800$ Budget gaming rig

[g36hk5]

I'm trying to build my first computer that can play games like CS:S with a pretty good fps. However since this is my first ever build I'm not sure if the computer I'm hoping to build soon will be able to play it.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: In a week or 2 / BUDGET RANGE: Not gonna go over 800$

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Internet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse, Headset, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Neweggs.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: Don't really mind

OVERCLOCKING: No / Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Don't really mind

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like it if the pc would be quiet.

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Parts:

Dvd: 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD Writer LightScribe Support
Case: APEVIA X-JUPITER-JR G-Type X-JPJGT-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V
Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB
Monitor: ASUS VH226H Black 21.5"
Graphics card: XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit
Keyboard: LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Keyboard
Memory: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
Cpu: AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
CPU cooler: MASSCOOL 5C12B3 50mm Ball CPU Cooler

The total is $798.84 Including shipping.

I would really appreciate it if you people could help me decide whats better or to replace with. And I wonder if its necessary to get a sound card.

 

[Outlander_04]

Links to the items you have picked would help a lot

Without those I have a few general observations .

I think the monitor you have picked is 1920 x 1080 resolution . Thats too big a job for a 4850 for gaming unless you are prepared to turn quality settings down . Perhaps the CS:S games are not demanding ?
But generally Id say stick with a 1680 x 1050 resolution 22 inch lcd

You wont need 700 watt psu . 500-550 will be plenty for that build .

The hard drive is OK but for $10 more you can get a samsung F3 500 gig that is waaaaaay faster as well as having extra storage

dont buy an ide dvd drive . A SATA drive instead

never heard of the cooler you have picked , and it looks like a stock cooler for size so I doubt it cools better than the unit thats coming with your cpu

you also have an m-ATX mb listed . Thats fine and it fits in your mid tower case , but a full ATX board will fit too and have more room for expansion

 

[batuchka]

Top up $30 below for a DVDRW SATA and you set hehe

 

[skora]

The computer you have there will do fine with CSS, but you can get a lot more for your money with some of the suggestions made here. These will dominate CSS and most new games too. I didn't include a HSF since you don't plan to OC. If you do, its not much to add one later, look at reviews from frostytech.com to see whats cool and whats hot.

My $800 suggested build:

1920x1080 Monitor and Keyboard Combo
$171
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.250542

4870 1gb w/ free game
$125 amir
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131148

AMD 720 X3 and Asus 770 AM3 mobo
$205
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254081

DD3 1333 cas 7 ram (Same as batuchka)
$80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220333

Corsair 550w and DVD burner
$79 amir
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.245476

500gb Spinpoint F3 HDD
$50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Total:
$721 amir. That leaves $79 for a case. Case are a personal choice. I prefer to watch for free shipping as the case alone will add $20 if you have to pay for it.

If you want to save another $10, you can get the CPU/Mobo/DVD burner/OCZ 550w Fatal1ty from zipzoomfly.com. Their cases all have free shipping it looks like. You could get an Antec 300 from there for $63 delivered. Total price shopping at both etailers, $772 delivered.

 

[g36hk5]

Sorry Outlander_04 for not including the links and thanks. And thank you guys batuchka and Skora. Helps alot since this is going to be my first build.

 

[waynec121]

outlander_04, batuchka, and skora all gave solid advice. if you follow any of their suggestions you will be satisfied!!

 

[g36hk5]

My final build from reading all of your posts.

Dvd: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X Cache SATA DVD Burner
Dvd burner

Case:Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Case

Hard drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Hard drive

Monitor: Hanns·G Hi-221DPB Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1
Monitor

Motherboard: ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD
Motherboard

Power supply: NZXT PS-NT-PP600-R 600W ATX / BTX SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
Power supply

Keyboard: LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired
Keyboard

Thermal compund: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
Thermal compound

Memoryatriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Memory

CPU: AMD Phenom 9350e Agena 2.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 65W Quad-Core Processor
CPU

Graphics card: HIS H487FN1GP Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
Graphics card

Total cost including shipping: 796.33$
Hoping that the stock fan the Amd processor comes with will be okay and won't be loud.
Am I missing anything from this build?

