Need help building a budgeted gaming system (amateur)  | | | 
December 14th, 2008, 09:48 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 37
| Need help building a budgeted gaming system (amateur)
Hello - I created this thread because I need guidance on building a gaming desktop. I don't have much experience with this - so far all my experience is replacing a video card and putting in some thermal paste.
My goal is to make a great GAMING PC for my little brother for about 600-800$ - i want to try to not go over 700 but i also want to get the most out of my money. I am using websites such as google, newegg( especially the reviews!), toms hardware, pricewatch, and tigerdirect. I won't get state of the art technology with that budget, but I still want it to last a good number of years with the latest games. I live in and will be buying from the USA.
Keep in mind that since i have never built a computer so I'm not really sure too sure what I'm doing. I figured that i would order all the parts and then just try to put it together.
So far, the parts that I think I need are: Motherboard
Processor
Video Card
RAM
Monitor
Computer Case
Hard Drive
Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
CD/DVD Burner
Please let me know if there is anything else I need. The fan comes with the motherboard right? Will I need some sort of external cooling also?
I have researched the priciest components so far (CPU, motherboard, video card). Please let me know what you think of my decisions and if you have recommendations. Is everything compatible with eachother? I'm trying to get the biggest bang for my buck. Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that Intel > AMD at this current moment.
I haven't decided if I am going to overclock this (partly because I'm not sure how to). But let's just assume I will. Processor - this is what I have researched the most so far and I am fairly confident in my choice - but let me know if you disagree. Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz 1333FSB 6MB L2 - BX80570E8400 Motherboard - I'm not very knowledgeable with the specs for motherboards, I have narrowed it down to the eight motherboards you see below (based on the reviews at newegg). Newegg.com - EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q3 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Keep in mind that I have not checked these motherboards on Pricewatch - so there may be a 5-10$ cheaper elsewhere.
As for CPU/Motherboard combos, I've looked for a good deal on one of those but what I am finding is that they offer a really great processor and a very crappy non-gaming motherboard. Video Card - I have already purchased this one for 20$ (after rebate) and based on the reviews its pretty good for gaming - my reasoning was that since it is only 20$, worst case scenario is I will just get a better one later on incase this one isn't good enough. EVGA 256-P2-N761-TR GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N761-TR GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards RAM - Haven't researched this much yet - is there a certain minimum amount of RAM I need to make it compatible with my motherboard and processor? I don't want the minimum amount though - I want a good amount to ensure it is a great gaming desktop. What is the typical amount of RAM to accomplish this? Hard Drive - Haven't researched this much yet - is there a certain minimum amount of hard drive space I need to make it compatible with my motherboard and processor? I don't want the minimum amount though - I want a good amount to ensure it is a great gaming desktop. What is the typical amount of HD space to accomplish this? Monitor - Haven't researched this much yet.
The rest of things like the keyboard and speakers I don't think is that big of a deal, that I can do on my own but the main components is what I need help with.
Also - here a couple of combos from some users on Newegg. Haven't looked at these very carefully yet.
-EVGA 512-P3-N980-AR GeForce 9800 GT Hybrid
-GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB
-G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
-LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model
-Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
-Rosewill RCX-Z300 92mm Ball CPU Cooler
-RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power **this box was not the best choice**
-Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
1.This mobo Gigabyte EP45
2.Intel E8500 C2D...OCed@3.9Ghz/1644mhz FSB
3.GTX260(MSI)Oced 702/2406/1467 GPU(just 1)
4.DDR2 1000@822mhz 5-4-4-12 1:1 (gskill)2x2=4gb
5.X-Fi gamer's edition audio
6.(optional) Asus PhysiX card-takes load off GPU
7. 750watt 4x12v rail PS(Zalman)or better
8. Antec 300 or 900 (depending on your budget)case
9. 22"lcd or bigger with 2ms 10000:1 (LG)or samsung
10. any of the THX Logitec speakers are good! Z series
Let me know if I forgot to mention anything. I would appreciate it if you would please let me know what you think, thanks a lot. | 
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December 14th, 2008, 10:16 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 183
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The CPU you've chosen coupled with this Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
I think you're off to a good start. Generally when I build a computer, I take an example game I want to play (eg Team Fortress 2) and check the specs. Once I have all the specs I buy Hardware slightly above spec. This way you can be guaranteed to have a system prepared for near future games. Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives is a decent HDD. RAM and Graphics card you really wanna be careful with. If they aren't compatible with your MOBO you're screwed.
CD/DVD look towards Samsung.
When buying a chassis (case) you want to make sure your MOBO will fit.
So, all in all... there is only so much advise that can be given before a MOBO is chosen.
Hope this helped...
