Budget Gaming Computer

Jhartzog

Distinguished
Oct 29, 2009
11
0
18,510
Hello all! This is my first time wading into the jungle of building my own computer. I know more than the average person but probably less than all of you about computers, how they work and such. I currently have a dell m1210 laptop with 2ghz, 2gb ram, and a nvidia 7400go video card. I am tired of only being able to run games like TF2, L4D and Borderlands at low settings and low resolutions. Thank you all in advance!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: by the end of the year

BUDGET RANGE: 400-500 After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, everything else is secondary (i have a ps3 for other media)

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

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I dont really know which ones are good
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have no parts preferences, I just wanna get the job done

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1600x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like to be able to run Borderlands at 1600x1200 at at least medium settings across the board
Thanks again!
 
Solution
i'm in the process of researching a system with the goal of running Fallout 3 at max settings at 1600x1200. the following was recommended to me:

HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

*RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231278

GPU + CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.264833

CPU + MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.272089

*the ram was $84 when it was recommended a couple days ago. it has since gone up to $99.99, so i'm sure there's a better buy out there.

anyway, i'm reusing an old case, dvd drive, and buying win 7 pro as a student for $29.99, and the grand total after rebates is ~$500.

since you need a...

Bloodfrost

Distinguished
Oct 19, 2009
10
0
18,510
How does this look:

CPU: AMD Phenom x2 550 Black Edition @ 3.1GHz

RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR3 1333MHz

HARD DRIVE: Seagate 1TB SATA II 7200RPM


GPU: 5850 or 4890


MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4P


CHASSIS: Antec Three Hundred


PSU: Corsair TX-650w


OPTICAL DRIVE: Pioneer 218 DVD+/-RW


OS: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM 64-bit
 

ectocoolest

Distinguished
Oct 24, 2009
23
0
18,520
i'm in the process of researching a system with the goal of running Fallout 3 at max settings at 1600x1200. the following was recommended to me:

HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

*RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231278

GPU + CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.264833

CPU + MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.272089

*the ram was $84 when it was recommended a couple days ago. it has since gone up to $99.99, so i'm sure there's a better buy out there.

anyway, i'm reusing an old case, dvd drive, and buying win 7 pro as a student for $29.99, and the grand total after rebates is ~$500.

since you need a case this combo with a different hard drive is hard to beat:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273732
 
Solution