Help building an affordable gaming computer

Hello everyone. I want some help with building a gaming computer in the $800 dollar range. I have checked on Newegg.com and I have found some deals but they are not quite cheap enough and I know that there are better ones out there. What I am looking for is a computer that is a decent gaming computer. Not top of the line, but it should have room for upgrading when I get more money. What I am looking for is an AMD 64 processor and a PCI-Express graphics card. Please help me... :hotbounce

P.S. Also, if you can give a link with a cheap but good monitor ...flat screen is fine I don't need flat panel.

Kaiden16

I used the Chaintech Vnf4ultra nforce 4 ultra motherboard($90), a 939 3000+ ($150)cpu, 1gb corsair value select($80), pci-e 6600gt($160), antec 1650b ($65)case, and a tagan 480w psu($90)(wouldn't need this, the 1650b has a good psu that runs the system, I wanted more power for overclocking). I like it it's a nice system, for pretty cheap.
Total $635
+ a dvd burner ($50)
+ a hd ($85)
+ floppy ($10)
+key/mouse ($30)
+ monitor ($vaires)
=$810 w/o monitor.

try this site www.tigerdirect.com they alway have cheap stuff
this site is where i bought my computer stuff and i spent around $600

Tigerdirect is good, especially for rebate sales(although they are a major hassle, rebates that is), but they don't touch newegg for price on many things, like motherboads, cpus, ram, usually.
Ex. fx55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103527
Newegg $811

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1271576&Tab=2&NoMapp=0
Tigerdirect $902

Other good sites are zipzoomfly, chiefvalue, mwave, directron, etc.

i went through http://www.tigerdirect.com once, and that was the last time. they messed my order up and i only got my thermal compund and a couple of fans. they said that they could only refund the money i spent on my video card. so i never got my case or ne thing else. i ended up going to a local computer shop.

I have bought from www.geeks.com many times. I've always gotten great service and fast shipments from them.

you may not think it, but you can go garbage picking for a monitor. thats what i did, i scored a 20-in gateway piece of crap, in the rain, but its better then the 14'' i had before it, or you can check your local sams club or costco or whatever is near you thats like that.

is there a sams club in like, every state or only in illinois...hmmmmmmm

you may not think it, but you can go garbage picking for a monitor. thats what i did, i scored a 20-in gateway piece of crap, in the rain, but its better then the 14'' i had before it, or you can check your local sams club or costco or whatever is near you thats like that.

is there a sams club in like, every state or only in illinois...hmmmmmmm


I have an old monitor from my gateway 2000 and its like 21 inches. Its got a curved screen not flat like a CRT monitor. Does the gateway monitor I have hinder my visual performance? Or will it be the same as long as my graphics card is good? In other words, does the monitor signficantly affect how good your visual quality is? :monkey:

BTW does Sam's Club actually throw away their old monitors like that? If that's so, that's a score for me!

damn vnf4 im so getitn ur set up nxt time i build a PC =D maybe i'll drive down to US n shop at newegg do they have a store i can walk into? too bad i live in canada..

my best bet is Tigerdirect.ca

Alas, Newegg is an online store only.

The best way to check priced is pricegrabber.com. For a monitor I got a dual input 21" dell flat screen crt for $168 (that includes shipping) at dealsdepot.com. They were a little slow but it was because of credit card conficts. I also ordered alot of stuff from newegg and trigerdirect, which are both wonderful sites. You can see my system in my sig and it cost me about $900 minus the seagate and the video card.

Alas, Newegg is an online store only.

*sad* oh welll... thanks for the info!

if you can find a few near you, stop by some pc repair/sales shops. tell them what you want to use the machine for, and how much you PLAN to spend. a bit of conversation and a few visits should land you a nice computer at a competitive price. you can even have it built for you, if you so desire. just stay away from mass-produced oem crap (dell, sony, hp, gateway, and so on...) and get a (knowledgeable) second opinion on what you are offered before you buy. in my opinion, going into a place and purchasing in person is a thousand times better than any website, but i realize not everyone has such establishments in thier vicinity.

Yes this is very true, there are no such establishments in Montana :*(

is this psu alright,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148008

is this psu alright,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148008

87 positive reviews are a good thing.

i just bought the same 500W version. only bad thing is the dimension(length) had to remove a fan to make it fit! (replaced a OEM 350W)

I wouldn't personally get an aspire, I don't know if it's any good, could be or could be not.

Here are two that I've heard are ok, but either cost a little more, or are less powerful, but probably more reliable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103465
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189003

Psu guide
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=792566
Aspire is on the "unscrupulous" list.

Remember, newegg doesn't seem to show the "bad" reviews, some of my own reviews have been returned, due to being "too critical" of an item.

