BUDGET Gaming Rig Help?

[kizza1645]

if u live in australia,

go to msy and get them to build it

[Idiosyncrasy]

No, I just need the computer. I have a wireless mouse / keyboard set up already. along with a 27" HDTV, but the computer I'm using doesn't have HDMI output, which really isn't that big of a deal.

[Calum]

I forgot to ask if you needed an operating system, but nevertheless here's a quick build for you.
Processor
Video card
Power supply
Motherboard
RAM
Hard drive
Case

Then either Windows XP or Windows Vista.  32-bit version is available of Vista for the same price, but I thought you might want the 64 bit version in case you planned on adding more memory.
That's a solid budget build with a fair bit of upgradeability, it also comes in slightly under your budget.

Comments and thoughts from anyone and everyone welcome, as always.

[patio]

if u live in australia,

go to msy and get them to build it

Yeah that's fine, I'm in Michigan.

[inchy97]

say bud i just built my comp like 4 months ago and i love it....but here is some very very good advise and it might be hard but here is a suggestion. Save up your money until you hit at least a $1000 or more. By the speed computers are now a days it is pointless to spend 500 on a 'gaming' rig and how the games are just getting better your computer will become obsolete soon and we don't want that to happen. i know your old one is probably sluggish but just do some chores get a job and just save up but that is my advise saved up 1200 to get my rig..

[Idiosyncrasy]

I have a job, that's the only way I'm spending 500 dollars. It takes me roughly 2.5 months to make 600-700 dollars, so yeah. The reason I wanted to spend only 500 dollars is because I want to get it sooner rather than later, and I still am getting paid, so I can upgrade it past the original budget with additional paychecks.

[Idiosyncrasy]

I forgot to ask if you needed an operating system, but nevertheless here's a quick build for you.
Processor
Video card
Power supply
Motherboard
RAM
Hard drive
Case

Then either Windows XP or Windows Vista.  32-bit version is available of Vista for the same price, but I thought you might want the 64 bit version in case you planned on adding more memory.
That's a solid budget build with a fair bit of upgradeability, it also comes in slightly under your budget.

Comments and thoughts from anyone and everyone welcome, as always.

I had these lined up prior to what you put down, here's what I made..

Video Card
Processor
Sound Card
RAM
Hard Drive
Motherboard
Heat Sink
Case With Power Supply

Mine came out to roughly 530 dollars, which is still in the realm of reason, plus that case comes with four fans, with space for five!

EDIT: I really don't care what OS I get, I'm impartial to both XP and Vista. I have Vista 32 bit home premium disc, so I think i might start with that. If and when I want to upgrade, I can just buy Vista 64 bit or something.

[2x3i5x]

1. 32 bit vista is fine. 64 bit vista useless unless you have more than 4gb ram, and use 64 bit applications. 32 bit vista can't utilize more than 4gb of ram.

2. HD4670, the one calum listed, give better performance for cost than your 9400gT. 9400gT is the lowest of the nvidia 9 series, and to me, it is only best at high def video playback. If you want low cost, low power nvidia card decent for your games, I would get at least 9500GT.

3. For the OS choice, just double check you got drivers for all the hardware you're getting. Maybe some newer hardware is partial to windows vista and therefore not having xp drivers. IT might happen, just saying to double check.

[Calum]

Adding to the above post:
The 9400GT really is a bad choice.  If you really have to, get it, but it's not very good.
Didn't realise you had an OS, in that case the build I made out could be upgraded with the "spare" $90 that comes from not buying an OS.
Biostar boards tend to be quite low-end, that CPU is also not as fast as the one I linked to.
The heatsink you linked to will not work on that motherboard.
The case looks fairly horrible to me but that's just opinion.  I'd go for more of a known brand power supply myself.
Sound card isn't necessary unless onboard isn't good enough, if you're planning on upgrading things later on why not stick with onboard now and use the money from the sound card to buy something that's less feasible to upgrade later on?

