System Builder Marathon: $500 Gaming PC

Thanks for the article. I always enjoy these sbm builds you guys do. I guessed wrong again but actually think you guys picked a better choice. Nice to know build quality is still taken into consideration even at the 500 dollar range. Also just to mention this again next time noise and power consumption charts please.

"The silicon hard drive grommets"

That wouldn't dampen much noise.

Try silicone hard drive grommets
(They are usually silicon-oxygen based polymers)

I wish you used the E5200 CPU for this build, current prices reflect a difference of $14 only.

Also, in the future, would it be possible for you to have two builds for the $500 budget build. One based on Intel AND the other on AMD?

I would have spent maybe 30$ on a cheapo case and put the 50$ toward's a hd4850! Most people building a 500$ pc are going to want maximun performance and not care what the case looks like.

xX12amanXxI would have spent maybe 30$ on a cheapo case and put the 50$ toward's a hd4850! Most people building a 500$ pc are going to want maximun performance and not care what the case looks like.

$30 for a case and PSU? Sounds like a build asking for trouble. I personally don't think $80 for a nice chassis and power supply is bad.

Slomo4shOI wish you used the E5200 CPU for this build, current prices reflect a difference of $14 only. Also, in the future, would it be possible for you to have two builds for the $500 budget build. One based on Intel AND the other on AMD?

Heya Slo! We're actually weighing the possibility of simply switching off each month on the $500 system since AMD has some very compelling hardware in that range.

cangeliniHeya Slo! We're actually weighing the possibility of simply switching off each month on the $500 system since AMD has some very compelling hardware in that range.

Well in this case, an AMD build might have allowed for a 4850. I look forward to seeing what you decide upon but I still think a monthly build of each platform at the $500 build is definitely something worthwhile.

Transitioning month to month between the two usually does not allow for comparative annalist in your "Performance And Value, Dissected" write-ups

Slomo4shO

Gotcha. We'll discuss that as a possibility, then.

I love the article and second the notion that it would be a great idea to run it every month. I for one am a firm believer of upgrading more consistently at a reasonable cost per component rather then just throwing $1500 at new machine.

At some point it would be interesting if you guys could run an Upgrade Edition of the $500 system builder. Most people that have the courage and knowledge to overclock their new parts by over 50% (wow the E2180 rocks!)would almost definitely have components that they could and would want to swap between rigs.

Again, great article.

king_edgar"The silicon hard drive grommets" That wouldn't dampen much noise.Try silicone hard drive grommets(They are usually silicon-oxygen based polymers)

What the hell are you saying?

Personally, I wouldn't skimp on the power supply. If that goes, you could be out most of your $500 investment.

Seeing an AMD build would be nice, but I'm not gonna be too upset if it doesn't happen.

Slomo4shOI wish you used the E5200 CPU for this build, current prices reflect a difference of $14 only. Also, in the future, would it be possible for you to have two builds for the $500 budget build. One based on Intel AND the other on AMD?

i know! im getting a e5200 on the 11/11 (:S bad omen?) cant wait to oc!

Good article,

I am one of the proud owners of a very similar $500 machine. (though in my case R5000). My only key differences was that I went for a 9600 GT and got a Audigy Value.

I overclocked it like crazy and can blissfully play Crysis on high at native resolution no problems.

Looks good. The E2180 should OC to about 3GHz but usually less than 3.3Ghz (will only Pass P95 for 6hrs at 3.3Ghz). Also use the BETA BIOS on the EP35-DS3L for best OCing.

one more thing: Should have gotten a E5200 and a 9800GT. There's a EVGA 9800GT for $100 after MIR on Newegg. See:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380

Shadow703793one more thing: Should have gotten a E5200 and a 9800GT. There's a EVGA 9800GT for $100 after MIR on Newegg. See:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130380

You have to understand that their parts were ordered at the beginning of the month. The prices of computer parts go down almost every day. By the time the build, configure, overclock, benchmark and publish, prices are bound to go down and MIR or other promotions that wasn't there at the time of ordering may appear.

