Budget gaming pc

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I'm looking for a new pc, and figure I may as well get something decently upgradable, and with the ability to at least run some of the more modern titles. Not looking to spend a fortune, but I only need the unit itself, already plan to use my existing sound system, and run it through my gaming monitor. I'm a bit tentative about going with the build my own route, but I'm looking to keep this under $500. Any suggestions for something decent? I don't need to run Crysis here, just want to be safe for things like D3 and SC2.
 
ibuypower.com made my PC, and it's a freaking beast. I paid about $800 for it, but I'm sure if you fiddle with their settings you could easily get one for around $500 that will beat those games into the ground.
 
No problem.

Case + PSU:
Antec Three Hundred. I have one myself; it's fantastic.

PSU:
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W. Also what I use. Quiet, powerful, stable, no retarded LEDs.

Motherboard:
This ASUS P5N-D will be fine. It also supports SLI (dual video cards), which leaves plenty of room for easy upgrading in the future.

RAM:
4 gigs of budget-friendly Corsair goodness.

CPU:
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200. No, it's not a Core 2 Duo, and no, you don't need one. You'd pay about 50% more for a C2D of the same clock speed, and you'd only get (low) single-digit performance increases for most games. And unless you intend to do stupid overclocking, the stock included fan is more than adequate. You don't need an aftermarket one.

Video card:
XFX GeForce 9800 GT 512MB. The 9800GT kicks ass, and this one comes with a free copy of Call of Duty 4 thrown in. If you already have CoD4 or don't want it (as if), then save yourself $10 and buy this card, which is identical, but doesn't come with the CoD4.

Totals up to $466.90 ($456.90 if you don't want the CoD4) after rebates. This configuration will breeze through most games on the market without any problems. Even Crysis will be playable at mostly-high settings.


Things you may or not need, but didn't provide info on:
An extra 120mm case fan, probably as an intake on the front of the case, wouldn't be a bad idea.
If you don't have an SATA DVD burner, you might want to pick up this.
If you can't use your old harddrive from your current PC, go for this.
If you don't have any thermal paste and don't know anyone who does, you WILL need this.
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']

Things you may or not need, but didn't provide info on:
An extra 120mm case fan, probably as an intake on the front of the case, wouldn't be a bad idea.
If you don't have an SATA DVD burner, you might want to pick up this.
If you can't use your old harddrive from your current PC, go for this.
If you don't have any thermal paste and don't know anyone who does, you WILL need this.[/quote]

I actually only have a laptop, as someone who just finished school and didn't have the space for a desktop. Since you seem to be quite the expert, is there any particular source you'd point me to to learn how to put this all together? Another novice question, what specific cables and such will I need to get going?
 
[quote name='contej85']I actually only have a laptop, as someone who just finished school and didn't have the space for a desktop. Since you seem to be quite the expert, is there any particular source you'd point me to to learn how to put this all together? Another novice question, what specific cables and such will I need to get going?[/quote]
It's really not too complicated - you would probably be able to figure it out on your own, since it's mostly an issue of putting things in sockets and connecting power cables and stuff. This guide looks pretty good at a glance and you can find plenty more with a quick Google search.

In my experience, when you buy a motherboard, case, etc. they almost always come with the right cables you'll need. The only time I remember having to get an extra cable was to hook up a second SATA hard drive.

CoffeeEdge mentioned AS5 thermal paste, but stock coolers come with their own stuff already applied and I'd argue that you might as well save yourself the money and trouble and just use it as is.
 
[quote name='contej85']I actually only have a laptop, as someone who just finished school and didn't have the space for a desktop.[/quote]
Oh, well in that case, yeah, you'll need a harddrive and DVD burner. That'll take it to a tad over $500, is that OK? If necessary, I could recommend a couple cuts to save a few bucks.

Oh, and, ahem...do you need to buy an OS?

Since you seem to be quite the expert, is there any particular source you'd point me to to learn how to put this all together?
Click to expand...
The previously mentioned guides should help, but nothing beats having someone who has built a system themselves helping you out, if you know anybody that fits the bill. :)

Another novice question, what specific cables and such will I need to get going?
Click to expand...
You shouldn't need to buy any extras. Everything you need will be included with other components.

[quote name='Soldermelons']CoffeeEdge mentioned AS5 thermal paste, but stock coolers come with their own stuff already applied and I'd argue that you might as well save yourself the money and trouble and just use it as is.[/QUOTE]
Well, I suppose now that I think about it, if he's not overclocking (which I don't really recommend, honestly), then it probably isn't necessary.
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']Oh, well in that case, yeah, you'll need a harddrive and DVD burner. That'll take it to a tad over $500, is that OK? If necessary, I could recommend a couple cuts to save a few bucks.

Oh, and, ahem...do you need to buy an OS?


[/quote]

$500 is just a ballpark for me, if spending a bit more will get a significant upgrade then that's fine, any suggestions for a reliable drive that's priced decently and will get the job done.

Also, I still have my XP disks, do I need to purchase new ones? They've only been used on the one computer, and it's about ready to crap out on me. Is Vista needed for much?
 
[quote name='contej85']$500 is just a ballpark for me, if spending a bit more will get a significant upgrade then that's fine, any suggestions for a reliable drive that's priced decently and will get the job done.[/quote]
The one I linked should do just fine. Western Digital is a good brand. Will 250 gigs suit you? Compare that to what you have on your laptop, if you need.

