tygasp

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Mar 15, 2012
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Hi, I have never built a computer before and have nothing that I can use so I have to start from scratch. My budget is $400 and that has to included a OS, preferably windows 7. I'm open to using open box or used parts but I don't want something destroying the rest of the the computer. This computer is going to be mainly for gaming, but nothing crazy, just something that will take me to something higher than 30fps on lowest settings in something like fallout which is what I'm getting now.I would also like to have some of the games like skyrim, or MW3 be playable at some point. I just need something that works O.K. to start, like 4gb of ram, a low end graphics card, but i want a good processor that will last a while because I don't want to buy a new OS just to upgrade the processor. So all I want to know really is if its possibly to build something for gaming on that budget, and upgrading along the way, please keep that in mind. I don't care if i have to go with Intel or AMD I just want the most bang for my buck with the processor especially. I just don't want really cheap or really old stuff if possible. Thanks for anything that you can tell me.
 

pjl21

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Do you need a hardrive, or moniter? If you do have a moniter, what resolution will you be using to game? do you need an optical drive, or are you downloading games from steam/gamestop?

EDIT:Is Dx 11 neccesarry?
 

pjl21

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RAIDMAX Tornado ATX-238WRP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Raidmax RX-450K 450W Power Supply
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GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2 AM3+ NVIDIA GeForce 7025/nForce 630a chipset Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
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Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
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Recertified: VisionTek 400595 Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
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AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX
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Used HDDs: (around $30) MAKE SURE THE HARDRIVE IS SATA!!!!! it will say IDE or SATA on the HDDs... GET SATA!!!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_0?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Ck%3Ainternal+hard+drive%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A1254762011&bbn=193870011&sort=price&keywords=internal+hard+drive&ie=UTF8&qid=1331866718&rnid=193870011#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_keywords_1?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Ck%3Ainternal+hard+drive%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A1254762011%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A3759659011&bbn=1254762011&sort=price&keywords=internal+hard+drive&ie=UTF8&qid=1331866721&rnid=2884135011



TOTAL: Around $380-$390
With Rebates: $370-$380
.... not bad ehh?
You SHOULD be able to max out games on 1600x1200... without AA and AF lowered at a good 30-50FPS on MW3, Skyrim, and Fallout
 

tygasp

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Mar 15, 2012
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What if I just went to linux instead of windows to save some money and put that towards a ATX board and maybe a better processor? I don't know why I'm so attracted to the FX series, but maybe a FX-4100 or 4170? If not a FX series I could go with a Phenom X4 of some kind? Or would you say just jump to Intel and get a I3-2100 or something? Please feel free to tell me what to do.
 

tygasp

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Mar 15, 2012
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I do need a hard drive, but I already have a monitor. I would probably be playing games at 1440x900. I also need a optical drive, but Directx 11 isn't super important, I think I could make it with 10 unless you think otherwise. Thanks.
 

pjl21

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Jan 11, 2010
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Nah i'd stay with the build i've given... that 5670 is cheap and should preform decently at 1440x900... and you can choose any optical drive.. just make sure it has RW in the name somewhere. (so it will read and write(burning disks)) .... You can get one for $20... that should still be in your budget.
 

pjl21

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Also @ linux... gaming on it is complicated, stick with windows.


And for extra CPU power you can unlock the tri-core to a quad-core easily with the motherboard.