Gaming Budget, Gaming PC at $800 (/w tax)

Splych · Sep 13, 2009

Alright... Final post with this... Here's what I threw together:

~~Cooler Master Elite 334 Nvidia Edition Case - $61~~ Bought it!
~~OCZ StealthXStream 500W Power Supply - $67~~ Second thoughts...
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition - $123
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $36
Asus M4A78 PRO - $115
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB - $60
Mushkin XP2-8500 DDR2-1066 4GB (2x2GB) Extreme Performance Series CAS - $90 (On sale, for $70)
~~Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 1GB (Temporarily) - $85~~ Will save up for something better!

All together: $637 (/w tax, $720) ** Ontario, currency, tax

But that's without the saving and stuff... Too lazy to add that... So if there is anything I could change to something better, just tell me. And the Graphics Card, will save up for a 4770... So the 4670 is temporarily. Other than that, I think everything is all good... If there is something better out there I can switch the stuff for, just tell me and where to buy it. So far, I am gonna be buying the Case and PSU today. So just tell me if there is anything I can improve in this set of stuff.

Splych

Raki · Sep 13, 2009

why don't you save up some more $s and buy the 4770 now? so you won't have a 4670 lying around after the upgrade...
but I would recommend you a WD caviar blue or maybe caviar black...I just don't like seagate's
HDDs

myuusmeow · Sep 14, 2009

Stick with integrated graphics instead of buying a weak card then saving up for a new card. The AMD integrated graphics are actually pretty good. I have a 760G mobo (you picked a 780G so it would have better graphics performance) and I can play all Source (Half Life 2 (maxed), Team Fortress 2 (low) etc) games at 30-60FPS, and Call of Duty 4 (low) at 10-25FPS (playable for single player).

Depending on how long it'll take you to get the money for a graphics card, I'd wait until the ATI 5XXX cards come out. (You probably won't be getting one of these, as the 5850 is rumored to cost $299USD) Once they come out most video cards will probably have price cuts, so you might be able to op for a better card than a 4770 (which costs more than a 4850? what's up with that?), like a 4870.

MaHe · Sep 14, 2009

I recommend reading TechReport's System Guide (Fall edition is just around the corner, so you may want to wait a little).
They are great and well explained:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17102

Cermage · Sep 14, 2009

you might want to bump up your psu to a 600w or 650w. it will save you buying a new one later when you want a better graphics card or you want to overclock that 550. 4670 is fine, it'd be better if you changed and aimed for a 5xxx series card which are just around the corner instead of a 4770 though.

seedvt · Sep 14, 2009

The OCZ StealthXStream series are generally crap.

For $40 after mail in rebate I'd rather get a Corsair CMPSU-400CX. Much much more efficient design and higher quality components.

If you plan on upgrading to a video card with more than 1 PCI-E power connector, you should look into some higher wattage/amperage power supplies.

Splych · Sep 15, 2009

Awesome replies guys. Too bad I couldn't reply. The site was so freakin' slow because of some new release games... Such as Scribblenauts and the new Mario n' Luigi RPG. But yea, Thanks for the replies.

I went to the computer store today, I got myself the case... It is so freakin' awesome. I stole my dad's old PSU that he isn't using anymore (Thermaltake 450W Tru Power. Think that's what it is called). But will save up for a better one later. This is for temporary use... At least I got one that'll work for a while... But for sure, I will upgrade to a better one later.

That's what I will do... Save up for a better graphics card after hearing that the 480G Mobo is good enough to play CoD4. Hopefully, I can play this at a decent rate... Oh and I also remembered, my dad also has a Radeon X600 graphics card that is 256MB... So I might take that temporarily. He also has a Radeon HD 4350 that is just lying around... 512MB. Doesn't really use it a lot but it is in his back-up PC. Maybe he might let me borrow that as well...

So I am saving up a few $ by taking old parts. But those are obviously, temporary xDD.

Ty for the guide. Will look into that later.

I guess I am going to save up for a better PSU. 600W is what I am aiming for... 650W is if I got some extra money on me... But I am aiming to buy myself a 600W until I need to upgrade again. The 600W should last me at least 3 years or so for what I am going to be using it for.

Just as myuusmeow said, the 480G can play CoD4 at low settings. At least it is playable... So I can survive until a new graphics card is released. But then again, I could just wait until the price is cut, and it becomes cheaper.

Good thing I never bought a StealhXStream today. Happy my dad persuaded me to just stick with his old 450W PSU. If I bought it, and upgraded later, what a waste of money... Corsair's PSU are so freakin' expensive... I might just stick with an Enermax or Antec one instead...

So now, I am getting second thoughts about my graphics choices. If the 480G Mobo can play CoD, and my dad has a 256MB and 512MB graphics lying around, I can survive with those while I save up for a really nice graphics card. Then for the HDD, I might just save up for one of those WD Caviar ones... iunno.

I wanna get this thing completed before... The new year. I can't wait till Christmas. A lotta stuff will either get super expensive, or just get cheap xDD

Oh yea... If I haven't told you guys yet, I bought myself a Cooler Master 334 Nvidia Edition case. It is good enough for me. Don't need anything special, and it is so awesome to have a a little green area where I can see it ^^. So awesomee !

EDIT: Any comments about these PSU I am looking at...?
- Antec TP-650W
- Enermax Liberty 620W
- OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W

juggernaut911 · Sep 16, 2009

Stay away from seagate.

Cermage · Sep 16, 2009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...817139002&T

i'd get something along the lines of this. One of the best 600-650w psu's you can get.

Splych · Sep 16, 2009

Yesh... Stay away from Seagate.

I am planning on getting an OCZModXStream 600W PSU. Good enough for me...
Asus M4A78 PRO Motherboard is good enough for meh aswell...
AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE CPU.
WD Caviar Black 500GB is good enough.

Just need to decide on RAM, and Graphics and then it is time to buy ^^

Splych · Sep 17, 2009

Aiight, here is what I got right now... At least someone reply to tell me about the parts... Since I am getting it over the weekend.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 334 Nvidia Edition
PSU: OCZ ModXStream 600W
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550
Motherboard: ASUS M4A78-E
RAM: Corsair XMS2 2x2GB or OCZ SLI-Ready 2x2GB (Not sure how to describe it...)
HDD: WD Caviar Black 500GB
Graphics Card: None yet... Waiting for good sale.

Comments, what to change or is it all good now?

Joe88 · Sep 17, 2009

avoid ram that says SLI ready
its just a gimmick to bump up the price, its no different then regular ram

gfx card prices should come down very soon though, ATI is launching the 5870 and the 5850 on the 22nd for $399 and $299

Splych · Sep 18, 2009

I guess that means everything else is all good. Will get the Corsair RAM (maybe two sets, but I will need 64Bit xDD)...

And will just get a graphics card in the near future. A proper one... so once the prices get cut because of the 5xxx series from ATI, that's when I will look into a better graphics card. Hopefully, some of em' will go down... At least some of the good ones xDD.

Gaming Budget, Gaming PC at $800 (/w tax)

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