Amazon PCDD $15 Walking Dead, $10 TERA ($15 CE) + BOGO

Status
Not open for further replies.
Amazon DVG Deals

Amazon DVG Deals

Official Representative
Feedback
4 (100%)
Hi CAGs,

NOTE: Preorder information is now in the second post of this thread.


War of the Roses - 10% off + free upgrade to House of York edition.

Deal of the week 9/16-9/22:

The Walking Dead (PC/MAC): $14.99 - Steam
Tera Standard Edition: $9.99 + $9.99 credit for another copy to give to a friend
Tera Collector's Edition: $14.99 + $14.99 credit for another copy to give to a friend


Please check out our newly launched Free-to-Play store when you get a moment!




I wanted to let you all know about some exciting new selection we just launched supported by a new technology.

As of today, Amazon.com will be offering Free to Play and MMO games that you can purchase virtual goods, currencies, and subscriptions for on Amazon.com. These purchases will be delivered directly into your game account. We're calling this new service Game Connect.

Amazon has teamed up with our launch partners to bring Amazon customers exclusive content and bonus offers for the opening of the Free to Play store. Here is some of the cool stuff you'll get just for linking your Amazon account with a game account:


Super MNC: Customers who link their Amazon account with a Super MNC account will receive an exclusive Team Spirit Assault Rifle. This weapon for the Assault Pro has a unique, team colored, metal barrel shroud and is only available through Amazon.




Stronghold Kingdoms: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Stronghold Kingdoms account will receive a starter pack valued at $10. This pack includes: 10 packs of strategy cards (50 cards), 100 card points, and a 7 day premium token (7 days of Premium).



Shin Megami Tensei: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Shin Megami Tensei account will receive a free Incense of Training. By making a purchase of 3,500 Crowns, customers will also receive a voucher (Candle), which is exchangeable for a Heart Candle Necklace. Customers who reach level 20 during the 12 week launch period, they will receive another voucher (Depository Rental Ticket).


Rise of Immortals: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Rise of Immortals account will receive a free character bundle. This exclusive bundle includes Karapyss and his alternate character skins Scarab and Pirate.


BattleSpace: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a BattleSpace account will receive 100 honor medals. By making a purchase of 3,500 Crowns, customers will also receive Commander Alya. Customers who reach level 10 before October 6th, will receive an additional 100 honor medals and ship parts set (α x20, β x4, γ x2).


Iron Grip: Marauders: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with an Iron Grip: Marauders account will be given a booster pack containing 5000 Gold, 2000 iron, repair truck level 2, ambulance level 2, and a tri-scout Level 1.


Allods: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with an Allods account will receive an exclusive starter package, valued at $15. This pack includes: 4x Token of the Explorer that can be brought to the Goblin Banker in your faction's capital in exchange for an increase in the size of the customer’s bag or bank deposit box, a Medium Bag of Crystal Chips that, combined with Gold Dust in-game, allow customers to combine/upgrade runes that increase damage/healing, and an Enchanted Saddle that summons a Rank 1 horse mount.


Pirate Galaxy: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Pirate Galaxy account will receive a Rapid Tank Starter Ship and 1,500 Energy to fuel the best items available.


Fiesta: Customers who purchase SparkCash to use in Fiesta will receive a 30-day swift and mighty Dark Pegasus Mount.


8BitMMO: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with an 8BitMMO account will receive three, exclusive, brand-new hats. These hats are a Cowboy Hat, a Blue Baseball Cap, and a Duck. Link your account and start your 8 bit adventure today.

Aika: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with an Aika account will receive an exclusive starter package valued at $15. This pack includes a Mount and Mount Saddle. Use the mount to travel far distances in half the time and resist environmental damages. Use the Mount Saddle to lower the requirement to ride other mounts.


Knights of the Sky: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Knights of the Sky account will receive a free Happy Hour, which increases the likelihood of recruiting better Heroes. Purchase 3,500 Crowns or more through Amazon and receive a free Labor Decree, which increases Construction queues from 3 to 5, or purchase 35,000 crowns or more and receive an exclusive free Hero (valid on first purchase only). Reach level 20 before October 6th, and receive 6 items that increase resource gain by 25%. Start playing today.

Rappelz: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Rappelz. account will get an exclusive starter package, valued at $15. This pack includes a Stamina Saver that stops stamina from decreasing for 1 hour, an Animal Cracker used to earn 50% more EXP for 1 hour, a Pet Resurrection Spell book that resurrects pets instantly after a fall in battle, a Feather of Summon which instantly summons a friend to aide in battle, and a Hidden Village Pass that gives 7 days of access to the exclusive Hidden Village.



Luvinia: Customers who make any purchase of SparkCash to use in Luvinia will receive a 30-day Flying Griffin Mount.


Flyff: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Flyff account will receive an exclusive starter package, valued at $15. This package contains a Magic Broom that allows customers to start flying immediately, bypassing the level 20 requirement, an S Protect Gift Box which will allow customers to upgrade an item to create stronger stats right from the start, a random Gift Box that contains something special, a Police Outfit, and a Kitty Pet to help collect loot.

Steel Legions: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a NEW Steel Legions account will receive one of three different, fully equipped premium tanks.

Pandora Saga: Customers who link their Amazon accounts with a Pandora Saga account will receive a Beginner Gear set. Customers who purchase 3,500 Crowns or more through Amazon will receive Recipe: Wing Shield Vol. 1 (first time purchasers only). Customers who reach Level 20 before October 6th will receive a horse mount.

And that's just the free stuff you get with linking.

We're also carrying the games below and offering Amazon exclusive in-game packs for each game which provide a higher value than normal virtual good purchases.


World of Tanks: Customers can purchase three different Amazon-exclusive World of Tanks packs: Starter Pack, Advanced Pack, and Expert Pack.


Runescape: Customers who purchase a 90 or 180 day membership package for Runescape will receive an exclusive Golden Katana.


War Inc. Battle Zone: Customers are able to purchase three different War Inc. Battle Zone Amazon exclusive packs: the Merc Pack, Heroic Pack, and Kill Em All Pack


Pre-Order Borderlands 2 from us for 10% off and help me get a tattoo! Yes it activates on Steam!

I am a huge Borderlands 2 fan and I want this to be our best selling pre-order ever. So I've drawn a line in the sand. If, from now until launch, we take 40,000 more preorders than where we were on 7/2/2012 I will get a Borderlands tattoo on my back.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Hurray better deals :). For those of you who missed out on the Origin sale, starting 8/30 we'll have this lineup:

Kingdoms of Amalur Amalur: $16
Sims3 Base: $12
Sims3 World Adventures: $12
Sims3 High End Loft: $8
ME3: $16
ME3 DD: $20
Spore Ultimate Digital Collection: $12
NFS Ultimate Digital Collection $12[/QUOTE]

I think I will get ME3 DD, the price is just insane

To be honest I have a very big...err...backlog :D but I can'r resist such deals

[quote name='thesn00ze']I would kill for this one Kingdoms of Amalur Amalur: $16, if it was Steam-redeemable.[/QUOTE]

Cheapest KoA:R on Steam was $40 after 33% Off. I don't think there is much difference except Steam version has Achievements lol

[quote name='Scorch']Just traded in my copy of Max Payne 3 this past weekend for $27. Perfect deal, will be purchasing later this afternoon.[/QUOTE]

I sold like 5 copies of Max Payne 3 Pre-orders on Steam for 50-55$ . The game value was sky high back then specially that it came with L.A Noire, Max 1, 2 and DLCs but thanks to Amazon the value is down now. Thank God I sold another normal non-preorder copy for $27 few weeks ago :lol:
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Hurray better deals :). For those of you who missed out on the Origin sale, starting 8/30 we'll have this lineup:

Kingdoms of Amalur Amalur: $16
Sims3 Base: $12
Sims3 World Adventures: $12
Sims3 High End Loft: $8
ME3: $16
ME3 DD: $20
Spore Ultimate Digital Collection: $12
NFS Ultimate Digital Collection $12[/QUOTE]

Anything planned for Sims 3: Showtime?
 
