Build a gaming PC for under $600? Check TR's System Guide (1 Viewer)

[Redbot]

There are a lot of system building guides on the web, but TR is always up to date and considers everyone's budget.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14225

Good systems you can build for good prices. If you search around, you can probably get some of these parts cheaper than their newegg affiliate links.

Here are a couple examples:

The Econobox - $580.89
Pentium E2180
2GB Kingston DDR2-800
eVGA GeForce 9600 GT
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB


The Sweet Spot- $1374.91
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2-800
eVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB
Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB


Anyone know any other frequently-updated system build guides out there?

 

[Wilbur]

The template I suggest to people who are Multiboxing is always;

Q6600 (Nice chip, easily overclockable to 3.0GHz up from 2.4GHz)
4 GB DDR2 PC6400 (or quicker, RAM is cheap now, so you can get high speed DDR3 for a relatively low amount)
8800GT(s)(x) - Great Graphics Cards. High clock rate, high pixel shader rate, high GDDR3 rate. What more could you want?
500GB Sata2 16mb cache.

A system like that should run in at around $1000. Personally I rate the Q6600 over ANY of the "Extreme" Dual-core machines and any serious gamer should most definately go for it over a dual-core processor.

 

[SandLOL]

Sweet post Bot of Red.

I'm going to be building a computer in 2-3 months.

Probably going to spend around $700-800 on parts.

Just wondering, does the case really matter?

I know that some cases that have designs cost more but does it really effect the performance of the computer due to the cooling system placement, etc?

 

[Siddin]

As far as I have found, not really. Sadly I've found that by having one side off and a fan in the back as well as in the front keeps the case about as cool as it does closed up with a fan on the door.

 

[SandLOL]

Sweet, I rather just get a shitty case that works then spend 100-200 on some tricked out one.

SandLOL is teh miser irl.

 

[isobelle]

if your case isn't made of platinum with 24k power and reset buttons, please GTFO of my forums.


GAWD.

 

[decker]

Like this:

But if you want a PC thats you know will not overheat get a casing like this:

- decker

 

[darkeros]

DDR2-800 4GB corsair ram - cheap
$124, $40 mail-in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176

 

[Siddin]

But if you want a PC thats you know will not overheat get a casing like this:

- decker

Unfortunately the person who made that has apparently forgotten something. You need enough room on the bottom to where the airflow will be able to reach the whole part of every fan. As such it should be about double to triple the height that it is sittin at, otherwise the air is taken up on the outside of the fan rather than via the whole fan. Because of such you won't get a full air flow inside of the bottom of the case.
But yeah, its a little overdone if I do say so myself. I'd rather just get a different cooling system :P

 

[SandLOL]

So my friend and I started a mock-list of what to get for my new computer.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

Video Card: EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD/CD: Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s

Case: LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply 115/ 230 V

Keyboard:
Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical 1600 dpi Gaming-Grade Mouse

Mouse:
Logitech G11 Silver & Black 104 Normal Keys 29 Function Keys USB Standard Gaming Keyboard

Total:
$979.90

Suggestions? Improvements?

Feel free to help!

 

[darkeros]

My suggestion is a 500W or above power supply for that setup. I'm not an expert, but all that stuff you're putting in it looks like it will require 500+

 

[Wilbur]

I'd swap the E6550 for a Q6600.

I'd also not bother with the 320MB GTS. A 512MB GT will offer better performance in most games.

Yeah, a 500 or 600 Watt PSU is definately a must. 8800's pull about 22-28A @ +12V

 

[SandLOL]

All I heard from Wilbur was "i r supa nerd and upgrade ur shit".



Mucho gracias sir!

edit: can't redcent

 

[WeEatDeadPeople]

http://www.slickdeals.net/?permadeal=11881#direct_deal_11881

Throw in an 8800GT.

Done.

 

[Wilbur]

And some more RAM...