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Need Budget Gaming Desktop 500 - 700

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Good day,

I am looking for some advise for building or finding two budget gaming desktop for my two boys. They wanted laptops (HP Pavilion dv6-3143u or Acer Aspire AS7741G-7017), but I think I can build a better, more cost effective desktop solution.

Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and Christmas
Budget Range: $500-700 USD

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, OS
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: any
Country of Origin: United States
Parts Preferences:None
Overclocking: no preference
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional comments: I'm not looking for a Cadillac solution, rather something between a ford Taurus and Honda accord with leather seats. The kids are casual gamers so so building modular system that would allow future upgrades would be good. They play WOW on imac using ATI Radeon HD 4670 card with only 256MB of RAM.

Thanks

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mattius92 said:
Check this out.

Athlon II x4 630 Quad + ASUS 790GX Mobo. $170

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-de...

I had a similar thought about going to Athlon II x4 640. I thought Athlon II x4 might be a good comprise (price & performance) between the Athlon II x3 450 and the Phenom II X4 965. There are lots of options out there and I'm starting to get confused and snow blind. I'm not sure what I should be looking for in a MO.

With rebate this one comes to 134.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
Combo on this is $164. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

How do those compare to the the link you supplied?

Reaping the posts it looks like 4 option. Looking for opinions here. Which appear to be the best bargain?

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-de...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Just want to let everyone know who has responded that I appreciate their input.



Homebuilt system Expert

Personally I would stay away from Micro ATX mobos, they just don't have many expandability options and everything kinda seems cramped on the board.

The two best bargains I see is the Gigabyte/Athlon X4 combo and the ASUS/Athlon x4 combo.

I researched that ASUS board, and that thing alone goes for $110 on Newegg.

The ECS one is pretty good, its just an Micro-ATX. So if you don't care then go with that one.

Still trying to digest my options. I appreciate batuchka & mattius92 input.
I'm 50/50 on the ATX -vs- micro atx.
I'm leaning toward some version the Phenom II x4 CPU. I'm wondering if the 2.8 ghz CPU speed of the Athlon II x4 630 Quad will be fast enough.
The first config of 503AR seems hard to beat but 570 still isn't too shabby.
thanks

Homebuilt system Expert

Really the only difference from an Athlon II x4 and an Phenom II x4 is that the Phenom has 6MB of L3 cache. L3 cache isnt that important in gaming, it helps but nothing massively significant.

You could always do a slight Overclock to that Athlon to boost it to like 3.3 Ghz. However a 2.8 ghz quad isnt bad.
Homebuilt system Master
Gaming Authority

icepickjazz said:
Still trying to digest my options. I appreciate batuchka & mattius92 input.
I'm 50/50 on the ATX -vs- micro atx.
I'm leaning toward some version the Phenom II x4 CPU. I'm wondering if the 2.8 ghz CPU speed of the Athlon II x4 630 Quad will be fast enough.
The first config of 503AR seems hard to beat but 570 still isn't too shabby.
thanks


Yep , budget willing always go PhenomII over AthlonII - WOW Cata in particular is a classic example of how L3 gives considerable advantages in games :lol: 

in the case of micro atx -vs- atx. Budget will win again. At this time I don't foresee running multiple video cards, multiple hard drives, etc.
You are right 570 is still a good deal.
not sure how you guys keep up on this, but I am amazed.

I'm in a pinch now. I didn't realize how quickly the combos change and most the combos bat recommended aren't available anymore. I thought I was going to get another store to match the microcenter special. Turns out I was wrong & wasted time. My wife is on me to get something ordered for the boys. I'm about 1.5 hours from a micro center. Since I'm looking at 2 identical rigs if the cost difference is warrants a drive there & back I'd even entertain that as well. I'd still like to stick with the 955 or 965

Could I trouble one last time for config assistance?
Thanks in advance.

This is a Frankenstein from other posts including this one. I could go with a ZOTAC ZT-40402-10P GeForce GTX 460 for extra $30.00
$531 AR

It is not in my nature to buy anything at spur of the moment. I flirted with x3 450, but think I have settled back on Phenom X4.

Have been looking at all sorts of variations to the point where my head is starting to spin.

Here's a slight variation that is a few $ more. Is it worth the extra $? 531.92 AR & Promos

$35 in promo codes:
Apply Discount From Promo Code EMCZNZV33
Discount From Promo Code EMCZNZV25
Discount From Promo Code EMCZNZR53



If I we wanted to step up to MoBo that supported SLI or Crossfire, what you you recommend?
I'm still 50/50 on the ZOTAC ZT-40402-10P GeForce GTX 460 for extra $30.00 or the Asus ENGTX460.

bat -- thanks for all the advice. Appreciated all your suggestions. Boys really like the new computer. I ended up purchasing only one computer -- Stretched my budget a bit. We will be purchasing second computer in a 3 or 4 weeks. Hopefully I can have you validate config then too. Thanks again.
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