Lowrange to Midrange gaming build (600-800$)

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General info
At the moment I have a very shitty setup, which has been torturing me for years. It's noisy, unstable and generally quite a nuisance.
My current build is as follows:

PowerColor x800GT, 256 mb PCI-e
AMD Athlon64 3500+
2x 512 mb Kingston DDR400
Asus A8N-e, nForce 4 Ultra
350Watt PSU
LG DVD-RW GSA-4163BB
etc.

I use it for gaming, homework and browsing the internet. As games tend to be more interesting, it's the primary use of my computer. I usually play Source-based games such as Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead. The (new) computer might be used for more 'demanding' games like GTA (not a requirement though as I know GTA IV needs quite a lot to run 'well').

New setup

As my old build is crap, I'm looking to build a new setup from scratch with better cooling and overall performance. I have 600$ budget but I might be able to squeeze it up to 800$ but I'd prefer not to :)
I have a Samsung 19" TFT 930BF monitor which I do not plan to replace, same goes for my DVD-drive as I rarely use it anyway and it has served me quite well.
 
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xydin

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Hmm if your willing to go AMD I could suggest a pretty good build.



Option one: If you want to go quad core, this comes up to just $600, but no video card, BUT the 790gx has decent integrated graphics, and if you go with this and live with the integrated graphics for a bit maybe sometime in the next month or so you can grab a good graphics card, just putting this here in case you want to do this option, which is what I did and it's actually really good.


Case: Antec 300 (decent case and will hold what you need)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042


Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H (Good quality 790gx Mobo and it has a combo with CPU)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.182237


CPU: Phenom II x4 940

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.182237


RAM: G Skill PI Black, 4GB 1066MHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231246


PSU: 550w OCZ Fatal1ty (I have it and am pretty impressed, it's really nice)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.184781


HDD: 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Black (a little more expensive but at the same time a lot more reliable, and faster.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284


Video Card later on, or if you want to push for that $800: 4870 1 GB, it's only $30 more than the 512 mb, and it wil probably drop in price if you wait a month or so to buy it, if you don't wait, then this pretty much pushes you to the $800

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801





Option 2: Good quality dual core, if you want to just go dual core. A lot of people will say that dual core is more supported in games than quad core, but looking ahead, a LOT more games are going to be supporting more than two cores, and it will eventually be the standard. In my opinion it'd be better to just spend a little more now and be future proof, rather than need to upgrade the system soon. But here is the option if you want to save some money right now, this option will allow you to upgrade to the Phenom II 940 later on down the road if you would like, so it keeps the price cheap for now, but allows you to easily upgrade down the road.


Case: Antec 300 (decent case and will hold what you need)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042


Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H (Good quality 790gx Mobo, now in a combo with the RAM)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.186534


CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma (Combo with GPU)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.177906


RAM: OCZ Reaper 4gb 800Mhz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.186534


PSU: 550w OCZ Fatal1ty (I have it and am pretty impressed, it's really nice)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.184781


HDD: 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Black (a little more expensive but at the same time a lot more reliable, and faster.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284


GPU: Sapphire 4870 512mb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.177906
 
G

Guest

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AMD is fine I guess. I haven't had much positive experience with it though but if it works, it works.

A lower end case - got any examples?
 
X

xydin

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Added lists to my above posts, I gave you a cheaper option, option one comes to $800, option 2 comes just over $600, and that power supply is fine, I have had no problems with it, it powers all my stuff fine, and I know others who have had good experiences with it.

Also in option one if you want you could switch the 1gb card out with the 512mb card in option two, it'd save $30, just thought that at the point you'd maybe be willing to pay the extra 30 for a slightly better card, but either one should suffice.
 
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Guest

Guest
Thanks a lot for that list.

Quad Core is a bit too much atm I think. Also, there does seem to be a significant difference in prices. The 600$ setup completely blows my budget if I were to buy the parts from Danish retailers :(
 
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I also have trouble finding the PSU from a Danish retailer but I guess it's irrelevant and I should just buy it from a foreign seller. I would prefer to buy the other parts such as CPU and GPU from Denmark as it's easier to bonk them on the head if there's a malfunction.

The GPU costs 200$ in Denmark. Maybe I really should just buy it somewhere else..
 
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xydin

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Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the prices would be so different, maybe you can try eBay?Just make sure the person is trusted and offers some sort of replacement policy for faulty parts.
 
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I've considered that but I don't think it's very optimal.. I get far better service in Denmark due to trading laws etc etc.

Also, I've been thinking about going with the Intel processor as I've had some bad experience with AMD and so have my friends apparently.. But it still hasn't been decided yet.
 
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xydin

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Alright, I'm not going to try to sway you away from Intel or anything, just know that AMD is better bang for your buck, and really you won't see much of a difference, but you'd have spent $100 less.
 
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emyyhh

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If cash is your problem then why not go for an E7600, or even an E5200? Both are great overclockers. The Phenom 2 is also very nice considering the price. I'd rather spend more on a GPU than a CPU anyway, as i believe they limit games more (based on achieving a min of 30Fps).
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

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http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ <---they ship to all over Europe.

http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/showthread.php?p=671324 <--- take a look at this also.
 
buzznut

buzznut

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+1 for the graphics suggestion. Most of the latest processors (dual core, quad, triple core) from either manufacturer will be suitable if paired with a decent video card. Get a mid range processor (at least 2.4Ghz in my opinion) and a good video card and you will be happy for a while.

If you skimp on the video card, I think you may regret it.
 
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Guest

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I think I'm going with that setup I posted originally and take the Radeon HD 4850 1gb instead of the HD 4830 512mb.

E8400 duo core
etc

I'm gonna need another case though. Which do you suggest and is it even a decent setup?
 
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xydin

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Antec 300 case is cheap and good, and I would get a more reliable hard drive brand, western digital is good, get a caviar black, they are fast and reliable.

As for a power supply, get a corsair if you can afford it, or the OCZ one if you can find it. There are a few other good brands, like silverstone and seasonic. I've heard some good things about the new lines of rosewill psu's, but personally, I usually have problems with Rosewill products sourcing from what seems like a lack of quality control. And, once again I would personally go with a AMD Kuma, they are very good processors, it's $100 cheaper than the E8400 and you will not realistically see much of a performance difference.
 
ke7diz

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fore psu
bfg 550w $55 in us
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010

cpu i would go the amd rout but a pII x3 720 $140 us
(should give fare better performance than kuma core, but then its twice the money, both would work its just the upgrade path that's better here)
this would mean a am3 socket and ddr3 is a good idea
but you could just drop it in the dual core build to (loes the upgrade then so i would not do this)

gpu if you want to your current card would work fore a time if you need to wait to upgrade that part
 
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I think I'm choosing Intel as I have been running with AMD for a long time. I would like to try Intel regardless of the benchmarks.

Which mobo would go well with E8400. The one I already listed? Also, how much effect would this setup need if I want to OC it in the future?
 
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I can't emphasize this enough apparently.. I can't buy from Newegg :p But the PSU looks interesting.
 
Gin Fushicho

Gin Fushicho

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Please dont go with the 7750 Kuma that person suggested earlier... it just doesn't run well , its a quad core with 2 cores that dont work, just get a normal old dual core.
 
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xydin

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Theres really nothing wrong with the 7750, it actually runs very well, sure not as good as a quad core, but good enough for most of today's apps and games.
 
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I'm still gonna go with the E8400 ;) But I still need to know if the Mobo is decent. It's Gigabyte which I have heard much good stuff about but I just want to be sure.
 
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