Alright Came up with my Cheap GAming PC Build

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Dro

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I'm new to this building pc's thing. Can someone tell me a good cheap game build pc. It doesn't need to run Crysis either. My max will be around $700-800
Click to expand...

I ended up with coming up with this build.

Case
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $49.99 (Free shipping)

Power Supply
Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply - $59.99 (Free shipping)

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $93.19 (with shipping)

Processor
Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz LGA 775 Processor - $82.99 (Free shipping)

Ram
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $48.99 (Free shipping)

Video Card
EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - $90 After Rebate

Total Comes up too $380 After Rebates
Already own a Hard Drive and Vista Premium.

I ended up going way under my budget since I want to keep it at around the same cost of a actual system. I ended up going with that processor since I read its easily can be OC to 3.0 ghz on stock cooling.

Let me know how the build is. Will it be able to run games like Call of Duty 4 Bioshock, Gears of War on High or Good Quality Settings?

Thanks
 
Alright thanks, now a question on games. Will old Games like Half Life 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 1, Doom 3. Work On Vista?
 
If you are willing to spend 1000, you can get a computer that will run Crysis... actually...

It's only around 700 for this build, and it will do a decent job on crysis

Intel Core 2 Duo System

Case: RAIDMAX Smilodon ATX-612WBP (with 500W PSU) - $90
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6750 (2.66GHz) Retail - $189
Cooling: included Retail HSF - $0
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (P35) - $87
Memory: Mushkin PC2-6400 2x1-GB - $53
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA 3.0 Gb/s - $65
Video Card: GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (PCIe) - $147
Monitor: 19" LCD with 5-8ms Refresh - $165
Sound Card: 8-Channel Integrated - $0
Speakers: Logitech X-530 6-Piece Speaker System - $55
CD/DVD-ROM: LG GSA-H62NK 18X SATA DVD Writer - $29
Communications: Onboard LAN - $0
Mouse: Logitech MX310 - $24
Keyboard: Microsoft Digital Media Pro Keyboard - $15
Operating System: Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic- $80

Total: $999

Or if you prefer AMD

AMD Athlon 64 X2 System
Case: RAIDMAX Smilodon ATX-612WBP (with 500W PSU) - $90
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (3.0 GHz) Retail - $160
Cooling: included Retail HSF - $0
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (570 SLI) AM2 - $87
Memory: Corsair XMS2 PC2-6400 DHX 2x1-GB - $75
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA 3.0 Gb/s - $65
Video Card: GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (PCIe) - $147
Monitor: 19" LCD with 5-8ms Refresh - $165
Sound Card: 8-Channel Integrated - $0
Speakers: Logitech X-530 6-Piece Speaker System - $55
CD/DVD-ROM: LG GSA-H62NK 18X SATA DVD Writer - $29
Communications: Onboard LAN - $0
Mouse: Logitech MX310 - $24
Keyboard: Microsoft Digital Media Pro Keyboard - $15
Operating System: Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic- $80

Total: $992


If you get rid of the mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor (assuming you have all those), this should come to about 700

Notes: I got these builds from Sharkyextreme.com
 
8600 GTS? I haven't seen one used, but the general buzz is that that thing is not good value. Also, I have a 8800 and Crysis only runs decent. I dunno how well the 8600 would do.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']8600 GTS? I haven't seen one used, but the general buzz is that that thing is not good value. Also, I have a 8800 and Crysis only runs decent. I dunno how well the 8600 would do.[/quote]

what is decent? i am going to pick up an 8800gt but my radeon 1300xt runs crysis pretty well on low/medium
 
[quote name='CaptainPlanet!']what is decent? i am going to pick up an 8800gt but my radeon 1300xt runs crysis pretty well on low/medium[/QUOTE]

[quote name='crystalklear64']Alrighty. Heres the best quality/fps balance I've been able to find (for specs near mine). On Vista.
-----
Set everything to medium.

Change textures to High. If you have more than 320mb video ram, I'd say you could do very high.

Set shaders to High. Makes the game look so much better. The jump from medium to high here is crazy.

Postprocessing Effects, put em' on high, adds that sexy motion blur effect.

Volumetric Effects, to High. Flashlight in the mist= :drool:

Water on Low.
-------
Gives a constant 30~ FPS.[/QUOTE]
Decent= Medium with a few high settings.
 
