Possible Gaming Build (~$650)

[phlb19]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to build a PC for some relatively casual gaming. I would like to spend ~$650 or less. I already have a new copy of Windows 7 and I will reuse my old case, but everything else will have to be new (including a monitor).

My first question is whether or not this is a good time to buy. I know that this is an almost impossible question to answer, but I would like to hear your opinions. Is it worth buying right now? Should I wait until the new year? Do you know of any upcoming releases that would cause a major drop in price for some of the components I'm interested in?

Here's my parts list so far:

Monitor: ASUS VH232H 23" - Newegg.com - ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 w/Speakers & HDMI - $139.99 (after MIR + Promo Code)

HDD: WD Caviar Black 500GB - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $59.99

Processor + Motherboard: AMD Athlon II X3 450 + ASUS 870 - Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! - $162.99

GPU: EVGA GTX 460 1GB - Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $179.99 (after MIR)

Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB - Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - $39.99 (after MIR). I checked the QVL for the ASUS mobo and this memory is included in the list.

PSU: Corsair 650TX - Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $59.99 (after MIR + Promo Code)

ODD: ASUS 24x DVD Burner - Newegg.com - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners - $16.99

The total comes to around $660. It seems like a solid build to me, but I'm not sure if the 460 is overkill. Would a 5770 like the one below do just as well for casual gaming or am I better off spending the extra $65 on a 460?

HIS 5770 - Newegg.com - HIS H577FK1GD Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity - $99 (after MIR)

Also, are there any good, cheaper alternatives to the 650tx? It seems like an awful lot of power for this system.

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate you guys reading through =)

[Nikon]

while the 5770 would prolly be enough, it depends on what 'casual gaming' means. if your casually playing crysis.... or farmville... thats a really really good price on that 460 btw. possibly one of the highest value cards out. plus its dx11, so it should keep you well kept for many years to come.

[phlb19]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I'll probably be playing some EVE Online, Dragon Age, Fallout 3, Oblivion, maybe some newer titles as well. I'm not looking to squeeze out the best performance possible, but I would like to be able to play most games on high settings with playable framerates.

What do you guys think about the processor? Will the X3 be enough or should I spring for a 955 instead?

[David M]

It's not so much the processor for playing those games, it's the graphics card that will count. I see what games you will be playing and Dragon Age and Oblivion on higher settings will require a Radeon 5800 series card to have playable frame rates. Budget about $300 for a graphics card.

[glc]

For an end cost of 60 bucks the 650TX is a total no-brainer.

[phlb19]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys - you've been very helpful. Any thoughts on the 460 vs. a 5850? HIS has one that is $169 after MIR. Do you think that it would be worth waiting to build until mid January after Sandy Bridge has been released?

[David M]

Nah...new technology is almost always overpriced and under what was promised. Give it a year for prices to drop and for the reality to catch up with the promises.

The 5850 would be fine for playing those games.

Tom's Hardware has charts so you can get a sense of how fast cards are and then you can compare prices for a better bang for the buck perspective.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/