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10-10-2006, 02:55 PM
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#1 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 9
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Cheap gaming PC $500 or less if possible
Im looking to build a fairly cheap gaming pc and I need some advice. Ive never built nor designed a computer before so I really dont know what to look for or what to buy. I would appreciate as much feedback as possible. Will be playing games like Warcraft 3 and Counter Strike. Thanks in advance!!
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10-10-2006, 03:01 PM
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#2 |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: California, USA
Posts: 155
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Most likely you'll want to get a high speed Pentium 4 with HT or a Pentium D for your price range. In terms of video card I'd get a 7600GS/GT or a Radeon x1600. Someone else can suggest the motherboard and other hardware...
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10-10-2006, 03:03 PM
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#3 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 37,765
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Save some more money. You aren't going to get a good gamer for $500 without cutting a lot of corners and using low quality components.
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10-10-2006, 10:28 PM
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#4 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: eastern nc
Posts: 1,349
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Can't be done. Not that many corners.
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10-10-2006, 10:55 PM
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#5 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 1,388
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Hold on to your money a little while longer. Watch the adds as x-mas gets closer. BestBuy, Walmart and everyone else will run some good adds for that kind of money.
Builders can't touch the prebuilt prices. The only reason to build today is for quality, and that amount won't get you very far when looking at quality. If you insist on building, just because you want to... A gaming machine is really out of the question. You may be able to build a decent socket 754, or an early P4 system for that kind of money. But realistically, if you're wanting to game, you should spend your bucks on a prebuilt. 
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10-11-2006, 12:02 AM
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#6 | |
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~ Ryan ~
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Jackson TN
Posts: 3,516
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Quote:
Builders can't beat the prices on low end Dells and other low end small-usage prebuilts. But, once you get into the higher end gaming systems (the ones that can actually play a game), building is still cheaper. I disagree with your statement entirely - a $500 prebuilt will not even load a game. Advising one to get a prebuilt cheapie "gaming" system is not the right path. Save you money, try to get a little bit more (garage sales, part time jobs, etc) and once you have a little bit more, you can think about building a decent gaming system that will handle the games you want it to. Quality is not the only reason to build today. There are many additional advantages, such as more acute control over the hardware that goes into your machine, the money saved building your own, and the joy of building; just to name a few. Other than that, you're not going to be able to build a gaming computer for $500 - you can try, but you will be disappointed with poor quality parts and unstatisfactory performance.
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RiotCats.com, an internet domain specifically fabricated and visually erected for the appreciation of the feline kingdom! Last edited by rspassey; 10-11-2006 at 12:04 AM. |
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10-11-2006, 12:35 AM
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#7 |
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Member (6 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 54
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I don't know if this is a good idea, since I've never bought a used computer, but perhaps you can find/negotiate a good deal on an older high-end computer off a site like craigslist? If that doesn't work out, I suggest visting deal sites like dealcatcher.com and dealstudio.com...that's what I did for the last week or so, and today I picked up a very nice HP laptop with a turion MK-36 for $550.
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10-11-2006, 06:01 AM
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#8 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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I know my Gateway used to load games, then give me 10fps or so.
__________________
“To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think -- spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that's a heck of a day.” - Jim Valvano |
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10-11-2006, 07:17 AM
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#9 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Statesboro, Ga
Posts: 265
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Back in the day when Day of Defeat first came out for half life 1. I waisted so many hours playing that on my moms dell. 1.7ghz 256ram, really low end video card, and dial-up(I can't remember off the top of my head). Ahh how I miss those days.
Long story short, do waist your money on a pre-built or on trying to build with 500$ as has been said a few times now. ask for parts for Christmas, what ever you don't get you have 500$ to spend on them. |
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10-11-2006, 07:25 AM
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#10 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 1,388
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[QUOTE=rspassey]
I disagree with your statement entirely - a $500 prebuilt will not even load a game.[QUOTE] Compaq Presario SR1625NX: AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice Core socket 939 1gig DDR pc400 ATI x-press200 on board included a 17" CRT monitor/mouse /keyboard/speakers paid $360.00 after rebates last year christmas time Once the warrunty is up this year (and my wife lets me crack the case ) I'll be installing a decent video card.
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10-11-2006, 07:37 AM
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#11 |
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Member (1 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1
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Why dont you just take the machine to them and let them install the graphics card for you?That way you wont void your warrenty and you can have your gfx card earlier
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10-11-2006, 08:11 AM
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#12 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 1,388
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Thanx for the idea. Although I'm pretty sure I can Find a better deal on a PS than what Best Buy will have to offer me. Cuz that'll have to be done.
And mostly, I just want to do it.
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10-11-2006, 10:43 AM
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#13 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 37,765
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I just ran some numbers - the closest I would get to $500 for gaming and still have some quality would be the following:
Some generic case with no power supply Asus P5L-MX motherboard 2x512mb Corsair VS DDR2-667 Pentium-D 805 WD 1600YS 160gb hard drive Lite-On DVD burner XClio 450BL power supply This is right around $500 by itself. This does not include ANY peripherals or operating system. This does not include a video card, which you need to spend at LEAST $100 on. The motherboard DOES have onboard video so you can at least fire it up, but it's NOT gaming suitable. Provide your own OS, keyboard, mouse, and monitor. |
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10-11-2006, 02:11 PM
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#14 |
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Member (6 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 43
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Three words: cannot be done.
