[Solved] $500 gaming PC

Hello guys, I posted here yesterday saying I wanted to build around $800 gaming PC which is futureproof. BIG thx to those who posted replies for me =)
but come to think about it, this is my first build and I just wanna start from bit more lower budget PC. i dont wannna spend 800 bux and mess it up! =)
Again, i absolutely have no clue which componets work well.. i need suggestions..

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within 1 week

BUDGET RANGE: ~ $500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: mainly gaming (WOW), internet browsing

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: Never had AMD PC before, so i wanna try but if Intel is just a better CPU, then i will go for Intel. Also noise level is very important to me, for some reason i cant stand noise while i m using PC.. No preference on ATI or Nvidia video card.
I have monitor/keyboard/mouse/speaker/OS.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe (if it can give me best performance with my budget)

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Prefer but if it cant be done with my budget, its fine.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: I have Samsung 2343BWX 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 20000:1 (DC), 5ms, 2048x1152, DVI)

Thank you =)

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Best answer

Don't be so afraid of messing anything up. Someone will probably argue with me, but it's actually pretty hard to severely damage components as long as you use common sense and have a basic knowledge of what your doing.

I hear a lot of stories about people putting together a computer and (for example) buying DDR RAM when they needed DDR2, but they didn't care or know the difference; so they force it into the socket like someone trying to force a puzzle piece into a place it doesn't belong. (If you have to use a hammer to install your hardware... you're not doing it right.) So what usually happens? The computer throws a fit, sparks fly, and maybe it catches fire. They decide that they must have gotten defective hardware and that the manufacturer is clearly to blame.

In all seriousness: if you take basic precautions, there's like a 95% chance that everything will be as smooth as butter.

With that said, The cheapest Intel processor that I would recommend (the i5 750) is $200 which puts it out of your budget range, but AMD has some nice options with good upgradability and performance.

Anyway, here's what I came up with:

--COMBO DEAL--
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3
$197

Samsung F3 500GB
$55
OCZ StealthXStream 700W
$75
mushkin XP 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600
$100
XFX Radeon HD 4770
$110
LITE-ON SATA CD/DVD Burner
$29

TOTAL:
before MIR ~$563
after MIR ~$528

You probably noticed I didn't include a case... The case is something that's hard to recommend without knowing what your looking for. Side window? Color? Design? Features? Antec makes some great cases as does Cooler Master. The Antec 900 is the most popular "gamer's case" for good reason: it's designed really well. Expect to spend around ~$100 on a good case.

You'll also want a good aftermarket cooler if you plan on overclocking which will run you around ~$50.
If you can find one, upgrade your video card to a 5770 which is compatible with DX11 and will have a longer lifespan than the 4770. That will cost you another ~$50.

Let me know what you think.

Message edited by kufan64 on 10-29-2009 at 05:55:55 PM

Reply to kufan64

This is a little over budget, but it's very hard to put together something decent for $500.

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=400cx $49.99 - $10.00 MIR

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103687

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128397

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.272121 $145.99 (CPU + motherboard combo)

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231253 $69.99

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 $54.99

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151192 $25.99

Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129070 $44.95

SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102858 $159.99

Total - $551.89 - $10.00 MIR

You could knock $15 off the build if you use this GPU instead:

XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $144.99

Reply to shortstuff_mt

+1 for what kufan64 said about the process of building your first pc. I had the same apprehensions but when i started putting it together I was surprised at how easy it was. All you need is a screwdriver. Everything really does only go in one spot. There are some online guides to help you. I used a guide at tigerdirect.com to help me. As for your case, you might try an Antec 300? I have it and only spent 50 bucks on mine. Good luck w/whatever system you build!

Reply to sparky13

how is this one look???
blah it went over my budget but o well.. around.. $600 with mail in rebate..
Also what kinda OS do you recommend? I guess obviously i gotta go with 64bit OS..

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223C - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151192
$25.99

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042
$51.95

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181
$54.99

SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102858
$159.99

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341019
$74.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231253
$69.99

COMBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273358
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX - Retail
$196.99

OR Should I spend 100 more bux and go with following COMBO??????

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 140W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ965FBGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273333
$280.98

Message edited by dreamie09 on 10-29-2009 at 09:10:47 PM

Reply to dreamie09

I sure wouldn't waste your money on a Phenom II X4 965. If you're considering a quad core then I would either look for the 95W Phenom II X4 945 or one of the new Athlon II X4 chips. Here's a couple decent combo deals with that Asus 790X board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273354

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273353

I didn't include an OS in the build because you said you didn't need it. Here's a combo deal for the Antec 200 + 64-bit Windows 7.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.276554

You're not a college student, are you? If you are you can get Windows 7 for $30.

www.win741.com

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to shortstuff_mt

shortstuff_mt wrote :

I sure wouldn't waste your money on a Phenom II X4 965. If you're considering a quad core then I would either look for the 95W Phenom II X4 945 or one of the new Athlon II X4 chips. Here's a couple decent combo deals with that Asus 790X board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273354

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273353

I didn't include an OS in the build because you said you didn't need it. Here's a combo deal for the Antec 200 + 64-bit Windows 7.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.276554

You're not a college student, are you? If you are you can get Windows 7 for $30.

www.win741.com

WOW this student deal is sweeeet!~ TY =D
Also I think i ll go with Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition =)

Reply to dreamie09

dreamie09, that's a good looking build you've got there.

Consider this RAM though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148261
It's got LED's which you'll either find cool or obnoxious depending on your tastes, but it's only a couple extra dollars, and the timings are much faster.

Good case choice, but be warned:
The Antec 300 is too narrow to support many of the bigger aftermarket CPU coolers which limits it's overclocking potential. That being said, it's still a fantastic case with good airflow and features, and a very good bargain.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to kufan64

kufan64 wrote :

dreamie09, that's a good looking build you've got there.

Consider this RAM though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148261
It's got LED's which you'll either find cool or obnoxious depending on your tastes, but it's only a couple extra dollars, and the timings are much faster.

Good case choice, but be warned:
The Antec 300 is too narrow to support many of the bigger aftermarket CPU coolers which limits it's overclocking potential. That being said, it's still a fantastic case with good airflow and features, and a very good bargain.

TY for your comment~ =)
Hm.. Could u recommend me any other nice cases? I dont really care about looks all i care is is noise level =)
I really wanna try overclocking it looks very fun lol also i heard it is easy to overclock with black edition. ( i could be wrong lol)
If i do wanna try overclocking, do i have to get extra cooling device???? if so which one should i get and is it gonna work with antek 300?
Sorry too many questions ! XD

Message edited by dreamie09 on 10-29-2009 at 10:23:18 PM

Reply to dreamie09

That PSU should be compatible with just about any case. It's a standard ATX size unit.

If you plan on overclocking, it's important that you invest in a good aftermarket cooler. The stock cooler that comes with your CPU isn't necessarily bad, but it won't hold up well against the increased heat production that overclocking causes. As far as WHICH cooler to get; that's really a topic for a whole different thread as everyone seems to have their own opinions.

Here's a few more good cases:
Antec Nine Hundred
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
COOLER MASTER Centurion

Reply to kufan64

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Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - [Solved] $500 gaming PC