$500-$600 US SCII build

[mrenton]

Howdy ya'll. My roommate's looking to get a PC for the new Starcraft, and I've been searching around trying to find a decent computer for him. He's trying to stay closer to $500, but I kinda figure that's too hard to do to get a good gaming PC.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 3-4 weeks maybe
BUDGET RANGE: $600, closer to $500 is better after rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Basically Starcraft 2, maybe some CS: Source

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Don't need a monitor, keyboard, mouse.. only what I've listed.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I prefer Newegg but am open to whatever.

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD just because it's better value right now. What's up with this memory $ spike?

OVERCLOCKING: Ehhh maybe, maybe not. If I can go cheaper and OC, sure.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: No preference.. 1280x800 at least, I'd say.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Really just looking for a lag-free gaming pc. Using a near-college-campus cable connection (so, not tooo bad), roommate wants LEDs in case (green or blue or whatever).


GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

XION Solaris XON-403 Black with Green LED Light Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208009

VisionTek 900241 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129112

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ940XCJ4DGI - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103644

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

I feel like I'm getting a good deal on the mobo and gpu... processor isn't bad either, imo. Just looking for critiques. Wish I could do better on the psu. Also, how loud the PC operates isn't a huge deal, neither is case size.

 

[goalguy876]

GPU/PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.450374 ( $240)

CPU/Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.436592 ($165)

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=g._skill_eco-_-20-231-321-_-Product ($105)

Case/HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.431380 ($95)

ODD: Any $20 ones fine...

Total: $625 (I think, did the math in my head)

If you need to cut down the cost, get a different GPU. The GTS 250 or gt 240 should run starcraft 2 and cs source pretty well. The gtx 460 will max out both of those game and many others, plus it has dx 11.

 

[mrenton]

I was looking for feedback on my build, not an entirely new one. I'd like to stick with 4 cores, if possible.

 

[batuchka]

For a fresh build,go with a DDR3 platform as the sun has gone down on DDR2 ones ^^