Gaming Computer - Tight Budget?

Q. OK, my second Compaq notebook just broke, it was horrible for gaming so I'm done with those. I decided I'd go for a desktop this time. I honestly don't know that much about components to a computer, so customizing one isn't that likely without instruction. I'm also in search of a car, which leaves me with a tight spending budget for a computer. I'm guessing the absolute maximum I could afford a comuter for right now is $600-700. Please advise me to some good gaming computers that don't burn a huge whole in my wallet.

A. Here you go: Lucky for you I put one together for one of my friends. The only thing is, this is for the box only. Reuse your peripherals and buy a 19" CRT. That's the best budget screen I can think of.
This is from Zipzoomfly:

Item No. Description Qty Unit Price
10005207 Sony NEC Optiarc AWG170S-B2 18X SATA DVD Burner Black DVD±RW Bulk ***Free Shipping*** 1 $37.49

101220-12-RFB Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer Refurbished ***Free Shipping*** 2 Discontinued

249620 MSI K9VGM-V K8M890 Sempron/Athlon 64(FX)(X2) SktAM2 DDR2 M-ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, Serial ATA Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $53.99

273015 Ultra ULT31586 Wizard Mini Tower Case (MS Blue w/ Blue UV) Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $45.99

273508 Antec BP500U Basiq 500W Power Supply Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $55.99

327727 MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E-OC GeForce 8600 GT Overclock 256MB PCI Express Video Card w/Dual DVI Retail 1 $115.98

80724-7 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4000+ Socket AM2 (65W) Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $72.90

85236 OCZ OCZ2G8002GK 2GB Kit DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Gold Gamer eXtreme XTC Edition Dual Channel Memory Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $89.00

Estimated Subtotal $471.34
* Note! Subtotal provided does not include any tax or shipping fees that may apply.

The Hard Drives are discontinued but you know what to do. Just make sure its SATA.

You can always spend more or less on any component, but remember every part I listed is necessary or else the machine won't run. You can upgrade each component according to your budget. If you shop correct your money will go a long way. I'm giving my friend OS, so you can add 75-100 for Windows XP/Vista whatever. Your speed bottlenecks will always be CPU, Memory, Video Card. This is for a mid-level budget gaming system. Raid-0, decent Ram, decent CPU, above average Video Card for the money. If you need anymore help. Feel free to post another question on here directed to me :) I've built a ton of computers. For someone who talks about budgets and low experience, find your self a friend, put this one together and maybe we'll talk about OC'ing.

Get on DFI forums and talk to those guys, they're geniuses and friendly.

Don't listen to people who say Intel is faster than AMD. The Core Duo's maybe, but the last generation processors, AMD processors have a slower clock, but would run up and down Intel's backsides. Besides there's a lot more to a computer than just CPU clock speed, so many people I've seen have fast processors and no memory. Remember its a complete budget package and I have never assembled a computer for someone and they complained that it was too slow.

Original Question

A good budget gaming computer?

Q. Hi, I'm looking for a budget gaming pc. I play a lot of minecraft, TF2, and a lot of other steam games. I was just wondering what kind of of would be good for a low(-ish) price. Thanks!

A. If those are the games you're playing, then a computer with AMD's A-series processors and the built-in APU would be fine.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+Desktop+-+6GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive/4789749.p?id=1218527813607&skuId=4789749&st=lenovo%20desktop&cp=1&lp=4
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5689259.p?id=1218680088798&skuId=5689259&st=hp%20pavilion%20desktop&cp=1&lp=8

But a MUCH better low-cost option is buying a Core i3 computer, then installing a separate graphics card. For example, buy this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+Desktop+-+6GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5611456.p?id=1218672937187&skuId=5611456

The add one of these (depending upon your budget):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130579
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161375
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161403

Those are all low power consumption cards which work fine on the Dell's factory power supply. To install anything better than a Radeon HD 7750 you'd have to buy a new power supply, too.

Even the lowest-cost card (GeForce GT 430) gives you better performance than either AMD system, while the highest (Radeon HD 7750) can play Skyrim smoothly on medium settings.

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I need a budget gaming computer build $330?

Q. I have $330 and want to build a starter gaming computer with preferably with Intel processor but i might consider AMD's i need this to be upgradable and run games fairly well i will be playing games like dayz, battlefield 3 and starcraft 2 i am aware that $350 is not enough for a good gaming PC but that is why i need it too be upgradeable so i can add a graphics card in the future as well as upgrade other things. Thanks in advance i would prefer to get links to computer parts but if you find a computer that would suit my needs i will look at those also and i would prefer links from newegg and amazon because i already have accounts there and have bought from them before but again other places will be looked at.

A. for that price, you are going to be building and AMD System. I personally prefer Intel for the satiability, Only get 4GB RAM to start, because games are all 32-bit thus far and 32-bit cant use more then 3.8 GBs or ram anyway, you don't need more the 4 GB for Gaming. You can upgrade this later when you have the money to 8GB ( I wouldn't go any higher the 8 cause anymore then that is a waste of money as a computer wont utilize that much unless 64 bit video editing.

I will give you the links to what I would do, both Intel and AMD options.

