Budget gaming PC planning. Opinions

[agroferia]

This is what I have so far

Processor: AMD Athlon II X3 455 Rana 3.3GHz Price: 90$
Video card: Radeon HD 5670 Price: 75$
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H 890GX Price: 130$
Memory: Corsair 4GB Dual Channel (1600MHz) Price: 53$
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM SATA II 3.0Ghz 16MB cache Price: 40$
DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD-RW 24X Price: 20$
Power Supply: Antec VP-450 450W (2 rails +12V 18A) Price: 45$
Case: Rosewill DESTROYER 3x 120mm Price: 50$

Total: 513$

1. What do you think about it?
2. Should I be able to play Crysis 2 at normal settings?
3. Do you think the power supply can hadle this build if I add a Radeon HD 6850 and a Phenom II x4 965?
4. I was between ASUS M4A89GTD PRO and the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H both 890GX... But I saw in newegg many reviews saying there was a problem with ASUS usb ports.. So I'm very scared of buying it.. I wanted the asus because it will support AM3+

Thanks!!

 

[WR2]

Hello agroferia;

What's the resolution of your monitor?

That Antec VP-450 450W PSU has a combined max 30Amps +12V and it should handle a HD 6850 & X4 965 'OK'.

 

[agroferia]

Thanks for your answer. Sorry for taking too long. I was researching about monitors and resolutions to give a better answer. I have spotted some monitors, but basically they all have max resolution of 1366x768. With that resolution I don't need a very expensive card do I?

What would be the cheapest card that I would be able to play Crysis 2 fine? At least at High or Very High settings, maybe enthusiast is too much.

Thanks

 

[Dyers Eve]

I dunno I think the whole point of an AMD budget system is that you can get a good motherboard for cheap, like ~$60. If you are not going to crossfire and not using all 4 slots of ram then that is wasted money in my opinion.

I would get a cheaper mobo and upgrade to a better video card. If you can squeeze out a PIIx4 955 that'd be great but really I've seen some very good benchmarks on the rana 455 plus I've heard that you can unlock the fourth core on the rana and overclock it a bit. If you do some research on this the $90 rana 455 is sweet.

5670 is weak, check this link out and this is only Crysis 1. 5750 is a better upgrade and I found one on newegg for $90 after MIR. 1366x768 is fairly low so you should be able to run Crysis 2 well. However if you are planning on upgrading your monitor and getting a better resolution then you should think about getting a 6850 or 460 gtx.

 

[flatbaler87]

My idea

Change CPU -$10

AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886

Change MOBO -$50

ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770
http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16813157176

Change Ram -$10

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364

Change Case -$10

HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition ATX Mid Tower Computer Chassis Gaming
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121096

Change GPU + $75

HIS H685F1GD Radeon HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348

Same price for way more GPU!

 

[aznshinobi]

Ermm just a suggestion, check out my build guide for 450$. Seems like you have a little more money to spend (60$ more) You could pick up a 460 768mb.
130$ AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127519&cm_re=460_768mb-_-14-127-519-_-Product

The CPU performs a lot better, and Crysis like CPU power.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859-10.html

 

[flatbaler87]

If you must have 8x8 xfire, sata 6s and USB 3s then consider this mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870

Save $40

 

[agroferia]

Thanks all for your kind suggestions. I have to admit that motherboard have been one of my bigger indesicions. I saw your motherboard suggestions and they all seem to be good except for one point: They don't have onboard video.

You may be thinking... If he is wants to buy a good GPU then why does he want to choose a motherboard with onboard video? Well it's because something that happened to me recently:

My hp dv9930us laptop is "visually" dead.. The integrated video is sort of dead, it is a common problem with this laptops. I never expected a GPU failure from a computer, I had problems with HDDs, PSUs but never GPUs.

