Left 4 Dead Super Budget System

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uraflit

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Basically, I just want to upgrade my computer to play Left 4 Dead. i only need to upgrade the cpu, mobo, ram, and graphics. higher settings are welcome, but price is the biggest issue. my current rig is an old P4 2.4ghz, 1gb DDR333, 5900xt 128mb (agp 2.0 LMAO)


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: as low as possible - $300 or less

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead, Music

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: everything but CPU/MOBO/RAM/GPU... my psu is an antec earthwatts 380W. im using a crappy 17" monitor @ 1280x1024 resolution.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, or any other site/B&M

PARTS PREFERENCES: i was looking at the AMD Kuma + Mobo with integrated graphics, but was unsure of their performance with L4D

OVERCLOCKING: not necessary

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 17" @ 1280x1024




Basically, I want the cheapest CPU+MOBO+RAM+(GPU?) that can run Left 4 Dead at decent frames. Settings do not need to be maxed at all.
 
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Outlander_04

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The best way of getting performance cheaply is to overclock , and the king of budget overclockers is the intel e5200 and e5300

So e5300 + Gigabyte g31 m-atx combo $122.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.190817

Im guessing you have XP so you only need 2 gig of RAM
G skill 2 x 1 gb of ram $30.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

Which leaves $146 for a gfx card . You cant afford a 4870 or gtx 260 so the best choice is probably a 4850 ...........oops you can afford a 4870 and you get a free Stalker clear sky game so

HIS Hightech H487FN512P Radeon HD 4870 512MB $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161268

PS: the 4870 needs two power connectors . You might need 1 or two of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189120
 
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Outlander_04

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Thats not a bad build .
Theres no such thing as "needs 3.0 GHz" though because if there is then L4D wont play on a Corei7 920 which is about 6 times as powerful as the cpu you are suggesting but only runs at 2.66 GHz .

The e5200 can be overclocked to be faster than the Athlon.

I think Im wrong about the 4870 in my build though . Its the most powerful gpu for that price , but I doubt theres enough juice in the power supply of the computer to run it .


Uraflit should buy a 4850 instead because it only needs a single pci-e power connector and use the change to buy a better cpu cooler to overclock the e5300 to the 3.5 GHz range

 
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not moose

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* OS: Windows Vista, XP, or 2000
* CPU: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
* RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2 GB for Vista
* DISC DRIVE: DVD-ROM Drive
* HARD DRIVE: AT least 7.5 GB of free space
* VIDEO: DirectX 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)
* SOUND: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound car

Requires 3.0 Ghz in dual cores, making your i7 comment irrelevant because that obviously not in his budget. Plus his psu will probably die on him sooner than later, so he's going to have to buy one anyways
 
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bbr147

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Cheap 2gb of Ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134488

CPU and mobo combo deal: Black Edition 7850 Athlon X2 2.8 GHz & Foxconn motherboard with 770 chipset
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.186946

This HD 4670 will run Left 4 Dead nicely at that resolution:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102820

See benchmarks here:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/left-4-dead-pc--23-vga-card-graphics-performance/9

The 4870 is much better, but not needed if you're just going to play Left 4 Dead

That's $222 with shipping, and there's $25 mail in rebates, so all together it will cost $197.
 
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Outlander_04

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Try reading it more slowly and running the punctuation in your brain .

It requires a 3.0 GHz pentium 4
or
a 2.0 GHz dual core
or
an AMD64 X2

The game does not require a processor at 3.0 GHz . If you use a slow old pentium 4 it will have to be 3.0 GHZ but even the slowest c2d is more powerful than that .
 
IH8U

IH8U

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MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186155
$50 Foxconn M61PMV
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103283R
$60 AMD 8450 tri-core (open box)
Vid: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102818
$75 Sapphire 4670 (will play L4D at those resolutions, no problem)
HSF: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125
$30 Arctic Cooling Freezer 64
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227362
$48 OCZ DDR2 1066 (2x2GB)

Total: $263 + S&H
 
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uraflit

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sounds good guys... i have a few questions though.

- how come only 4670 and 4850/4870 suggestions? nvidia is no good at the lower prices?

- the only thing holding me back now is the 2 CPU+mobo combos posted... e5200 combo vs. 7850 combo... the e5300 can be OC'd pretty well... but what about the 7850? no good?
 