[Idiosyncrasy]

Adding to the above post:
The 9400GT really is a bad choice.  If you really have to, get it, but it's not very good.
Didn't realise you had an OS, in that case the build I made out could be upgraded with the "spare" $90 that comes from not buying an OS.
Biostar boards tend to be quite low-end, that CPU is also not as fast as the one I linked to.
The heatsink you linked to will not work on that motherboard.
The case looks fairly horrible to me but that's just opinion.  I'd go for more of a known brand power supply myself.
Sound card isn't necessary unless onboard isn't good enough, if you're planning on upgrading things later on why not stick with onboard now and use the money from the sound card to buy something that's less feasible to upgrade later on?

Yeah...that graphics card is still better than the one in my previous computer by a long shot. I'll just use your configuration since I really, and I mean REALLY don't know what I'm doing. I'm trying to learn as I go along and it's just confusing.

EDIT: What heatsink should I pick out to go with that motherboard? How do I know if they're compatible?

[Calum]

I'm not trying to force you to do what I say, and I'm not saying I'm the best at creating builds.
All I'm doing is pointing out what I see.  Hopefully it's helpful in some way.
As you don't need an OS, I'll revisit the build I created and improve it some more, and give you some ideas for when you come to upgrade.

Edit:

What heatsink should I pick out to go with that motherboard? How do I know if they're compatible?

For the board you picked, you'd need a socket AM2 cooler.  In the heatsink description, it should state what sockets it's compatible with.  The one you picked (which I have in my current build) is for socket 775.

[Idiosyncrasy]

All right, cool.

No, it's not that I thought you were forcing me, I'm just ignorant when it comes to these things, and I'm trying my damndest not to be.

EDIT: Heatsink

^ So that would be compatible with the Motherboard YOU linked me? 775, right?

[Calum]

^ So that would be compatible with the Motherboard YOU linked me? LGA 775, right?

That's right, yes.  The CPU I linked to does have a cooler with it though, which will be adequate unless you were running it in a badly ventilated case or intended to overclock it (run it faster than rated, which produces more heat).

Here's a slightly updated build.
Basically, take my above build, change the case for this one, change the hard drive for the one you linked to, add three of these fans and change the motherboard for this one.

Reasons for changes - the Antec case is better for cooling than that Coolermaster (which I have owned).  The motherboard is better quality, and should last you longer overall.  Also it supports Crossfire, which gives you an easy upgrade to two 4670 cards rather than buying a new single card.  The alternative would be to get a cheaper board that doesn't support Crossfire and a better card from the start, both would be fine but I'd go for this path myself.  The hard drive is better than the one I went for originally.  The fans are quieter than the stock fans on that case, and will cool things better.  The idea is to use two at the front (none are supplied in the front of that case) and use the other to replace the supplied rear fan.

How's that looking?

[Idiosyncrasy]

Looking pretty awesome. Another question: What is SLi exactly, and should I be getting vid cards that support it? Is it basically the same as crossfire?

Also, the games that I'm planning on playing on it; Fallout 3, Crysis (it was fun, I was able to play it on really low settings on my current computer!), Mass Effect 2 (I KNOW that's going to be beast, the facial textures alone were breath taking.), Unreal Tournament 3, World of Warcraft, and possibly some CoD4, oh, and apparently Alone IN The Dark since the video card comes with it.

How will those games play with that set up?

[Calum]

Sorry ... I got confused.  It was another, similar thread where Crossfire was explained.
Crossfire is basically a way to use two ATI video cards together to increase the performance.  It won't double your performance, but it gives a good boost.
Basically, think on to when you want to upgrade.  A new graphics card is, say, $100, gives a 50% boost.  Another 4670 for Crossfire is $50, gives a 50% boost.  What are you going to choose?
That's just an example though, and is Crossfire turns out not to be feasible because the cards turns out to be expensive in a few months or a year, you can always buy another card anyway.
It's just another upgrade option, it doesn't have to be used.

Fallout 3 should run fine, Crysis on medium/some high settings, Unreal Tournament 3 no problem, WoW I'm not sure, CoD 4 no problem, Alone in the Dark should be fine.  Mass Effect 2 I'm not sure, haven't seen any info on performance yet.