This is the reason I want onboard video, because you would have a backup in case something is wrong with the GPU. I really liked the 890GX chipset, if there's a cheapier and good motherboard without crossfire and without usb 3.0, there wouldn't be any problem for me.

I want Sata 6.0Gb/s and the 4 slots of memory for a potential upgrade of ram.

Something I like about that chipset also is that it has a very good GPU. The Radeon HD 4290 is almost as good as my now dead 8600M GS so I could use the onboard video and wait for some deal of a GPU and then buy it.

 

[agroferia]

Wow and flatbaler87's suggestion seems to be very good! But one question about that. Wouldn't the processor be a bottleneck in that configuration? Or if I overclock it, it would debottleneck?

Also.. In these days that i3 is out is it really recommended to build an AMD on a budget? I want to build an AMD because I think that for now the applications aren't taking advantage of the 4 cores, but maybe in a future the 4 cores AMD's would beat the intel's dual core hyperthreaded.

 

[aznshinobi]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859.html

Read the entire article and you will understand. AMD doesn't stand a chance anymore untill Bulldozer/Interlagos and the entire AM3+ lineup arrives. 32nm is just better. Even 4-core games like WoW and MMOs favor the i3.

 

[agroferia]

Why it's so hard choosing cheap components

AznShinobi I saw the thread and obviously i3 is winning the battle, but one curious test was the multitasking test where the AMDs didn't perform so bad.

I guess most of the benchmarks that TomsHardware is doing is on a clean operative system, but if you consider the reality normally in our pcs there is a lot of processes runing in the background, let's say you are downloading stuff and have an antivirus that is checking all the files that you are downloading (and if they are zip files there will be some uncompressing job), while you have msn, and other apps running plus the junk processes that we install sometimes without knowing.

That would be an interesting scenario to compare the i3 vs the phenoms. The good thing about the i3s beating the the AMDs is that there will be probably a new price drop in the phenoms so that AMD would be preffered again, I hope that happens soon :lol:

 

[batuchka]

Actually for budget systems overall

Tom's March 2011 $500 SBM
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-pc-phenom-ii-radeon-hd-6850,2903-9.html


They had a choice between dual core SB and entry level quad Deneb and in the intrests of gaming + snappy 24/7 rig they went with the latter and then there is the question of locked/limited OC and less features generally in budget H61/H67 so i could see why Toms went Deneb hehe

The Asrock 870 with USA/SATA 3.0 and Crossfire remains my mobo of choice for budget gamers ^^ Unless we are talking dated single core/E2140/X2 3800, why grapple over chips when something like a HD 6850CF i would think even spanks the $1000 SBM config in gaming lol

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Batuchka, you forget though that there are cheap P67 boards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135279

It's not a bad board at all, and from 16x/4x to 8x/8x it's not a terrible drop in performance.

 

[batuchka]

Well toms did pair a quad SB + with that awesome Asrock P67 in their $1000 SBM after the matter of a HD 6950 2GB was included So even for budget less i would work towards getting the basics right i.e beefy GPU/s for gaming rig 1st Then again i wouldn't consider splashing now when i have a fatter budget unless one needs a machine asap hehe

 

[aznshinobi]

Hah

 

[Dyers Eve]

^ Batuchka, you forget though that there are cheap P67 boards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135279

It's not a bad board at all, and from 16x/4x to 8x/8x it's not a terrible drop in performance.

Ummm, except for the gigantic SOLD OUT yeah that board is awesome. I wold have bought that board in an instant and recommended it for all system but once again it is SOLD OUT and the rebate ends in 2 days. The next cheapest board is $125. So for a real cheap P67 system no there isn't a cheap mobo out there.

If the original poster really wants sata II 6gb/s and onboard video just in case then your choices are very limited and you may have to buy an expensive mobo and the rest of your system will suffer. To counter act this you want to look for deals constantly and wait for price drops or save up some more money. Check newegg/tigerdirect/frys/amazon and eventually you'll find something good.

