Gaming on a budget

wessims · 03-29-2009, 01:06 PM

Hey everyone I am looking for some help building a new gaming pc. This will only my second box and the last was about 10 years ago. I am looking for a budget box that will allow me to upgrade in the future. I have an ideal in mind that I have posted after what I am looking for.

Budget: Around $1200. I am using my tax return and will not have much else for a bit.
Brands: I prefer Intel for the CPU and Nvidia for GPU. (Bad experience with AMD and ATI years ago, but if it has changed let me know.)
Multitasking: Not to much. Normal set up is Gaming, multi-browser, Media Player at max.
Gaming: Oh yes. Play a lot of Everquest 2, but current system is going on 10 years old. Would like to play things like Mirror edge and COD5.
Calculations: Not in the foreseeable future.
Overclocking: No plans to, but it gets hot here so cooling is essential.
Storage: looking for about 500Gb.
Legacy Support: No
Operating System: Been looking At Vista Home Premium 64bit, but currently own Windows XP home 32bit
Case: Will be using a pre existing ATX Full tower case
Accessories: Not needed coming from previous computer.
Recycled Components: Yes, DVD player and DVD burner
Monitor: Already Have a DVI monitor from previous computer
Stores: No have been window shopping Newegg at the moment.
Location: Florida, US

My Ideal:
CPU: Intel i7 920 Nehalem 2.66Ghz
MotherBoard: Evga x58 MotherBoard
Memory: OZC Platinum 4Gb (2x2GB) DDR3 1600
GPU: Evga Gforce 9800 GT 512Mb
PSU: Corsair 750TX
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500Gb
Fan (CPU): Coolmaster Hyper N 520
OS: OEM version Of Vista Home Premium 64Bit or XP Home 32bit

**linderman** · 03-29-2009, 01:22 PM

the I7 systems require a tri-stick memory set ................

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148250

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145224

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365

wessims · 03-29-2009, 01:30 PM

Really? Are they just that memory inefficient or to fast and create a bottleneck? Would going with an Intel core 2 Quad system be a better opption say like the Q9550?

**linderman** · 03-29-2009, 01:33 PM

the Q9650 and the I7 920 are about equal ..........................

wessims · 03-29-2009, 01:50 PM

I guess what i am asking is what gets me the most bang for my buck? The thought of full upgrading any time in the near future (say 2 to 3 years) is unlikely. Though Small addjustments in the next my be possible.

Also sould i go with a GPU like the Geforce 9800gt and plain to take atvantage of Nvidia SLi option? Or spend the money on a slightly better card now?

**linderman** · 03-29-2009, 05:27 PM

dont mess with sli .................. too many games dont make full or efficient use out of sli ......... its an expensive way to achieve a 15% boost in performance

the 260GTX or ati 4870 is all the card you will need for the next 3 years

IMHO ................. I would go with the intel E8500 dual core .............. games dont use 4 cores right now ............ so its a waste to spend all that money on a quad .........later on 3 years from now ........ if you need the quad ......... then get the Q9650 then ............ it will be about 50% of what it is today!

wessims · 03-30-2009, 12:43 AM

Thank you for the recommendations. From what i can find on gaming benchmarks this recommendation will do nicely. Thank you.

cami · 03-30-2009, 11:40 AM

I would get a power supply in the 850-1000 watt range if you are planning to upgrade in the future. It should fit nicely into your budget.

cami · 03-30-2009, 11:52 AM

wessims · 03-30-2009, 11:36 PM

OK, going on what advice i have gotten and some research of my own here is what i have come up with.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
Motherboard: Evga nForce 790i Ultra
Memory: OZC DDR3 1333 4Gb (2x2Gb)
GPU: Evga GTX 260
HD: Western Digital 500Gb 7200rpm
PSU: Corsair 850tx
CPU Cooler: ThermalTake SpinQ
Wireless: D-link DWA-556
Do to location in my house this is now part of the build.

How does this look? any tweaks or suggestions.

Mcninjaguy · 03-31-2009, 12:14 AM

nvidia motherboards are really buggy try going for a motherboard with a intel chipset like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131344

**linderman** · 03-31-2009, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mcninjaguy

nvidia motherboards are really buggy try going for a motherboard with a intel chipset like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131344

I agree ............... or if you are sold on SLI then get one for AMD CPU........ which would not be my first choice either at this time ...........

also stick with a DDR2 board................ they are faster than the same cpu with DDR3

Phædrus2401 · 03-31-2009, 06:54 AM

If you're going to go for Nvidia, get a high-end card like the X260 or X285 and if you really want to you can SLI those in three or four years. If you want to stick in the range of the 9800, then an ATI 4850 or 4870 would be a better choice, reliability wise, though the 4870 does have more oomph as well. If you do go for an ATI card, I would recommend an ASUS or GIGABYTE mobo.

wessims · 03-31-2009, 10:22 AM

Well let me ask you all these question. Is it better to go with memory that has the same bus speed as your processor or does it mater? Also is there a particular Intel motherboard/Northbridge chipset that would better fit a gaming systems needs?

