Noob here

[Jae]

Im new here and had a couple questions. I have a budget of $500 for a new gaming pc, i know its not much but thats all i have right now. The computer will be used for gaming and internet. Can anyone make a list of parts that will fit into my price range? This question has probably been asked many times before so sorry for the inconvenience

 

[jim_77]

I'd get a cheap Athlon with a 9600 graphics card and 512MB.

It's gonna take some effort to get a good system for $500... I hope you don't need a monitor too.

 

[ohGrFreak]

yeah, you can prolly swing a Athlon XP 2400 or better and a midrange video card, like a FX5700 or a Ati9600, maybe a very cheap motherboard and case with a 350w PSU. OEM XP home should be the OS, unless you already have one. a 80 gig harddrive, preferably western digital. a 512 stick of ram at least. well hey, look at the "backup comp" in the right hand side of my signature, that cost 700 bucks with monitor a year ago, you could prolly swing that with 500 now. just make sure the video card is better that mine.

 

[jim_77]

Rosewill Black ATX Mid Tower Case, Model "R214P" $29.50

Lite-On Black 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive, Model SOHC-5232K, OEM Bulk Pack $36.99

SAMSUNG 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model SP0802N, OEM Drive only $56.50

ASUS "A7N8X" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL(New Version, now support AMD Barton 400MHz) $72.00

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600SE Video Card, 128MB DDR, 64-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9600SE" -RETAIL $71.70

PDP SYSTEMS Memory Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 512MB (256MBx2) DDR PC-2700, Model PDC5122700LLK - Retail $83.00

AMD Athlon XP 2700+, 333MHz FSB, 256K Cache Processor - Retail $103.00

Total (without shipping and tax) $415.50 from Newegg.com


Your spare $84.50 could upgrade you to a 200GB drive and get you a DVD burner. But I thought I'd leave it cheap just to prove you can play HL2 for this price.

 

[jim_77]

The memory's not brilliant either... but it will work fine.

 

[4W4K3]

$83 for PC-2700 is way too much.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-161&depa=1
For $1 more you will get a buttload more performance

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-220-002&depa=1
$7 more and you will have even better RAM with tighter timings. I'd shoot for these.

 

[waynejkruse10]

id drop the CPU down to the 2500+, its still a Barton core with 333mhz fsb and 512kb cache, and in games the performance decrease is negotiable. With the extra money, get a 9600xt, its defenantly worth it.

 

[Raekwon]

yeah, because the 9600SE is really lacking in performance, and is out-performed by the FX5200 in most cases - which is saying something, because the 5200 is a very cheap card.

 

[Forchunet]

I dont know much about ram but would this be better than the ones that 4W4K3 suggested?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-305&depa=1

 

[4W4K3]

I dont know much about ram but would this be better than the ones that 4W4K3 suggested?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-305&depa=1

Timings are worse
No Dual Channel capability with a single stick

I would say they are worse.