For either AMD or Intel system system start with this for RAM and buy one more when you have the money.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148346

For your motherboard i would go with this one because MSI Makes solid motherboards and this one is quite cheap and will do anything you need to do.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130656

Hard Drive: Seagate is very reliable and this is the best deal on new egg at the moment.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

Graphics card: this the cheapest card with GDDR5 memory that will play games decent
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130808

Case: this is a fairly cheap case that comes with a 480W Power supply.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811148062

Processor: The new Ivy Bridge Pentium is a very capable CPU for cheap. Its more then enough for most games. Its dual core and most games cant use more then that. battlefield 3 can use more cores but you will only notice maybe a 2 or 3 Frame per second drop max.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116886

All together that is about $330 without shipping. It doesnt include an operating system so you will have to "find that somewhere else" It will play your games pretty well.

for the AMD Build Use the same RAM and Case + PSU

go with this CPU: It is a bit more because it has a decent graphics card on the same chip that should play any game.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103942

and this cheaper MSI board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130641

So the AMD one build is around $285 without shipping again without the operating system. both will Run your games decently well. (I would do the Intel on personally)

Hope that helps
cheers

Original Question

£400 budget for gaming computer?

Q. Can I get a decent gaming computer monitor and keyboard for £400? I don't need a high end one, but it would need to play most games, what kind of game is the boundary for this budget... Battlefield 4 or minesweeper? Please be reasonable and not just say I Need a budget or £1000. I don't mind second hand as long as there isn't a risk...also a link would get you best answer

A. build it yourself is the way to go so it will come true, a gaming PC including a monitor and keyboard & mouse.

here's the parts list
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2UvH9

I can't guarantee if Amazon still sells that 23 inch monitor for £69.91 but on their homepage they claim that 20 of them are in stock.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0046W0RVU/?tag=pcp0f-21

as the operating system I suggest to get a free Linux based one
http://zorin-os.com/index.html
quote from Zorin Linux:
"The Look Changer lets you change your desktop to look and act like either Windows 7, XP, Vista"

the most demanding games that can be played would be Skyrim, Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 on high, Battlefield 4 on low/medium settings.

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gaming computer on a budget?

Q. i have 320 dollars, can i buy a prebuilt gaming computer or build my own for that much money, i dont need a crazy insane computer just a average gaming computer
all i need is the computer, i have everything else, i guess i should have said a have a couple of non running computers i can use parts from

A. Here is pretty much the best you can do for a cheap gaming computer

AMD Athlon dual core 3.4GHZ 70$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103953

Radeon 5570 1GB graphics card 55$ and eligible for 10$ rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342

4GB DDR3 G.SKILL value ram 20$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231421

BIOSTAR N68S3+ Motherboard 40$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138293

SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD-ROM 14$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151250

SAMSUNG Spinpoint Hard drive 160GB 80$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152302

APEVIA X-Dreamer case with 420 watt power supply 35$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144123
I highly recommend buying another power supply rather than using the included one. I heard some bad things about the cheap power supplies that come with cases.

This comes out to 314$ but unfortunately does not include a windows license keyboard;Mouse or Monitor. You can use your current Monitor keyboard and mouse. As for windows, you will either need to get a copy of windows 7 home premium which will run you around 100$ but if you already have an install disc you may be able to use that unless it's an oem version which has already been used.

This is not an amazing gaming computer but you will be able to play allot of older games easily and quite allot of new games if you play them at low graphics settings.
I created this list with the cheapest but still decent parts so you can't really go any cheaper and still call it a gaming computer.

EDIT I see you said you have computers that you can use parts from. So, you may be able to use the hard drive and dvd drive if they are not dead and the hard drive has enough space and save yourself about 100$ and possibly get better components, or use it to buy a copy of windows 7.

Overall, spending such a small amount of money is not really a good idea for a gaming computer because for that price you cannot get a very good motherboard that can support future upgrades you may need such as dual video cards, More than 8 GB of ram dedicated sound and lan cards etc.
It might be best to just save up some more money. Maybe wait until you have about 500$ and start looking for parts then.

Original Question

Building A gaming computer?

Q. Hey I'm mark and I want to make a gaming computer, I have NO idea on where to start but my step brother is going to help me out once I got all the parts I need. Now I only have a budget of $600 or so to make a good gaming computer from scratch. I need to know, What to get, Where to get it, And if it can run on windows 7 64-bit. And also could I take my current computers hard drive and move it into my new computer, it has 500gb of memory max.

A. My first gaming computer cost about $920, and it can still run just about everything on max settings. With hardware prices coming down so far, you could probably build an ok system for near $600, you just need to know where to get your parts. Having the hard drive already helps a lot. newegg.com has never done me wrong. Great prices and very well organized site with a trustworthy rating system. Click "shop all stores" and go into "computer hardware", then find all of the individual parts that you need.

To build a gaming computer you need the following:
Motherboard
Processor + heatsync
Power Supply
RAM
Hard Drive
Disk Drive
Graphics Card
Case

-I've built computers in the past around processors. For a Gaming computer I recommend at least a 3 core processor at 2.8ghz+. The processor and the graphics card are the two parts you should spend the most on. A processor will almost always come with a heat sync, but if you want to overclock your processor you may want to add a custom cooling unit (I do not generally recommend this). If you wish to run either mac or Linux on your computer along with windows, I recommend an Intel processor, but if you only want to run windows, I recommend AMD. The only real benefit you would have in spending more on an Intel would be compatibility with Unix based OSs, which are useless for gaming.

-Next, I find a motherboard that has the appropriate processor socket that lists support for your processor Wattage and type. There are usually too many components to a motherboard to be too specific, but just make sure it's compatible with what you need and has a good rating for its price.

