<$400 Mid range gaming computer

[canadianidiot]

I am currently looking to build a good mid range gaming comp for as little as possible. This is the setup I was considering and was wanting advice as far as possible bottlenecks or parts that might be better deals within the same price range.

Rosewill R226-P-BK 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147110

Open Box: ASRock A780GXE/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157139R

SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor Model AD775ZWCGHBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

I was expecting to be able to OC the CPU to at least 3.2 since its a black edition but was unsure if I might be overestimating as I havn't ever overclocked before. Looking to have the option to crossfire w/ the 4830 in the future as well and was comparing these power supplies.

A-Top SUPER CHARGE ATP-AP550B 550W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817184008

Broadway Com Corp OKIA-BLACK-600 600W ATX 12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817162023

The second one appears to be just as good or better than the first but seems to be less prefered. If someone could shed some light on this that would be great. I'm glad to hear any other input as well since this is my first system and I wanna make sure I do this right.

Also, is it possible to use a laptop screen as a monitor? and/or if anyone can tell me a good place to find monitors cheap (17" or so).

 

[rewindlabs]

Ehhh no you can't use a laptop screen....maybe if you look out for some local listings you will find a nice price on a monitor....keep in mind to check the benchmarks on the graphics card you buy and see the results of the resolution you want to use on the card....you wouldn't want a 4770 on a 16xx/1xxx monitor!

And yeah that cpu should do 3.2ghz....you should read reviews and what others have gotten from the card to generate an expectation and estimation on overclocking levels...

Also i suggest you buy a 4770...if you cf two of those you have yourself in todays market around a 240$ single card...

But yeah you would be much better off with a 4770...

If you can try increasing the build budget and buy yourself a II 720...you would have a VERY VERY! powerful build for soley gaming....it would be alot stronger then the cpu you are going for now..you will need to choose a different motherboard though

At this point if i where you and im guessing you have a job atm? buy the entire build with a 720 and don't buy a graphics card just yet and with that 720 you will definitely have a much much longer lasting system....way worth the extra money...

Also you could start off with just getting 2gbs of ram...that will run and work for most any game except gta iv and maybe crysis...that will save you 20 or 30$ towards the 720...if you really want to play it smart i really really suggest going with the 720 over just about any cpu atm...its the best price vs performance for you

 

[canadianidiot]

Now that i look at it yea i think i will go with the 4770 instead. also recently noticed this

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

and saw multiple reviewers reporting getting 3.7-4.0ghz with it and for only ten bucks more seems like a good deal. was thinking if i did go with it might use this mobo

Open Box: Intel BOXDP45SG LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121348R

 

[rewindlabs]

I actually removed my suggestion for a cheap intel dual core as an alternative before i posted....if you want to buy all of this now with the gpu and the lower power 2 core thats cool im sure it will be one hell of a beastly machine.......if it where my choice i would save up a few more bucks and go with the 720...i mean it beats the e8400/8500/8600 in benchmarks...really worth it in my opinion

And LGA 775 is dieing....so by the time you would upgrade that 2 core cpu which would be sooner than a 3 core 720...all of quad cores will have stopped in production for the 775 line...go look at the price of ram that has stopped production....im not sure which kind it is but the ram is almost 3 times as much as ddr2....when hardware stops production it can only get more expensive and harder to find

If you want something that you know you can upgrade and that will be around when you will need to upgrade go for AMD and get the 720...its worth the extra 70$ in the long run...

If you look at where games are going its FAR FAR away from dual core cpus...im sure you want to run the cpu you buy now for atleast 2 years and play the latest games without a cpu bottleneck right? if you want that go with the 720...you will have some serious performance now and in the future....in 2 or 3 years if that cpu proves to not have enough grunt then...you can upgrade to the 955 for a quad core that can hold 4 ghz or pretty close to it...

You have alot more options with an amd system at this point and for the price its well worth it man...find a good combo deal on a motherboard and save up a week or two to get your gpu.....you won't regret it