Best gaming build for $800___Need Advice Please

prestonlec

Distinguished
Aug 5, 2011
4
0
18,510
Hi All,
A friend is on an $850 budget and needs EVERYTHING (Computer, Mouse+Keyboard, Monitor).

I really need some help here. He wants to relatively future-proof this computer to run games for then next 4 years... I know it's a low budget. That's why I need some help.

Here's what I had in mind so far:

Antec 300 case
Intel i5-2500 processor
XFX Radeon 6870 vid card
650 Watt PS
Simple combo burner drive
1TB 7,200 RPM drive (not sure between 3GB/s or 6)
NEED MOTHERBOARD HELP
NEED RAM HELP (4GB/8GB and 1333 or 1600MHz)
23" 1080P monitor(~$150)
Simple classy gaming mouse and keyboard

Nothing fancy here, but I need some feedback please!
Thank you for your time!
 
Solution
Here is an alternate build, with built-in "wiggle room," and multiple upgrade possibilities. It is very future resistant, but assumes you are interested in playing games, not winning benchmarks.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD103SJ
Item #:N82E16822152185
$64.99 -$5.00 Instant $59.99
Meh. 1TB may be bigger than you need, but for the price, this should do nicely. An option would be to drop back to a smaller magnetic drive and use some of the "wiggle" to add a SSD.

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #:970 EXTREME4
Item #:N82E16813157262
$114.99 -$10.00 Instant $104.99
Will...

wintermint

Distinguished
Sep 30, 2009
1,150
0
19,460
23" Monitor $150
Mouse/Keyboard $50
OS $100
Samsung Spinpoint F3 $60
CX600 V2 $70 [$30 in MIR and promo available]
DVD Burner $20
Case $50
4GB 1600mhz $35
That's already $535 leaving $315 for CPU/GPU/Mobo unless you don't need the OS.. which leaves you with $415

$315:
Intel core i3-2100 $125
H61 mobo $65
HD 6770 [rebadged 5770] $120 [$20 rebate available]

$415
Intel core i5-2400 $190
H61/67 mobo $80
HD 6850/6870

Sorry I didn't bother looking for links because I'm unsure if you need the OS but it's pretty much the price you should expect
 

mudkiepzFTW

Distinguished
Aug 5, 2011
2
0
18,510


H61 isn't very future proof...
 
Here is an alternate build, with built-in "wiggle room," and multiple upgrade possibilities. It is very future resistant, but assumes you are interested in playing games, not winning benchmarks.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD103SJ
Item #:N82E16822152185
$64.99 -$5.00 Instant $59.99
Meh. 1TB may be bigger than you need, but for the price, this should do nicely. An option would be to drop back to a smaller magnetic drive and use some of the "wiggle" to add a SSD.

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #:970 EXTREME4
Item #:N82E16813157262
$114.99 -$10.00 Instant $104.99
Will support a Bulldozer upgrade. Supports Crossfire OR SLI, at x8,x8. Has the latest interfaces, like USB3 and SATA 6Gb/s.

HIS H685F1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Model #:H685F1GD
Item #:N82E16814161348
$159.99 $159.99
Use some of the "wiggle" if you like on a stronger GPU like a HD6870 or GTX560, or add another of these for Crossfire.

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included I7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible
Model #:GAIA SD1283
Item #:N82E16835233082
$29.99 $29.99
Decent air cooler, and is pretty quiet.

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified ...
Model #:HCG-620
Item #:N82E16817371048
$94.99 -$25.00 Instant $69.99
A little bigger than needed, but will support another HD6850 or a beefier single GPU, and still be operating efficiently.

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Model #:CHALLENGER
Item #:N82E16811147153
$59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
Plenty of [quiet] fans, and a reasonable layout with plenty of room.

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Model #:HDZ955FBGMBOX
Item #:N82E16819103808
$119.99 $119.99
No, it won't win any benchmarks, but it will play any game, for cheap. Spend some "wiggle" on a x4 970BE if you aren't comfortable overclocking. Curiously, it uses less power than the 955.

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ...
Model #:996586
Item #:N82E16820146748
$26.99 $26.99
...or get some G.Skill, or some Corsair Vengeance. RAM is pretty cheap. 4GB is all you need, but get more if you want it.

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7261S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM
Model #:AD-7261S-0B
Item #:N82E16827118040
$19.99 $19.99
One optical drive is much like another; this one supports Lightscribe.

Subtotal: $641.91. I think there are some rebates in there too, but in any case it leave over $150 of "wiggle" to strengthen where you see fit.

Edit: Ah, I see you need a monitor too? Oh well, there went the wiggle... It remains very future-resistant, however.

 
Solution