azn Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I'm a first time PC builder and I'm interested in building a gaming PC that will cost me $1000 or under that will at least run GTAIV, but not something extreme that will run Crysis. So today I came up with this: (I can change it around a little, this is day 1) CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz Motherboard: EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Motherboard RAM: Kingston 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory x2 Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive Case: Ultra X-Blaster PSU: OCZ GameXStream 850W The CPU and Motherboard are Socket 775, has 4 memory slots for up to 4GB DDR2 RAM For the sound card, I might just use the on board sound that comes with the Motherboard The problem I have right now is the price. I calculated some estimated costs according to some websites that stocked the parts and it went well over $1200.. I was wondering if anyone could help me and bring the cost down, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damjan Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 PSU.500W is enough. And an E5200 processor is enough,too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slyde Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Oh yeah 850w is going a bit too far. Also, that CPU won't do very well on GTA IV. I don't actually know any good websites with good prices but that should not cost more than 1.2k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberry Pie Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I'm a first time PC builder and I'm interested in building a gaming PC that will cost me $1000 or under that will at least run GTAIV, but not something extreme that will run Crysis. So today I came up with this:(I can change it around a little, this is day 1) CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz Motherboard: EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Motherboard RAM: Kingston 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory x2 Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive Case: Ultra X-Blaster PSU: OCZ GameXStream 850W The CPU and Motherboard are Socket 775, has 4 memory slots for up to 4GB DDR2 RAM For the sound card, I might just use the on board sound that comes with the Motherboard The problem I have right now is the price. I calculated some estimated costs according to some websites that stocked the parts and it went well over $1200.. I was wondering if anyone could help me and bring the cost down, thanks Try a better processor instead. I currently have a Pentium Dual Core with 1.8Ghz and it performed somewhat poorly on GTA IV. The rest should probably be fine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustADummy Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 If you want to play GTAIV you should really change your RAM and processor. Try to find some cheap 2x2GB (or 2+1GB) sticks and a Core 2 Quad. The core 2 quad doesn't need to be a complete 'massacre', because they're expensive as fuck. At least in here the Q6600 (the one I use) was really cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLlamaLlama Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Nobody seems to be grasping this part: The problem I have right now is the price. I calculated some estimated costs according to some websites that stocked the parts and it went well over $1200.. He's looking to make the system cheaper, presumably as a priority over IV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTA Don Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) Case: Antec Three Hundred (great brand and a great case for the money, pretty cheap as well) CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or Q6600 (Q6600 is fine but the C2D should perform better because it uses 45nm technology, not 65nm) Mobo: ASUS P5Q or P5Q Pro (good brand, should work fine) RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400 (DDR2 800 is probably the best bang for buck speed you can get for mem right now, DDR3 isn't worth it right now unless you're on an i7) GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB or 4850 (the 4830 is a great GPU, currently on par with 9800GTX so great bang for buck card, if you can afford it, get a 4850) HDD: Any good 250 or 500 GB HD should do, make sure it's got a good cache size such as 16, 32 MB and a SATA interface, good brands are Seagate and Western Digital) DVD-RW: Asus DRW-22B1LT 22x (should work great, or there is the alternative of a Samsung SH-S223Q/RSMN 22x) Cooling: Buy 1 or 2 case fans and a good CPU cooler, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is good for LGA775 CPU's) PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600w I don't know how much all that would be in AUD, around £600 or £700 here though + VAT. If you want to keep the setup you posted above azn, I'd take out the PSU and replace it for a good 600w, a better CPU e.g. E7300 or E8200, better RAM and at least a 4830. Edited January 24, 2009 by GTA Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris82 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Case: Antec Three Hundred (great brand and a great case for the money, pretty cheap as well)CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or Q6600 (Q6600 is fine but the C2D should perform better because it uses 45nm technology, not 65nm) Mobo: ASUS P5Q or P5Q Pro (good brand, should work fine) RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400 (DDR2 800 is probably the best bang for buck speed you can get for mem right now, DDR3 isn't worth it right now unless you're on an i7) GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB or 4850 (the 4830 is a great GPU, currently on par with 9800GTX so great bang for buck card, if you can afford it, get a 4850) HDD: Any good 250 or 500 GB HD should do, make sure it's got a good cache size such as 16, 32 MB and a SATA interface, good brands are Seagate and Western Digital) DVD-RW: Asus DRW-22B1LT 22x (should work great, or there is the alternative of a Samsung SH-S223Q/RSMN 22x) Cooling: Buy 1 or 2 case fans and a good CPU cooler, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is good for LGA775 