$500 Gaming Rig?

[33problems]

Approximate Purchase Date: Between this week and next week

Budget Range: 500 before Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Peripherals, OS, and anything that reads CD's

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences:
-Xigmatek ASGARD II B/O CPC-T45UE-U01 Black / Orange 0.8 mm SECC / Aluminum and Aluminum Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
*http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815006

-Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
*http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

-SAPPHIRE 100293L Radeon HD 5570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card X 2 (As in there are two of them)
*http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102874

-CORSAIR XMS3 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M1A1600C7
*http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145327

-GIGABYTE GA-Z68P-DS3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s ATX Intel Motherboard
*http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128520

-Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz 2 x 256KB L2 Cache 3MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I32100
*http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: IDK what this is but I don't think the MOBO can handle this. So no.

Monitor Resolution: IDK push come to shove I can buy one that is compatible.

Additional Comments: I just want to know if there are better deals to be made, if all these parts are compatible, and what kind of performance I can expect from this.

 

[Outlander_04]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-overclock-graphics-card,3032.html

not perfect but WAY better gamer

 

[33problems]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-overclock-graphics-card,3032.html

not perfect but WAY better gamer

Thanks for the help, but I was wondering if what I have is compatible. I'm no expert but I have 2 Gb's on my 2 graphics card. Isn't 2 better than 1? Also I'm not so sure if these prices are still available.

 

[Outlander_04]

More RAM helps on a video card , but the 5570 is a very weak graphics card

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1209/9/

A single 6870 scores about half way between the 5850 and the 5870

 

[fb39ca4]

More RAM helps when you have a very high resolution display, textures, and antialiasing settings.

 

[33problems]

More RAM helps on a video card , but the 5570 is a very weak graphics card

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1209/9/
A single 6870 scores about half way between the 5850 and the 5870

Ok, so I can use that link you gave me and then, when I can afford another 6870, I can add that to the extra PCI-E slot. However, I read through the article you linked me to and it implied that the processor might not be able to keep up. So, I could buy the 6870, then update the MOBO and then get a new processor. In that order, right? Thanks by the way, I think the people in that article were way more efficient than I was.

 

[fb39ca4]

The board in the article isn't the best for crossfire though. With two cards, the top slot remains at x16 while the bottom slut runs at x4, bottlenecking the card in that slot.

 

[cutebeans]

Ok, so I can use that link you gave me and then, when I can afford another 6870, I can add that to the extra PCI-E slot. However, I read through the article you linked me to and it implied that the processor might not be able to keep up. So, I could buy the 6870, then update the MOBO and then get a new processor. In that order, right? Thanks by the way, I think the people in that article were way more efficient than I was.

That $500 is not meant for crossfire or anything extensive.

 

[Outlander_04]

Ok, so I can use that link you gave me and then, when I can afford another 6870, I can add that to the extra PCI-E slot. However, I read through the article you linked me to and it implied that the processor might not be able to keep up. So, I could buy the 6870, then update the MOBO and then get a new processor. In that order, right? Thanks by the way, I think the people in that article were way more efficient than I was.

If there is room in your budget to buy this motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262

then you have options to add a second graphics card , and update to later generations of AMD processors

This is pretty much why I said the system builder $500 machine wasn't perfect

 

[cutebeans]

Phenom ii x4 960T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

I would get that instead. You can unlock it to 6 cores.

 

[cutebeans]

6 cores are worse than 4 for gaming and produce lower framerates.
To get the best deal get a x2 555 BE and unlock those extra 2 cores.
My AMD unit has the 555 BE with 4 cores unlocked @ 4.4ghz!

I'd still get the it for the hexacore though. The difference is pretty negligible when gaming but when in multi threaded work is where it shines. It's only $5 more expensive.

 

[Zero_]

Check my $600 build.

 

[33problems]

Best answer selected by 33problems.