a no-name brand PSU. Not good for long life or adding decent graphics.

#3 - The 8500GT is not good for gaming at all. Surfing the Web, but not serious games at all.

#4 - Small and likely old HDD that is not up to the performance of today's high density drives. As one of the slowest parts of the PC, you don't want to get a slow HDD.

 

[zenmaster]

^^^^ ***STAMP OF APPROVAL ***

You can even swap the cpu & gpu out for a cheaper cpu & faster gpu if it's a gaming pc.

Agreed.
I would look at the E2160/E2180 and put the money into a better GPU if he is a gamer.

 

[Onus]

I agree with all three of the previous posters. What games does he want to play?

 

[agamemnonuo]

As of now he plays TF2 and the half life games. Will play more demanding games in future. Think I heard him talking about the new Age of Conan

 

[y2kgtp]

With that computer setup from Tiger Direct, all he will be doing is 'talking' about playing Age of Conan still....

2.2Ghz processor, and no idea (doubtful) if that motherboard can OC

 

[gators1223]

does it have to be $500, for $600 he could get a lot better

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I would try to get him to step up to at least an 8800gs or 9600gso. That should blow away the 8500gt for games.