$500 entry level gaming rig

[SumYungGai]

Hey there,

I am planning to build a midrange build for my buddy to play Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops at maximum setting for $500. Here's the problem, I'm on a VERY tight budget and I need to be right on budget for $500. After all considerations, I hit $534.92. I could lower the price by going two ways: cutting the RAM to 3gb or cutting the video card to a Radeon HD 5670 1gb. Which should I go with? Will be running Windows 7 64 bit. Here are the parts...

ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136161

ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131603

ASUS EAH5750 FORMULA/2DI/1GD5/A Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121356

To lower costs: SAPPHIRE 100289L Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102869

Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7S-4GBRL
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231307

To lower costs: Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3/1GR
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134784

with

Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3/2GR
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134785

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX245OCGQBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687

Thanks a million

 

[batuchka]

OS included, etc or better yet
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[SumYungGai]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within a month

BUDGET RANGE: $400-$500 Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops (when it comes out), Battlefield Bad Company 2, internet surfing, flash and java games

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: no keyboard, mouse, OS, monitor, speakers, additional fans, cathodes, etc. (basically system only)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: 5750 or 5770

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe to 3.1 GHz (from 2.9)

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1024x768 - 1440x900

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: None

 

[batuchka]

 

[swifty_morgan]

I knowa couple of those games needs a quad core so don't compromise. I don't think this case hase enough cooling but it fit's your budget. I also don't like the PS you chose but that's just me and it fits your budget, so...... $289.96 ( my 4 items )

I wouldn't go below a 5750 but try and swing the $144 - 5770.

cASE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112

ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134792

mobo/proc combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.480338

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.480338

your PS and whatever else you might need.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

ok, lets see what we can do for you on the $500 budget here:

I think I found a better setup, overall. $495, shipped.

Mobo/CPU combo, Biostar AMD 770 e3 chipset and Athlon II X3, $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.478082

DVD/Case combo: Case has 2 120mm fans, and can add 1 or 2 more as side fans. $48.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.466997

Seasonic 350W Power supply, 80+ Bronze Certified, $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151075

Sapphire Radeon HD5770 graphics card: $154.99, and a $15 rebate, also comes with a free game, Blacklight - Tango Down.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

Samsung F4 Spinpoint 320 GB Hard drive, $42.99. Fastest Sata 2 drive out there.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244

Total: $473.92 plus shipping.


thermal needs:
System Type: 1 physical CPU
Motherboard: Regular - Desktop
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 3000 MHz Rana
CPU Utilization (TDP): 100% TDP
RAM: 2 Sticks DDR SDRAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5770
Video Type: Single Card
Regular SATA: 1 HDD
DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive
USB: 2 Devices
Fans
Regular: 2 Fans 120mm;
Keyboard and mouse: Yes
System Load: 100 %

Recommended Wattage: 329 Watts

 

[SumYungGai]

Thank you / follow up message in the morning

 

[SumYungGai]

Best answer selected by SumYungGai.

 

[youssef 2010]

Well, That's the best I could do after about two hours of browsing Newegg

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103843)
Motherboard: MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130295)
Ram: OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227582)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ,comes with Three Fans (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153)
Graphics Card: PowerColor AX5750 1GBD5-H Radeon HD 5750 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131354)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073)
DVD Burner: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176)
PSU: Tuniq Potency PSU-POT550-BK 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817611006)

My Total was $515.92 before rebates (shipping depends on where you are)

 

[SumYungGai]

Thank you batuchka, swifty_morgan, ScrewySqrl, and youssef 2010 very, very, very much for your time and effort (especially youssef 2 hours =D). Anyways, I know it was really hard with a tight budget, but I still got a solid system thanks to you. My build was a combo between batuchka and ScrewySqrl. I basically used GPU, DVD, PSU, HDD, and case from batuchka and the mobo and CPU combo from ScrewySqrl. I bought some Corsair XMS3 RAM (even though there's mushkin in the picture), because RAM at that price with heat spreaders made me a little suspicious. swifty_morgan - I liked it, I was just to lazy to pick out the products at 12 AM. youssef 2010 - It was a fantastic build, but like I said before, my budget is VERY tight. Again thank you all for your time and effort to help some random guy across the internet.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

You're welcome! have fun and enjoy building you computer!