As per monitor -- just get a cheap flat screen. I got a 20" Lextron that's done me fine and cost no more than $100 at purchase. | |
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December 14th, 2008, 10:21 PM
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#3 (permalink)
| | \m/(°-°)\m/
Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: In my room
Posts: 12,764
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December 14th, 2008, 11:18 PM
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#4 (permalink)
| | SoMuchAnime-SoLittleTime
Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Plymouth, WI
Posts: 14,981
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December 15th, 2008, 04:48 AM
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#5 (permalink)
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 37
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Thanks for the replies.
Since I am new, it is overwhelming to decide on all these components simultaneously, therefore I'm going to take it step by step.
I'm pretty much decided on the 8400 processor.
I have narrowed the motherboard down to three (although feel free to suggest something else).
The ASUS p5q Pro 115$
The ASUS p5q-e 145$
GIGABYTE UD3P 117$
(Keep in the mind that I will receive a 20$ combo discount for the Pro and a 10$ discount for the UD3P when coupled with the 8400)
I chose the UD3P over the UD3R and UD3 because of this chart: 
Although that chart does confuse me. I know I need CrossFire for overclocking so I figured I'd go with the UD3P.
Can you guys give me feedback on which is the best from the three motherboards? Please let me know what your reason is for recommending also.
Is the p5q-e worth it for the 30$ price jump?
Is there any difference in the expansion slots? I see a difference in the p5qe.
I also see a difference in the max memory supported - p5q pro only supports 8GB while the other two support 16GB.
Are there any other differences? | |
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December 15th, 2008, 06:51 AM
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#6 (permalink)
| | PC Upgrade Procrastinator
Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Minnesota
Posts: 5,674
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Crossfire is not for Overclocking, don't know where you got that information from, its the ability to use Multiple GPU's on one system together for increased gaming performance. using one or more Radeon cards, if thats what your planning, but for a Budget rig I'm assuming not.
if this is really a budget rig forget about boards with Crossfire support.
base your decision on the feature set of each board (number of SATA ports, USB, future component upgrade support features, OCing feature set, etc)
any of the ones listed are good brands, many have the same features, as they're all P45 chipsets, the only real limitations may be BIOS feature sets really. may be some small differences, but most will have the same core features.
16GB max RAM will be better for down the road than 8GB, but even now, as it stands, 8GB is many times overkill for anything today, as far as any gaming goes.
I'd go for whatever is the cheapest & has the features that you think are more values to you.
for me, out of the 3 there, I'd go for the Gigabyte, most features are pretty much the same for all three, except the P5Q-E has a different sound chip, probably better than the others, but not 100% sure of that. it also has a physical 16x PCIE slot that runs at a 4x Electrical interface, not too many if any real peripherals to use on that, but at least can be used for 1x PCIE devices as well. which makes it a pointless feature (except for those of us running Folding@Home & using GPU's for processing), making the other boards Three 1x PCIE slots more reasonable.
the Gigabyte board has one trick up its sleeve so to speak, its got 8 USB 2.0 ports in the rear with 2 more (4x more ports total) connections onboard. the other boards only have 6 in rear & 3 ports (6 more connections) onboard. all of them can total 12 ports, but the gigabyte is more convenient with the 2 extra rear, with out having to worry about connecting the internals up to an expansion slot bracket or whatever, if your case has USB ports on it, they'll take up on onboard & should you install a Flash Media reader, that'll take another, leaving no more internal ports, which can be a downside for the Gigabyte, but for me & my preferences, the 2 extra in rear make it worth it.
although the P5Q-E has an eSATA port on the rear, which can be quite useful for an External Storage device, enabling much faster speeds than USB 2.0 can provide.
also that board & the Gigabyte also have an Optical out in rear for the Audio, which can be nice if a Home Theater is being used for sound/speakers.
but the crossfire support aside the board Karma linked to I would agree would be the best choice.
this is a Budget gaming rig, the more money you can save in one area the more can be used for a better video card... I'd go with that suggestion on the board & grab at least a 9800GT as he suggested, the 8600GTS is "outdated" & we're on in the geforce 9 & GT200 series now, the 9500GT replaces both the 8600GT & GTS... but all 3 can't compare to the 9800GT, if pricing is a concern, grab a Geforce 9600GSO or GT, those should be at least twice the 8600GTS in performance, possibly even 3 times its performance. the 9800GT will be a bit beyond that still, and of course the 9800GTX/GTX+ & Radeon HD 4850 will be even further ahead. Quote:
Originally Posted by kenny536  ...Also - here a couple of combos from some users on Newegg. Haven't looked at these very carefully yet.
