$400 HD Video - Entry Lvl Gaming

[eternal7331]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Today

BUDGET RANGE: $400 Max (All for the rig, no peripherals needed)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Web Surfing, HD-Video playback, and Entry Lvl Gaming

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

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would like to use the best bang for the buck brands, only manufacturers that warranty there product

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No (Good onboard GPU will do fine but PCIe is a must for future upgrade)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Unknown

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Build need to have the case included in price.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

 

[Alvin Smith]

You are looking at a micro-ATX Athlon-II x2Core @~2.9GHz w/2GB of 1333Cas9

 

[Alvin Smith]

Radeon 4200 u-ATX mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
($80)

proc A-II x2 @3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681&cm_re=athlon-II-_-19-103-681-_-Product
($65)

ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134637
($57)

HDD 7200.12 250GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148451
($45)

DVDR SONY
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030&cm_re=dvdr_sata-_-27-118-030-_-Product
($22)

case with 420Watt PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144162
($75 +~$20 shipping)

TOTAL = Should come in at about $365 shipped.

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$ 3 6 5 . (that leaves ~$35 for quality upgrades .. combos? . rebates?)
****************************

= WHAT DID I FORGET ?? =

 

[General M00n]

Ok since it looks like you'll be buying an external video card in the near future you'll be fine with on-board video for now, which means we can spend more money on quality components.

ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard & AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz Combo $155

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 2GB DDR3 1333 $60

Antec Three Hundred ATX Case & Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W PSU Combo $105

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB Hard Drive $55

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B $22

Thats near smack on $400 for everything. And it includes a beefy PSU for when you upgrade to a PCI-E video card.

 

[Alvin Smith]

VERY interesting ! ... So similar, yet so different ... Goes to show how much wiggle-room there is, even at $400.

I would go with the Antec 300 build ... I would love to see 3.2GHz!.

 

[General M00n]

Did a quick edit to the original post because I found a ridiculously good combo. ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO Motherboard & AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz Combo for $155

 

[Alvin Smith]

That's it! (except my ram might be more stable and better QC)

Slam dunk ! ... ATOM/ION2 ? Hell NO!


[:bilbat:5]

 

[General M00n]

Ya Kingston is just as good, but mushkin is an option if he plans to buy another 2GB stick of it in the near future, this leaves him with spare room to upgrade to 6GB or more in the future if he want to. Its up to him really.

That combo should have no trouble handling any HD playback or any other media related tasks such as large compression tasks or codec conversions.

And you'll still be able to play a reasonable amount of games, The on-board 4200 is still good for older titles such as...well most things really, UT2004, CS: Source, BF2, COD2, COD:MW1, Half-Life 2, WoW, Dawn of War 1 etc etc. Heck i've heard Red Faction Guerrilla runs on it at low graphics settings since its mostly just a cpu hog.

 

[batuchka]

Hmm usually by 'entry level' gaming i would interpret that user is willing to turn down resolution/settings to enjoy modern games and HD 4670 could cut it but if your budget is not set in stone for $414 AR

 

[Alvin Smith]

I love the gpu but ONE stick of RAM ?? ... 2.7GHz ?

Still going with the ANTEC 300 build ... given a discreet gpu upgrade, near future.

When you DO add a gpu, make it a 5750~5770

= Al =

 

[General M00n]

Yeah, I could of suggested a build with a 4670, but since hes already told us he will be upgrading to a discreet card in the near future I didn't. He said it himself "Good onboard GPU will do fine but PCIe is a must for future upgrade".
I think its wiser that he spend his money on a better CPU, RAM, Case and PSU at the moment rather than rush out to buy a 4670 which he will probably be upgrading from anyway in a month or 2 time.

 

[Alvin Smith]

ditto! +1

 

[batuchka]

Yep hence the HD 5670 in there which will be more than enuff for entry level gaming hehe

 

[batuchka]

TS: you have to realise that the best IGP solution to date will let u run games playable at 1024 x 768 low/medium for the most part

 

[Alvin Smith]

Nothing like a paw-full of impressive benchmarks, to rapidly settle such a dispute !

Point? ... Even the "lowly" 5450 kicks serious IGP ASS ! (so a 5670 ?? .. Hmmm )

= Al =

 

[General M00n]

I'm not trying to argue the obvious, I know a 5450 will beat any IGP on the market today. But if he is going to upgrade to a better video card in a month or so time don't you think the money would be better spent on a better cpu, ram and case now rather than just trying to snag a cheap PCI-E card which he will upgrade from anyway.
Also your taking the budget as after rebates rather than before like I tend to do, if you do want to take rebates into account tho there is another option.

AMD Athlon II X3 425 $70

A-DATA Gaming Series 2GB DDR3 1600 $54

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB $95 - $15 rebate

ASRock M3A770DE AM3 770 ATX Motherboard $60

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB $55

Sony Optiarc Black DVD Drive $22

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W PSU & COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 case Combo $99 - $35

Total is $455 or $405 after rebates.