BUDGET Gaming Rig Help?

[Idiosyncrasy]

Hey everyone. After a lot of searching, I came across this forum / website. I am not knowledgeable with anything technical, other than the video settings in my games, so I really don't know what to choose when I build my gaming macine. It's all so mind boggling with all the choices I have at my disposal.

My budget for NOW is 500 dollars.

I plan on upgrading the machine as I get paychecks, but for now I just want at the very least, I want to be able to play World of Warcraft on max settings. Right now I'm sharing a computer with a sibling and it gets tiresome with all the whining.

My problem lies in the fact that I have no idea what is a good deal and what is not, what is better than another, and so on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[2x3i5x]

So I am assuming you want to buy a new gaming pc that fits in your $500 budget so that you cab have a computer to yourself and stop the whining from your sibling?

It would be good to build your own rig by yourself but I'll give you a preconfigured suggestion first off to get you looking.

Check out this pc here, it's a bit over your $500 if you have only exactly that much but it's not that much over and pc is decent and there's customer reviews so you can see what other people think before you buy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227147

[Idiosyncrasy]

Yeah, I wanted to build my own rig. I just don't know where to begin with all the parts I can choose from.

[2x3i5x]

great, so a new rig for you. I posted one link earlier, maybe you take a look at the specifications there, so you know what parts you need. That's a decent prebuilt pc but I know you can certainly DIY and make yourself a good rig you like for less.

So yeah, in any case, newegg is good place buy computer parts, very reliable, good customer service, but as far as I know, you gotta be living in u.s.a. else they can't service you.

[Idiosyncrasy]

Yeah that's fine, I'm in Michigan. I'll come up with a list of components and then we'll see. Building my own rig should be fun.

[2x3i5x]

Yeah that's fine, I'm in Michigan. I'll come up with a list of components and then we'll see. Building my own rig should be fun.

Yeah, especially when you build one that works well and you are happy with it. But of course, start with a budget of how much $$ you can or are willing to afford for your new pc =)

[Idiosyncrasy]

How's this for a power supply / case combo? Seems a little expensive, but it seems like a good deal, the case seems like it is pretty decent, and the power supply has praises. Who knows!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.187140

There SEEMS to be a lot of SEEMINGLY similar...ah I got nothing.

[2x3i5x]

How's this for a power supply / case combo? Seems a little expensive, but it seems like a good deal, the case seems like it is pretty decent, and the power supply has praises. Who knows!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.187140

There SEEMS to be a lot of SEEMINGLY similar...ah I got nothing.

That's tight but ... check out this two items

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010  --> BFG makes good graphics cards, so their PSU is gonna be same quality.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Maybe you'll like that pairing. For me, I'd get that but don't know about you and also what is the game you are wanting to play most on your pc?

[Idiosyncrasy]

CPU + (Motherboard?) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.192852

Case + Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.187140

Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
(possible combo of CPU and RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.193665 )

how's that so far, I'll keep adding as I search.

EDIT: lol didn't look at your post, I'll look at the links here in a second.\

I also want to play games like World of Warcraft, Fallout 3, Diablo 3 (when it comes out), and Mass Effect 2 (which I know is going to be a monster when that comes out.)

EDITx2: What does the wattage of the power supply have to do with performance? I've been seeing the varying wattages and it has me curious.

[2x3i5x]

Power supply is important, it's the juice for the pc. a decent 500 watt PC is fine if you got decent 12V rails coming with it.

By the way, you don't have to stick with only newegg. But newegg is a good place though. You can search other places of course like Tigerdirect or other websites. LOL 

[Idiosyncrasy]

I didn't know. Like I said I'm a complete noob when it comes to building my own computer. I'm not sure if I even configured it right so far.. lol

[2x3i5x]

I didn't know. Like I said I'm a complete noob when it comes to building my own computer. I'm not sure if I even configured it right so far.. lol

You're definitely getting the right things. You'll need a sound card too unless you're getting an integrated sound solution, which is basically one of those situations where the motherboard already has a built in sound card so you don't need a standalone card. Also, you don't have to always be looking to combo purchases. Maybe buying individual items (that are not in combo packages) may give you better deal for whatever it is you're looking at.

Oh and take it easy man, slow down a bit and think carefully so that you get something that can be used for a long time and still be a good product. Maybe other CH users can input their opinions and give you a broader perspective of things. I think you're not in a hurry to get your pc now but if you have a new one, the whining can stop faster LOL 

[Idiosyncrasy]

That's why I'm in a little bit of a hurry. I just really worry that the whining will bring over to my computer once it completely thrashes the previous in performance..hah.

EDIT: Oh yeah.

Sound card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132007

yep...newegg again. I've heard really good things about newegg from family members and such, I'm happy to just find the parts I need from this one place.

[Idiosyncrasy]

The link I listed earlier...the motherboard is 95W, but the CPU is 65W, will the combo not really work if I put them both together?

[Calum]

I'm going to give some meaningful input on this when I have some more time.
For now, I need to ask if you need a mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc?  Or, do you just need the computer?