If you aren't going to overclock, and are willing to go AMD... you can make the following substitutions, and get a system that will be alot faster in many games and $40 cheaper (also swapped out the HD, I love the WD6400AAKS) all straight from Newegg:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB - Retail - $60.00
Foxconn A74MX-K AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX - $48.96
OCZ Platinum (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $33.99
ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $139.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB - $74.99
Antec NSK4480B - $80.00
LITE-ON Black SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $23.99
TOTAL: $461.92

nafhanIf you aren't going to overclock, and are willing to go AMD... you can make the following substitutions, and get a system that will be alot faster in many games and $40 cheaper (also swapped out the HD, I love the WD6400AAKS) all straight from Newegg:AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB - Retail - $60.00Foxconn A74MX-K AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX - $48.96OCZ Platinum (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $33.99ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $139.99Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB - $74.99Antec NSK4480B - $80.00LITE-ON Black SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $23.99TOTAL: $461.92

since you're still about 40 bucks below the 500 mark, add a good cooler and use the left over money to upgrade that motherboard

nafhanIf you aren't going to overclock, and are willing to go AMD... you can make the following substitutions, and get a system that will be alot faster in many games and $40 cheaper (also swapped out the HD, I love the WD6400AAKS) all straight from Newegg:AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB - Retail - $60.00Foxconn A74MX-K AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX - $48.96OCZ Platinum (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $33.99ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $139.99Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB - $74.99Antec NSK4480B - $80.00LITE-ON Black SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $23.99TOTAL: $461.92

You saved nothing. You swapped a good CPU and board for an outdated chip and OEM board. Tom's could save on the CPU cooler & board and go with an E5200 + 4850 and it would whip your AMD build.

I like AMD but unless you’re building an HTPC, Intel is the way to go. Even then, Intel has Geforce 9300.

It is nice to see Tom's managed to overclock the 8800GT so much. My EVGA 55nm 9800GT only managed 720 MHz core, 1,728 MHz shaders and 1,065 MHz memory. I paid $100 for the 9800GT + OCZ 2GB PC2-6400 ram so it's a great deal at about $75.

nafhanIf you aren't going to overclock, and are willing to go AMD... you can make the following substitutions, and get a system that will be alot faster in many games and $40 cheaper (also swapped out the HD, I love the WD6400AAKS) all straight from Newegg:AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB - Retail - $60.00Foxconn A74MX-K AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX - $48.96OCZ Platinum (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $33.99ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $139.99Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB - $74.99Antec NSK4480B - $80.00LITE-ON Black SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $23.99TOTAL: $461.92

#1 - Forgot CPU Cooler.
#2 - I could get a Cheap Intel Mobo too......
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135063

I Just saved $85 on the Intel Build since I don't technically need a cooler and I still have an OCing mobo. I could now get the E5200 and the E4850 and have spent less.

Would I do this? No...........
The after market cooler is nice and a choice they made.
They could have chosen to do that.
And I'm not going to quible about choosing to get a nice mobo.

And as others have noted, prices are dropping.
So the choices today are not what was available then.

zak_mckraken

That's exactly it. The E5200(as well as HD4850 and 4GB mem) were all mentioned in the article as ones to keep an eye on as pricing changes. Each would have been nice for this build had it been a $580 or so budget at the time of selecting/ordering parts.

I couldn't find a $110 8800gt at Newegg. Only $150 and up. Also the card you used is dicontinued at Newegg. I think you really should really redo this pc to use components available today. The 8800gt has been mostly unavailable at Newegg for sometime now.

Excellent article. I have a feeling some of you guys who love to complain every time are the same people who thought the old budget builds cost too much, but this budget build didn't include a HD4850, and the old budget builds shouldn't have used an AMD proc, but this budget build should have used an AMD proc . . . WAKE UP.

Just because the budget build seen here doesn't exactly match the specs of your computer doesn't mean a thing. The Tom's team did an excellent job of building a $500 PC.

There is absolutely no reason to go AMD over Intel in this price range. Benchmark after benchmark have shown that overclocked e2XXX's consistently perform better than low-end AMD offerings. I am not "knocking" AMD, hell, I have 2 AMD-based PC's, but this review was about squeezing lots of performance (and not just gaming performance) out of $500.

I can't wait to see the final comparison between the systems. Thumbs up to Tom's for the best builder marathon in recent memory.