Help with build. My first time

Hey guys,

I am on a really tight budget. I would like to spend somewhere around $500 for a gaming pc.
I would really want to run crysis 2 on max, if its possible.
Any ideas guys?

Thanks in advance

Reply to Misfitlov3

*cough*... not to burst your bubble... but..Crysis 2 is beast when it comes to requirements... You'll be spending 500 dollars on the graphics card alone if you want Max quality... otherwise... your going to have to downsize your expectations, and increase your budget, you won't get a decent gaming computer for 500 dollars... 1000 dollars is more likely.

Reply to hpfreak

You can try doing what this guy is doing, It is a decent build...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] get-gaming

Reply to hpfreak

Here's what I got for you

MB: Asrock 970 Extreme4 fully AM3+ ready, crossfire+sli ready, sata 6.0Gb/s and USB3 $114.99+7.87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157262

CPU: AMD phenom II x3 720 BE cheaper and better than the athlon II's and you should be able to OC this thing considerable, 4th core unlocking potential $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Ram: G skill 2x2Gb ddr3 1600Mhz 1.5v cas9 G skill quality with decent OC potential and a fantastic price $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] D=10521304

Case options (2): Rosewill case $36.99 or NZXT gamma $39.82 both decent budget options
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] D=10521304
http://www.walmart.com/ip/NZXT-Gam [...] k/15140332

CPU fan: Rosewill 92mm cpu HSF $14.99+1.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] D=10521304

GPU: Sapphire HD 6770 a very capable DX11 budget card from a respectable company $117.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

PSU: Antec EA750 crossfire ready and semi modular also from a respectable company $89.99+2.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371026

CD/DVD burner: Lite on 24x cheapest option at the time $18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106289

Total with shipping:
w/rosewill case: $511.77
w/nzxt case: $514.60

Important note this does not include the cost of windows OS or a keyboard/mouse/screen.

Future easy upgrade options: Bulldozer cpu, more ram, better cpu cooler, second GPU, better case. This setup allows you to buy any one of these without having to buy any more parts like a better power supply (it is often a set back for people wanting crossfire/sli). Let me know what you think

Some how I forgot a hard drive you need to add 44 dollars to the total for this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148701

Puts you a bit over-budget but I think you could find some combo discounts and get a bit creative, you can save ten dollars by using newcustomer10 promo code on newegg. If you have to be under five hundred just change the PSU to a 500-550w from a reliable brand, this does kinda complicate the upgrade options. I didn't include the rebates in the total I listed, just fyi.

Message edited by mlCaouette on 07-08-2011 at 09:59:16 AM

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Reply to mlCaouette

You can't really count on core unlocking. It's more like a nice bonus if it works. You should look at Toms $500 builds

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2970.html

You will be able to play Crysis 2 on high quality with such a build, and it will look better than the 360 or PS3 version, but if you want to play Crysis 2 with the DX11 patch and max settings it ain't gonna happen with a $500 PC.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by megamanx00 on 07-08-2011 at 06:36:39 PM

Read this sticky first and then you can get better help

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] leshooting

megamanx00 wrote :

You can't really count on core unlocking. It's more like a nice bonus if it works. You should look at Toms $500 builds

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2970.html

You will be able to play Crysis 2 on high quality with such a build, and it will look better than the 360 or PS3 version, but if you want to play Crysis 2 with the DX11 patch and max settings it ain't gonna happen with a $500 PC.

Sorry if it was confusing, all I said was it had potential to unlock not a guarantee. It is still a better option than the Athlon II's in the same price range.

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Reply to mlCaouette

First of all I want to thank you guys for helping me out. I didnt expect at all that great smart people like you guys will reply. Thank you again.

So I gues 500 is too low for the budget.

Here is a build I found online any suggestions? Good or not? Its about $600 total.

GPU- geforce 550 ti

CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 952 2.8 ghz

MotherBoard- gigabyte GA-m68mt-d3

RAM- CORSAIR 4GB (2 X 2 GB) 1333Mhz Dual Channel 240-pin DDR3

Hardrive- seagate barracuda 500 gb

Power supply: cooler master extreme power plus

Case- Antec three hundred tower

DVD DRIVE- asus dvd-e818a7t/blk/b/gen

^^^^^^^IS this any good?

How about if I spend around 600?? ANy suggestion?

Thanks again guys really appreciate all the help

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Misfitlov3

Misfitlov3 wrote :

First of all I want to thank you guys for helping me out. I didnt expect at all that great smart people like you guys will reply. Thank you again.

So I gues 500 is too low for the budget.

Here is a build I found online any suggestions? Good or not? Its about $600 total.

GPU- geforce 550 ti

CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 952 2.8 ghz

MotherBoard- gigabyte GA-m68mt-d3

RAM- CORSAIR 4GB (2 X 2 GB) 1333Mhz Dual Channel 240-pin DDR3

Hardrive- seagate barracuda 500 gb

Power supply: cooler master extreme power plus

Case- Antec three hundred tower

DVD DRIVE- asus dvd-e818a7t/blk/b/gen

^^^^^^^IS this any good?

How about if I spend around 600?? ANy suggestion?

Thanks again guys really appreciate all the help

It is still not going to max out settings..

But, your going to have to remember.. Windows 7 starts at 100 dollars for Home Premium...