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Outlander_04

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The 7850 doesnt overclock so well

Have a look at the article on anandtech comparing $70 processors e5300 vs 7850
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3554
and
on their home page an article on building PC's under $825

AMD have been price leaders in that middle ground against nVidia for a while . Part of the reason is their chips are burned on a smaller scale meaning they cost less to make . AMD also have better software IMO .
The ccc that came with my 4850 is far better than any tuning software that came with any of the 4 previous nVidia cards . You can overclock the gfx card easily and even change fan speeds

Please dont buy the 4870 I suggest in my first post . I dont think your power supply will be able to supply the power it needs , but a 4850 will be plenty for gaming
 
rewindlabs

rewindlabs

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*** ing dumbass...thats putting it bluntly but keep your ass off of these forums and go learn the facts and just simple pc basics if you think the specs on the back of a box matter or you can't even read em.....i guess i should take my 2.2ghz amd 4400+ athlon x2 back to amd and tell them it must be a mislabeled amd 6000+ running at 3ghz for me to get a constant 60 fps in l4d....jack ass

And outlander what is up with tuning software from 4 previous nvidia cards? im all for ati or nvidia but how in the hell did you come up with the idea that ccc has better tuning software....oh look i can change my nvidia cards fan speed in evga percision....oh and the memory and core clock speed....

OH HA i can change shader clock MINE IS BETTTERRRRRR :sarcastic: seriously if you are going to argue or impress someone with a company bring something to the table that is true and matters...other wise nice pc recommendations so far :)
 
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Outlander_04

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If any nVidia driver I ever used had those options by default I didnt find it . Yeah you can overclock an nvidia card and Ive been doing just that since the days when you had the coolbits registry tweak but theres no way that compares to installing CCC software .
I havent used an nVidia gaming driver for about a year now . Maybe they have improved . I dont know , but I kind of doubt it .

And since you can buy a 4850 for $95 , and its more powerful than a gts 250 which start at about $115 then I am sure which one I think is better .
 
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uraflit

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ok i think i have decided what to get... all from newegg:

E5300
Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L
G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 800 Kit
HD 4670 Sapphire 512mb GDDR3 with the $10 rebate
-------- i'm also going to grab a WD 640gb SE 16 since both my current drives and optical are ATA... mobo only supports 2 ata devices lol

total including tax and shipping is ~$330 at the moment

ill wait for another couple hours for replies b4 i pull the trigger... in case someone blasts this build for something horribly gone wrong
 
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uraflit

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the 4850 sounds good, but a bit pricey for my needs; i save ~$40-60 compared to the 4670. plus my psu is pretty weak.

the 4770 is around the same price as the 4850, and is out of stock at most places (including newegg).
 
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Outlander_04

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you can get the 4850 for $95 on newegg. Its a lot stronger than the 4670

4770 is a bit over priced right now, and not an improvement on a 4850

The nvidia card rewind linked to is second hand and not as good as a 4850 even when it was new
 
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uraflit

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ya i saw the 4850 going for $95 AR...

the 4670 is $60 AR, so its still a good $35 cheaper, i will have to find a way to scavange my old drives to free up budget space for the gpu upgrade... i guess i could live without a dvd drive and just plug it in whenever necessary... lol
 
rewindlabs

rewindlabs

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*cough* bullshit *cough* :sarcastic: My OC'd 9800gtx+ that can do 840mhz will overpower and stroll right along with the 4850


I didn't recommend the nvidia card....it was an example to show that ati does have the best sub 100$ card atm....still w/e you buy you won't beat the deal i got on my 9800gtx+ :D

Anyways it would make a huge difference to step up to the 4850...and i don't see how the 4770 is overpriced...its quite close to a 4850 whilst running alot cooler and using alot less power...it has its role somewhat...

You will probably end up loading another game up and than you will have wished you'd spent the extra here or there...its inevitable...however you have catered it somewhat by going to the 4850 :D
 
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Outlander_04

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You can afford what you can afford .

But dont expect the same frame rates as the 4670 gave in the benchmarks linked in this thread .
The resolution of that screen is a fair bit lower than your monitor and that means your result wont be as good .
You will still get very playable rates maybe 35 - 40 fps , but not much room to play newer games if you decide you want to
 
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