Also, I still have my XP disks, do I need to purchase new ones? They've only been used on the one computer, and it's about ready to crap out on me. Is Vista needed for much?
Click to expand...
Okay, yeah, go ahead and use your XP discs to install on your new system. Vista sucks, honestly, so don't worry about not "upgrading."
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']The one I linked should do just fine. Western Digital is a good brand. Will 250 gigs suit you? Compare that to what you have on your laptop, if you need.


Okay, yeah, go ahead and use your XP discs to install on your new system. Vista sucks, honestly, so don't worry about not "upgrading."[/quote]

I really appreciate all the help. One last question before I stop bothering you all, as I'm quite new to this. Do I need some sort of sound card? I have a system I want to run things through, but it isn't actually made for a pc, so I don't even know if I can.

*edit*

Do I need some sort of ethernet card?
 
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[quote name='contej85']I really appreciate all the help. One last question before I stop bothering you all, as I'm quite new to this.[/quote]
Ah ah ah, now, there is nothing wrong with asking as many questions as you need. Not a bother, I assure.

Do I need some sort of sound card?
Click to expand...
Nope. Motherboards always have built-in sound these days, and sound cards are really only needed by goofy audiophiles. The motherboard I recommended has a 5.1 channel audio output, and both a coaxial and optical digital S/PDIF output.

I have a system I want to run things through, but it isn't actually made for a pc, so I don't even know if I can.
Click to expand...
Hmm, what sort of inputs does this system have?

Do I need some sort of ethernet card?
Click to expand...
Nope, that's built into the motherboard too, nowadays.


Edit:
Have you made the order yet? Or do you intend to today?
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']Ah ah ah, now, there is nothing wrong with asking as many questions as you need. Not a bother, I assure.


Nope. Motherboards always have built-in sound these days, and sound cards are really only needed by goofy audiophiles. The motherboard I recommended has a 5.1 channel audio output, and both a coaxial and optical digital S/PDIF output.


Hmm, what sort of inputs does this system have?


Nope, that's built into the motherboard too, nowadays.


Edit:
Have you made the order yet? Or do you intend to today?[/quote]

Planning to today at some point, once I'm sure of everything. My system has optical, coaxial, and then your basic analog red an white inputs. It can accept HDMI as well (running through the screen, then to the audio from there). So I assume I'm good then. I grabbed the drive you recommended, and the extra fan as well. I did decide to go with a 1TB drive (my girl wants to use it for media, and offered to pay for the hard drive if I got the big one), though I stuck with the same brand, just upped the size. For all intents and purposes you've basically built my system, which I appreciate quite a bit. Hopefully I can learn from here and actually end up with a grasp of these things, as it seems far cheaper.
 
Really good stuff you're hooking Contej up with, CoffeeEdge.. I may have to look you up over the summer months. Planning on building another PC and I like the suggestions you're tossing out. Keep it up.
 
[quote name='contej85']Planning to today at some point, once I'm sure of everything.[/quote]
Cool. Only reason I asked is because the PSU had to be bought no later than today, to qualify for it's rebate.

That reminds me of something really important: get the rebates sent in a soon as you can (but be careful filling out the forms and whatnot; triple-check to make sure you're submitting everything correctly; mistakes here might keep you from getting your rebate), because some manufacturers are pretty strict with the dates that you have to submit by. On a related note, you'll want to assemble your system as soon as you can after receiving the components, so that you can test it for a bit, and make sure everything works correctly. You want to test it out before sending in the rebate forms, because they require sending in the UPCs, and if you were to mail off the UPC for a component that, upon testing, you discover is faulty, you'd be outta luck, because you always need the UPC to do returns.

My system has optical, coaxial,
Click to expand...
Nice. You should be able to just run an optical or coax cable from your motherboard outputs to your receiver or whatever, and that'll work for anything from stereo to true surround, depending on what your speaker setup is.

and the extra fan as well.
Click to expand...
Cool. I'd recommend mounting it in one of the fan mounts on the front of the case, with the fan oriented so that it draws cool air in from outside of the case. The two fans that come pre-installed in the case are oriented to blow the warm air out, so having the extra fan dedicated to intake is the optimal configuration.

I did decide to go with a 1TB drive (my girl wants to use it for media, and offered to pay for the hard drive if I got the big one), though I stuck with the same brand, just upped the size.
Click to expand...
Nice. That'll definitely last a while. :)

For all intents and purposes you've basically built my system, which I appreciate quite a bit. Hopefully I can learn from here and actually end up with a grasp of these things, as it seems far cheaper.
Click to expand...
No problem, my pleasure. Glad to help out. Just getting your first build under your belt is a big step, and once you've got it all together and see the PC you built boot up for the first time (or rather, once you've got an OS installed and see that come on), you'll definitely feel a lot more confident. And when you see the kind of performance you get from your self-built system, and compare what you spent to the kind of coin that you'd have to shell out to Dell or HP or whoever to get a comparable pre-built system from them, I wholly guarantee, you'll pretty much never buy a pre-built computer again.

[quote name='redan499']Really good stuff you're hooking Contej up with, CoffeeEdge.. I may have to look you up over the summer months. Planning on building another PC and I like the suggestions you're tossing out. Keep it up.[/QUOTE]
By all means, shoot me a PM if there's anything I can help out with. I'll be around.
 
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