Doesnt it get old building computers for gaming and they only do an OK job at it for a year and then its upgrade time again? I know thats the way its always been, but just shelling out 800 + for an OK computer that will play current games and not have that long lasting potential as say getting a Console. I know the mouse and keyboard is great, Im a long time PC gaming fan, but its just gotten rediculous. For the price of the best video card I can get a Ps3 etc and play games on that for years to come. THe video card by itself can do nothing unless you shell out the other money for the cpu, ram etc... I Think whats saving PC gamings ass is MMORPG's... thats the only thing i can think of thats almost Pc only.

Have fun making your computer... :)

/rant over
 
[quote name='Lice']Doesnt it get old building computers for gaming and they only do an OK job at it for a year and then its upgrade time again? I know thats the way its always been, but just shelling out 800 + for an OK computer that will play current games and not have that long lasting potential as say getting a Console. I know the mouse and keyboard is great, Im a long time PC gaming fan, but its just gotten rediculous. For the price of the best video card I can get a Ps3 etc and play games on that for years to come. THe video card by itself can do nothing unless you shell out the other money for the cpu, ram etc... I Think whats saving PC gamings ass is MMORPG's... thats the only thing i can think of thats almost Pc only.

Have fun making your computer... :)

/rant over[/QUOTE]

You're going to own a computer anyway, right? The only real difference between building a gaming PC and building the PC that you were going to use anyway is the videocard. You can easily get by with a $150 video card each year -- the next year, sell your old one for $75+. Out of pocket cost is about $75 per year to maintain a PC capable of playing any game, as opposed to the multipurpose PC you'd already have. That's really not so bad.

Alternatively, you can get by with less (videocard-wise) and just not play the most demanding games. For example, today, you could easily spend less than $100 on a videocard and play any game other than Crysis. A 7600GT could play any game other than Crysis for under $100. Likewise, you can spend more to be able to max the settings and play it at a high resolution.

You have options. In the low end, it's about the same price as console gaming, and in the high end, it's far more expensive.

The high price of PC gaming is a myth, really. It's a myth based on underestimating the performance of budget videocards and assuming that a "gaming PC" must always be capable of running any game available.
 
[quote name='CaptainPlanet!']what is decent? i am going to pick up an 8800gt but my radeon 1300xt runs crysis pretty well on low/medium[/quote]

Im running stock Crysis, in DX9 with all settings to high. No special configs.
I was running 1680x1050 and the game ran smooth and without issue. Game ran around 30fps consistently.
It was not until the last mission that I had problems.
I dropped my resolution to 1280x1024 for that area and generally use it in MP.

C2D E6400 @ 2.13GHZ
2GB 6400 DDR
8800GTS 320MB factory OC
Click to expand...

Sounds a little too good to be true. But then there's also this:

crysisspd_g_02.gif


Although I'm sure that benchmark was using insane hardware.
 
[quote name='Lice']Doesnt it get old building computers for gaming and they only do an OK job at it for a year and then its upgrade time again? I know thats the way its always been, but just shelling out 800 + for an OK computer that will play current games and not have that long lasting potential as say getting a Console. I know the mouse and keyboard is great, Im a long time PC gaming fan, but its just gotten rediculous. For the price of the best video card I can get a Ps3 etc and play games on that for years to come. THe video card by itself can do nothing unless you shell out the other money for the cpu, ram etc... I Think whats saving PC gamings ass is MMORPG's... thats the only thing i can think of thats almost Pc only.

Have fun making your computer... :)

/rant over[/quote]The last time I built a PC was about 6-7 years ago. I only ran into problems with games that were built for multicore CPUs recently (Dirt, Bioshock, ummm... couple others.) Its still a solid box with only one video card upgrade, and about a gig more memory. Handles EVERYTHING I throw at it, video/audio editing, massive network movement originating from it.. etc. Not to mention all the flexibilty that you get with a PC..

As far as gaming, any game you can get for a PC and a system, will look better on a PC. As far as game play, thats gonna be situational. I use my consols because my friends use their consols, titles are also abudant. Thats just me... but I still wouldnt hesitate to get a game for the PC over a 360.. Unless its an MMO, Im totally done with those.
 
[quote name='Lice']Doesnt it get old building computers for gaming and they only do an OK job at it for a year and then its upgrade time again? I know thats the way its always been, but just shelling out 800 + for an OK computer that will play current games and not have that long lasting potential as say getting a Console. I know the mouse and keyboard is great, Im a long time PC gaming fan, but its just gotten rediculous. For the price of the best video card I can get a Ps3 etc and play games on that for years to come. THe video card by itself can do nothing unless you shell out the other money for the cpu, ram etc... I Think whats saving PC gamings ass is MMORPG's... thats the only thing i can think of thats almost Pc only.