 

[aznshinobi]

Not really, I was suggesting that board if you can wait. =P H67 is an option. There is also an H61 SATA II and III (Dyers, SATA II is 3gb/s not 6)

 

[Daplinksta]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846If your going to go amd and want high end wait for Zambezi. That will be the 32nm competition to the sandybridge. If this is a budget build and it's a glorified PS3. You may want to consider a single x16 lane board. The board you list is being used by me right now. Furthermore that processor will run any game as well as the Rana and is easily overclockable. Now, get a higher watt single rail psu and a better gpu. Intel or AMD? For the budget minded amd is definitely the better bet "usually" when they release a new die cpu it is backwards compatable with current sockets. This allows you to buy nextgen tech and use it immediately without having to nutup for everything at once. Sandy Bridge is very nice but will soon have competition from Dozer/Llano/Zambezi and you'll be able to use a newer am3+ socket cpu on an existing am3 board. I'm about as budget minded as they come (I'm disabled and on Social Security after 15 years as an electrician). I prefer amd not because it's faster...it isn't. I prefer it because it's consumer friendly. i build systems for friends/ family/ and the occasional client (about 20 rigs a year).
If you could send me a message with your budget and requirements I could put together the best "bang for buck" option I am not trying to sell you my services. I just love putting together systems(on paper or on my table it's just as fun). Intel's only major flaw is the "one cpu for one socket" mindset, not that you can't use a diff cpu from the same die but that when they release a new die you need a new board.
Sandybridge=very nice(imo the k series/p67 mobo) but as far as budget goes? Amd's your friend. Ivy bridge is right around the corner and will do to Sandybridge what Sandybridge did to 1156 and (for the most part) 1366.
Games I play Maxed on the same mobo dual 4770's(xfire) and an Phenom II 965 oc'd to 4.4(on air even). Crysis 2/1 DA 1/2 WoW, and SCII. oh 8 gigs ripjaws. (this is total overkill tho, any review of a budget cpu will have the dual core I listed in the top ten as current software is far behind the tech)
*Anywho*
Hope some of this was helpful....I'm rambling.

 

[Daplinksta]

anyways not used to forum posting sose I screwed that link. It's the Phenom II 555 BE

 

[Daplinksta]

Wanted to add something off topic(I apologize up front) The best p67 board atm Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7-B3 which is also cheaper than the Asus. Why would anyone consider an H67 for a "gaming rig". In my eyes this is the failing of 1155 you choose onboard graphics or overclockability. I use my comp for everything tv/music/gaming if I had to choose between gaming or cheap watchable high def...I wouldn't, I'd wait for Intel's response to the upcoming 2q chips from amd. Then I'll decide. I may very well be the proud owner of an Intel come July....but then again.....maybe not.

 

[agroferia]

Hey, thanks for your answer. My budget is kind of weird, I'm not from USA.. So when I buy parts from USA they are cheapier for me if they cost less than 100$.. So an item that costs 101$ is considerably (let's say 16%) more expensive than a 99$ item (I have to pay taxes when the items cost more than 100$). Of course that sucks because the better budget processors seems to be in the 120$-140$ range. Still items higher than 100$ are cheapier to buy in USA than here, but the difference is not as big considering items less than that. So I said weird, because I could buy a PSU of 99$ which would maybe considered not a budget PSU :lol:

Anyway, sorry for my long story. I can say I have a budget of arround 500$-600$. Of course, the cheapier and the better is of course better for me. The Phenom II x4 965 now costs about 140$ and I'm feeling tempted :lol: TomsHardware has just published the best gaming CPU list of march, and listed the intel's i3 as the best gaming processor in the 120$ range. Of course he stated that it was better for gaming which is cool, but he said that the phenoms are better suited for multitasking. Of course I don't really know what kind of multitasking, I tend to have many windows opened even when playing a game so I don't know if that counts or that multitasking would be like encoding videos, while playing, doing an antivirus scan and compressing a bunch of files :lol:

I really want bulldozers.. But I don't really know how they will be priced, I guess the 4 cores bulldozer is going to compete against the core i5-2500K maybe so they'll probably price it around 190-200$ which would be too expensive for me.. So I'm waiting not really for bulldozer, I'm waiting for AM3+ so that I can upgrade to bulldozer latter without expending too much.