-EVGA 512-P3-N980-AR GeForce 9800 GT Hybrid
-GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB
-G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
-LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model
-Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
-Rosewill RCX-Z300 92mm Ball CPU Cooler
-RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power **this box was not the best choice**
-Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
1.This mobo Gigabyte EP45
2.Intel E8500 C2D...OCed@3.9Ghz/1644mhz FSB
3.GTX260(MSI)Oced 702/2406/1467 GPU(just 1)
4.DDR2 1000@822mhz 5-4-4-12 1:1 (gskill)2x2=4gb
5.X-Fi gamer's edition audio
6.(optional) Asus PhysiX card-takes load off GPU
7. 750watt 4x12v rail PS(Zalman)or better
8. Antec 300 or 900 (depending on your budget)case
9. 22"lcd or bigger with 2ms 10000:1 (LG)or samsung
10. any of the THX Logitec speakers are good! Z series
Let me know if I forgot to mention anything. I would appreciate it if you would please let me know what you think, thanks a lot. |
forget about the PhysX card, Ageia is now owned by nvidia.
the only advantage if any for those cards now are for GPU's older than the Geforce 8 series that don't support Physics Processing on the GPU.
if you grab a Geforce 8 or 9 series or higher card, through driver support the cards can do much of that now, with out need for a Physics Card.
I believe ATI does something similar with their's but uses a different Physics API for it or something.
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Last edited by ShyguyXPC : December 15th, 2008 at 06:55 AM.
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December 15th, 2008, 09:11 AM
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#7 (permalink)
| | \m/(°-°)\m/
Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: In my room
Posts: 12,764
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I agree with Shy. The physics card is a waste. In fact, that 8600gts that you got would work for physics. As Shy said, nvidia owns Ageia now, so you can use Nvidia cards (8series or higher) as physics, and get the same effect.
Although, most of todays games don't support physics yet, so really no point in it.
(and just so you know, when you do enable physics, I see more load go on the CPU then.) | |
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December 15th, 2008, 03:51 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Finger Lakes area
Posts: 2,373
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OP,
You'd better get on over to mechBgon's guide for first-time newbie computer builders, and stuff - may prevent you from making noob mistakes on a first build. Lots of building info out there, but quite a bit is from dudes who "think" they know something, but don't really. So get your info vetted. One thing you can rely on: most bundled PSUs aren't worth the powder to blow them up. Many Antec bundled cases are exceptions, and Arctic Cooling Silentium cases with custom Seasonic PSUs are others. Best to get a case w/o PSU (Rosewill, one of Newegg's house brands, has a couple of case series that are easily worth more than their price: R560x, R6Axxxx, Conqueror (same as Silverstone PS01), and get a known good PSU for it. The new Antec Earthwatts, EA-500 PSU (supposedly made by Delta while the earlier EAs were all made by Seasonic) is getting decent reviews on sites like Newegg and is quite inexpensive (Newegg seldom has the best price on Antec stuff). I use a Seasonic made Antec EA-380 in my own system. Just remember that the cornerstone of a stable system is a quality PSU.
. When you have your choices of case and PSU narrowed down considerably, PM me and I'll tell you why I would or wouldn't buy one.
.bh.
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Last edited by zepper : December 15th, 2008 at 04:08 PM.
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December 15th, 2008, 08:49 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 37
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Thanks a lot for the info ShyGuy! - I am convinced that I should settle for a decent mobo in order to buy a great video card. I'm basically 99% sure that I'm going to go with the UD3R - I will do that so I can use the money I saved to buy a really great video card, like you said.
Zepper - I will read that when I start building, but right now my only concern is to gather all the parts. Yeah, I read somewhere else too that the power supply and case are extremely critical. I will definitely PM you when I start researching power supplies - but I can only handle researching one part at a time - I think the next thing I will research is the video card.
Thanks for the help so far guys. | |
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December 16th, 2008, 02:43 AM
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#10 (permalink)
| | Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: orlando
Posts: 3
| Quote:
Originally Posted by zepper OP,
You'd better get on over to mechBgon's guide for first-time newbie computer builders, and stuff - may prevent you from making noob mistakes on a first build. Lots of building info out there, but quite a bit is from dudes who "think" they know something, but don't really. So get your info vetted. One thing you can rely on: most bundled PSUs aren't worth the powder to blow them up. Many Antec bundled cases are exceptions, and Arctic Cooling Silentium cases with custom Seasonic PSUs are others. Best to get a case w/o PSU (Rosewill, one of Newegg's house brands, has a couple of case series that are easily worth more than their price: R560x, R6Axxxx, Conqueror (same as Silverstone PS01), and get a known good PSU for it. The new Antec Earthwatts, EA-500 PSU (supposedly made by Delta while the earlier EAs were all made by Seasonic) is getting decent reviews on sites like Newegg and is quite inexpensive (Newegg seldom has the best price on Antec stuff). I use a Seasonic made Antec EA-380 in my own system. Just remember that the cornerstone of a stable system is a quality PSU.
. When you have your choices of case and PSU narrowed down considerably, PM me and I'll tell you why I would or wouldn't buy one.
.bh. | There's also Build Your Own PC | PCMech which makes the building process seem very easy. It gives a really detailed explanation for each step, but lacks the images, unfortunately.  | |
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