- You may find a motherboard you like and choose RAM to go with it, or find RAM and choose a motherboard that is compatible with your processor. The higher the number of the ram's DDR, the faster it'll go. Standard at this point is now DDR3, but some computer run as fast as DDR5 or more. For a gaming computer I recommend no less than 6GB of RAM, but for most games RAM requirement is not very high.

- The Graphics card is the most crucial bottleneck of your gaming computer. They're very complicated and have many specs. You will probably spend more on the card than on your processor. My graphics card is 1GB 256bit DDR3 NVidia with 700MHz core clock speed and I'm able to run most new games on max graphics settings. Normally you can trust the reviews of how good a card is, but you'll generally get what you pay for. Just make sure you have the right PCI port to run the card you choose. Also make sure you get one with the outputs you need, HDMI, VGA, or DVI.

- Power supplies can be complicated, but newegg has a great feature that calculates the wattage you'll need for your computer. It's under "Computer Hardware", the last option on the far right, "Power Supply Wattage Calculator". Fill out the info, get your wattage, find a high rated power supply with that wattage. easy-peasy

- Don't spend too much on a case, just make sure your stuff will fit. parts are usually the right size, you just need the right number of ports for hard drives and disk drives. If you have an existing case you want to use, go for it.

- Get a disk drive, a burner might be nice, not a big deal.

- As far as the hard drive goes, just format the drive to wipe all the data and it shouldn't give you too many problems. You might have to find a SATA cable to hook it up to a new motherboard if you don't have one.

- Most new hardware will just run 64 bit by default, but you'll want to verify that your processor will run it. If it's 3 cores or more, it probably will.

Good luck!

Original Question

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gaming computer on a budget?

Q. i have 320 dollars, can i buy a prebuilt gaming computer or build my own for that much money, i dont need a crazy insane computer just a average gaming computer
all i need is the computer, i have everything else, i guess i should have said a have a couple of non running computers i can use parts from

A. Here is pretty much the best you can do for a cheap gaming computer

AMD Athlon dual core 3.4GHZ 70$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103953

Radeon 5570 1GB graphics card 55$ and eligible for 10$ rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342

4GB DDR3 G.SKILL value ram 20$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231421

BIOSTAR N68S3+ Motherboard 40$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138293

SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD-ROM 14$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151250

SAMSUNG Spinpoint Hard drive 160GB 80$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152302

APEVIA X-Dreamer case with 420 watt power supply 35$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144123
I highly recommend buying another power supply rather than using the included one. I heard some bad things about the cheap power supplies that come with cases.

This comes out to 314$ but unfortunately does not include a windows license keyboard;Mouse or Monitor. You can use your current Monitor keyboard and mouse. As for windows, you will either need to get a copy of windows 7 home premium which will run you around 100$ but if you already have an install disc you may be able to use that unless it's an oem version which has already been used.

This is not an amazing gaming computer but you will be able to play allot of older games easily and quite allot of new games if you play them at low graphics settings.
I created this list with the cheapest but still decent parts so you can't really go any cheaper and still call it a gaming computer.

EDIT I see you said you have computers that you can use parts from. So, you may be able to use the hard drive and dvd drive if they are not dead and the hard drive has enough space and save yourself about 100$ and possibly get better components, or use it to buy a copy of windows 7.

Overall, spending such a small amount of money is not really a good idea for a gaming computer because for that price you cannot get a very good motherboard that can support future upgrades you may need such as dual video cards, More than 8 GB of ram dedicated sound and lan cards etc.
It might be best to just save up some more money. Maybe wait until you have about 500$ and start looking for parts then.

Original Question

Building A gaming computer?

Q. Hey I'm mark and I want to make a gaming computer, I have NO idea on where to start but my step brother is going to help me out once I got all the parts I need. Now I only have a budget of $600 or so to make a good gaming computer from scratch. I need to know, What to get, Where to get it, And if it can run on windows 7 64-bit. And also could I take my current computers hard drive and move it into my new computer, it has 500gb of memory max.

A. My first gaming computer cost about $920, and it can still run just about everything on max settings. With hardware prices coming down so far, you could probably build an ok system for near $600, you just need to know where to get your parts. Having the hard drive already helps a lot. newegg.com has never done me wrong. Great prices and very well organized site with a trustworthy rating system. Click "shop all stores" and go into "computer hardware", then find all of the individual parts that you need.

To build a gaming computer you need the following:
Motherboard
Processor + heatsync
Power Supply
RAM
Hard Drive
Disk Drive
Graphics Card
Case

-I've built computers in the past around processors. For a Gaming computer I recommend at least a 3 core processor at 2.8ghz+. The processor and the graphics card are the two parts you should spend the most on. A processor will almost always come with a heat sync, but if you want to overclock your processor you may want to add a custom cooling unit (I do not generally recommend this). If you wish to run either mac or Linux on your computer along with windows, I recommend an Intel processor, but if you only want to run windows, I recommend AMD. The only real benefit you would have in spending more on an Intel would be compatibility with Unix based OSs, which are useless for gaming.

-Next, I find a motherboard that has the appropriate processor socket that lists support for your processor Wattage and type. There are usually too many components to a motherboard to be too specific, but just make sure it's compatible with what you need and has a good rating for its price.

