make me a computer!

[samjc3]

umm yeah! i need a pc. it doesnt need to be spectacular, just enough to play modern games at moderate or low settings. similar to harshboy's cheap beast, but my budget isnt quite that big. im looking at 5 or 600 to start, i think.
i dont need particularly big harddrives, or anything. i also dont need a monitor.

newegg lists and stuff like that are good.

 

[snowpenguin]

I have a pretty nice machine I built with a 3 ghz Dual Core AMD, 2 GB of 1066 mhz RAM, a 750 GB HD, and a 500 W power supply with an antec 300 case altogether for around $350. Another $100 to get a nice GPU and $30 to get a DVD burner and you should be set. I'll see if I can post the list later tonight.

 

[XCVG]

If you are willing to stick with 2 cores the Athlon II 250 (I think) is a heck of a deal. Tri-cores aren't that expensive though and I heard it's almost as good as a quad. Having used Intel for my current machine and the one before I can't say for certain though. Get at least 2GB of RAM, 4 is better. As for a motherboard, I recommend either an ASUS or Gigabyte, though I've heard MSI is good. Integrated graphics chipsets are cheaper and you can always disable the integrated graphics. A Radeon HD 4850 is a great deal, I think they are around $100 now. Make sure to get a good power supply. If I have time later I'll put together a list.

Also, with my rig I can crank the settings on most games I have, though not games like Crysis.

EDIT: Okay, list time. *is the one in the final price, the others are alternatives, mostly too expensive

CPU(AMD):
*Athlon II X2 250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103681
Athlon II X3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103726
Phenom II X3 720 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103649
Phenom II X4 965 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103692

Mobo (AMD):
*Gigabyte GA-MA78LM-S2H http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128408
Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128376
ASUS M4A78 Plus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131381

CPU (Intel):
Core 2 Duo E7500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115056
Core 2 Quad Q8400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115057

Mobo (Intel):
Gigabyte GA-EP43T-UD3L http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128414
ASUS P5QL/EPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131393

RAM:
*Crucial 2GB DDR2-1066 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820148248
Corsair XMS 4GB DDR2-1066 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145247

Video Card:
*XFX Radeon HD 4850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150337
Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102852
ASUS Radeon HD 4670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121329

Hard Drive:
*Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148395
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148433

Optical Drive:
*Samsung 22X DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827151175
LG Blue-Ray Drive/DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136162

Power Supply:
*Cooler Master 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817171031
Logisys 480W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817170012

Case:
*Antec Two Hundred http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129070
Antec Three Hundred http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129066
Rosewill R230-P-BK http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811147075

Total (with * components): $470.89

If you can swing it I would recommend upgrading to one of the 3-core CPUs. If you plan on putting in a lot of add-in cards you might want one of the other motherboards.

 

[samjc3]

wow! thanks xcvg! that looks like exactly what im looking for!
now i just need the money and i can do it!
i only have 1 question about it:
are intel processors better than the amd ones, enough to justify the extra cost?

 

[zeturi]

From what I've read:

Intel: more stable, more expensive

AMD: less stable, cheaper

Both are about as good, just depends. Some people do great with AMD, but some swear by Intel. I don't really care, but unless there's a huge price difference, I just stick with Intel.

 

[snowpenguin]

I believe intel may be a bit better, but I also believe it's not wroth the $70 extra an euivalent proccessor to mine would cost me.

AMD is just fine.

Also, antec 300=MASSIVE WIN.

 

[PalmerTech]

AMD and Intel are both just as stable. The reason people swear by Intel is because they generate less heat, so overclocking them to higher speeds is possible. On the other hand, it is generally a lot easier to overclock an AMD cpu, just not to the point of an Intel one.

There are other differences, but you are not planning on extreme overclocking, buy AMD, in my opinion. Get a Phenom II 550 Black Edition, easy to overclock, cheap, fast, and what I use.

 

[samjc3]

and what I use.

best reason evar! whats the difference between the normal and black editions?

 

[PalmerTech]

Black edition has unlocked multipliers, so you it is really easy to overclock and tweak. The normal edition is locked to standard speed.

 

[Bibin]

Avoid tri-core. It's a hilariously silly configuration that nothing takes advantage of.

 

[robm]

Lies, all lies. AMD has always been horribly finicky and unstable for me, and I swear by NOT overclocking your processor. Like Xbox360s, there are those out there that don't have problems, but...

 

[estonmarts]

Bur amd processor with 1GB ram.80GB hard disk is enough for you for storing new game etc. Actually amd processor is good for playing game.Put a good graphic card.This configuration is enough to play games.

 

[samjc3]

tell me this guy aint real.

 

[Bibin]

Bur amd processor with 1GB ram.80GB hard disk is enough for you for storing new game etc. Actually amd processor is good for playing game.Put a good graphic card.This configuration is enough to play games.

OH THANKS MR BOT I THOUGHT I HAD TO PUT A BAD VIDEO CARD BUT NOW KNOW A GOOD ONE IS THE BEST.

 

[βeta]

I could delete those, but I like them.

 

[XCVG]

Bur amd processor with 1GB ram.80GB hard disk is enough for you for storing new game etc. Actually amd processor is good for playing game.Put a good graphic card.This configuration is enough to play games.

I lul'zed at that.

 

[Hermaphroditus]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... S445-10058
Pre-made, but good for the price.

 

[Bibin]

Bur amd processor with 1GB ram.80GB hard disk is enough for you for storing new game etc. Actually amd processor is good for playing game.Put a good graphic card.This configuration is enough to play games.

I lul'zed at that.

Why is it all the hype now to pretend you need a million gigabytes of space? Something tells me you could easily survive on 80GB provided you aren't downloading loads of movies and music.

 

[zeturi]

I've regularly used a 16 gig ssd and have had no problems. I download music from time to time, that's it.

 

[snowpenguin]

Tell that to my steam folder.

Steam folder = 55 GB

5 GB for OS.

20 GB for everything else? No *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing thanks.

Don't forget as well, as files get bigger with better graphics, etc., 80gb is going to get smaller and smaller compared to modern files. Just like 512 mb is small to us today, someday, 80gb might be completely tiny as well.