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View Full Version : HOW-TO: Build a $500 Gaming Machine

redgopher
10-31-2005, 12:22 PM
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.html

Now quit posting all of those friggin topics!
Vegan
10-31-2005, 06:39 PM
I recently built a very nice system for about that price.

The number 1 piece of advice is to HAVE PATIENCE. Wait out deals, keep your eye on woot, fatwallet, slickdeals, fry's ads. If you can wait about a month while you get stuff cheaply a piece at a time, you're good to go.

Just remember to save the items that depreciate in value the quickest for the end. It does no good to have a CPU sitting around doing nothing but look less and less impressive for weeks, with nothing to plug it into. Get things like optical and hard drives, and memory first. Recycle old optical drives from other computers if you can.
carpwrist
11-01-2005, 05:50 PM
wow. this is a sign from God... aka, redgopher. i was in the process of building a new mini pc to take to lans.

thanx for all the miracles and the link!
P0ldy
11-02-2005, 12:09 AM
Except they left out a case, a montior, keyboard/mouse, and speakers.

$500 gaming rig if you have everything else you'll need.
Vegan
11-02-2005, 01:02 AM
Except they left out a case, a montior, keyboard/mouse, and speakers.

$500 gaming rig if you have everything else you'll need.

Most (not all) people will be carrying those things over from a previous computer. A good monitor should last at least 5 years.
P0ldy
11-02-2005, 02:58 PM
Most PC retail cases seem to be specific to the hardware, and a 939 AMD mobo is going to need at least a midtower ATX. And a gamer wants something beyond factory keyboard/mouse and speakers. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they forgot to mention a sound card. Onboard sound, factory speakers? No way. $600 gaming rig at the least. Not to mention case fans, which retail PCs seem to not need.
redgopher
11-02-2005, 07:53 PM
Most PC retail cases seem to be specific to the hardware, and a 939 AMD mobo is going to need at least a midtower ATX. And a gamer wants something beyond factory keyboard/mouse and speakers. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they forgot to mention a sound card. Onboard sound, factory speakers? No way. $600 gaming rig at the least. Not to mention case fans, which retail PCs seem to not need.

It's suppsoed to be cheap, not full featured. You completely missed the point of the article. Onboard sound works. Basic keyboad and mouse works. Basic speakers work. Good god man you just don't get it. It's not for people who want to drop a lot of money on a system.
cletus
11-02-2005, 09:05 PM
It's suppsoed to be cheap, not full featured. You completely missed the point of the article. Onboard sound works. Basic keyboad and mouse works. Basic speakers work. Good god man you just don't get it. It's not for people who want to drop a lot of money on a system.

:D

I would like to nominate this as the Cheapass Post Of The Month. It made me laugh at least.
Prepster
11-02-2005, 09:09 PM
Nice set-up, great for a nice backup pc or for the pc gamer that can't afford the best. But I would have to say onboard sound is usually not the best.
P0ldy
11-02-2005, 09:45 PM
It's suppsoed to be cheap, not full featured. You completely missed the point of the article. Onboard sound works. Basic keyboad and mouse works. Basic speakers work. Good god man you just don't get it. It's not for people who want to drop a lot of money on a system.
What I "get" is advice that's going to deliver a false promise.
CYRiX
11-02-2005, 09:51 PM
Consider my cheap ass got a free case/keyboard/mouse/speaker set (soyo brand) free after mir from tigerdirect.com its all good.




Too bad I already know all of this about computers lol. I just suggest to people that are starting to build that you read up about the latest in comp. technlogy and see what you wanted.

For instance I just wanted something I could use now and have it be future proof so I could upgrade in time. I got a:
DFI-Street UT SLI-DR Mobo - Its s939 so I can get an okay processor and upgrade to a really good one at the end of the socketes time. This mobo is also sli-ready so I can upgrade to really good video cards later. This mono ALSO has good overclocking abilities, incase I need an extra boost to help past the time :D.
AMD 64 +3200 CPU - Not top of the line about middle. Its really good and will hold up for about a year or two before I need a new one. Once I get a new one I can also get cheap mobo and other parts and have a great server.
GeForce 5200 FX Vid Card - This is my old one and works (surprisingly) great with Steam games and BattleField games, I will be upgrading to better video cards as the cash flows in.
512mb Ram (off brand) - Same with my video card but I just got this cheap for 30 bucks (thanks to cag) and just got it so I could use my computer.
PSU (Xclio 450w) - It can handle SLI and may be a little under in the wattage but it was 40 bucks and is holding up greatly.

Just felt like stating my position for some reason lol.

If you guys have ANY questions or want me to check if your parts will work together or have any future proof questions ASK ME! I will be glad to help.
Dingleberry
11-02-2005, 09:57 PM
real pc gamers use a headset with mic...none of that fancy audigy whatever that takes up a drive bay.
CYRiX
11-02-2005, 10:32 PM
real pc gamers use a headset with mic...none of that fancy audigy whatever that takes up a drive bay.
lol I have got a nice plantronics headset for 10 bucks and its really nice.
Vegan
11-03-2005, 12:38 AM
Consider my cheap ass got a free case/keyboard/mouse/speaker set (soyo brand) free after mir from tigerdirect.com its all good..

You got a rebate out of Tigerdirect?!
GreenMonkey
11-03-2005, 01:14 AM
Onboard sound is fine. Sound doesn't suck up the CPU time like it used to thanks to more powerful CPUs. I have an old Soundblaster PCI512 I've cycled through 3 different systems, my wife's PC uses the onboard.

I personally don't think the 6600 vanilla is the best suggestion for a video card. A good cheapass bang/buck is a refurbed or clearanced 9800pro IMO at $80-$100, or spend $140-$160 on a 6600GT.
Vegan
11-03-2005, 03:59 AM
I beg to differ. A soundcard with hardware acceleration can give you an extra 10 frames per second (apples and oranges sound quality comparison aside). This is from RECENT tests.
redgopher
11-03-2005, 01:16 PM
What I "get" is advice that's going to deliver a false promise.

The promise was a $500 gaming system, not an invincible powerhouse of digital doom.

I beg to differ. A soundcard with hardware acceleration can give you an extra 10 frames per second (apples and oranges sound quality comparison aside). This is from RECENT tests.

While this is partly true--I didn't see a noticable fps increase when I upgraded from onboard to a sexy Audigy 2 ZS, though the sound did get way way better--it's not exactly necessary. They set a budget of $500 and they built it as powerful as they could.