 

[skora]

That's kind of the wrong direction on some of the stuff. The original Phenoms are very poor performers. The 550 you had before will do better than the 9350. You have a DDR2 mobo with DDR3 ram. If you are using the stock fan, you won't need the arctic Silver. NZXT isn't a known PSU and quality will be shotty at best. Any PSU that has that red switch on the back isn't worth the cost to ship it. If you're only going with a single card, get the Corsair 550 with the DVD drive combo. Much better quality and $20 cheaper in the end. If you game in the dark at all, the illuminated keyboard combo with the monitor will be a nice upgrade. If you do go with the 1680x1050 Hanns, then you only need a 4850 1gb or 4870 512mb GPU. Outlander, batuchka, and I do a lot of these, so best bet is to stick with the parts we're suggesting. We have nothing to gain by offering up sub standard parts. We all offered up a lot of computer for the price.

 

[Outlander_04]

g36hk5 your latest build mixes an am2+ mb with ddr3 ram. These components are not compatible .

Skora and batuchkas builds are a generation newer and much more powerfiul

 

[g36hk5]

Wow I really don't know anything about computers then. I shall just go with Skora's build. Sorry about that since this is soon going to be my first build.

 

[skora]

Hang in there, the only way I learned was asking questions and doing things that made many a vetrans roll their eyes. We all sat at the starting line of knowledge too.

If its a quad core you want, get this case:
$40 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161

And this CPU/Mobo combo:
$246
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254035

Total $803 amir

If you didn't want to spend all $800, tell us what you would prefer to spend. We'll try to give good suggestions and what can be cut. For example, you could get the 1680x1050 monitor, the cheap keyboard, and a 512mb 4870 and save $33. With a $40 case, thats only $727 and performance would be similar, just a smaller monitor.

 

[g36hk5]

I'm hoping or planning to spend a bit less then 800$.
Okay this time this will be my "real" final build

Dvd: Dvd

Case:Case

Hard drive:Hard drive

Monitor:Monitor

Graphics card: Graphics card

Power supply: Power supply

Keyboard:Keyboard

Memory:Memory

Processor:Processor

Motherboard: Motherboard

Total cost including shipping: 778.05$

 

[skora]

Do you know how to look up combos on newegg? There's a lot of money that can be saved that way.

As for your "real" final build, its a bit unbalanced. The GPU isn't strong enough to properly power that monitor unless you are lowering settings. When I spec out a build, I start with the monitor. Lets look at the 1920x1080 that is picked. That's 2.1 million pixels to calculate. A 1680x1050 is only 1.76 million. The 4850 512 has a hard time with 1.76 million and is really lost at 2.1. The 4870 has a little trouble at max settings at 2.1. For the price, the 4870 1gb is a great match for 1920x1080. The 4850 1gb is a good match for 1680x1050, but I'd prefer the 4870 512 for that resolution. Most any monitor will look great for gaming. This article will explain that most all the monitors will do the job very well. http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=3584&p=2

As for that PSU, not a good pick. Since you only have 1 pcie 2.0 x16 slot, the most any GPU will need for the type of gaming you do is 550-600w for the top end cards in the resonable price bracket. Kinwin is far from quality. The efficency alone is a clue of quality. Take a look at Proximon's Big List of Recommended Parts. Won't find it on there. For the price, the Corsair 550w is a great unit and if you do go with a 4850, the OCZ 500w is good too.

If you can balance out the monitor/GPU/PSU, you're going to have a good build. Take our recommendations with a little more weight, they are good choices.

 

[g36hk5]

So your saying that I should replace the power supply, the monitor and the cpu if I want to keep the 4850?

 

[Outlander_04]

So your saying that I should replace the power supply, the monitor and the cpu if I want to keep the 4850?

