Budget gaming rig

[MattVizzle]

Not sure if you would even call this a gaming rig but the game I will be playing is WoW I play pvp a lot on there. I would like a machine to run WoW flawlessly. My budget is a tiny $500, I browsed the forums and copied some stuff and this is where I sit, please advise. I need a case suggestion and also a video card suggestion because the one I have listed is out of stock.

DVD rom: Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - CD / DVD Burners

PSU: Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

RAM: Newegg.com - Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339

MBoard: Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55 LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard

Processor: Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3540

Vid Card: Newegg.com - ASUS EAH6870 DC/2DI2S/1GD5 Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

[MattVizzle]

I also want to use a wireless card on this machine. Any recommended?

[glc]

To have a computer, you need the following:

Case
Power supply
Motherboard
Processor
Memory
Hard drive
Optical drive
Video card
Operating system
Peripherals (keyboard, mouse, monitor)

Please tell us which items have to be included in the $500 budget, and is there ANY way you can increase the budget? Also, please tell us the brand and model of your wireless router.

[MattVizzle]

I can go $600 max on budget. My wireless router is Belkin Surf Wireless N Router
Model#: F7D2301-WM

Items that HAVE to be in budget are:

case
power supply
mother board
processor
memory
hard drive
optical drive
video card


The rest I already have.

[glc]

Newegg.com - Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower Steel Computer Case Fully Black Powdered Interior VM30001W2Z

Newegg.com - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz 2 x 256KB L2 Cache 3MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I32100

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML4GX3M2A1600C9

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98B

Newegg.com - PowerColor AX6790 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - Zonet ZEW1690 Wireless Adapter with Dual 7dbi Hi-Gain Antenna & Bonus Low-Profile Bracket IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates WPA/WPA2, 64/128-bit WEP, TKIP/AES, 802.1x, WPS

[MattVizzle]

thank you

edit: just ordered everything, can't wait

[MattVizzle]

Starting build today...wish me luck

[jdeb]

follow this sticky to build, it will save you a ton of time in the event you hook something wrong or run into a problem

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[MattVizzle]

I actually didn't read the above in time and when I had put everything together I got nothing.

So I took it all apart, now I have power supply, motherboard, video card, when I touch the screwdriver to the power pins on the motherboard my CPU fan and Vid Card fan come on but NO display and they only spin for about 3 secs then stop then start up and spin again for 3 seconds... any advice?

[glc]

You need at least 1 ram module installed. Do you have both the 24 pin ATX connector and the 4 pin CPU connector connected? Are the pins on the CPU heatsink completely snapped down into the holes on the motherboard?

[MattVizzle]

Ok got it to work, i had the ddr3 ram in the wrong spot. Now however when i put back everything into the case i get the 3 second thing again. So i removed 1 stick of ram and it boots up fine. Right now i'm loading windows 7 on it and i only have 1 stick of ram in there. After win7 is installed will i be able to just power off and add the other stick of ram without problems?

[glc]

Hopefully. Make sure you put it in the correct slot for dual channel operation and snap it completely in.

[MattVizzle]

yes it worked, thanks GLC for everything