- You may find a motherboard you like and choose RAM to go with it, or find RAM and choose a motherboard that is compatible with your processor. The higher the number of the ram's DDR, the faster it'll go. Standard at this point is now DDR3, but some computer run as fast as DDR5 or more. For a gaming computer I recommend no less than 6GB of RAM, but for most games RAM requirement is not very high.

- The Graphics card is the most crucial bottleneck of your gaming computer. They're very complicated and have many specs. You will probably spend more on the card than on your processor. My graphics card is 1GB 256bit DDR3 NVidia with 700MHz core clock speed and I'm able to run most new games on max graphics settings. Normally you can trust the reviews of how good a card is, but you'll generally get what you pay for. Just make sure you have the right PCI port to run the card you choose. Also make sure you get one with the outputs you need, HDMI, VGA, or DVI.

- Power supplies can be complicated, but newegg has a great feature that calculates the wattage you'll need for your computer. It's under "Computer Hardware", the last option on the far right, "Power Supply Wattage Calculator". Fill out the info, get your wattage, find a high rated power supply with that wattage. easy-peasy

- Don't spend too much on a case, just make sure your stuff will fit. parts are usually the right size, you just need the right number of ports for hard drives and disk drives. If you have an existing case you want to use, go for it.

- Get a disk drive, a burner might be nice, not a big deal.

- As far as the hard drive goes, just format the drive to wipe all the data and it shouldn't give you too many problems. You might have to find a SATA cable to hook it up to a new motherboard if you don't have one.

- Most new hardware will just run 64 bit by default, but you'll want to verify that your processor will run it. If it's 3 cores or more, it probably will.

Good luck!

Original Question

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I need a budget gaming computer build $330?

Q. I have $330 and want to build a starter gaming computer with preferably with Intel processor but i might consider AMD's i need this to be upgradable and run games fairly well i will be playing games like dayz, battlefield 3 and starcraft 2 i am aware that $350 is not enough for a good gaming PC but that is why i need it too be upgradeable so i can add a graphics card in the future as well as upgrade other things. Thanks in advance i would prefer to get links to computer parts but if you find a computer that would suit my needs i will look at those also and i would prefer links from newegg and amazon because i already have accounts there and have bought from them before but again other places will be looked at.

A. for that price, you are going to be building and AMD System. I personally prefer Intel for the satiability, Only get 4GB RAM to start, because games are all 32-bit thus far and 32-bit cant use more then 3.8 GBs or ram anyway, you don't need more the 4 GB for Gaming. You can upgrade this later when you have the money to 8GB ( I wouldn't go any higher the 8 cause anymore then that is a waste of money as a computer wont utilize that much unless 64 bit video editing.

I will give you the links to what I would do, both Intel and AMD options.

For either AMD or Intel system system start with this for RAM and buy one more when you have the money.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148346

For your motherboard i would go with this one because MSI Makes solid motherboards and this one is quite cheap and will do anything you need to do.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130656

Hard Drive: Seagate is very reliable and this is the best deal on new egg at the moment.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

Graphics card: this the cheapest card with GDDR5 memory that will play games decent
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130808

Case: this is a fairly cheap case that comes with a 480W Power supply.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811148062

Processor: The new Ivy Bridge Pentium is a very capable CPU for cheap. Its more then enough for most games. Its dual core and most games cant use more then that. battlefield 3 can use more cores but you will only notice maybe a 2 or 3 Frame per second drop max.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116886

All together that is about $330 without shipping. It doesnt include an operating system so you will have to "find that somewhere else" It will play your games pretty well.

for the AMD Build Use the same RAM and Case + PSU

go with this CPU: It is a bit more because it has a decent graphics card on the same chip that should play any game.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103942

and this cheaper MSI board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130641

So the AMD one build is around $285 without shipping again without the operating system. both will Run your games decently well. (I would do the Intel on personally)

Hope that helps
cheers

Original Question

£400 budget for gaming computer?

Q. Can I get a decent gaming computer monitor and keyboard for £400? I don't need a high end one, but it would need to play most games, what kind of game is the boundary for this budget... Battlefield 4 or minesweeper? Please be reasonable and not just say I Need a budget or £1000. I don't mind second hand as long as there isn't a risk...also a link would get you best answer

A. build it yourself is the way to go so it will come true, a gaming PC including a monitor and keyboard & mouse.

here's the parts list
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2UvH9

I can't guarantee if Amazon still sells that 23 inch monitor for £69.91 but on their homepage they claim that 20 of them are in stock.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0046W0RVU/?tag=pcp0f-21

as the operating system I suggest to get a free Linux based one
http://zorin-os.com/index.html
quote from Zorin Linux:
"The Look Changer lets you change your desktop to look and act like either Windows 7, XP, Vista"

the most demanding games that can be played would be Skyrim, Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 on high, Battlefield 4 on low/medium settings.

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What is the best processor, mother board, video card, and etc.for computer gaming desktop?

Q. Im planning to put a computer gaming shop business. Please give me advice on whats the most affordable but best set up of computer I can assemble.please be specific.im really not a tech person.