The 4850 just isnt powerful enough to get good frame rates and high quality settings on a monitor with a resolution that high . It would be ok with a 1680 x 1050 resolution and thats an option for you to switch to a 22 inch monitor with that resolution .
An alternative is to upgrade the gfx card to a 4870 , and keep the monitor you have listed . There are definite advantages to a 1080p monitor .
This
POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5 is only $117 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131140
and then you can keep the monitor , and game ok

You can even do it without spending extra if you swap out the ASUS motherboard for this identically performing and equal quality Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
which is only $70 ATM

And the PSU in your list is one rung above being a doorstop , but only because it will be a good conversation peice when your friends ask you why you use it for that

 

[skora]

I wouldn't pick the GPU first and build around that, I'd pick the monitor first, then pick a GPU that can properly support it, then a PSU that can run it. On your real last list, you have $342 budgeted for the monitor, GPU, PSU. These are proper balanced parts that will perform better:

1920x1080 monitor and 4870 1gb and 550w quality PSU
1680x1050 monitor and 4870 512mb or 4850 1gb and 550w quality PSU

1920x1080 $160
4870 1gb $126
550w corsair PSU $60 (without combo) or OCZ with a blue light http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
Total $346 You'll get much better performance for the same price.

1680x1050 $140
4870 512 $116
550w corsair PSU $60 (without combo) or OCZ above
Total $316 if you want to save some money. But you aren't paying for monitor you can't use or a GPU that is too big for the monitor.

Another deal from ZZF that I've found, All you have to do is add these to your cart and the combos apply themselves. Newegg, you have to add the combo as an item.

Keyboard - Free amir when another combo item purchased. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009107

AMD 720 $110 combo'd
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010064&prodlist=celebros
OR AMD 945 $160 combo'd
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010872&prodlist=celebros

LG DVD burner Sata $25 amir combo'd
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010593&ps=weekly_10010593

If you buy these items from ZZF, then from newegg, buy the
case $40
Ram $80
Monitor/GPU/PSU $316-$346
HDD $50.
And I'd replace the asus mobo for this gigabyte board $70 amir.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
S+H $10

Totals:
720 and 1680x1050 setup = $701
720 and 1920x1080 setup = $731
945 and 1680x1050 setup = $751
945 and 1920x1080 setup = $781

Pick how much you want to spend and go with these suggestions or one of the ones listed above if you don't want to shop at multi sites. But that's a lot of computer for the cost.

 

[g36hk5]

Wow thanks alot. I found which setup was good for me and my budget. Btw do I need to get a sound card?

 

[Outlander_04]

no to the sound card . The mb has that built in already

 

[g36hk5]

A quick question. Does acer make good monitors?

 

[batuchka]

Yep value for money too - have owned and built with Acer LCDs and very happy wif em hehe

 

[iggybeans]

That looks impressive for the price. Gigabyte also offer a full size ATX motherboard based on the same chipset that I'm looking at myself. It should perform pretty good.

 

[Guest]

new user here philymcrae
hate to jump in on someone elses thread but can you guys help me. Ive put together a system based on most of these items

is this build gonna be compatible got same budget mainly gonna play sims 3, C&C3: tiberium wars, Footie Manager for now?
althought later i'll be getting some serious games to see how far i can push it

i dont think i can use newegg.com as im in the UK
If anyone knows where to get anything cheaper inc delivery would obviously be much appreciated ive included prices where i could

CASE
ANTEC 900 - £75.63 +free delivery

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-Nine-Hundred-Ultimate-Gamer/dp/B000JMJS7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1252414752&sr=8-1

MOTHERBOARD
GIGABYTE 790 UD4P - £96.24 inc vat +free delivery

http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-am3-amd-790x-ddr3-atx-a-l-5J9S.html?q=ud4p

PROCESSOR
AMD Phenom 2 945

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?amd-p2945

GRAPHICS CARD
Radeon 4870 1gb vapor x (yesterday 07/09/09)

cbccomputers.com had this card advertised at £130.43 delivered now nowhere to be seen just a 2gb version for a much higher price so i'll be shopping around again to see what price i can get for one

HARD DRIVE (would prefer the F3 version but hard to find keeps bringing up 1tb option)
500gb samsung spinpoint

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/Serial+ATA/500GB+Samsung+Spinpoint+F1+502IJ+SATA2+7200RPM+16MB+cache?productId=33024

RAM
want ddr3 1600 or 1333 not fussed
Whats recomended price for punch i dont know much about RAM

PSU
Same Again Not too sure about PSU's

have a dvd drive already

any extra help would be much appreciated as always

 

[shortstuff_mt]

@philymcrae - start your own thread and we'll be glad to help you. Hijacking someone's thread isn't the way to ask for help. Your request for help in your new thread should also follow the format in the "How to ask for new build advice" sticky at the top of the forum.