Help on build for under 800 dollars?

[limartm]

Hello!

PLEASE HELP: I'm trying to built a gaming computer from us$500-800.

I just copied this user survey from a subscriber that requested the same type of help in 2009; the system suggested no longer has the original parts in stock.

Would you be so kind to help a nobb one more time?



APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: .................................................................4/15/2011 ( US$500-800)

SYSTEM USAGE:......................................................................................... gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED:..... keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:............................................................ newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES:..................................................................................by brand or type : Intel or AMD you decide

OVERCLOCKING: .........................................................................................Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE

MONITOR RESOLUTION: ...........................,,,,,,,,024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050

thank you for taking the time to review my request.

 

[hooru]

welcome! I know this is is a "gaming" build, but you mite get more help posting this in the "New builds" section of TomsHardware. NEway, what kind of games are you interested in? since you have a tighter budget, you mite want to look into AMD. Intel makes very good cpus, but their a lil more on the expensive side. either way you go (AMD/INTEL) you will most likely end up with a nice gaming machine. Have you been looking into any DIY builds on newegg? anything there that caught ur eye??

 

[limartm]

Hello!

Thank you for taking your time to respond!
I will repost this in New Builds.

This machine's main purpose is Flight Simulator X, I will also be playing any other Xbox games with a PC available version.



For DIY combos, I've been looking at this one:

AMD VISION Premium Edition SuperCombo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.619499

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Video Games to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my build guide in my siggy. I hope it helps.

That's a terrible super combo btw.

 

[Onus]

That combo has three problems:
1. The PSU is crappy.
2. Too much money put into the case for a limited budget.
3. No graphics card (needed for gaming).

You do not indicate the resolution of your monitor, just listing the choices available. What is your monitor's native resolution?

If I remember correctly, FSX benefits from a strong, multi-core CPU more than many games. It may be the case that a true quad-core AMD will perform as well in this game as the dual-core hyperthreaded Intel i3, although it may not in others. Still, I surveyed all of the CPU/game benchmarks at Anandtech this morning, and found that even the weakest Athlon II X2 could play most games well enough. I'm at work right now, and haven't been able to find (or access) a FSX benchmark, but unless someone can post one that shows conclusively otherwise, I think your best choice here will still be AMD unless you don't mind being at the very top of your budget or stretching it a little in order to afford an i5-2300 or better.
In the absence of clarity, I am going to assume you have, or are planning to get, a single 1920x1080 monitor. At that resolution, your graphics card should be a 1GB GTX460 or HD6850. If you are at 1366x768 with no upgrade plans, a HD5670 would be sufficient.

 

[Subidoo]

If you live near a Microcenter go grab a i5 2400 for only 149.99.

 

[Onus]

^that's a great price. If available to you, ignore the rest of this message. Otherwise, rather than post a build that would be very similar, start with this month's $500 SBM build, but whether or not you plan to overclock, add an aftermarket CPU cooler to it; your ears will thank you. If you don't mind spending a little more money, upgrade the CPU to a 955BE.
Again, if you can get that Microcenter deal on an i5-2400, getting that and an 1155 mobo would be a better way to go.

 

[aznshinobi]

Haha jtt who's build were you referring to?

 

[batuchka]

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

965BE + Gigabyte 760G $149.99 (if Microcenter an option)
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html

and scale up on the GPU as per budget - great starting point for all gamers + 24/7 rigs under $1k hehe

 

[hooru]

+1.... toms has some nice DIY build reviews.

 

[limartm]

Thank you guys this is very helpful, I will be posting pictures when I'm done with my build : ) Cheers..

 

[hooru]

It mite be a good idea to post info on the parts u want to buy before u buy them, just so we can let you kno if the parts are good/bad. Its up to u, but it mite prevent sum compatability issues.