CPU's) PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600w I don't know how much all that would be in AUD, around £600 or £700 here though + VAT. If you want to keep the setup you posted above azn, I'd take out the PSU and replace it for a good 600w, a better CPU e.g. E7300 or E8200, better RAM and at least a 4830. This build is exactly right, except stay away from 4830, 4850 is fine. Seriously DONT get an Intel processor below the E6600 and DO NOT buy an nVidia card unless it's a GTX 280/295. Also yes you'll want 4GB of RAM for GTAIV, especially with Vista x64 (the OS you should use for this build) Also Seagate blows, as does Maxtor. Western Digital > All Oh and FYI if you can run GTAIV well you can run Crysis no problem. GTAIV requires much more than Crysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaz The Great Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 If you want to play GTAIV you should really change your RAM and processor. Try to find some cheap 2x2GB (or 2+1GB) sticks and a Core 2 Quad. The core 2 quad doesn't need to be a complete 'massacre', because they're expensive as fuck. At least in here the Q6600 (the one I use) was really cheap. Why is everyone saying there's something wrong with 2GB of RAM? Case: Antec Three Hundred (great brand and a great case for the money, pretty cheap as well)CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or Q6600 (Q6600 is fine but the C2D should perform better because it uses 45nm technology, not 65nm) Mobo: ASUS P5Q or P5Q Pro (good brand, should work fine) RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400 (DDR2 800 is probably the best bang for buck speed you can get for mem right now, DDR3 isn't worth it right now unless you're on an i7) GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB or 4850 (the 4830 is a great GPU, currently on par with 9800GTX so great bang for buck card, if you can afford it, get a 4850) HDD: Any good 250 or 500 GB HD should do, make sure it's got a good cache size such as 16, 32 MB and a SATA interface, good brands are Seagate and Western Digital) DVD-RW: Asus DRW-22B1LT 22x (should work great, or there is the alternative of a Samsung SH-S223Q/RSMN 22x) Cooling: Buy 1 or 2 case fans and a good CPU cooler, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is good for LGA775 CPU's) PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600w I don't know how much all that would be in AUD, around £600 or £700 here though + VAT. If you want to keep the setup you posted above azn, I'd take out the PSU and replace it for a good 600w, a better CPU e.g. E7300 or E8200, better RAM and at least a 4830. This build is exactly right, except stay away from 4830, 4850 is fine. Seriously DONT get an Intel processor below the E6600 and DO NOT buy an nVidia card unless it's a GTX 280/295. Also yes you'll want 4GB of RAM for GTAIV, especially with Vista x64 (the OS you should use for this build) Also Seagate blows, as does Maxtor. Western Digital > All Oh and FYI if you can run GTAIV well you can run Crysis no problem. GTAIV requires much more than Crysis. Weren't you advocating the GeForce 8800 back in the day? How is that suddenly a bad card? And I wouldn't suggest Vista for any setup. Why waste more resources than you have to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slyde Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Case: Antec Three Hundred (great brand and a great case for the money, pretty cheap as well)CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or Q6600 (Q6600 is fine but the C2D should perform better because it uses 45nm technology, not 65nm) Mobo: ASUS P5Q or P5Q Pro (good brand, should work fine) RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400 (DDR2 800 is probably the best bang for buck speed you can get for mem right now, DDR3 isn't worth it right now unless you're on an i7) GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB or 4850 (the 4830 is a great GPU, currently on par with 9800GTX so great bang for buck card, if you can afford it, get a 4850) HDD: Any good 250 or 500 GB HD should do, make sure it's got a good cache size such as 16, 32 MB and a SATA interface, good brands are Seagate and Western Digital) DVD-RW: Asus DRW-22B1LT 22x (should work great, or there is the alternative of a Samsung SH-S223Q/RSMN 22x) Cooling: Buy 1 or 2 case fans and a good CPU cooler, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is good for LGA775 CPU's) PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600w I don't know how much all that would be in AUD, around £600 or £700 here though + VAT. If you want to keep the setup you posted above azn, I'd take out the PSU and replace it for a good 600w, a better CPU e.g. E7300 or E8200, better RAM and at least a 4830. That would cost at least 1.5k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azn Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 This build is exactly right, except stay away from 4830, 4850 is fine.Seriously DONT get an Intel processor below the E6600 and DO NOT buy an nVidia card unless it's a GTX 280/295. Also yes you'll want 4GB of RAM for GTAIV, especially with Vista x64 (the OS you should use for this build) Also Seagate blows, as does Maxtor. Western Digital > All Oh and FYI if you can run GTAIV well you can run Crysis no problem. GTAIV requires much more than Crysis. I read a review and it seems the P5Q Pro doesn't support over 3GB of Ram on a Vista 32 bit. I was thinking of getting a smaller hard drive, around 160GB maybe? Since I hardly use up my drives. Don, I really like what you've given me, I might just go with that but I still need to find out what it will cost. And for the case, I'll just go with the Ultra X-Blaster - I'm just wondering if all these parts will fit in it? Since it's mid-sized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaz The Great Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 All your parts should fit.... But sometimes Vaseline and little force is required >.>.