**linderman** · 03-31-2009, 11:32 AM

good boards are

Asus P5Q-E ......P5Q-Deluxe ......P5Q-Pro

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L .......GA-EP45-DS4P ...GA-EP45-DQ6

as for ram and its currently very attractive prices ................I woudl go with these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145214

03-29-2009, 01:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
wessims Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orland, Florida Posts: 7 OS: Vista Home Prem. 64	Gaming on a budget Hey everyone I am looking for some help building a new gaming pc. This will only my second box and the last was about 10 years ago. I am looking for a budget box that will allow me to upgrade in the future. I have an ideal in mind that I have posted after what I am looking for. Budget: Around $1200. I am using my tax return and will not have much else for a bit. Brands: I prefer Intel for the CPU and Nvidia for GPU. (Bad experience with AMD and ATI years ago, but if it has changed let me know.) Multitasking: Not to much. Normal set up is Gaming, multi-browser, Media Player at max. Gaming: Oh yes. Play a lot of Everquest 2, but current system is going on 10 years old. Would like to play things like Mirror edge and COD5. Calculations: Not in the foreseeable future. Overclocking: No plans to, but it gets hot here so cooling is essential. Storage: looking for about 500Gb. Legacy Support: No Operating System: Been looking At Vista Home Premium 64bit, but currently own Windows XP home 32bit Case: Will be using a pre existing ATX Full tower case Accessories: Not needed coming from previous computer. Recycled Components: Yes, DVD player and DVD burner Monitor: Already Have a DVI monitor from previous computer Stores: No have been window shopping Newegg at the moment. Location: Florida, US My Ideal: CPU: Intel i7 920 Nehalem 2.66Ghz MotherBoard: Evga x58 MotherBoard Memory: OZC Platinum 4Gb (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 GPU: Evga Gforce 9800 GT 512Mb PSU: Corsair 750TX Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500Gb Fan (CPU): Coolmaster Hyper N 520 OS: OEM version Of Vista Home Premium 64Bit or XP Home 32bit

03-29-2009, 01:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,434 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Gaming on a budget the I7 systems require a tri-stick memory set ................ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145224 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365 __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial Last edited by linderman; 03-29-2009 at 01:24 PM.

03-29-2009, 01:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
wessims Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orland, Florida Posts: 7 OS: Vista Home Prem. 64	Re: Gaming on a budget Really? Are they just that memory inefficient or to fast and create a bottleneck? Would going with an Intel core 2 Quad system be a better opption say like the Q9550?

03-29-2009, 01:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,434 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Gaming on a budget the Q9650 and the I7 920 are about equal .......................... __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

03-29-2009, 01:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
wessims Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orland, Florida Posts: 7 OS: Vista Home Prem. 64	Re: Gaming on a budget I guess what i am asking is what gets me the most bang for my buck? The thought of full upgrading any time in the near future (say 2 to 3 years) is unlikely. Though Small addjustments in the next my be possible. Also sould i go with a GPU like the Geforce 9800gt and plain to take atvantage of Nvidia SLi option? Or spend the money on a slightly better card now?

03-29-2009, 05:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,434 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Gaming on a budget dont mess with sli .................. too many games dont make full or efficient use out of sli ......... its an expensive way to achieve a 15% boost in performance the 260GTX or ati 4870 is all the card you will need for the next 3 years IMHO ................. I would go with the intel E8500 dual core .............. games dont use 4 cores right now ............ so its a waste to spend all that money on a quad .........later on 3 years from now ........ if you need the quad ......... then get the Q9650 then ............ it will be about 50% of what it is today! __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

03-30-2009, 12:43 AM	#7 (permalink)
wessims Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orland, Florida Posts: 7 OS: Vista Home Prem. 64	Re: Gaming on a budget Thank you for the recommendations. From what i can find on gaming benchmarks this recommendation will do nicely. Thank you.

03-30-2009, 11:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
cami Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 64 OS: winXP	Re: Gaming on a budget I would get a power supply in the 850-1000 watt range if you are planning to upgrade in the future. It should fit nicely into your budget.

03-30-2009, 11:52 AM	#9 (permalink)
cami Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 64 OS: winXP	Re: Gaming on a budget This is what i would do on your budget. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128358 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130370 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139009 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227267 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136074 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019 You could save ~150$ by getting the e8500 instead of the quad. There would be little loss in performance on the gaming side.

03-30-2009, 11:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
wessims Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orland, Florida Posts: 7 OS: Vista Home Prem. 64	Re: Gaming on a budget OK, going on what advice i have gotten and some research of my own here is what i have come up with. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Motherboard: Evga nForce 790i Ultra Memory: OZC DDR3 1333 4Gb (2x2Gb) GPU: Evga GTX 260 HD: Western Digital 500Gb 7200rpm PSU: Corsair 850tx CPU Cooler: ThermalTake SpinQ Wireless: D-link DWA-556 Do to location in my house this is now part of the build. How does this look? any tweaks or suggestions.

03-31-2009, 12:14 AM	#11 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Gaming on a budget nvidia motherboards are really buggy try going for a motherboard with a intel chipset like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131344

03-31-2009, 06:54 AM	#13 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,755 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Gaming on a budget If you're going to go for Nvidia, get a high-end card like the X260 or X285 and if you really want to you can SLI those in three or four years. If you want to stick in the range of the 9800, then an ATI 4850 or 4870 would be a better choice, reliability wise, though the 4870 does have more oomph as well. If you do go for an ATI card, I would recommend an ASUS or GIGABYTE mobo.

03-31-2009, 10:22 AM	#14 (permalink)
wessims Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orland, Florida Posts: 7 OS: Vista Home Prem. 64	Re: Gaming on a budget Well let me ask you all these question. Is it better to go with memory that has the same bus speed as your processor or does it mater? Also is there a particular Intel motherboard/Northbridge chipset that would better fit a gaming systems needs? Last edited by wessims; 03-31-2009 at 10:32 AM.

03-31-2009, 11:32 AM	#15 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,434 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Gaming on a budget good boards are Asus P5Q-E ......P5Q-Deluxe ......P5Q-Pro Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L .......GA-EP45-DS4P ...GA-EP45-DQ6 as for ram and its currently very attractive prices ................I woudl go with these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145214 __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial