primetime3wise Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 I haven't kept up much with the newer hardware, so I need some help. I need ideas and suggestions for building a good gaming machine within the $400-$500 range. Of course I use it for surfing, downloading music, video, mild application use, but these are negligable as I could just pickup a p3 for $100 if I didn't game. I have a sweet 19-inch LCD with DVI-I support, so a sweet video card of course :/ pricewatch, tigerdirect, and others for the parts...what'd you guys think about ebay? Nemesis reminded me to make sure there are warranties if I do the ebay thing. thanks for any help you guys can give, kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Well, I'm not sure what all U need, so here are my suggestions... Video Card: Sapphire ATi Radeon x800GT 128mb ddr3 PCIe Retail @ $ 138 CPU: AMD64 3200+ Venice 2.0 GHz Socket 939 Retail @ $ 148 Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Socket 939 Retail @ $ 122 RAM: Corsair pc3200 400MHz 512mb ddr CAS 2.5 ( x2 ) @ $ 82.98 PowerSupply: MGE 500w @ $ 27.99 TOTAL = $ 519 This should help to hold U over for quite a while my friend. Sorry, I know it's $19 over what U were looking to spend, but I figured that wouldn't hurt U all that much. Hope this helps. -- Nem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Hey buddy-boy, you forgot to add in a harddrive, case, monitor and sound card(unless your using onboard :vomit: ). Unless he's planning on reusing his old hdd, case, and monitor. My rule of thumb has always been, plan on spending a little more than your shooting for. Everytime I upgrade my video card, I say that I'm only going to spend this much on it, and I end up spending $50+ on a new one. It really isn't much when it comes down to it, but when you do that on every piece, it adds up. Here's my machine that I'll be upgrading to in Feb. Its a major upgrade though. I'm getting a new mobo with PCI-Ex so I have to upgrade my vc too which I wouldn't normally do for another year. AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ $352.96 $322 ABIT AN8-ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 $115.00 $112 SAPPHIRE Radeon X850XT 256MB PCI Express x16 $329.00 $319 WD 80GB SATA $54.25 $52.71 $852 9/30/05 $805.71 10/5/05 I have already upgraded my sound card. Its not something I've been all too worried about but the X-fi came along and I liked what I saw so I bought one. I've been using a Live 5.1 for a long time so the jump was incredible but BF2 and Doom3 are the only 2 games that take advantage of the X-fi right now. And Doom3 only does cause Creative sends you a patch for Doom to run with more voices on the X-fi. A couple things may change on that list come Feb. VC and cpu being the big two. I may end up buying a Nvidia or stick with ATI. My last two cards have been a 3dfx and Gforce2, which I was happy with. Never really had any issues with my Nvidia until it started to show its age, but it had been 3 yrs so it went beyond its usefulness. I've been more than happy with my 9800pro now so it becomes a toss up come Feb with who's vc I buy. But, enough abut my problems. Nem outlined a pretty good system for a $500 budget. Only thing I could suggest is an Abit mobo or OCZ ram instead, but that's personal preference. You could easily buy the mobo I'm getting and the OCZ ram I have is $59 at Newegg. Oh, all my pricings are from Newegg too. Just some thoughts. Dragon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 You guessed it Dragon, I purposely left out all the other items U mentioned b/c I was simply sticking to what he'll need for now. He already has an exsisting system, so he can pull the other items off of that for now, including the case. He already has an LCD monitor, 19" I believe, which is why I left that out. Primetime3wise doesn't have a big budget, so I proposed that list based on that. He could definitely use a new Hard Drive, Case & DVD Burner, but that'll come later. The Mobo has a very good sound card & a gigaNIC, which is why I didn't list them seperately. Also, unless he's got a surround sound pc speaker system, he really won't need a seperate sound card, built-in will be more than enough. I'm using my built-in one & it provides excellent sound. As for the Ram, Corsair is a good choice, as is OCZ, so he'll be fine either way. -- Nem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primetime3wise Posted November 6, 2005 Author Share Posted November 6, 2005 thx guys, ya nem is correct as far as already having some parts kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primetime3wise Posted November 8, 2005 Author Share Posted November 8, 2005 Well, I'm not sure what all U need, so here are my suggestions... Video Card: Sapphire ATi Radeon x800GT 128mb ddr3 PCIe Retail @ $ 138 CPU: AMD64 3200+ Venice 2.0 GHz Socket 939 Retail @ $ 148 Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Socket 939 Retail @ $ 122 RAM: Corsair pc3200 400MHz 512mb ddr CAS 2.5 ( x2 ) @ $ 82.98 PowerSupply: MGE 500w @ $ 27.99 TOTAL = $ 519 This should help to hold U over for quite a while my friend. Sorry, I know it's $19 over what U were looking to spend, but I figured that wouldn't hurt U all that much. Hope this helps. -- Nem what about this one, seems like a steal for the price.... http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/m...pricewatch&NR=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Ob. Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Nah, you can get an ABit m/b with the same chipset off newegg for the same price! I forgot what the difference between the nForce 4 and nForce 4 Ultra chipsets, as I think the Ultra is like $15 more on newegg. Also, the ThermalTake HSF, while nice, can get a bit loud! I would recommend their SlientBoost HSF but looks like they no longer make it, or newegg doesn't carry it. Guess you'll just have to get something like this: Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm Cooling Fan/Heatsink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primetime3wise Posted November 10, 2005 Author Share Posted November 10, 2005 i got mobo similiar to what jay posted, better video card (256 mb ram) same model, and 1 gig of ram. pisses me off though that it won't get here in time for lan party Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primetime3wise Posted November 10, 2005 Author Share Posted November 10, 2005 oh and a question...is 500w of power really necessary? as jay suggested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Ob. Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 A 400-450watt is fine if you get a decent power supply. Assume any that come in generic computer case is a toss-away or backup. This Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-430 ATX12V 430W, $69.99, would be fine! Actually, I'd trust anythng with their name on it. ThermalTake should be decent as well. Something these guys make will probably go in my next system: ULTRA-QUIET PSU: SILENCER® 410 ATX $76.50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan4Life Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 the diablo tech PSU i have is pumping out some low numbers probally going to install the ultra one i got from the lan oct lan thanks \.=. guys and see if there is any difference... tonight probally... and i gots to download and reinstall a bunch of stuff because of th fubar OZC memory i got from newegg... its already replaced and purring like a kitten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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