$500 Gaming Rig

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beardplow

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Jun 28, 2010
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next few weeks BUDGET RANGE: $500ish Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, video editing, recording, multimedia(music,videos), browsing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, dvdrw, hard drives

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD. Interested in the AMD Athlon II X3 440.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe at some point SLI OR CROSSFIRE: plan on sticking to one GPU

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1600x900

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I want to build an affordable gaming pc. I know the price range isn't ideal for a gaming computer, but I'm not looking to go crazy. I'd like to be able to handle most games with satisfying results. My main games are counter strike source, left 4 dead 2, and red alert 3. I'd play newer games but my current pc couldn't handle more than this.


Here's what I came up with, definitely want your thoughts and suggestions!
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Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144
$49.99

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX440WFGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103843
$74.99

MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275
$89.99

EVGA 01G-P3-N988-TR GeForce 9800 GT HDMI 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130534
$109.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
$107

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
$79.99
 
Solution
Silmarunya


No, lower Cas latency memory isn't faster at all in real world scenarios. In the DDR and DDR eras it mattered somewhat and could yield small but noticeable improvements. Since DDR3, Cas latency has lost its value. Any set of memory over 1333MHz is equally fast, no matter frequency or latency. Even when heavily overclocking the only real improvement you can make is to go to 1600MHz.

You could also save some money with a 500W PSU...
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beardplow

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I'll get a new hard drive eventually but right now I have two hd's that will be good enough for now. same for dvd drive.

it seems like this forum favors ati video cards to nvidia, are they generally better?
is the cl7 ram better than what i had listed?
 
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xurwin

xurwin

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nooo. people here at toms are helping you pick out the best bang for the buck. right now. nvidia cost so much! yet the ati is much less expensve and its card would not disappoint you. right know ati would be your best bet for your money

lower cas latency are generally much faster. you picked a cl9
 
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Silmarunya

Silmarunya

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No, lower Cas latency memory isn't faster at all in real world scenarios. In the DDR and DDR eras it mattered somewhat and could yield small but noticeable improvements. Since DDR3, Cas latency has lost its value. Any set of memory over 1333MHz is equally fast, no matter frequency or latency. Even when heavily overclocking the only real improvement you can make is to go to 1600MHz.

You could also save some money with a 500W PSU. that's already a lot more than needed.
And yes, Nvidia doesn't offer anything worth buying atm. At every point of the market, ATI has something cheaper or more powerful than Nvidia at the moment. I agree you should try to get a 5770. Or you could try to find a 4850. Equally powerful as an 5770, but a lot cheaper. It's getting hard to find though.
 
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xurwin

xurwin

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oh sorry. i didn't know that, sooo. your right.

the 5770 and the 4850's difference would be the direct x11 just in case your wondering beard :D
 
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Silmarunya

Silmarunya

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And power consumption and noise, but these are so low on both it's not a big problem.
 
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zalick

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Jun 22, 2010
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After lots of suggestions and not needing DX11 at this point in time, I just bought this card for $89 after rebates.

ASUS CuCore Series EAH4850 CUCORE TOP/2DI/1GD3 Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire




 
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Silmarunya

Silmarunya

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µATX and ATX are the same, except for the fact a µATX board is smaller. As such, it can be cramped and usually doesn't have the space needed for multiple graphics card and has slightly less expansion slots. Not a huge disadvantage though. Do note it's a 760 chipset, which is somewhat outdated. Don't expect heavy overclocking or multiple graphics cards, but it should be fine.

Yes, the 9800 is a piece of junk compared to modern offerings. That 4850 is hard to resist, it's still a very potent graphics card and the price is VERY reasonable.
 
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beardplow

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I have a lot of trouble buying things with less than 5 eggs, color me paranoid I suppose.

How's this for a power supply? 550W, it's only $10 cheaper... but it's modular.

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

using this with the same stuff I posted before (found the cpu and mobo paired together for $15 less) and a $10 off promo code for the ram, and i'm down to $486.95

everyone on this forum seems to love ATI. I'm not really finding an ATI card for the same price as the 9800 gt that is as good. perhaps I'm a fool, but I had a lan party with friends last weekend and a friend of mine had the 9800gt 1gb and it looked fantastic.
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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For the HD instead of the Seagate, I recommended as Tom recommends, The Samsung Spinpoint F3 500gb. Its considered cheap and fast. Also, you could look at the 550s if you'd like. They might just strech your budget, but seeing as you want to OC, if you do unlock it for the price of a dual you get a quad. There is that possibility you won't get one that unlocks so be aware. And if that so happens. The performance will slightly lack from a normal Athlon II X3. As the Athlon has the extra core. But you can always try? IF you do find you want to try your hand at unlocking on this build, heres the mobo guide i used. (There are some pretty cheap budget mobos that unlock like the 770 Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P, however newegg isnt in stock with that. AS the new UD3 came out with sata 6 and usb 3.0. Anyways here's the guide if you do try unlocking. http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/535501-amd-phenom-ii-core-unlocking-guide.html
 
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beardplow

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Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up ordering my stuff last night instead of waiting. Had some good deals with the instant and mail in rebates, and a couple promo codes.

I took everyones advice and dropped the geforce 9800 for a radeon 5770. it was hard for me to make the switch because i've always been an nvidia guy, but your comments inspired me to do some digging and i realize that 5770 crushes that card i wanted with a heavy hand.

everything else was the same as my original list except that i chose the ocz fatal1ty power supply.
$526

so, i'm very stoked!
 
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