A. It is all very budget dependent. Here is a nice $1000 part set if putting it together yourself, and be sure to watch youtube videos and work on a non-static flat big surface and wear gloves or ground yourself and never force things together.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zWjz
CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz 4 cores, 4 threads since gaming does not use hyperthreading nor more than 4 cores.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler - a good value for overclocking the CPU. It is tall, but very efficient and priced well.
Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard - supports overclocking, and has 2 slots of pciex16 to possibly add a second GPU in SLI at another time for crossfiring instead of replacing the graphics card as you would in a 1 slot system.
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 The right amount for gaming in the right speed for the CPU and is a good brand 1.5V with heat spreader in CAS 9
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive - fairly reliable bulk storage in a good size of a terrabyte
Sandisk 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk - to hold Windows and a few games for fast load and top performance. Can use half in partition for Intel RST/SRT HDD acceleration if preferred.
Video Card Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 2GB - Highly rated solid performer. I did not look up its status for SLI vs crossfire
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/660?vs=548
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case - Nice looking case with good air flow and roomy. Starts with only 2 fans as adequate, but could add a top fan. There are many good choices of cases. Has USB 2 and 3 and audio ports.
Rosewill Green 630W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Decent enough as a single rail (one +12V as preferred) with a 6 and 6+2 pcie connector set and since GTX 660 needs only one, should be enough for crossfire one day without changing it. 50A (600 watts) on 12V to power GPU, CPU, fans and disk drives. There are better and worse PSUs but this is surely at least adequate and more.
Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer - any DVDRW
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
gamers prefer Win 7
Still need keyboard, mouse, audio output (speakers/headphones), and a display

Original Question

What kind of components and such would i need to build a computer specifically for gaming?

Q. i i know theres a lot of stuff for computers but i want recommendations on what hardware and components to make a custom computer that does the gaming at high levels like the best graphic and gameplay for any computer game (like starcraft 2). budget isen't really a concern i just want to know what to look for.

A. I'll make this very simple. You haven't got to know what it means, it's just something to look out for. Price may be very expensive depending on the hardware you chose. Please bare in mind when you reach a certain point, small upgrades become very very expensive just for that little boost.

CPU - Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 @ 2.66GHz or faster (or 2.4GHz i7 or better)
RAM - 4GB DDR2 Minimum, best to go 1333MHz DDR3 4-8GB
Graphics - at least 1GB graphics best to be 1.5-2.0GB at fastest possible MHz
Sound - depends on your speakers. You shouldn't be paying more than £40 tops ($68) for a sound card
Motherboard - intel extreme (one that supports i7) this supports the full 1333MHz ram too
Case - your choice of case depending on taste. Ensure that there is plenty of room for ventilation and lots of fan spaces. Style should not outweigh function
Monitor - any monitor that supports 1920 x 1080 natively. Any higher and your games will have to be upscaled and will become blurry and horrible to play.
Keyboard and mouse - your choice on comfort and style, generally gamers prefer wireless devices.
Hard drive - 500Gb - 2Tb , this will vary depending what you store on the computer. Most people can get by on 500-1tb, but if you're a music or movie freak with tons and tons of data, you might wanna get a 2tb drive or 2 x 1tb drives. Make sure they are SATA 7200RPM or faster. If you chose Solid state you will be paying a LOT and you won't get as much space, but the performance will be epic
DVD drive. - 2 is preferred, or 2 blu ray supported drives with speeds of a minimum of 24x
Speakers, I'd reccomend creative surround studio, (and creative soundcard to match) to get really decent sound. Creative know their sound stuff.

Hope this helps, and happy shopping

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How does a motherboard affect gaming on a computer?

Q. I'm kind of confused by motherboards in general. They range from $50 to $300+. What is so great that makes them over $300. Would a $50 one do for a budget gaming computer?

A. The components in the >$300 motherboards are obviously of higher quality and most gaming/high end motherboard include many more features that cheap ones such as one touch o.c, more power delivery stages, etc. While a motherboard doesn't affect the computer that much, I still suggest a mobo that costs at least $100 even if you're on a budget.

Here are a few:
Intel 1155 Z77:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19864

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19978

AMD AM3/AM3+:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_1207_803&products_id=17839\

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_1207_803&products_id=18040

These are Australian prices, if you live in another country, they will probably be cheaper because we have a retarded technology tax.

Original Question

Could you get me a list of parts needed to build a budget gaming computer to run games on ultra?

Q. Could you get me a list of parts needed to build a budget gaming computer to run games on ultra and if you could put a list of prices next to the parts that would be great thanks

A. If Your Budget Is Below 40000Rs...

PROCESSOR- Intel Core i3 2120 (7340Rs.)
GPU- Nvidia GTX 560ti (16902Rs.)
M/B- Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H Motherboard (3200Rs.)
FAN- Cooler Master 90 CFM LED Cooler (500Rs. ((Optional))
PSU- Corsair CMPSU-600GUK 600 Watts PSU (5635Rs.)
CAB- Cooler Master Elite 310 Cabinet (Red) (2100Rs.)
RAM- G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL) (1744Rs.)

Total Cost - 36921
These Will Max Out Any Game Up To Date!

If Budget Below 60000Rs..
PROCESSOR- AMD Phenom II 955 Black Edition Processor - Rs7700
M/B- Gigabyte MA78GMT-US2H Rs 6000/MSI 790GX-G65 Rs 7200
RAM - Corsair 2X2GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM - Rs 6300
CABINET - NZXT Gamma Cabinet- Rs 2000
HDD - 500GB Seagate 7200.12 HDD: Rs2500
DVD - Samsung/Sony DVD burner Rs1100
K/M - Microsoft/Logitech Mouse+KB combo-Rs700
MONITOR -Dell S2209W: Rs9200 / Samsung 2033SW : Rs 7000 /Samsung 2233SW : Rs9000
GPU: HD5850 Rs16000
PSU:Corsair 650TX Rs6500 OR Corsair 550VX for Rs 5500!
Total: Rs 59000!!
Speakers: Whatever you like.



