$650 gaming build

Phædrus2401 · 10-19-2009, 01:14 PM

Case:
Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129070
$49.95

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L Intel P43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128380
$79.99

CPU:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116093
$94.99

RAM:
G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 CL5 1.8V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231207
$73.99

Graphics card:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 512MB GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102854
$66.99

Power supply:
Corsair VX550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004
$79.99

Hard drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136283
$79.99

Optical drive:
Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289
$28.99

Operating system:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754
$99.99

TOTAL PRICE:
$654.87

Will play most modern games on medium settings on a 1680x1050 resolution. High to ultra high on 1280x800. Will overclock moderately with an aftermarket CPU cooler. Upgradeable, can take up to a Radeon 4850/GeForce GTS250 without a PSU upgrade, or a Radeon 5750, and CPUs including high-end Wolfdale dual cores, and Core 2 Quad CPUs. Should be very stable, and have a lifetime of 5+ years at minimum.

JCP21 · 10-19-2009, 02:38 PM

For 650 thats goods may use some of it for my next build

**beefers1** · 10-21-2009, 01:17 PM

Wow, that's an awesome build. Way better than mine which cost $900 not even 2 years ago. Gotta keep it in mind for when I go off to university next year.

Phædrus2401 · 10-21-2009, 02:50 PM

Alternate build for AMD:

Replace the motherboard and CPU with these components:

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AMD 785G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128394
$79.99

CPU:
AMD Athlon II x3 435 AM3 2.9GHz
http://www.provantage.com/amd-adx435...x~7AAMD2AU.htm
$96.00

Had to go to Provantage to find the CPU since they didn't have it at newegg, but right now it's the best AMD CPU in that price range. It will do slightly better in newer games and multi-threaded tasks due to the extra CPU core, but may lose ground during FPS games and games made before ~2008. I am *not* 100% sure the RAM is compatible, as Gigabyte's RAM support list seemed fairly incomplete, and G.Skill's website is down, so take that with a grain of salt.

sabot105mm · 10-22-2009, 06:52 PM

i would go with the amd, 775 socket is pretty much on its last effort for life

Phædrus2401 · 10-22-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabot105mm

i would go with the amd, 775 socket is pretty much on its last effort for life

Not quite. The high-end dual core CPUs available for 775 (E8000 series) and mid-upper range quad cores (Q6600, Q8400 and up, Q9300 and up) can still compete quite well with the i5 750 on most tasks, and will likely outperform the i3 CPUs by a large margin. Intel is still making CPUs for the socket, and is even releasing a new line of budget CPUs (the Celeron E3000 series) next year. The AMD is probably the better CPU for the money in this case, though.

sabot105mm · 10-22-2009, 07:05 PM

yes i know not quite but alot less then 5 years, just saying

**Tyree** · 10-23-2009, 07:44 AM

775 platform is still very much in the running.

sabot105mm · 10-23-2009, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyree

775 platform is still very much in the running.

i dont like doing this, but this is what i read. intel will be discontinuing alot of the 775 socketed processors, and none will be in the making, now what i ment by saying 775 is on its finale days is there will never be a processor developed
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090618PD214.html

**Tyree** · 10-23-2009, 09:05 AM

Reading the article thoroughly says "some" will be discontinued (units that aren't large sellers), some will be "phased out" (that will be as long as there is a market and that could be months to yrs.)
I'm not being argumentative but the 775 pin platform is far from being obsolete and is still a very strong & solidperformer. Personally, I think the i7 will go the way of the Prescott and the i5 will be the next mainstream platform.

FreeNerd · 10-23-2009, 09:51 AM

I was going to say that 775 better not be dying. While the i7 is a great CPU, I am not maxing out my E8500 @3.6, not even close.

I was toying around with upgrading last week, but when I really sat down and looked at my rig, I am still playing top tier games on max detail settings & 1600x1200. Until that changes I won't be upgrading my computer to the i7.

10-19-2009, 01:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,838 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	$650 gaming build Case: Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129070 $49.95 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L Intel P43 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128380 $79.99 CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116093 $94.99 RAM: G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 CL5 1.8V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231207 $73.99 Graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 512MB GDDR3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102854 $66.99 Power supply: Corsair VX550W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004 $79.99 Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136283 $79.99 Optical drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289 $28.99 Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754 $99.99 TOTAL PRICE: $654.87 Will play most modern games on medium settings on a 1680x1050 resolution. High to ultra high on 1280x800. Will overclock moderately with an aftermarket CPU cooler. Upgradeable, can take up to a Radeon 4850/GeForce GTS250 without a PSU upgrade, or a Radeon 5750, and CPUs including high-end Wolfdale dual cores, and Core 2 Quad CPUs. Should be very stable, and have a lifetime of 5+ years at minimum. __________________ Good PSU brands: Corsair, SeaSonic, CWT, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake Toughpower, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro On 80+ Certification - PSU Information and Selection - Power Supply Myths You don't get what you don't pay for.

10-19-2009, 02:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
JCP21 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 18 OS: Windows 7	Re: $650 gaming build For 650 thats goods may use some of it for my next build

10-21-2009, 01:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Greater Vancouver area, BC, Canada Posts: 4,036 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 13	Re: $650 gaming build Wow, that's an awesome build. Way better than mine which cost $900 not even 2 years ago. Gotta keep it in mind for when I go off to university next year. __________________

10-21-2009, 02:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,838 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: $650 gaming build Alternate build for AMD: Replace the motherboard and CPU with these components: Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AMD 785G http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128394 $79.99 CPU: AMD Athlon II x3 435 AM3 2.9GHz http://www.provantage.com/amd-adx435...x~7AAMD2AU.htm $96.00 Had to go to Provantage to find the CPU since they didn't have it at newegg, but right now it's the best AMD CPU in that price range. It will do slightly better in newer games and multi-threaded tasks due to the extra CPU core, but may lose ground during FPS games and games made before ~2008. I am not 100% sure the RAM is compatible, as Gigabyte's RAM support list seemed fairly incomplete, and G.Skill's website is down, so take that with a grain of salt. __________________ Good PSU brands: Corsair, SeaSonic, CWT, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake Toughpower, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro On 80+ Certification - PSU Information and Selection - Power Supply Myths You don't get what you don't pay for.

10-22-2009, 06:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
sabot105mm Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: florida Posts: 174 OS: xp pro sp2	Re: $650 gaming build i would go with the amd, 775 socket is pretty much on its last effort for life

10-22-2009, 07:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
sabot105mm Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: florida Posts: 174 OS: xp pro sp2	Re: $650 gaming build yes i know not quite but alot less then 5 years, just saying

10-23-2009, 07:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,719 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: $650 gaming build 775 platform is still very much in the running. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

10-23-2009, 09:05 AM	#10 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,719 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: $650 gaming build Reading the article thoroughly says "some" will be discontinued (units that aren't large sellers), some will be "phased out" (that will be as long as there is a market and that could be months to yrs.) I'm not being argumentative but the 775 pin platform is far from being obsolete and is still a very strong & solidperformer. Personally, I think the i7 will go the way of the Prescott and the i5 will be the next mainstream platform. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

10-23-2009, 09:51 AM	#11 (permalink)
FreeNerd Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 238 OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP	Re: $650 gaming build I was going to say that 775 better not be dying. While the i7 is a great CPU, I am not maxing out my E8500 @3.6, not even close. I was toying around with upgrading last week, but when I really sat down and looked at my rig, I am still playing top tier games on max detail settings & 1600x1200. Until that changes I won't be upgrading my computer to the i7. __________________ “Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing” ~ Aristotle