$500 gaming box

[Burn]

Hey guys, a friend of mine wants to upgrade and has $500 to spend on a new CPU, Mobo, RAM, GPU and Hard drive. He was thinking he will probably go AMD just because his budget is so low. Recommendations on what to get would be appreciated as I don't have a clue when it comes to AMD

 

[Muffin Man]

do you know what psu he has? his gpu selection could be limited by it.

if he can stretch it by $12 + shipping, he could get these.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

[Burn]

Yeah. An Enermax 485W and I think he said it had 32A on it's 12V rail.

 

[Muffin Man]

hm. well honestly, i cant give you a definite answer on whether it would run a 4890 like ive listed above.

from a quick search, i came across this 4890 review Radeon HD 4890 review | test they are recommending 32a on the 12v rail, which it looks like the psu has. and during their testing, with an OCed i7 965 and system stressed, they hit a 370w load.

it looks like it should be able to run it, but i guess if he wants to play it a little safe, go with the 5770 which should defenitly run since on ati's site, they are recommending a 450w. plus it should be a little cheaper.

 

[bkolk]

another chart
Power And Noise - Review Tom's Hardware : Radeon HD 5770 And 5750 Review: Gentlemen, Start Your HTPCs
this uses core-i5, hits 270W with 4890

 

[Burn]

For now I think he is just going to stick with his 485W. He'll get a new one if he does any major upgrades in the future though.

Thanks for the suggestions MuffinMan

 

[JorgeHGPR]

In my honest opinion, I wouldn't recomend a triple core processor for gaming. Instead, go with the AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz or with the AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Dual Core 3.1GHz.

 

[Peter.Cort]

A triple core is a fine idea for gaming, sometimes you can unlock the 4th core in those chips, and it's a combo deal with the cpu and the 4890 which makes it worthwhile.

 

[veg1992]

A triple core is a fine idea for gaming, sometimes you can unlock the 4th core in those chips, and it's a combo deal with the cpu and the 4890 which makes it worthwhile.

This....

But also remember that the Phenom II 550 Black Edition chips are usually the easiest CPU's to unlock the other two cores from.