Hope I Helped!
Vote As Best Answer If You Liked It!
:-)

Original Question

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How much would it cost to build a moderately good computer?

Q. I love me some computer games but REALLY don't wanna spend well over a thousand dollars for a comp that will be outdated before long. I've heard that building is cheaper. Any idea how much it'd cost for parts to make a decent computer? It doesn't need to be a tank, but I'd like to be able to play recent games without trouble. Would that be manageable with a 1,000 budget, or is it not THAT much cheaper?

A. The only difference between you and I is confidence. Once that little hurdle is overcome then it's smooth sailing. It honestly doesn't take a lot of experience to put a computer together. I mean they have orientation points on everything. Look at RAM sticks see that little slot in the middle. It makes it impossible to put it backwards. When you put a computer together make sure you use kid gloves. Think about it like an elementary puzzle. There are fairly bid pieces and if you force it and pound on it then yeah something will go wrong. If you use kid gloves everything will be jsut fine. Lets move over to your CPU. There is a triangle printed on the corner of your on your CPU as well as the motherboard. It may be a circle but there are markers on each piece that makes assembly fairly straightforward. Moving on to your GFX card. there is a slot on the left hand side of the bottom of the GFX card where it mates with the board. I also wouldn't make any sense to have the wrong side of the card facing out so backwards isn't happening here either. PSU? Screws are on one side and there is only one big square hole with places for your screw hole where your PSU can go. Now the motherboard? That has to be hard. If you look a bit closer at a motherboard you will see a LOT of holes and usually only 6 risers & screws to install it with. How in the heck are you supposed to make sense out of all the circuitry, holes and hardware? The screw holes will have starbursts surrounding the holes.

In a nutshell if you look a bit closer everything is clearly marked for ease of assembly. Take each piece of your build and go to youtube and watch an installation. See how simple pressing in and then plugging in a graphics card is. Watch how someone screws in the risers that the motherboard sits on and then see how the motherboard is screwed into place. You will see that when taken in small bites the process is rather simplistic.

Now we get down to your parts. I chose the 2500K so i will have to suggest that because it is in your BUDGET and you want your price vs performance to lean towards performance. the 2500K is really the HOTTEST CPU on the market today. Yes AMD's bulldozer is on the horizon but it isn't on the market yet and the price would probably be a bit steep at launch and I would still wait a bit to see if any issues arise.There was an issue with the 1155 socket at launch but those have been taken care of long ago. Anyways the links below will = your budget. This is just for the tower. Lets put the 1100T HEX core against the 2500K before I do this http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288. As you can see the 1100T and the 2500K are both at 3.3 GHZ and the 2500K only has 4 cores and the 1100T has 6. The 2500K is the clear winner especially where gaming is concerned at the bottom of the page. Anyways on to your parts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 CPU $220

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583 Motherboard $109 after MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 RAM $45

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009 PSU $140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 GPU/GFX $229 after MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119224 Case $99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 Windows 7 Premium $94

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $21

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 CPU Cooler. Yes you may recycle the USELESS cooler that comes with the 2500K. I mean it does do its' job but not all that well.


Grand total after your MIRs $987


Want to learn how to overclock this AWESOME CPU from 3.3GHz to 4.2GHZ? Turn on, press delete, click overclocking, change the multiplier from 33 to 42, press F10 to save and exit and you're done. You could add in one step when you change the multiplier. Press backspace and click on green power and enable C1E. Just conserves power when you are only watching a movie or surfing. I own this motherboard so I now how simple a change to a number and enabling a power saver really is. I'm not an overclocker but this board/CPU combo makes the process easy.

Operating System
MS Windows 7 32-bit Upgrading to 64bit soon
CPU
Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
RAM
8.00 GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-25)
Motherboard
MSI P67A-G43 (MS-7673) (SOCKET 0)36 °C
Graphics
DELL 1704FPV (1024x768@75Hz)
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (Diamond)44 °C
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (VISIONTEK)39 °C
CrossFire Disabled
Hard Drives
156GB Seagate ST3160812AS ATA Device (SATA)34 °C
78GB Western Digital WDC WD800JD-00MSA1 ATA Device (SATA)31 °C
977GB Seagate ST31000528AS ATA Device (SATA)32 °C
Optical Drives
ATAPI iHAS124 Y ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

Original Question

How can I build a budget priced computer from scratch?

Q. I would like to build a budget priced computer that will be fast enough for heavy graphics computer games. But still be usefull for my home maintenance utilities. What would you put into a system that meets these requirements but still costs less than $800.00 (I have a case to use)
I'm only talking about the CPU I allready have the periferals (monitor, speakers, even memory sticks) All I require is motherboard and disc drive.

A. The new Intel Core Duo 2 processor looks like it will be the top CPU performance wise in the near future, and projected prices look very good. You will need to switch to DDR2 RAM though.
For gaming your graphics card is the most important component.
Gaming takes the most "horsepower" of anything you will do on your computer (right up there with video editing and photo editing), If your system can handle cutting edge games it can do anything else you throw at it with ease.