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris82 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Weren't you advocating the GeForce 8800 back in the day? How is that suddenly a bad card?And I wouldn't suggest Vista for any setup. Why waste more resources than you have to? No, I believe Chris had one but now has a 4850; getting an 8800 always was and still is a waste of money. Also please stop making ignorant statements about Vista. Assuming he has 4GB of RAM and therefore a 64-bit OS, Vista is much better choice. Hell, even on 2GB of RAM and a 32-bit OS it's still fine. It doesn't waste resources. Shut the fuck up. I read a review and it seems the P5Q Pro doesn't support over 3GB of Ram on a Vista 32 bit.And for the case, I'll just go with the Ultra X-Blaster - I'm just wondering if all these parts will fit in it? Since it's mid-sized. Yeah, that's because you need Vista 64-bit. No 32-bit OS supports more RAM than that. It's a limitation built into 32-bit software? Midtower cases are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRX22B1998 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) hmm you can check the prices at MSY i think they got the cheapest prices around their latest pricelist (updated every week) also i was looking at the same sort of thing as you, although I think i'am gonna get a ps3 first, but i had been looking at prices for stuff a whole lot, this is sort of out of date but the prices havent changed a whole lot. here lol chris82 dont kill anyone Edited January 26, 2009 by WRX22B1998 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Lol calm down, Jesus. Yeah Vista's perfectly fine if you have 3GB+ RAM. And yes I used to have an 8800, it was good back in the day when it first came out and still will run pretty much all modern games on max settings, it struggles with Crysis though, and GTA IV is very slow so that's why I upgraded to an ATi 4850. Also, any 32bit OS has a maximum capability of using 3.2GB of RAM, it's an inherent limitation from the CPU or OS, I actually can't remember why/how it is but yeah. Anyone building a computer now is stupid if they go with a 32bit OS, there's absolutely no point. There's practically no hardware compatibility issues since pretty much all manufacturers still in the business make drivers for 64bit OS's too. The only software that won't run are things made specifically for 32bit systems, which isn't anything modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azn Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Thanks heaps for the advice so far everyone, it's extremely helpful So I've come up with a more accurate list, and fortunately, MSY have a shop that's about 30 minutes from my house! Case: Ultra X-Blaster / They don't seem to supply it in Australia, may have to buy online instead CPU: C2D E8400 / $269 Mobo: Asus P5Q Pro / $199 RAM: Transcend 2GB DDR2 X2 / $72 GPU: ATI Radeon 4850 512MB / $242 DVD-RW: Haven't decided yet, the list has a confusing table about Optical drives and stuff HDD: W.D 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA / $57 Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro / $45 / Shop does not supply PSU: Thermaltake QFan 650W / $179 TOTAL: $1018, excluding case and Cooling It'll obviously be higher as I haven't added cooling and case costs yet, but it'll probably still exceed $1200 And since I have a 32bit Vista Home Premium CD, I can order a 64bit for free (according to the order page) Just one question though, will it be worth saving the money buying basic instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slyde Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Drop your PSU to a Antec Basiq 550w and save $80. 650 isn't needed. Other than that i don't think you'll want to drop anything else. Get a job if you don't have one or work harder if you do. You might want to get 4gigs of ram with +$10 btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris82 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Just one question though, will it be worth saving the money buying basic instead? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damjan Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) If you will go with Vista,grab The Ultimate one.It's better than home or professional. Edited January 26, 2009 by Steam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azn Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Just one question though, will it be worth saving the money buying basic instead? No. Why is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaz The Great Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Also please stop making ignorant statements about Vista. Assuming he has 4GB of RAM and therefore a 64-bit OS, Vista is much better choice. Hell, even on 2GB of RAM and a 32-bit OS it's still fine. It doesn't waste resources. Shut the fuck up. Funny, you're saying it doesn't use more resources than XP? That's what I meant by wasting resources. Why have a bigger build than you need to. And even funnier, not too long ago you were on the bandwagon ripping Vista apart. Why you getting so dick-bent over people doing it now? Also, he's going for price, not only does 4GB of RAM cost more than 2GB, but Vista is more expensive than XP. Not everyone is a little rich kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Assuming he'll be acquiring it in legal ways... otherwise it won't affect his total cost. Spaz you did specifically say "waste" resources, it doesn't waste them, it just uses more because it needs more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustADummy Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 True, I'm using Vista Ultimate x64 right now and it runs... better than XP for some reason. And GTAIV got faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaz The Great Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Assuming he'll be acquiring it in legal ways... otherwise it won't affect his total cost.Spaz you did specifically say "waste" resources, it doesn't waste them, it just uses more because it needs more. I meant using resources that could go to something else, which to me would be "wasting" them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRX22B1998 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 hmm looking like a good build azn. the dvd-rw drives, well, if you just want a DVDRW and no bluray or HDDVD its like $30 for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now