Sorry 
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10-11-2006, 02:18 PM
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#15 |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Worcester, U.K
Posts: 249
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If that is your highset budget, easier to buy an: Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 or a Ps3
If not Xbox or Ps2. Aleaset you can be sure your games you buy will play on it. But if you REALLY want to, go ahead, but aswell as other people on here have said, i dont reccommend it.
__________________
Hummm.....  I live without fear.....actually i dont. The Amercians spent thousands of dollars trying to invent a pen that worked in space....the Russians used a pencil. I'm English  I'm BACK! Woohoo, well, not as often... probably :P Having 4 teeth out, (2 of which were moulers), getting braces and buying my self a Xbox 360 + extras really kills time! (Sorry) |
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10-11-2006, 02:19 PM
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#16 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Yes, it can be done. You just have to pick and choose parts wisely. I built the same thing GLC, for office use, however. All you need is a cheap vidceo card. Also lower the RAM to 512mb and HDD to 80gb if you want. I have 512mb of RAM and am running a game and have dozens of processes running and I still fail to use all my RAM.
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10-11-2006, 02:22 PM
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#17 |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Worcester, U.K
Posts: 249
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....and surley put the specs lower on top of that...... I still dont reccommend it.
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10-11-2006, 09:57 PM
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#18 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Confluence of the Mississippi and Misouri Rivers
Posts: 1,242
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A P4 is like a giant Fireball from Hell.
Build an Athlon 64 which will run cooler and cost less. |
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10-11-2006, 10:15 PM
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#19 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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The OP hasn't responded in a while...
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10-11-2006, 10:20 PM
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#20 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: eastern nc
Posts: 1,349
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A cheap video card is going to have hyper memory ot turbocache and suck every bit of that 512MB out to use for itself. Well, maybe not every bit.............. but mucho - mucho.
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10-12-2006, 05:13 AM
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#21 |
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Ceiling cat is watching!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Iowa
Posts: 1,283
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Why the heck is every single person but one recommending intel chips? Yes, C2D is awesome, but Pentium 4's and Pentium D's are terrible! The single core athlon64 3800+ will game great and it's right around $100. The 3500 will game just fine at $88 too. Motherboards tend to be cheaper with AMD too. No flames with specific counter-examples please. It's just a trend, not an absolute rule.
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~Matt CCNA |
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10-12-2006, 06:21 AM
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#22 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Agreed mojo. With a budget like $500 I'd recommend a single core venice. Even if the budget wasn't as low, I'd still direct people in the route of a Athlon 64 x2 4400+/4800+ simply because of it's performance/price ratio.
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10-12-2006, 07:26 AM
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#23 | |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 1,388
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Quote:
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10-12-2006, 07:48 AM
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#24 |
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Ceiling cat is watching!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Iowa
Posts: 1,283
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Well, I'd have to say no. $500 will buy a really nice video card though!
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10-12-2006, 08:11 AM
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#25 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 1,388
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Agreed!
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10-12-2006, 09:11 AM
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#26 |
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Member (11 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Owosso, MI, USA
Posts: 1,283
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Delete.
__________________
DFI Infinity 975X/G, Intel C2D E6600 (@3.4Ghz), 2 Gb DDR2 800 GSkill HZ, Powercolor X1900XT, 74 Gb Raptor SATA, 250 Gb Seagate SATA, Audigy 2 ZS, FSP Epsilon 600 watt PSU, NEC 3540 DVD-RW, ASUS DVD ROM, Thermalright SI-128, Thermalright HR-05, Lian Li PC65 case, Samsung 940B 19" LCD Last edited by jfk; 10-12-2006 at 09:19 AM. |
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10-12-2006, 10:50 AM
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#27 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 37,765
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Excuse me - the 805 is the fastest under $100 processor out there and it doesn't run hot till you try to overclock it. You aren't going to get a dual core AMD for that price and you aren't going to get any cheaper with a single core AMD.
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10-12-2006, 02:25 PM
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#28 |
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Ceiling cat is watching!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Iowa
Posts: 1,283
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See for yourself, but the 3500 looks faster than the 805 at most things, and the 3800 is definitely faster.
Interactive CPU charts |
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10-12-2006, 02:49 PM
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#29 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 37,765
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Not the point - AMD is no CHEAPER and any motherboard for AMD or Intel that's any cheaper is going to be questionable quality. Let's not nitpick when we are talking about a rock bottom build. As an aside, that motherboard WILL accept a Core 2 Duo for a FUTURE upgrade. You aren't going to go much farther with a 939.
Back to the hard drive issue - yeah, you can save what - 20 bucks by going half the size and half the cache? I picked a 160 because it's the most capacity for the money out there and it has a 16mb cache while keeping the price as low as possible. What I WILL take issue with are the statements the P4's are fireballs from hell and terrible processors. Yes, some ARE, but not ALL. Ask anyone with an 805 build what they think of it. If it weren't under $100, I wouldn't even look twice at it. |
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10-12-2006, 03:22 PM
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#30 |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 162
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I can also say I love my Pentium D. Runs cool and very fast. I run three and some times four applications at a time with no problem.
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