Awesome price on KoA, but still too high for me. Sims 3 has been cheaper elsewhere quite a few times though... kinda disappointed on that one; I thought Amazon could pull something better out.
 
Gotta love the one and only review on the GTA-Max Payne 3 Bundle:

6 of 344 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
went well with my vodka and shotgun, August 28, 2012
By Brian Mc........ - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3 Bundle [Download] (Software Download)
Greetings fellow amazonians as you all know I love my video games so when I saw this I jumped at it. the games are good though slightly dated, but really gets me excited is the fact that after blowing the brains out of the baddies on my games I can finish my fifth of vodka and take my shotgun outside my trailer and take pot shots at my neighbors trailers. Thank god for these games and my second amendment! Five stars!
Click to expand...

Where do people come up with these things?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00904XVS0/
 
soooo, is there a good chance we will get another Arma 2 deal before this is over? great deals so far, too bad I have most of these games :(
 
[quote name='Blindman']Does the MAX + GTA IV give you two codes to steam? How do you split them?[/QUOTE]

For the steam version I received two codes, one for MP and one for GTA IV Complete
 
***Sold**** Sorry if i couldnt reply to everyone who inquired. Just wanted to give the first guy who pm'ed a chance to finish.


Is there a GFWL version of MP3?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry for posting about yet another GTA4 code for sale, but I decided I don't really need the game on 3 platforms. To stand out against the other offers, I'll let mine go for $4.99. ;) PM me.
 
so I don't know where else to ask, but is it possible to transfer an unused Amazon download game code to someone else without them using my account?
 
Thanks for the Max Payne + GTA IV deal. Hard not to resist, even though i got the GTA bundle during the steam sale. Looking forward the 1C, and tempted by KoA ... we'll see how much self control I have.
 
[quote name='mcthatch']so I don't know where else to ask, but is it possible to transfer an unused Amazon download game code to someone else without them using my account?[/QUOTE]
If it's a Steam code, you can just give it to them in an email or something. If it's a game actually downloaded off Amazon's servers, I'm pretty sure the answer is no.
 
[quote name='Syntax Error']If it's a Steam code, you can just give it to them in an email or something. If it's a game actually downloaded off Amazon's servers, I'm pretty sure the answer is no.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, so if it's a steam code or code that activates somewhere else (not sure how Guild Wars 2 codes work for example, I think they can be activated and DLed directly from the Guild Wars 2 site), you can just give someone the code to activate.

If it requires an actual DL from Amazon then it's not so easy. If it's a gift for a friend, you could always DL the files for them, burn them to DVD as well as a text file with the serial and give it to them that way.
 
[quote name='CheapLikeAFox']Yeah, so if it's a steam code or code that activates somewhere else (not sure how Guild Wars 2 codes work for example, I think they can be activated and DLed directly from the Guild Wars 2 site), you can just give someone the code to activate.

If it requires an actual DL from Amazon then it's not so easy. If it's a gift for a friend, you could always DL the files for them, burn them to DVD as well as a text file with the serial and give it to them that way.[/QUOTE]
And if you really trust your friend, you could always just let them use your Amazon account...
 
I wish I had enough money for a gaming PC. Seeing the MP3 + GTA IV complete deal on the top of all the deals makes me envy all you PC gamers..
 
any opinions on inversion for $10? I sometimes like B-Tier action games like Singularity, Spec Ops, Syndicate, Bionic Commando, etc.
 
[quote name='JayRooster']I wish I had enough money for a gaming PC. Seeing the MP3 + GTA IV complete deal on the top of all the deals makes me envy all you PC gamers..[/QUOTE]
Just buy it for when you do have a gaming PC... or better yet, save for a gaming PC, and by the time you buy it, MP3 will be even cheaper.

I've probably spent $200+ on PC games that I can't play...
 
[quote name='jer7583']any opinions on inversion for $10? I sometimes like B-Tier action games like Singularity, Spec Ops, Syndicate, Bionic Commando, etc.[/QUOTE]

Reviews look far worse than any of those (~55 Metacritic). According to most of the reviewers, it's main gimmick (gravity stuff) is terrible, which reduces it to generic TPS. I haven't played it myself though. I know Bionic Commando had pretty mediocre reviews, but it became one of my favorite PS3 games XD.
 
[quote name='Idiotekque']Just buy it for when you do have a gaming PC... or better yet, save for a gaming PC, and by the time you buy it, MP3 will be even cheaper.

I've probably spent $200+ on PC games that I can't play...[/QUOTE]

What cheap, beginners PC would you or anybody else recommend? I love Bethesda games but a PS3 just doesn't cut it, I also would play a lot of BF3 on it.

I bet you've bought like 200+ games also with those $200+. You guys have sales on good games almost everyday. when y'all had the steam summer sale, I died a little inside seeing games go for like $5.
 
[quote name='JayRooster']What cheap, beginners PC would you or anybody else recommend? I love Bethesda games but a PS3 just doesn't cut it, I also would play a lot of BF3 on it.

I bet you've bought like 200+ games also with those $200+. You guys have sales on good games almost everyday. when y'all had the steam summer sale, I died a little inside seeing games go for like $5.[/QUOTE]

definitely save up for a PC. its not as expensive as it sounds. For $500 you can have BF3 maxed out and running at a smooth 60fps on 1920x1080.
 
[quote name='RiseFromYourGrave']Reviews look far worse than any of those (~55 Metacritic). According to most of the reviewers, it's main gimmick (gravity stuff) is terrible, which reduces it to generic TPS. I haven't played it myself though. I know Bionic Commando had pretty mediocre reviews, but it became one of my favorite PS3 games XD.[/QUOTE]


TotalBiscuit did a WTF for it and gave it a favorable nod:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6RDdJeUyFk
 
[quote name='JayRooster']What cheap, beginners PC would you or anybody else recommend? I love Bethesda games but a PS3 just doesn't cut it, I also would play a lot of BF3 on it.

I bet you've bought like 200+ games also with those $200+. You guys have sales on good games almost everyday. when y'all had the steam summer sale, I died a little inside seeing games go for like $5.[/QUOTE]

The most up to date thing I've seen is TomsHardware's $500 Gaming PC build and test. Their $1000 build is probably close to the better Gaming PCs owned by CAGs. You don't need that much to enjoy a lot of great games (probably thanks to 360/PS3 holding back developers), my 3.5 year old AMD 720 BE & GTX 260 hold up surprisingly well for a lot of recently discounted titles.
 
[quote name='asheskitty']The most up to date thing I've seen is TomsHardware's $500 Gaming PC build and test. Their $1000 build is probably close to the better Gaming PCs owned by CAGs. You don't need that much to enjoy a lot of great games (probably thanks to 360/PS3 holding back developers), my 3.5 year old AMD 720 BE & GTX 260 hold up surprisingly well for a lot of recently discounted titles.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that info, I'll definately be bookmarking that $500 PC, I think that's about my price point. I just want to make sure that whatever I get, that it'll last me a good while since I really don't wanna shell out another $500 for another if it were to overheat or something, I already have bad luck on consoles as it is. (5 Xbox 360s and 3 PS3s broken ...and counting). I would probably have enough for a $1000 PC by now if it weren't for my consoles going down on me but me and my friends are always playing sports games together so I really can't be console-less..
 
[quote name='SpartenOmega117']definitely save up for a PC. its not as expensive as it sounds. For $500 you can have BF3 maxed out and running at a smooth 60fps on 1920x1080.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I know I really don't want to get a scrub PC, I just wish PC's weren't so damn expensive or I'd have one by now.
 
lol EA thinks they are getting $59.99 for dead space 3... i guess some might pay that but like in 2011 Dead Space 2 like dropped to 36.99 within a few weeks of release.
 
[quote name='retrad']lol EA thinks they are getting $59.99 for dead space 3... i guess some might pay that but like in 2011 Dead Space 2 like dropped to 36.99 within a few weeks of release.[/QUOTE]

They always start at $60. It's how fast they drop that indicates how successful the game sold.

Spec Ops and Max Payne 3 both dropped fast. Skyrim much more slowly.
 
As mentioned for $500-$600 you can easily get a gaming PC that plays 95% of today's titles at high settings at fairly sizable resolutions. Of course you're always going to have the tech snobs who scoff at that insisting you have to play on triple monitor set ups and can't play on anything less than the new Nvidia 600 series on a rig with a PSU that provides double the wattage you actually need with liquid cooling and heat dispersing RAM, etc. etc.
 
[quote name='JayRooster']I bet you've bought like 200+ games also with those $200+. You guys have sales on good games almost everyday. when y'all had the steam summer sale, I died a little inside seeing games go for like $5.[/QUOTE]
Hmm... I should actually look into that. Maybe 150 games for $200. :roll:

(In other news, wonder what the temp ban came from. He seemed like a friendly dude.)
 
[quote name='ne_zavarj']GameStop / Impulse :

Nancy Drew® Collection

There are 23 games in this bundle .

Will Amazon offer a complete ! ( 26 games ) bundle of this series ?[/QUOTE]


I'd love to see this full collection of games with Steam codes. I'd buy it in a heartbeat with no other thought necessary.
 
[quote name='groz24']I'd love to see this full collection of games with Steam codes. I'd buy it in a heartbeat with no other thought necessary.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure there are at least 20 people who would second this.
 
[quote name='Mooby']As mentioned for $500-$600 you can easily get a gaming PC that plays 95% of today's titles at high settings at fairly sizable resolutions. Of course you're always going to have the tech snobs who scoff at that insisting you have to play on triple monitor set ups and can't play on anything less than the new Nvidia 600 series on a rig with a PSU that provides double the wattage you actually need with liquid cooling and heat dispersing RAM, etc. etc.[/QUOTE]

You can definitely scrap together a gaming PC for around that price but keep in mind when you read the $500 or $1000 builds, those numbers do NOT include the OS (Windows 7 is expensive), monitor, speakers, keyboard, or mouse. These things, particularly the OS and monitor, can easily add a few hundred dollars to your build price if you don't have extras laying around the house.

With that said, building your own PC is a great experience (even if you go through moments of wanting to kill people during the build itself) and I feel like it's a worthwhile investment of money and time. I put one together in July and, after just over a month, am sold that PC is the way to go for gaming. Graphics and performance blow consoles away and you get games on the cheap through Steam sales, Amazon sales and the indie bundle sales. Even full price games often start off $10 cheaper on PC ($49.99 on PC vs. $59.99 on console) and the price drops on games tend to occur sooner on PC than on consoles.

For the budget conscious, if you're thinking of putting together a PC right now, I'd suggest waiting until after Windows 8 comes out in October. A lot of new hardware will be released around that time which should cut down the prices on the parts you want to build a gaming PC.
 
[quote name='groz24']I'd love to see this full collection of games with Steam codes. I'd buy it in a heartbeat with no other thought necessary.[/QUOTE]

Tony had a 15 game Nancy Drew bundle for $12.50 just a monthish ago. No steam keys, but they are DRM free (or at least the 2 I've installed so far have been).

I'm not super knowledgeable about computers, but I built my first PC back in April. I wish I had blogged it as it was a tense and drama filled two days, but everything's worked out well so far (knock on particle board).

If I can bore y'all with advice let me just say don't sacrifice quality for cheap prices on the not so obvious parts. Sure, look for a good deal but go with quality first for the Case, PSU, Fans, and Thermal Paste. Also, you're going to want 2-3tb in hard drive space.
 
[quote name='Seraphym']Tony had a 15 game Nancy Drew bundle for $12.50 just a monthish ago. No steam keys, but they are DRM free (or at least the 2 I've installed so far have been).

I'm not super knowledgeable about computers, but I built my first PC back in April. I wish I had blogged it as it was a tense and drama filled two days, but everything's worked out well so far (knock on particle board).

If I can bore y'all with advice let me just say don't sacrifice quality for cheap prices on the not so obvious parts. Sure, look for a good deal but go with quality first for the Case, PSU, Fans, and Thermal Paste. Also, you're going to want 2-3tb in hard drive space.[/QUOTE]

In my opinion, you don't even need 2-3 tb unless you plan on downloading a TON of games at once and download a ton of movies/tv shows/music. I've been using 1.5 TB for a few years now and I'm not even close to filling those suckers up.
 
[quote name='bchampnd']You can definitely scrap together a gaming PC for around that price but keep in mind when you read the $500 or $1000 builds, those numbers do NOT include the OS (Windows 7 is expensive), monitor, speakers, keyboard, or mouse. These things, particularly the OS and monitor, can easily add a few hundred dollars to your build price if you don't have extras laying around the house.
[/QUOTE]


Monitor can be your HDTV you already use for your console. Speakers, again, your HDTV. Keyboard and mice are cheap if you don't buy something branded by Razer. Look for a cheap Logitech or Microsoft mouse. $10 keyboards abound. So after those objections, really all you got is OS cost. That one I'll grant you, but use the evaluation version of Windows 8 for the next three months, then buy the supposedly discounted Personal Builder edition of Windows 8 ($80 I think?).

That's the only component that's actually expensive in your list unless you decide to make things difficult for yourself and think you just HAVE to buy a new monitor. You don't. If your PC is primarily for gaming, then treat it like you would a console. Slap it into your home theater or whatever you were using for your console and call it a day. You might toss in a USB extension cable from monocable or buy a wireless kb/m, but the latter is slightly more expensive. Of course, you also forgot the obligatory Xbox 360 controller and you again can go wired for more force feedback (I got mine used at Gamestop for $20) or wireless for more money.

The drivers for the Xbox 360 controller are built into Windows Vista, 7, and 8.

See, not expensive at all. That's why no one mentions those things. We didn't forget. We just knew better.

TLDR; $0 to use your HDTV, $10 for a wired keyboard, $8-20 for a wired mouse, $0 for speakers when you use your HDTV speakers or home theater speakers, $20 for a wired Xbox 360 controller and $0 for the time being to use the evaluation copy of Windows 8 for 90 days until Windows 8 launches with its discounted pricing ($40 for upgrade, $80 for personal builder license). If you happen to have a PC, any PC running Windows XP, Vista or 7, you could buy the $40 upgrade. What's that? $78 if you're buying upgrade, $118 if you're buying a full version in the incredibly unlikely event that you're a user reading this computer forum and you lack a PC or a Windows license you could upgrade.

I wouldn't really call that expensive since it'll be the last time you buy those things if you really want to skimp. Hell, if you have an existing Windows license, you won't even need a new one of those and that's the bulk of the cost in that list. If you're typing on this forum, you probably have a keyboard and mouse already. Now it's true, PC gaming is nicer with better keyboards and mice, but honestly it's not essential for someone replacing their consoles. In many cases, I'd imagine the console gamer refugee would be the one most likely to game mostly on an Xbox 360 controller anyway so what need do they have for a high end keyboard and mouse? Bonus, you're not paying $60 per year for Xbox Live and $150 for proprietary 250/320 gb hd's for your Xbox 360.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ack - don't listen to these guys. $500 is too much too spend.

Check out SD or other deal shopping sites. You can get it done for $300 OR LESS.

Key to make things easy - buy a MB, CPU and Memory combo. Newegg is a great place to start. But never buy unless there is a sale. Set a month to buy parts, and then begin the build process.

The biggest thing I see guys blow huge money on is graphics cards. Buy cheap, but buy smart. Find a good website that compares graphics cards. A $30 HD card will get you rolling. And then you can start slowly upgrading...
 
[quote name='bchampnd']You can definitely scrap together a gaming PC for around that price but keep in mind when you read the $500 or $1000 builds, those numbers do NOT include the OS (Windows 7 is expensive), monitor, speakers, keyboard, or mouse.
These things, particularly the OS and monitor, can easily add a few hundred dollars to your build price if you don't have extras laying around the house.

With that said, building your own PC is a great experience (even if you go through moments of wanting to kill people during the build itself) and I feel like it's a worthwhile investment of money and time. I put one together in July and, after just over a month, am sold that PC is the way to go for gaming. Graphics and performance blow consoles away and you get games on the cheap through Steam sales, Amazon sales and the indie bundle sales. Even full price games often start off $10 cheaper on PC ($49.99 on PC vs. $59.99 on console) and the price drops on games tend to occur sooner on PC than on consoles.

For the budget conscious, if you're thinking of putting together a PC right now, I'd suggest waiting until after Windows 8 comes out in October. A lot of new hardware will be released around that time which should cut down the prices on the parts you want to build a gaming PC.
[/QUOTE]

Good point. However I personally liked it when the guides stopped including the display, keyboard, & mouse. I personally disagree on waiting until October there are no new relevant bits of desktop hardware on the near term horizon. Nvidia & AMD have started shipping new cards in the past few months. Ivy Bride is out. AMD processors are holding steady (yesterday's HotChips talk revealed incremental architectural changes). If I am wrong, please cite an article. Based on past experience (building PCs since '94), building a PC in the October-February timeframe has it's ups and downs. Prices tend to be stagnantly high, but offset by the occasional good sale. Imo, it is better to build a PC when you are ready (have time) and after the latest generation of CPUs and GPUs have hit the market (e.g. now, the next big things on the Horizon are Intel's Haswell architecture (late Spring 2013) and Nvidia's GK110 (unknown, maybe in time for Xmas). Imo, for a gaming PC (or desktop in general), Win 8 is nothing to hold out for. Win7 will be with us for a long time.

The thing I like with the guides I cited are the are up to date (most others are well out of date) and useful to new and old hands alike. Especially useful is the benchmarking that lets you know what performance you can expect out of the hardware in the $500 build.

[quote name='Seraphym']
Tony had a 15 game Nancy Drew bundle for $12.50 just a monthish ago. No steam keys, but they are DRM free (or at least the 2 I've installed so far have been).

I'm not super knowledgeable about computers, but I built my first PC back in April. I wish I had blogged it as it was a tense and drama filled two days, but everything's worked out well so far (knock on particle board).
If I can bore y'all with advice let me just say don't sacrifice quality for cheap prices on the not so obvious parts. Sure, look for a good deal but go with quality first for the Case, PSU, Fans, and Thermal Paste. Also, you're going to want 2-3tb in hard drive space.[/QUOTE]

Hear, Hear! Personally I spend a good bit more than most to build a *quiet* gaming PC, but such expenses are unnecessary and don't make it go faster. For someone on a tight budget, allocating budget to the CPU & graphics card are the most important "go faster" bits. There are plenty of nice things one can add on later, e.g. pretty pretty IPS display. Another example, SSDs, while nice performance enhancers, don't add gaming frame rate. /agree on the 2 TB + drive.


[quote name='HisDivineShadow']Monitor can be your HDTV
you already use for your console. Speakers, again, your HDTV. Keyboard and mice are cheap if you don't buy something branded by Razer. Look for a cheap Logitech or Microsoft mouse. $10 keyboards abound. So after those objections, really all you got is OS cost. That one I'll grant you, but use the evaluation version of Windows 8 for the next three months, then buy the supposedly discounted Personal Builder edition of Windows 8 ($80 I think?).