Is intel's i3 chipset upgradable? I mean can I buy in the future another processor with the same motherboard? What I didn't like about intel's processors was the problem with the chipset they had, that's why I don't trust those motherboards.

I don't really like waiting, but I guess that's the best I could do.

 

[aznshinobi]

Well I have a build in my siggy that is 450$, I dunno if it'll cost that where you are.

What is your resolution of your screen?

 

[Daplinksta]

Agro,
The Zambezi will be the Sandy's main competition for the desktop market. If you want this to be a longterm comp(no near future upgrades) I'd say look into the i3 sandy. If this will be a work in progress. I'd go AMD and get the highest end board you can afford (at present) the rumormill speculates the new dozer series chips (am3+) will work on an am3 board (890 chipset) with a simple bios update. Also just a consideration check out the apevia xqpack. It's 99 usd for a cube case with three windows and an entry level 500w psu. There have been some complaints about the psu but I've built "budget" friendly gaming rigs in them and not seen anything out of specs. In fact my backup rig a 955 be with four gigs of mushkin and a 5750 gpu sits on a shelf over my kitchen table with a wall mount(articulated) 19" monitor and a wireless kb/mouse. It comfortably holds a full sized(not MONSTER but fullsized gpu)and with the windows you can add led's or a ccfl kit(my case is blue my daughter's green both with purple sunlight sticks.) for easy cheap bling. The handle works well (my daughter has an i3 with 4 gigs of ram(proudly built by me for her) that she totes around to friends houses for weekend lans. Just don't smack it on anything. It IS a budget friendly case that may free up some room in that budget for an i3 or the PhenomII quad you want. As to multitasking I have no rpoblems with winamp playing a virus scan running,open web pages and bittorrent running throttled. That is on either of my amd quads (955/965 respectively). Oh all that while playing SCII (windowed of course). Hope some of this helps. I am proudly neither an amd or intel fanboy..I am "me" fanboy use what is going to work best for YOU don't take my advice google a couple builds (I advise checking builds over individual parts as you have to live with the whole nut). While shinobi's siggy is a good start waste a whole 20mins with youtube or even the public wishlists on newegg(many people post budget game builds and get community feedback). I will say apevia makes a decent case and passable psu for under 100 total and strongly urge you to consider them (either the xqboiII or any of their "cubes" as you will be able to a. avoid your tax issue B. fulfill your case psu needs. I replaced the 120mm in the rear of mine with a 35 mm high flow fan(kinda loud it's a scythe) but I never pass 35c while gaming(just wow for my company on my backup rig).
In passing, don't forget when your question is answered to YOUR satisfaction to quickly click any of us "helper types" as having answered your q's(want that damn helper person badge baaad) LOL. GOODLUCK!

 

[agroferia]

Best answer selected by agroferia.

 

[agroferia]

Well thanks all for your answers you all helped me to understand a few things. I'm very scared of making a mistake because it is not easy to return a pc part after I bought it. I have been reading for about a week about pc building and I learn something new everyday. I will try my best to learn as much as I can to make good use of my money. Also bulldozer motherboards are coming out (not AM3+, but Bulldozer compatible) so it would be a bad desicion if I buy a AM3 motherboard right now. As for your final message Daplinksta as I've never built a PC before I don't know what to expect but I really want to get room for upgrade, that means that if intel is going to change the chipset when the new processors come out then I preffer AMD that is not so bad compared to intel. I'll be asking a few more questions in different categories to learn more about each pc component.

Thank you all!