The Next generation of CPU's is being introduced in the next couple of months. The Core Duo 2 looks like it will be the performance and price leader. Right now the Athlon64's and X2's are king.

Athlon64 X2 3800 (or in the near future the Core Duo 2)
Socket AM2 motherboard
Geforce 7900GT
1 GB DDR2 667

Newegg is cheap and has a great return (RMA) policy

Original Question

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What happens when the CPU is the bottleneck in gaming?

Q. So I decided to build a cheap budget computer with everything basically costing under $100 total. The motherboard I chose comes with a Via Nano L2007 @ 1.8 GHz. Supposedly its performance is just above your average Intel Atom chip in netbooks.

Now if I were to use this for gaming and I have great hardware (eg. GeForce GTX 690, 128 GB SSD, and fast DDR3 RAM), would I be able to play modern games? Or is the CPU going to cancel out all the benefits from the other hardware?

Basically is the CPU really that important in modern games these days since most of the work is done by the Graphics Card?

A. Generally speaking; since RAM is so cheap nowadays the two most important components of a "Gaming Computer" are the GPU and CPU; skimping on either will definitely hinder your ability to game and result in a "bottleneck". That processor is a haul at 1.8ghz; honestly you could probably find a computer to scrap on Craiglists with a better processor (No offense. But seriously go junk a random PC and chances are you'll end up with a much better processor.)

Original Question

How much would it cost to build a moderately good computer?

Q. I love me some computer games but REALLY don't wanna spend well over a thousand dollars for a comp that will be outdated before long. I've heard that building is cheaper. Any idea how much it'd cost for parts to make a decent computer? It doesn't need to be a tank, but I'd like to be able to play recent games without trouble. Would that be manageable with a 1,000 budget, or is it not THAT much cheaper?

A. The only difference between you and I is confidence. Once that little hurdle is overcome then it's smooth sailing. It honestly doesn't take a lot of experience to put a computer together. I mean they have orientation points on everything. Look at RAM sticks see that little slot in the middle. It makes it impossible to put it backwards. When you put a computer together make sure you use kid gloves. Think about it like an elementary puzzle. There are fairly bid pieces and if you force it and pound on it then yeah something will go wrong. If you use kid gloves everything will be jsut fine. Lets move over to your CPU. There is a triangle printed on the corner of your on your CPU as well as the motherboard. It may be a circle but there are markers on each piece that makes assembly fairly straightforward. Moving on to your GFX card. there is a slot on the left hand side of the bottom of the GFX card where it mates with the board. I also wouldn't make any sense to have the wrong side of the card facing out so backwards isn't happening here either. PSU? Screws are on one side and there is only one big square hole with places for your screw hole where your PSU can go. Now the motherboard? That has to be hard. If you look a bit closer at a motherboard you will see a LOT of holes and usually only 6 risers & screws to install it with. How in the heck are you supposed to make sense out of all the circuitry, holes and hardware? The screw holes will have starbursts surrounding the holes.

In a nutshell if you look a bit closer everything is clearly marked for ease of assembly. Take each piece of your build and go to youtube and watch an installation. See how simple pressing in and then plugging in a graphics card is. Watch how someone screws in the risers that the motherboard sits on and then see how the motherboard is screwed into place. You will see that when taken in small bites the process is rather simplistic.

Now we get down to your parts. I chose the 2500K so i will have to suggest that because it is in your BUDGET and you want your price vs performance to lean towards performance. the 2500K is really the HOTTEST CPU on the market today. Yes AMD's bulldozer is on the horizon but it isn't on the market yet and the price would probably be a bit steep at launch and I would still wait a bit to see if any issues arise.There was an issue with the 1155 socket at launch but those have been taken care of long ago. Anyways the links below will = your budget. This is just for the tower. Lets put the 1100T HEX core against the 2500K before I do this http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288. As you can see the 1100T and the 2500K are both at 3.3 GHZ and the 2500K only has 4 cores and the 1100T has 6. The 2500K is the clear winner especially where gaming is concerned at the bottom of the page. Anyways on to your parts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 CPU $220

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583 Motherboard $109 after MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 RAM $45

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009 PSU $140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 GPU/GFX $229 after MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119224 Case $99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 Windows 7 Premium $94

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $21

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 CPU Cooler. Yes you may recycle the USELESS cooler that comes with the 2500K. I mean it does do its' job but not all that well.


Grand total after your MIRs $987


Want to learn how to overclock this AWESOME CPU from 3.3GHz to 4.2GHZ? Turn on, press delete, click overclocking, change the multiplier from 33 to 42, press F10 to save and exit and you're done. You could add in one step when you change the multiplier. Press backspace and click on green power and enable C1E. Just conserves power when you are only watching a movie or surfing. I own this motherboard so I now how simple a change to a number and enabling a power saver really is. I'm not an overclocker but this board/CPU combo makes the process easy.

Operating System
MS Windows 7 32-bit Upgrading to 64bit soon
CPU
Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
RAM
8.00 GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-25)
Motherboard
MSI P67A-G43 (MS-7673) (SOCKET 0)36 °C
Graphics
DELL 1704FPV (1024x768@75Hz)
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (Diamond)44 °C
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (VISIONTEK)39 °C
CrossFire Disabled
Hard Drives
156GB Seagate ST3160812AS ATA Device (SATA)34 °C
78GB Western Digital WDC WD800JD-00MSA1 ATA Device (SATA)31 °C
977GB Seagate ST31000528AS ATA Device (SATA)32 °C
Optical Drives
ATAPI iHAS124 Y ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

Original Question

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

What happens when the CPU is the bottleneck in gaming?

