Please Review: Budget-game build for nephew (wants Wow)

[michaelpbfl]

Greetings,

I have been tasked by my sister-in-law to please build my nephew a budget gaming PC. He mainly wants to play WoW (a present) and some other new games out there.

I've never used AMD for a build before, so any advice w/ the CPU and motherboard combo would be helpful. Heard some shaky things about this MB, and it's even the most expensive piece on the list. I'd like to order it all from one place, I usually just use NewEgg. This will easily play WoW and most other games out there right now, at lower resolutions, but that doesn't really matter. Budget is $400, I'm a little over, but that's okay.. can't go much higher though. I'd also like to have a little room for growth in placing a newer processor down the road, so don't want to cheap out on the MB too much.

Here's my current parts list, minus a couple cables I know I'll need (SATA, etc..);


GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 $78.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.1GHz $88.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $35.99

SAPPHIRE 100236L Radeon HD 3650 512MB $49.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP $49.99

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V Power Supply $40.99

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $41.99

LITE-ON Combo Black SATA Model DH-52C2S-04 $22.99

Total: $409.92

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Drop the Athlon 6000+ down to a 5000+, and go for a 4670 or nvidia 9600 gt on the graphics card. Remember, for games, graphics is almost always more important than processor speed.


But to give an idea, I think the 5000+ x2 is on newegg at 59.99. With the 4670 being 80, you would have just enough room to keep nearly the same budget and get a lot better card than the 3650. Also, on a budget, there are 50 dollar boards out there that will probably do what you want, which would leave you room to go higher on graphics card or get more memory.

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1 for CPU & GPU. Also might want to consider a bit better PSU for the future.

 

[gkay09]

change to this mobo

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
ATI hybrid graphics technology & mainstream DX10 gaming
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090

chose tis mobo cos with the 3650 u can implement hybrid crossfire

change the psu/case with this combo...

Antec Neo Power 500 500W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCombos.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&SubCategory=7&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1
total combo abt 85 $..

and u wont need the 1066Mhx ram go for a gud 800Mhz....

if u can go for this ram cheap,gud quality and 4GB

OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (The Official Memory of the Championship Gaming Series) - Retail $42.99
Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227334

rest all is gud...

 

[gkay09]

u can also do this...
go 4 this memory,save abt 11$ here

OCZ Vista Upgrade 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $23.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227189

change the cpu to 5000+ and frm the money saved go 4 the ATI 4670

 

[IH8U]

My $.02

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147056
$38
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007
$50 Antec EA500
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186159
$70 Foxconn nForce 720a
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211
$59 AMD 5000+
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227334
$43 OCZ DDR2 800 2x 2GB
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145162
$41 Hitachi 160GB
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264
$25 20X DVDR/RW
VID: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141076
$80 9600GSO
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116480
$90 Vista Home 32-bit

Total: $496 + S&H (not counting MIR, or specials/combo deals)


You can wait a bit on the Vid, as the MB has one built in. (it will SLI with the PCI-X for Hybrid) Also I added an OS, unsure as to wheather you already have an OS.

 

[zenmaster]

An E5200 and GigaByte P43 would also be the same price......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347

OhioU had a good thought too in getting an even cheaper CPU than Intel has to offer and upgrading to the 4670.

 

[Onus]

Only the Phenoms can make use of DDR2-1066, so just get DDR2-800. I agree with those who have suggested a lesser CPU to allow for a better GPU (e.g. like a 4670).
WoW is not really demanding. If future upgrades are more important than initial performance, get a slightly pricier 790GX board; the HD3300 IGP should have no trouble with WoW. Add a much nicer video card later, when needed, like a 4850.

That Thermaltake PSU wouldn't be enough for an eventual 4850, and isn't a great PSU anyway. An Antec Earthwatts 500 is $50 from Newegg; other places may have them cheaper.

 

[michaelpbfl]

All great suggestions! I will revise accordingly after work and post ya'll..

Thanks guys!!!!!

 

[dirtmountain]

CPU - E5200 $83
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Motherboard - Gigabyte G31 $53 will overclock that E5200 to 3.0+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128338

9600GSO, HD4670, HD3870, 9600GT - all around $75 after rebate ...... a worthwhile upgrade even for WoW.

 

[Onus]

Those microATX board tend not to OC very well because the chipsets get too hot. I didn't get too much out of my G33 for that reason, even though the options were all there in the BIOS. They're rather cramped, so they can be a little difficult to cool.

 

[slomo4sho]

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

MSI KA780G AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI
Bundled with
AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz Socket AM2 45W
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/AddToCart.aspx?Submit=ADD&ItemList=Combo.136134

COOLER MASTER Centurion 590
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
bundled with
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/AddToCart.aspx?Submit=ADD&ItemList=Combo.142785

Total: $365.93 - $50 MIR = $315.93

The mobo comes with a pretty good on board graphics card so you wouldn't need to invest in one currently to play WoW at max settings at 1280x720 or 1440x900 resolution. You can always pick up any of the GPUs that dirtmountain recommended and still be under budget.

This build also consumes minimal power, something your sister-in-law would appreciate

My personal recommendation for a after market GPU would be Galaxy 95TFF8HUFEXX GeForce 9500 GT. Its $29.99 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162015

 

[Guest]

Hey guys sorry to intervene on somebody elses thread here, but the topic is perfect.
I am building a pc of my own piece by piece and already bought

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-103-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=&name=HIS%20ATI%20Radeon%20HD%204670%20IceQ%20Turbo%20512MB%20GDDR3%20TV-Out/Dual%20DVI/HDMI%20(PCI-Express)%20-%20Retail

and also

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-067-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=&name=GeIL%202GB%20(2x1GB)%20PC2-8500C5%201066MHz%20Black%20Dragon%20DDR2%20Dual%20Channel%20Kit%20(GB22GB8500C5DC)

I now realise I probably should not have purchased the 2x1GB 1066 Ram but the return policy is poor.
thus I am needing a good reccomendation on mobo to hook these components up to could anyone shed some light on this?

best regards, jack

 

[Onus]

When you start your own thread, I am sure you will receive many helpful suggestions.

 

[p00p00head]

I agree with Dirtmountain and somewhat with Slomo. If WOW's all you're nephew's going to play, then the 780g onboard graphics is capable of handling it on its own. The system will however struggle to handle more demanding games like modern FPS. If you go the separate graphics card way, I'd suggest you just skip the 780g and the AMD build and look towards the E5200 and the g31 mobo coupled with a 4670 graphics card. If you're feeling more loving than usual, I highly recommend the slight $20 increase for a HD 4830 graphics card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102803

Like Slomo said, you can always just ad a separate graphics card to his build to add more umphf, but then if you already know you're going to buy a separate graphics card, it's probably better to go with the Intel build since it's just as cheap but more powerful.