Now my girlfriend wants one...

[stethnorun]

Ok I got some great help from everyone last time: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...21#post1329521

Now I need some help again. I'm trying to build a good gaming machine for my girlfriend but she has a much lower budget than me. I'm TRYING to get it in under $500. She has the same starting place as me (She has a monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS). She just needs a good tower. Here is what I tried coming up with on my own:

Case: - None yet...should be at or under $65 or so.

MB: ASUS P5K - $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131189

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 - $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115031

Ram: Corsair 2x1gb DDR2-800 - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145175

HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB - $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148261

DVD: Lite-On DVD Burner Sata Retail - $34
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

Video: EVGA GeForce 8600GT 256MB - $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130311

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply 90 - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

Ok a few areas I can skimp on...power supply and motherboard? Also that seemed to be the cheapest processor I could find. I basically need to bring this whole thing down by about $150.

[Jimmy0]

By 'gaming machine' for your girlfriend, do you mean simple flashed based web-games or fully fledged games such as CoD4, etc?

[stethnorun]

I mean real games...yes I know its hard to believe that a girl would play those non-casual games. hehe. Not looking for running games on MAX settings or anything...just want to be able to run most current games decently on medium or so.

[shadowpr]

Could get this case and power supply combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

Only $115.

[stethnorun]

hmmm...was hoping i could let her pick out a fun case...but if that is the best way to save money, that would work.

[shadowpr]

Might not be the best. You might be able to find a case and seperate power supply for cheeper. It's just an idea.

[Katreat]

If you are planning on gaming I would stick with your basic build, cant cut too many more corenrs.

The case combo shadow posted is at a great price right now so that is definately a good option. The Antec PSU in that case if a nice unit.

You could save a few dollars on ram I expect, Corsair is always nice but there are some other good brands and everyone seems to be running a different sell or rebate program.

It is very hard to get a decent gaming rig put together at that $500 range. You are just locked into a decent video card if you want to game and that always pushes the budget. I have always heard for budget systems going AMD is a way to save some dollars but have not built AMD in a long time so cant really direct you to the best choics in that direction.

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

The following parts will cost under $500 and should provide gaming performance close to the build you posted in the first post:


LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S
$33.99

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$34.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$69.99

ASUS M3A AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
$89.99

MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E OC GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
$94.99

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PMSR-A3 ATX12V V2.3 460W Power Supply
$34.99

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527
$48.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO4800DOBOX
$84.99

Subtotal: $492.92

[stethnorun]

Is there any installation/running difference between AMD and Intel? I'm wary...should I be?

[shadowpr]

There shouldn't be any difference other then the heatsink installation.

[stethnorun]

And 460 watts is enough? How much of a ceiling does that give when upgrading? Or would this system max out most of the 460?

[Katreat]

Originally Posted by stethnorun And 460 watts is enough? How much of a ceiling does that give when upgrading? Or would this system max out most of the 460?

If you run a calc I think you will find 460 is plenty. The main upgrade that might force a PSU upgrade would be the video card. if you move up to something like an 8800 GT or higher most people seem to recomend 500w + but that is allowing for some head room so it might actually run on a 460 psu also. As for the next generation of video card who knows. They keep getting more power hungery. Look up the video card and it will tell you what the manufacture recommends for it at a minimum.

Kat

[stethnorun]

Alright great. Ordered hers now too. Thanks all!

[David M]

What kind of frame rates are acceptable with games like COD4 and Crysis on the lowest settings? I would hate to see anyone throw their money away on a computer that is not going to work well enough for them. It may be worth saving ones pennies?

[stethnorun]

I'm not sure about those games but at present, the most demanding game she wants to play is Neverwinter Nights 2. My old 2.8 ghz, 1 gig RAM, nvidia 6800 ultra computer (that I am also currently replacing) could run it pretty well (without shadows). Granted, going forward the games are going to get more demanding but I'm not too worried. The only thing that may need an upgrade somewhat soon (1-2 years) would be the processesor I think. But that is very doable.

[geowick07]

LOL. I had the same thing happen with my g/f. I built a gaming rig, and the next thing i know, she is asking me questions about this and that, and she wants to build a rig for herself. She ended up buying a car, though, and now we are going to build our new rigs together. Should be fun. Hopefully, hers doesn't turn out better than mine!

[stethnorun]

well I KNOW mine will be better...spending almost twice as much...but I'm hoping her rig lasts a good 3-4 years

[stethnorun]

Update: Got the computer up and running and it works great. At just around $650, it runs most things on med/high - max settings. Thanks for the help all.