Tom's Hardware: Topic [New System Build] $500 Gaming PC
Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions.
Sign up now! Its free!
Newegg has this great deal on a earhwatts 380 watt psu $29.00 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371005
Its not much, bet enough for a budget build like yours.
I personally have a e2180, and have it OCed to 3.0 easy.
I say drop the e7200 and get a e2180. Use the saved money on a 4850. Like others have said, raidmax PSU are crap and arnt worth it. Buy the Earthwatts PSU and this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119115
Reply to SuicideSilence
opcode,
your build has too much focus on CPU thus forcing you to give in to older parts in other aspects of your build. Given the new ATI 4800's cards are out with very good price tags, the ATI 3850, as of now, is definite NOT something you want to buy new and keep. 4850 when comparing to 3850 is almost night and day IMO due to its vast improvements so you definite would want a 4850 for much better gaming experience for the coming years. And guess what? You can 
I am also surprised that they still make 80gb HDDs (haha) the Seagate 250gb is a very good HDD (I own 4 of them) it's very slim and quiet and all that translates into a much better fit for your config. And guess what? Yep, you can. There isn't much that you can gain from using 1066 DDR2 rams when comparing to 800's. Moreover 800's can 'OC' to 1066 or higher if you so desired Cases that comes with 'free' PSU's are iffy at times and heavily depends on the brand as well. So if I could choose I would have picked the Rosewell, I used Raidmax PSU once and ended up doing RMA due to DOA (waste of time & probably $$$ as well 
) All in all, put your main focus on a quality video card b/c you want this to be a gaming rig and go from there!
Spider Platforms are more suitable for budget builds IMO b/c of the newer Chipsets and other small +'s There are some nice rebates to consider right now so it's a good time to think about them. Also most of these are 3 Day Free Shippings from 'Egg so Shipping would be about $5 +/- 5.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz (BE) --------------------- $66
BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+ AMD 780G Micro ATX --------------- $70
ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M HD 4850 512MB ------------ ($188-30) $158
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ----------------------- $40
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ----------------------------------- $60
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA ------------------------ $24
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle ----------------------- ($37-10) $27
Rosewill TU-155 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W ------- $70
Subtotal: --------------------------------------------------------------- $515
If you can squeeze out a bit more cash and im talking about $155 see below
'*' indicates upgraded items
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz (BE) --------------------- $90
*BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+ AMD 790GX HDMI ATX -------------------- $100
ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M HD 4850 512MB ------------ ($188-30) $158
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ----------------------- $40
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ----------------------------------- $60
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA ------------------------ $24
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle ------------------------ ($37-10) $27
*CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W (FREE 8GB Flash Drive) - ($120-20) $100
*Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower ---------- ($110-40) $70
Subtotal ------------------------------------------------------------------ $670
[Scalability] CPU, MOBO, PSU & Case all for the purpose of future budget upgrades. The CPU will be able to OC well under the Rifle Cooler. The MOBO can take another GPU when the price gets better later for you. PSU has 4 PCI-E which would be enough even if you get your hands on (2) 4870's Case should have plenty of rooms for hardware expansion.
[Future-Proof] First of all the MOBO has the latest set of Chipsets (not SB700 but SB750). The 4850 should be pretty awesome and add another one for CFX and you'll be good for the years to come. Corsair PSU are things that last due to their exceptional quality and at 750w it should be plenty of power for this spidy platform. Antec 900 has tons rooms and tons of air best bang for your bucks.
[Future Upgrades]
- Pick up another Seagate 250gb and do a RAID0 if you want gaming performance or overall PC performance for that matter.
- Add another pair of A-Data RAMs for 4gb setup with more memory.
- Stick another ASUS 4850 later for CrossFire X and get ready for games in the next few years.
- Switch to AMD Phenom 9850 or 9950 went prices come down (if you do lots graphic related and video related works with it switch to a Phenom x4 ASAP you wont regret it)
gl
Message edited by gaiden on 08-14-2008 at 06:28:16 PM
Please mind
You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.
Sponsored links
Ad
Related Topics
- Help - New system hardware needs to play well together...
- help!will this system fine to run smoothly?
- First time building gaming pc have compatibility ?'s
- Critic Gaming Build Take II
- First Time Build - $1300-1500
- First Time Build For Friend, Advice??
- Pick through my new system, please!
- New system build, quick questions.....boyah
- New build have a few questions.
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
- 01:00 bew1075k won the Uniformed badge
- 01:00 Parasitic won the Uniformed badge
- 01:00 X3no won the Uniformed badge
- 01:00 Siq won the Uniformed badge
- 01:00 wayspooled won the Uniformed badge
- 01:00 chris62 won the Freshman badge
- 01:00 Tattysnuc won the Freshman badge
- 01:00 gamerk316 won the Freshman badge
- 05:23 jsc won the Overclocking badge
- 01:00 rolli59 won the Spy badge