Budget replacement gaming build

[glittle]

One of my old gaming pc is staring to fail. I am looking for a budget alternative.

I currently have 7 PC’s in my house. I am looking the replace the oldest with a low end gaming PC. The system to be replaced is a 1 Ghz AMD, ASUS MB, 5800 APG graphics, IDE hdd’s, 1gb DDR ram build running 32 bit Windows XP. The new system is for low end gaming.

I am looking for a very cheap budget replacement. This will not be a primary gaming system. It will not be upgraded or over clocked. When its usefulness has expired it will be replace with a new system.

I will likely reuse the Windows XP 32 bit OS for now. It has been a reliable OS for most of the older games. The Antec tower case and PSU (I this it’s an 4xx Antec psu). And the Samsung 4x3, 19’’, 2ms monitor, USB keyboard and mouse.

My other low end gaming systems are AMD dual or triple core systems with ATI 4800 GPU’s and run the older games we play great. I would like similar performance.

Your suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

 

[striker410]

Check this one out:
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886 $70

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157199 $55

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231394 $38

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102941 $117

dvd/hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.667921 $50

Comes to $338. If you can throw down a bit more $ we can get a SataIII/USB3 Mobo.

 

[photonboy]

Look at the $500 gaming build on the main Tomshardware page and tweak the parts list as needed.

Don't forget that you need to purchase Windows, specifically:
Windows 7 Premium 64-bit OEM

 

[fb39ca4]

If you are reusing windows XP, then you don't need a DX11 graphics card, so you can get an older model with higher performance for less money. However, don't do this if you plan on upgrading.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

How about an
AMD phenom II x4 955 $120
MSI 870S-G46 $80
Radeon HD 6770 $120
Team Elite TED34096M1066C7DC 4gb RAM $33
HITACHI Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723015BLA642 $65
Total: $418
and compared to striker's 3 core: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/189?vs=88
this build gives a tad bit better preformance for 80 dollars more

 

[sadams04]

The two builds here are good options. Two things...

1.) If you would like similar performance to your current systems with an ATI 4800 GPU, you may want to skip the GPU for now and see how the integrated HD 4250 GPU does for you. Striker410's build includes a motherboard with the HD 4250 as do many other boards. If this doesn't perform up to your standards, a grapics card can be added.

2.) Go with an AM3+ motherboard. Down the road... if you don't take advantage of USB 3.0 or SATA 6.0Gb/s, you may take advantage of the new socket type. Going with AM3+ now will give you the option to upgrade the CPU and extend the computers life. The two boards below are good AM3+ options with integrated HD 4250 video.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625+600138080+600013709&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=22&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

2.) Go with an AM3+ motherboard. Down the road... if you don't take advantage of USB 3.0 or SATA 6.0Gb/s, you may take advantage of the new socket type. Going with AM3+ now will give you the option to upgrade the CPU and extend the computers life. The two boards below are good AM3+ options with integrated HD 4250 video.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625+600138080+600013709&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=22&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

I am looking for a very cheap budget replacement. This will not be a primary gaming system. It will not be upgraded or over clocked. When its usefulness has expired it will be replace with a new system.

So an AM3+ MoBo isn't worth it unless it's cheap, VERY cheap

 

[striker410]

Then why the 955 BE? he's not gonna notice any difference between the tri core and the quad if there's a GPU bottleneck anyway......

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

Then why the 955 BE? he's not gonna notice any difference between the tri core and the quad if there's a GPU bottleneck anyway......

what graphics do u recommend with the 4 core?

 

[striker410]

Well here's the thing. Games are very GPU bound. I'd think he'd need to go with at least a 6870 to see any sort of significant performance increase with a quad. For 6870>, a quad is really the only way to go (except the SB duals). Remember that the anandtech benchmarks are done with VERY powerful GPU's to eliminate GPU bottlenecks.