87 positive reviews are a good thing.

i just bought the same 500W version. only bad thing is the dimension(length) had to remove a fan to make it fit! (replaced a OEM 350W)


im probably going to go with the 500 watt one here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148005

cayse i mean its 10 dollasr cheapers and WHOA i lost 20 watts, i mean do i really need 520 watts, 500 watts is fine for me

i put a forum here asking about what mobo should i get, and one guy said go with a mobo with a nvidia chipset. do the nvida chipsets really make a big difference. i was looking at this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127181

before that guy recommended a nvida chipset mobo. btw this mobo is in alienware computers

then i decided i was about to go with this one cause it had a nvidia chipset it in

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286



so if you guys can help me choose which mobo to go with.

do u have an extra $7? cuz u can get this instead of the two other mobos u were looking at

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813152049

it has nforce4 chipset and pci-e ..
uwere looking for pci-e VC right?

btw.. id take vnf's set up seriously.. its $810 n its a good machine

im not being a fan boy or anythign, but if i had looked online n wasnt rushed i woulda bought those parts for my friends machine (i was stuck buying at a local store with very limited brands n parts =[ )

i jus did a set up for myself for fun.. using a vnf4ultra with a AMD 64 3200+ ...

here i'll show u lol..

$372 VNF4 Ultra Motherboard w/ AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU (939 Socket)
$128 1GB Kingston DDR RAM PC3200
$149 MSI Radeon X600XT 128MB DDR PCI-Express Video Card
$88 Vantec 460 Watt Power Supply
$137 200GB Maxtor Diamond Plus 10 7200RPM with 16MB Buffer
$103 ThermalTake Soprano Case (Black)
$70 Pioneer DVD+-RW 16x with DL


http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1332960&CatId=1619

http://cas-tech.ca/products.asp?L1=814&L2=13

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1240075&CatId=1561

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1407918&CatId=0

http://www.pccyber.ca/scrItem.asp?product_subtypes_id=98&product_types_id=9&product_id=6495

http://www.pccyber.ca/scrItem.asp?product_id=6492&product_subtypes_id=87&product_types_id=5

http://cas-tech.ca/product.asp?PID=6381

its all canadian price..

this is my hopefully future new PC>. lol cept the video card.. i'll prolly change that to a 6600gt

btw the links go in order according to the list and total is $1002 CND (plus 15% tax later.. )

in USD that like what.. around 800 or lesS?

man, how do you have the patience to deal with multiple website orders? i'd go a bit out of my way to go to a physical store and get all my stuff from there. websites may be nice to get things shipped to you from, but if you've got to return something or have a warranty honored suddenly it gets much harder.

i cant go with the nforce4 boards cause i need an agp cause i just bought a 9800 pro a couple of weeks ago so thats poo

oh this is great, the board that i was going to buy a DFI nforce3 ultra with an agp slot is gone out of newegg i cant find, wats with this! wow
this is just great i have to find a new mobo

There are several good choices in that range.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131541
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127181

man, how do you have the patience to deal with multiple website orders? i'd go a bit out of my way to go to a physical store and get all my stuff from there. websites may be nice to get things shipped to you from, but if you've got to return something or have a warranty honored suddenly it gets much harder.



On the contrary, I have found newegg's RMAs very easy to deal with and in fact have not had a single fuss-n-muss situation, of which I have had several in brick and mortar stores. Online when submitting an RMA there is no arguing; it's issued and you mail the product off, right from my home. When I actually go into the store, aside from having to produce receipts, serial numbers, identification and credit cards, as well as signing this and that and having to deal with customer anti-service, it is very frustrating having to "reason" my way into a return. I don't need nor want to tell the customer rep why I want to return it.

i wasn't specifically referring to newegg, but your point is valid. i suppose it comes down to our respective experiences. for me the big difference is that most small local shops will order parts that you want to buy, unlike websites. i can go in with a list of what i want and they will provide it, so my choice isn't limited to whatever they have in stock. if newegg doesn't have the part you want, they aren't going to stock one just for you.

i want a mobo, with a nvidia chipset,

the msi k8n neo2 is among the highest performance boards around, comes loaded with features, and uses the nforce3 and therefore has an agp8x port.

im looking at an epox nforce 3 ultra with an agp slot

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123230

did i alreayd put this up?

i would suppose its better then an nforce3

refer to the msi website for detalied information on the k8n neo2 and what flavors exist. in a benchmarking/review of some athlon64 boards, thg found the highest overall benchmark performance and value with the k8n neo2, and it was up against other nforce4 boards. it's in thier motherboards&ram section, and was posted some months ago. the bottom line is: if you want an a64 system with an agp graphics card, the msi k8n neo2 is the board to get.

btw > epox generally makes lower quality products and consequently they are often lower in performance. given the cost of said msi board ($120 USD), it doesn't make much sense to get a different (and lower quality) board.

whoops, im getting this board no matter what you guys sau
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-NF3ULTD&src=fr
you know you guys know this board is good

im supposed to build a comp for about 450 dollars for a class. it doesnt need power for gaming its for an older teacher who is going to use it for basic comp skills such as internet and storing pictures of her grandchildren. what do i need?

Motherboard $57.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128045

Processor $50.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103029

Memory $45.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211064

Hard Drive $57.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

Case & Power Supply $60.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147030

DVD Burner $37.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106055

Floppy Drive $12.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821103203

Mouse and Keyboard $29.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109156

Operating System $90.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116056

The total from here and up is roughly $437.00

Monitor $180.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009091

Grand total is roughly $617.00

If you really need to stay around $450.00 with monitor then you might want to buy a Dell or something.

she doesnt want a dvd burner so it should all b good:) ty

You will need something to load the OS and the price difference between a CD-ROM and a DVD burner is small while the funtional diference is huge.

ok thank you. im hopeless at this... o well ill figure it out thank you so much for explaining this all 2 me:)