That's the only component that's actually expensive in your list unless you decide to make things difficult for yourself and think you just HAVE to buy a new monitor. You don't. If your PC is primarily for gaming, then treat it like you would a console. Slap it into your home theater or whatever you were using for your console and call it a day. You might toss in a USB extension cable from monocable or buy a wireless kb/m, but the latter is slightly more expensive. Of course, you also forgot the obligatory Xbox 360 controller and you again can go wired for more force feedback (I got mine used at Gamestop for $20) or wireless for more money.

The drivers for the Xbox 360 controller are built into Windows Vista, 7, and 8.

See, not expensive at all. That's why no one mentions those things. We didn't forget. We just knew better.

TLDR; $0 to use your HDTV, $10 for a wired keyboard, $8-20 for a wired mouse, $0 for speakers when you use your HDTV speakers or home theater speakers, $20 for a wired Xbox 360 controller and $0 for the time being to use the evaluation copy of Windows 8 for 90 days until Windows 8 launches with its discounted pricing ($40 for upgrade, $80 for personal builder license). If you happen to have a PC, any PC running Windows XP, Vista or 7, you could buy the $40 upgrade. What's that? $78 if you're buying upgrade, $118 if you're buying a full version in the incredibly unlikely event that you're a user reading this computer forum and you lack a PC or a Windows license you could upgrade.

I wouldn't really call that expensive since it'll be the last time you buy those things if you really want to skimp. Hell, if you have an existing Windows license, you won't even need a new one of those and that's the bulk of the cost in that list. If you're typing on this forum, you probably have a keyboard and mouse already. Now it's true, PC gaming is nicer with better keyboards and mice, but honestly it's not essential for someone replacing their consoles. In many cases, I'd imagine the console gamer refugee would be the one most likely to game mostly on an Xbox 360 controller anyway so what need do they have for a high end keyboard and mouse? Bonus, you're not paying $60 per year for Xbox Live and $150 for proprietary 250/320 gb hd's for your Xbox 360.
[/QUOTE]
/agree all of it
 
[quote name='simpsonps121']Ack - don't listen to these guys. $500 is too much too spend.

Check out SD or other deal shopping sites. You can get it done for $300 OR LESS.

Key to make things easy - buy a MB, CPU and Memory combo. Newegg is a great place to start. But never buy unless there is a sale. Set a month to buy parts, and then begin the build process.

The biggest thing I see guys blow huge money on is graphics cards. Buy cheap, but buy smart. Find a good website that compares graphics cards. A $30 HD card will get you rolling. And then you can start slowly upgrading...[/QUOTE]


Newegg is a great place to read user commentaries on hardware, but the best place to buy hardware is actually Amazon imo because of their return policy and free shipping. Especially if you're a Prime member. Newegg's return policy and restocking fees are very unfriendly to the new user.

I'd suggest aiming for a $130-ish Intel 21xx series for the 720p/1080p console refugee gamer, $100-120 Asus/Gigabyte/Asrock motherboard, the just discounted $200-ish Radeon 7850 card (Gigabyte/Sapphire), Samsung DDR3 (ecogreen, 30nm, cool and no stupid heatsinks) for $40-48, and then pick a case that suits whatever with a PSU in the 600watts range (overkill) if you don't have either. With regards to cases, I'd look at Bit Fenix or Fractal. They offer amazing cases for the money.

I don't think a console refugee needs more than a 7850/7870 though. All they'll need is 1080p for an HDTV, tops. If you're running 720p (which is still better than all the scaled gaming crap on consoles with crap textures), you can probably go sub-$200 pricing on last year's mainstream cards or a 7770. The best reason to go with something new, even if the 7770 series, is because of the performance per watt (efficiency) of newer GPU's. The older ones will produce more heat and put more demands on your case choice.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
bread's done
Back
Top