Been a while, looking for recommendations for a "game rig" for friends...

[Gothch1ck]

Hi everyone, again.
Some friends want to get back into PC games and are more out dated then I am on tech.. I built my baby (mostly) and am Happy with her, but they don't have the money to do what I did... so......

Budget: Around $600, Without Case, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Monitor, or OS
*note* If we can get it With case it would be even better, and if we can do "everything" for under $800 that's the best!

They aren't super serious gamers, so I doubt they will notice things like slightly longer load times or a hiccup in Frames every now and then, so nothing "super crazy" is needed.

Bare MIN (as per on box system minimum - so we all know to have MORE then this):
# Dual Core 2.4Ghz Processor
# 2 GB RAM
# 512 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX or ATI Radeon® HD 3870 or better
(these are the Recommended specs for Diablo 3, which one of them will be wanting to play)

I would like them not to be too out of date, so newer motherboards and such that can always have "newer parts" added to them (more DDR3 RAM, extra x16 2.0 slots, etc) to be there for upgrades in case the future games blow up system specs crazy.

No real preference in anything - just Trusted and Reliable. I like XFX and Asus brand stuff, but I trust dependable long-lasting parts will be suggested.

Mail in rebates don't really matter, yes they help but I don't think they will take the time to do it, so try to avoid "needing" those.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Blackmoore]

Here is what I came up with:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 645 Propus
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

Motherboard: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Monitor: Acer G215HAbd-1 Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ACM 50,000:1
Newegg.com - Acer G215HAbd-1 Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ACM 50,000:1

Keyboard: Rosewill RK-800G Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Gaming Keyboard
Newegg.com - Rosewill RK-800G Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Gaming Keyboard

Mouse: Standard A133 Black USB Wired Optical 800 dpi Mouse
Newegg.com - Standard A133 Black USB Wired Optical 800 dpi Mouse

Grand Total: $795.55 w/Shipping Included with an additional $75 in rebates.

This is just my suggestion. I put that X4 645 Porpus in another gaming machine of mine and it runs great, and with it being AM3 you can always upgrade if needed. The difference between that X4 645 and the X6 1100T is only about $100 with many different chips in between so what you choose is up to you. With the video card, I tend to favor Nvidia, but there are other good options out there. Hope I helped a little, Good Luck with the build.

 

[Blackmoore]

I just realized I forgot the CD/DVD Drive.

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer

add an additional $21.99.

 

[Druid]

CPU+MOBO+HDD+RAM: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! $333
PSU: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS700-PCAAE3-US 700W ATX 12V v2.3 Active PFC Power Supply $70 - $15MIR = $55
Optical: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer $22
Case: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $50
Monitor: Newegg.com - Acer G235HAbd 23'' 5ms 1920x1080 WideScreen LCD monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 $146
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348&cm_re=hd_6850-_-14-161-348-_-Product $175 - $15MIR = $160

Total: $796 - $30 MIR = $766.

Then just pick up some cheap as **** keyboard and mouse.

This build has a superior cpu, gpu, psu, larger HDD, and a larger monitor for a comparable price as the other posted. Do it. I sacrificed 15 min of sleep to help you out haha.