Building with a $500 budget

brncao · Apr 24, 2009

I'm building a PC for my brother. My budget is ~$500 after MIR excluding monitor and peripherals. He is a graphic designer and will be using Adobe CS4 Web Premium. He also likes to play MMORPG games (ei. WoW), and probably a few hardcore games. He will be hooking his PC to a monitor (undecided), and a wacom drawing tablet. Help me decide on what parts I need.

Motherboard
Processor
Memory
Hard Drive
Case
PSU
Optical Drive
Video Card
Wireless Card

The monitor should be around $1xx. Something good for a graphic designer and gamer.

Proximon · Apr 25, 2009

hundredislandsboy · Apr 25, 2009

Looks like Proximon did a good job finding components for a decent budget build. The Gigabyte board can add even more value in case your brother needs a little more horsepower. That board should be able to OC and push the e5300 to 3.4 GHz (13 multiplier X 266 fsb). I'd go with a 9800 GT. They're as low as $79 as open-box items on Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127406R
I often buy Newegg open box items (3 video cards, 2 motherboards so far and no problems) and you'd know within the 30 day period if you need to return for a refund.

brncao · Apr 25, 2009

I'm wondering if this processor would serve him well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

Proximon · Apr 25, 2009

brncao :

Of course, but building a full computer for under 500 bucks with that CPU is a problem. Unless you use a junk PSU and case.

mindless728 · Apr 25, 2009

+1 Proximon
for the price i would go with that build

sassan · Apr 25, 2009

Prices from Newegg.com

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail

$139.99

SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

$84.99

Foxconn A76ML-K AM2+ / AM3 Ready AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$59.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

$69.99

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS550-PCARE3-US 550W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retailpply - Retail

$54.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

$39.99

OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (The Official Memory of the Championship Gaming Model OCZ2F10662GK - Retail

$30.99

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-216DBK - OEM

$22.99

Total: $503.99

bashy · Apr 25, 2009

I think he'd really need the 4 gigs

infiniteengine · Apr 25, 2009

bashy :

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

For $4 more after mail-in rebate...

dragonsprayer · Apr 25, 2009

BUY A USED SYSTEM OFF EBAY

THEN BUILD AROUND IT!

brncao · Apr 25, 2009

Out of these 4 which memory is the best? Here

Proximon · Apr 25, 2009

They are all good. The OCZ Platinum has a higher voltage and so can be thrown out.

I would probably choose the Corsair due to a slight reliability edge.

JTP709 · Apr 25, 2009

Those are all good name brand memory, I personally have used Corsair and OCZ memory recommend either. If you want to get technical the Corsair memory has a slightly tighter tRAS timing (the 15 at the end) which is faster, but the 18 timing in the OCZ is more stable.

But that is really the only difference, and guess what: it doesn't matter because you will never be able to notice a difference. Any of those sticks will be ok, just go with the cheaper one.

AKM880 · Apr 25, 2009

+ 1 to Proximon. I like his build, nice processor easy overclocker. Atleast that was the case for my buddy. Dont get that OCZ PSU, they aren't super reliable brands. Heard it runs loud.

Outlander_04 · Apr 25, 2009

Proximons build is good , but sassans is much better .

The cpu is much stronger , the gfx bit weaker , and the hard drive twice the size , the ram is adequate

but if the OP is desperate for 4 gig then scale back on the hard drive and spend that money on ram

AKM880 · Apr 25, 2009

+ 1, If you really need 4GB of RAM then thats what you should do change the HDD to something cheaper, and use that to get RAM. But you'd need a 64Bit OS to recognize it all.

Proximon · Apr 25, 2009

I like Sassans build better myself, except for the PSU. You should definitely not use the PSU.

Luckily, we have the whole "after MIR" thing to save the day:

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W

AKM880 · Apr 25, 2009

+1 like I said, not the greatest PSU lol. Nice one tho. The Fatal1ty Edition.

brncao · Apr 25, 2009

Updated Specs

Motherboard. This was chosen by someone from a different forum because this is the only unique mobo offering SB 710 and has gotten a lot of good comments from anandtech. Does this make it special?

