Ideas for a decent Gaming computer on a $500 dollar budget?

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astoriaandme

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I currently have a 2 year old upgraded HP. The power supply is only 250w and the mobo only has PCI slots. I know very well this will not work for gaming. I have saved up about 500 and I would like your imput on a Processor, Mobo, and Case.

I already have my RAM (1 gig pc3200) and HDD. (160 gig 7200RPM IDE 100).

I was thinking a 939 socket AMD processor, but I am not sure how fast I need it to be. And what kind of video card could I afford under such money restrictions?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Conor
 
in wich currency are we using. if uts usd then i suggest getting a 6600 gt on a asus mobo- a8v or sumthin like that- pick up some case w/ a 400+ psu included- and u got urself a cheap pc. oh and i forgot cpu. 3200+ amd 939 soccet. 3000+ is cheaper but it kinda isnt as great as i'd hoped.


check out newegg for pricing
 
Do you like overclocking because if you do you can make a very nice system thats overclocked for $$500.


Please reply I want to help!!


Best Of Luck
 
well u can get cheap but good parts with that money, if i were u a 939 mobo wud work, amd 3200 of course a psu of 400 watts or more and if u have any left over get a video carrd in the price range
 
I'd wonder about the antec sonata II for the case. It's $94.99 on newegg and it comes with an antec 450W ps. It's nothing fancy, but it's cheap and it comes with a quality power supply.
 
For about $100 bucks it's a nice black case, but if you did want a want a case thats more eye appealing theres lots in the 100 dollar range.


Your choice of course.


Best of luck
 
The 3800 cost too much, so does that "noobafied" case.

But here's what I was thinking..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811145047 $45.
It's very cheap.

and putting in this mobo...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813187013 $80
It's got the NForce 4 Sli Chipset, Supports SLI, and 4 gigs of RAM

with this Processor...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539 $213
It's speedy and maybe in the future I could add a fan and Overclock

and a video card..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283 $180
It's a 7600, and in the future I could buy another one and put them in SLI. Not to mention the 15 dollar rebate.
or..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130267 $185.
6800GS?
and as much as I despise ATI..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161165 $165
x800?


By the way, all my prices include shipping. And the total is around$508-528 US, how does this sound?

Conor.
 
sjps220 said:
I'd wonder about the antec sonata II for the case. It's $94.99 on newegg and it comes with an antec 450W ps. It's nothing fancy, but it's cheap and it comes with a quality power supply.
Click to expand...

I disagree that it is nothing fancy.

It isn't a pimp-case like I see so many people choosing ;) but it is a VERY good looking case. The pics on newegg don't do it justice. It is a high gloss black finish, and it's extremely elegant.

I guess it's a matter of taste. For me, a case that looks like a pinball machine doesn't do anything for me. puke:

I don't think there is a better value case on the net these days. Not only its good looks but a quality 450w psu included at around $100. Sweet deal.
 
astoriaandme said:
But here's what I was thinking..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811145047 $45.
It's very cheap.
Click to expand...

The psu in your case is (arguably) the most important part. It is what will be pumping the blood through all your expensive parts listed above. Why pump your nice new parts with crappy juice, and put them at HIGH risk of being fried (or best case, simply not running well)?

Do yourself a favor and get a decent PSU. It's important. Heck, $50 for a PSU that will protect your other parts ain't a bad investment at all.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954
 
DonNagual said:
I disagree that it is nothing fancy.
It isn't a pimp-case like I see so many people choosing ;) but it is a VERY good looking case. The pics on newegg don't do it justice. It is a high gloss black finish, and it's extremely elegant.

I guess it's a matter of taste. For me, a case that looks like a pinball machine doesn't do anything for me.

I don't think there is a better value case on the net these days. Not only its good looks but a quality 450w psu included at around $100. Sweet deal.
Click to expand...
No I feel the same way, don't get me wrong. I just feel like most people out there are looking for something flashier when they build a new comp. I got an enermax case and powersupply seperately when I built my computer and then I put together a computer for someone else and they got this case and I was so jealous of it. It has a great powersupply, is built very well, and it cost them a lot less than my case and ps. It also looks quite nice.

My only complaint was that there didn't seem to be anything supporting the front panel audio jacks etc.

I definitely agree on the value side of things. It's hard to find a better deal than this.
 
astoriaandme said:
I would love to be able to afford that case. It's is nice, but sadly I don't have the money for it. I did find another one that looks decent.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144042

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

The problem is not the cases you are choosing, the problem is the PSUs that are included with the cases. There are a very few exceptions, but in general PSUs that come with cases are very low quality. That aspire PSU is better than the first one you were looking at however.

Still, Aspire is a company that is known to make questionable PSUs. They seem to be a great case maker (since many people choose them).

If you like the case, buy it, take the PSU out and put a quality one in for an extra $50. That's what I'd do, even if it meant cutting back on some other parts.
 
I was just looking around.... nd i found this... the case and the psu are good one's...

these parts are not from neweggg... since i live in canada and mostly use tigerdirect...

PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1273338&sku=ULT31846

Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2188611&sku=ULT31825 ON

it might go a lil over ur... but the both of them are qulity parts and will not give u any head akes down the road...

gud luck...
nd have fun with the build

Cyber
 
if i were you, i'd settle for this sorta stuff:

asrock mobo- 55.99 (am2 socket, pci express 16x)
amd dual core 5600 2.8ghz- 139.99
thermaltake 500watt power supply- 69.99
coolermaster case 120mm exhaust fan, 80mm intake fan built in- 49.99
radeon x1950 pro 512mb-128.99

and that leaves you with 55 bucks for the shipping and should there be one, the tax. some states don't have a sales tax for newegg...like florida.

anyway. that setup would MAKE it a super gaming computer. with your current RAM and hard drive, you'd have almost exactly the same setup that i'm looking at buying for myself.

here are the links, in the same order as listed:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157108
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103771
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102094

they're cheap, but very good quality parts. fairly low shipping prices for all of them too. they're all individualistic shipping. like the processor might be 6.85, or the case might be 15.99, or something like that, and then it all gets added up. some of the shipping is free for some items.

but check em out. that rig will even be good enough to handle bioshock should you choose to play it. naturally, you're not forced to take this stuff. but i think most of you will agree it's a decent list.

i'd also advise you against sli or crossfire. you're better off just buying a single good quality video card rather than buying two and causing power problems and other things. maybe if sli and crossfire were easier to use and easier on the system, we'd recommend it. but ignore sli and crossfire for now.

also. for future reference, i have a few alternative options. for example, there's another power supply that's not as good quality, but still pretty good for 49.99. it's from coolermaster, 500watts just like the other one i mentioned up there. i lost the link at the moment, but a quick newegg search will find it.

that being said, if you go with the 69.99 psu, you have 160 dollars left to play with the graphics card. with the 49.99 you have 180 to work with. (i'm accounting for shipping). if you could save up a hundred more, you could get yourself one of the best graphics chips out there. like the radeon 2900hd 512mb. 280 bucks. and then your rig would be next to unstoppable. and also very cheap. just a thought. you're so close, yet so far away from the most awesome stuff.

if i were you, i'd CONSIDER waiting and trying to save up a little bit more. then you'd have an amazing gaming computer. but if you can't get the money, or dont have the time, so be it. i say go for it.

best of luck
 
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