Have fun making your computer... :)

/rant over[/quote]

Unless you're like me and you spend $400-$500 on a an average PC every 3 or 4 years, and then just play games that are a few years old. I feel no compulsion to pay the huge premium required to play the latest and greatest PC retail releases on high settings. I'm perfectly happy playing oldies but goodies like Medal of Honor Pacific Assault, Vice City, Mafia, etc.
 
Just wait for some good sales...I'd make sure to check Pricewatch and look around. Make sure to factor shipping into the equation too. This is what I managed to build for around $500 + tax (not including the monitor) by being patient, carefully watching for deals, and recycling my old case:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - $90
CPU: Intel Q6600 Quad Core - $180
CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower - $30
Memory: PC2-6400 2x1GB - $20AR
Power Supply: Cooler Master 500W - $5AR
Video Card: eVGA 8600GT 512MB - $100
Hard Drive: Seagate 300GB SATA 7200 - $50
DVD Burner: LG SATA 18X - $20
3 Case Fans - $10

Okay so I admit that I got a lot of this on Black Friday but I've watched places like Slickdeals and seen a lot of comparable deals. I'm sure you can get a good system up and running for $600...grab a keyboard, mouse, and some speakers (use integrated sound) and you should be good to go.
 
[quote name='redgopher']Stick with console gaming. Much cheaper, same quality.[/quote]Please tell me you're not serious...
 
[quote name='Lupuri']Please tell me you're not serious...[/quote]

Of course he is serious... console gaming is exactly the same... well except for the D-pad being a poor excuse for a mouse and keyboard, being charged for DLC that is free on the PC, not having access to mods and user generated content, having to buy a nice sized HDTV, being charged extra on the price of new games... maybe I'll just stop there.
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']Of course he is serious... console gaming is exactly the same... well except for the D-pad being a poor excuse for a mouse and keyboard, being charged for DLC that is free on the PC, not having access to mods and user generated content, having to buy a nice sized HDTV, being charged extra on the price of new games... maybe I'll just stop there.[/quote]Or the fact that most monitors run resolution over top of any 1080 TVs out there. You compare any game that is made for PC and any gaming consol, PC will win hands DOWN on a decently powered PC for that time.
Its like - why state your opinion without having something to back it up? 'because thats what I think...' No one cares what you think, we are looking at facts here.
 
One advantage that consoles do have is analog input support. I almost always miss having the precise control of analog input for action/shooting/racing games on the PC. Speaking of which...why hasn't someone made a sweet one-handed analog gamepad by now? Then we could enjoy analog movement controls AND precision mouse input for aiming.
 
[quote name='Dro']I came up with a build let me know how it is.[/QUOTE]

If you plan on overclocking, I say go for it.

I would have recommended a different case and PSU at those prices, but then I noticed there are $45 in combined rebates between the two, making the price pretty reasonable, about $75 for the two instead of $120, quite the difference. If you held out you could do better, but that's certainly not a bad deal. Your total system is likely to only draw 150w or less. Every component is realy energy efficient.

Your build looks good -- I say go for it, overclock the 2160, and later on down the road, add another 2gb kit of RAM.
 
Nice, and cheap.

You'll be able to play games at much higher resolutions and better settings if you go for a more expensive graphics card. An 8800GT is probably out of your price range but an 8600GTS or even a high end DX9 card can do better than an 8600GT. It's not like you'll be able to get DX10 effects anyway. Even 8800GTX users will still stick with DX9 because of the performance hit that most games have on DX10.
 
[quote name='Richard Longfellow']One advantage that consoles do have is analog input support. I almost always miss having the precise control of analog input for action/shooting/racing games on the PC. Speaking of which...why hasn't someone made a sweet one-handed analog gamepad by now? Then we could enjoy analog movement controls AND precision mouse input for aiming.[/quote]Back when I gamed on the PCs hardcore, I used an old school gravis controller with the D-pad (analog that I set up to use the directional keys, along with two trigger buttons to strafe. Totally helped me play UT and Quake2 mods with ease...
It is tough to find a programable analog d-pad anymore.
 
[quote name='Dro']I came up with a build let me know how it is.[/QUOTE]

I would get an 8800gt. All of your other parts are fine but I would go with at least an 8800gt for a gaming PC. Especially since you want to run COD4, Bioshock, and Gears of War on high settings.
 
Does Vista use the same authentication checks as XP does? If so, be prepared to re-activate it when you put the drive in the new setup.
 
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