Q. So I decided to build a cheap budget computer with everything basically costing under $100 total. The motherboard I chose comes with a Via Nano L2007 @ 1.8 GHz. Supposedly its performance is just above your average Intel Atom chip in netbooks.

Now if I were to use this for gaming and I have great hardware (eg. GeForce GTX 690, 128 GB SSD, and fast DDR3 RAM), would I be able to play modern games? Or is the CPU going to cancel out all the benefits from the other hardware?

Basically is the CPU really that important in modern games these days since most of the work is done by the Graphics Card?

A. Generally speaking; since RAM is so cheap nowadays the two most important components of a "Gaming Computer" are the GPU and CPU; skimping on either will definitely hinder your ability to game and result in a "bottleneck". That processor is a haul at 1.8ghz; honestly you could probably find a computer to scrap on Craiglists with a better processor (No offense. But seriously go junk a random PC and chances are you'll end up with a much better processor.)

Original Question

How much would it cost to build a moderately good computer?

Q. I love me some computer games but REALLY don't wanna spend well over a thousand dollars for a comp that will be outdated before long. I've heard that building is cheaper. Any idea how much it'd cost for parts to make a decent computer? It doesn't need to be a tank, but I'd like to be able to play recent games without trouble. Would that be manageable with a 1,000 budget, or is it not THAT much cheaper?

A. The only difference between you and I is confidence. Once that little hurdle is overcome then it's smooth sailing. It honestly doesn't take a lot of experience to put a computer together. I mean they have orientation points on everything. Look at RAM sticks see that little slot in the middle. It makes it impossible to put it backwards. When you put a computer together make sure you use kid gloves. Think about it like an elementary puzzle. There are fairly bid pieces and if you force it and pound on it then yeah something will go wrong. If you use kid gloves everything will be jsut fine. Lets move over to your CPU. There is a triangle printed on the corner of your on your CPU as well as the motherboard. It may be a circle but there are markers on each piece that makes assembly fairly straightforward. Moving on to your GFX card. there is a slot on the left hand side of the bottom of the GFX card where it mates with the board. I also wouldn't make any sense to have the wrong side of the card facing out so backwards isn't happening here either. PSU? Screws are on one side and there is only one big square hole with places for your screw hole where your PSU can go. Now the motherboard? That has to be hard. If you look a bit closer at a motherboard you will see a LOT of holes and usually only 6 risers & screws to install it with. How in the heck are you supposed to make sense out of all the circuitry, holes and hardware? The screw holes will have starbursts surrounding the holes.

In a nutshell if you look a bit closer everything is clearly marked for ease of assembly. Take each piece of your build and go to youtube and watch an installation. See how simple pressing in and then plugging in a graphics card is. Watch how someone screws in the risers that the motherboard sits on and then see how the motherboard is screwed into place. You will see that when taken in small bites the process is rather simplistic.

Now we get down to your parts. I chose the 2500K so i will have to suggest that because it is in your BUDGET and you want your price vs performance to lean towards performance. the 2500K is really the HOTTEST CPU on the market today. Yes AMD's bulldozer is on the horizon but it isn't on the market yet and the price would probably be a bit steep at launch and I would still wait a bit to see if any issues arise.There was an issue with the 1155 socket at launch but those have been taken care of long ago. Anyways the links below will = your budget. This is just for the tower. Lets put the 1100T HEX core against the 2500K before I do this http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288. As you can see the 1100T and the 2500K are both at 3.3 GHZ and the 2500K only has 4 cores and the 1100T has 6. The 2500K is the clear winner especially where gaming is concerned at the bottom of the page. Anyways on to your parts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 CPU $220

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583 Motherboard $109 after MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 RAM $45

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009 PSU $140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 GPU/GFX $229 after MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119224 Case $99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 Windows 7 Premium $94

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $21

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 CPU Cooler. Yes you may recycle the USELESS cooler that comes with the 2500K. I mean it does do its' job but not all that well.


Grand total after your MIRs $987


Want to learn how to overclock this AWESOME CPU from 3.3GHz to 4.2GHZ? Turn on, press delete, click overclocking, change the multiplier from 33 to 42, press F10 to save and exit and you're done. You could add in one step when you change the multiplier. Press backspace and click on green power and enable C1E. Just conserves power when you are only watching a movie or surfing. I own this motherboard so I now how simple a change to a number and enabling a power saver really is. I'm not an overclocker but this board/CPU combo makes the process easy.

Operating System
MS Windows 7 32-bit Upgrading to 64bit soon
CPU
Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
RAM
8.00 GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-25)
Motherboard
MSI P67A-G43 (MS-7673) (SOCKET 0)36 °C
Graphics
DELL 1704FPV (1024x768@75Hz)
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (Diamond)44 °C
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (VISIONTEK)39 °C
CrossFire Disabled
Hard Drives
156GB Seagate ST3160812AS ATA Device (SATA)34 °C
78GB Western Digital WDC WD800JD-00MSA1 ATA Device (SATA)31 °C
977GB Seagate ST31000528AS ATA Device (SATA)32 °C
Optical Drives
ATAPI iHAS124 Y ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

Original Question

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