Reply to hpfreak

Thanks again for the reply.
Windows 7 is not a problem. I can get one for free from work.

So Is this any good??

Also I have a question about motherboards. How do you choose one?
I want to buy a monitor with hd capabilities, so do I need to look for a motherboard with a hdmi output??
Please explain it to me. Help me understand.

Thanks again Im greatful :ange:

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Misfitlov3

Misfitlov3 wrote :

Thanks again for the reply.
Windows 7 is not a problem. I can get one for free from work.

So Is this any good??

Also I have a question about motherboards. How do you choose one?
I want to buy a monitor with hd capabilities, so do I need to look for a motherboard with a hdmi output??
Please explain it to me. Help me understand.

Thanks again Im greatful :ange:

No VGA is fine... Any regular HD PC monitor is fine. If you are spending money on an HDMI monitor... your increasing the price by a huge percent.

A regular HD monitor for a PC will do fine.

I like the build. There are thing that are much better, but this is a good combo for the price.

HDMI output would normally come from the GPU. Motherboards wouldn't be a factor, unless your Motherboard didn't support your GPU... Which it does.

Reply to hpfreak

I appreciate all you help. Thanks for quick reply.

SO this build is pretty good to run crysis on pretty descent settings but not max out right?

Also is there anything you would have changed in this built?

Ok sorry Im a total newb at this. So im looking at 20" or so monitor. Which one do I buy? So a monitor can still be hd without the hdmi output? Thanks

Is the motherboard in this build good? Or is it outdated? I will be also upgrading this rig in a year or so.

Do you think there is a better graphic card than the geforce gts 550 ti in the same price range or maybe cheaper?

Thanks again for all your help.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Misfitlov3

Misfitlov3 wrote :

I appreciate all you help. Thanks for quick reply.

No problem Glad I can help

Misfitlov3 wrote :

SO this build is pretty good to run crysis on pretty descent settings but not max out right?

It will play it on very good settings... But, why do you think there are 4000 dollar gaming rigs out there? They're there because those are the systems that max out any game. I mean... You could get a spectacular machine for 1000-2000 dollars. But your build is great.

Misfitlov3 wrote :

Also is there anything you would have changed in this built?

Nope, I'd keep just the way it is. It's a decent build.

Misfitlov3 wrote :

Ok sorry Im a total newb at this. So im looking at 20" or so monitor. Which one do I buy? So a monitor can still be hd without the hdmi output? Thanks

Yeah, you don't need hdmi to watch/play HD content. If you are getting a full HD monitor (1920x1080p) then, I must warn you, it may improve the quality experience of the gaming, but the game will be choppy. Because your making your GPU work harder. I'd get... a level below Full HD, or get HD and just not play games on full 1080p resolutions.
What I would recommend? Well... the cheapest 1080p monitor I've found was this HP 23" LCD Full HD monitor for 140 Dollars: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+2 [...] Id=9929626

If that is too high on the budget. Then I can try to find something else.

Misfitlov3 wrote :

Is the motherboard in this build good? Or is it outdated? I will be also upgrading this rig in a year or so.

It is a decent Motherboard, I think you'll be okay for maybe 2-3 years if you don't expect it to perform on max settings with newer games. The motherboard is fine as long as you can swap out older hardware on it for newer ones without issue.

Misfitlov3 wrote :

Do you think there is a better graphic card than the geforce gts 550 ti in the same price range or maybe cheaper?

Well, can you give a link to where you found the 550? The price rangers from 100 dollars to 200 dollars depending on the 3rd party manufacturer... the retailer... etc...

Misfitlov3 wrote :

Thanks again for all your help.

Thank you for your patience

Reply to hpfreak

Thanks again for you help. Greatly appreciate it.

Here is the website for the gtx 550 ti its at $119. http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?i [...] -R&cpc=SCH
Anything better than that?

DO you suggest a better mobo for this build? Maybe something better that is compatible with all the parts?

Is the amd phenom II x4 840 3.2 ghz ( http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?i [...] -R&cpc=SCH ) better than the current cpu in this build? Do you reccomend this amd chip? Or is there something even better? MAybe around that price $100.

Also how do I know if all components will fit in a desktop case?

Thanks again. Sorry for all the questions

Reply to Misfitlov3

The monitor is a lil bit too much. MAybe something around 100.

Reply to Misfitlov3

Hope you're not paying a whole lot for that board, why in the world did you pick a board with the nvidia chipset (the only reason for this was for sli with AMD which that paticular board does not even support it and it only supports up to 95w processors so you need to make sure thats what you get). If your gonna get a phenom II why not go with a BE one with the unlocked multiplier.

Perhaps you should look through the build I posted again. You could always take the gpu that you picked and sub it into the build I posted (the M/B I listed is both crossfire and sli ready since it is AMD's newest chipset). Cooler master is not who you want to pick for a PSU, the only good power supplies they have are the top end models. You need a cpu HSF since the cpu you listed does not include one.

For a refurb GPU you are paying too much only twenty dollars off the price of a new one

This screen is 1.5" smaller but is considerably cheaper (full 1080p and uses DVI input which is what you GPU has as an output just fyi) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824009306

Message edited by mlCaouette on 07-09-2011 at 06:12:52 AM

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Reply to mlCaouette

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