$600 Gaming PC

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE:2 Weeks

BUDGET RANGE: 600

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, micro center @ Paterson new jersey

PARTS PREFERENCES: not really
OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes later on

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2500x1600
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: If you could get me a only micro center build i can probably get a discount there so if at micro center soo you can go for a little more than 600

i was thinking

antec 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102824

i dont know about the motherboard or memory
is it easier to overclock ddr3 memory than ddr2? and how do you overclock a amd cpu
i have overclocked a intel 775 but never a amd little help please

You could probably do alright with a couple GTS250 or HD4850 1GB versions, in SLI/xfire, but yea as hunter said, its going to be tough, and you will not get much life out of the setup.

You're still not going to get a great gaming rig at that budget. This is the best I could do:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042 $54.95

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341016 $59.99 - $20.00 MIR

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649 $119.99

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] b710%20770 $79.99 - $10.00 MIR

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231279 $94.99

XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150337 $109.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181 $49.99

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151188 $31.99

Total - $601.88 - $30 MIR's

You really need to try to stretch the budget a bit to fit at least a 4870 1GB in.

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102825 $149.99

I couldn't even fit in a PSU and motherboard that supports crossfire at your budget.

You'll have to wait and see what happens when the i5 is actually released. The NDA is still in effect, so we don't have any reliable benchmarks or pricing until next week.

Better card, saves $11 plus free shipping.

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102824

One thing to remember, you may get a discount at Microcenter, but you still have to pay tax. Unless you live in Ca. no taxes on items purchased from Newegg.

2 4770 > 2 4850

Yes, the 4850 may be faster, but the OP wants eventual Crossfire, and two 4850s will need a budget-busting PSU.
Newegg is also compelled to charge extortion to people living in Tennessee.
Shortstuff & Dirtmountain have posted excellent "almost" builds; they'd both be okay, then you'd kick yourself for not waiting until you could spend a little more. If you can't, then either will be decent. If it were me though, I'd grit my teeth and save up another $200. Then, I'd get an AM3 mobo with DDR3-1333 RAM, the X4 945, one HD4870 to start, and a 750W Truepower New, which would allow for Crossfiring with a second HD4870 later. With those changes, I think you'd need to spend closer to $750, but you'd have much more satisfying long term results. An alternative would be to get an AM3 790GX mobo and use the IGP for surfing and movies, then add the video card(s) for games as your budget allows.

Its common knowledge that 2 HD4850 are close to a HD4980, well the two 2 HD4770 beat the HD4890, they scale really well, better than most of the ATI GPUs, and use less power.

Edit: Forgot link, http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 288-8.html

i have a 8500 that i could use in the meanwhile how about 600 for a computer without a video card? would i be better off waiting until the end of the month for the new 5800 series and i5's?

Do you already have the monitor? What size is it?

Wait for i5, it can only make prices drop or stay the same and in doing so you will wait for the HD5xxx series which will certainly make graphics card prices drop. waiting 2 weeks could prove very very beneficial in this case. just my 2 cents