Processor. Chosen by majority of the members.

Memory. Specs were chosen by majority of the members, pricing was chosen by me, and brand (corsair) chosen by proximon.

Hard Drive. Chosen by majority of the members

Optical Drive. Chosen by majority of the members.

Video Card. Chosen by majority of the members.

Wireless Card. Chosen by several members and no opposing views. I don't think it got a lot of attention (probably because any wireless card would do).

Power Supply. Spec (~550W) chosen by majority of the members, model chosen by proximon, and final decision chosen by me (because of the ridiculous discount, Winner of Anandtech's Gold Editor's Choice Award, and the 5yr warranty).

Case. Chosen by proximon and me (google yielded a lot of good reviews)

In the end after rebates it's $562 lol. Now if I can buy some of the parts used from FS forums or from an auction I can probably get it down to $500 more or less (or persuade my parents to bump up the budget). But before that anyone opposing this build?

Proximon · Apr 25, 2009

I don't yet know anything about SB710. I only saw it for the first time today. I suspect it's a 55nm version of SB700, so it might be great.

Good for you. That's a solid build and I hope you get it built that way, will really be worth the extra $.

sassan · Apr 25, 2009

the nvidia 9800 gt is cheaper now I think it will perform better under some game with a decent monitor like a 19 or 20 inch. and the price should be less then the ati 4850.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

Check this ram out, same specs lower price.

If your router supports wireless N then get this adapter it's $64 a bit more but your speeds in gaming and everything would be smoother.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124069

Overall great

also use bundle deals it will save you alot.

You can also order from www.ncixus.com and they will price match and you can get low shipping fees or free shipping if you buy a $10 giftcard, usually your entire order will be free of charge. Give it a try see what they offer you.

photonboy · Apr 25, 2009

1) You mention Photoshop so 4GB DDR2 definitely.

2) on this budget, consider the HD4830

3) Do you need the wireless card, or can you run a RJ45 CAT5 cable to your onboard ethernet?

4) For WiFi you're looking at a PCIe (x1 but can use any PCIe slot), PCI or even USB. Draft-N gives better range but is more money. So a "g" version. Look at "network adapters" and read customer reviews. I had to run an RJ45 because my sister's card couldn't quite pick up the signal from the router in her own home.

5) Windows?

***
6) if you were in Canada I'd say pick up the following, use it for a while and put in another graphics card later (ensure an internal PCIe x16). Pretty nice specs for the price. This system would be close to $500 US. It's already built with Vista x64 installed. Pick up to save on shipping costs. Warranty. Media reader, WiFi.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10117915&catid=

photonboy · Apr 25, 2009

Here's the same complete desktop at Walmart USA. Considering your price range, shipping costs, building headaches, warranty this seems awesome.

I CAN confirm an available PCIe x16 slot.

The PSU should handle the following card with peak power of roughly 59W, so with the onboard chip being turned off your tasking the system by roughly 40W more at peak. You may need an adapter like a molex->6-pin if your PSU doesn't have one. I don't know but those are next to nothing. Considering the 59W max power and the PCIe x16 should handle 75W it may not need a 6-pin at all. The sample was an engineering one.

Here's the upgrade card you should end up getting (coming soon):

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/26/ati-radeon-rv740-prototype-40nm-video-card-gets-reviewed-loved/

The prebuilt system I recommend:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10910181

sassan · Apr 25, 2009

This is tomshardware photonboy we never recomend prebuilt

But another idea is to get a refurbished pc from either bestbuy.com / .ca or your local walmart and then you can add stuff to it.

JTP709 · Apr 26, 2009

cheap prebuilt = poor quality in my experience. I used to work at best buy but would never want to build a gaming rig around even the new PCs we sold, even the "high end" media center's we offered.

Building your own system, while more work, will ensure you get the best quality parts necessary for your target performance system.

Building with a $500 budget

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