$500 gaming build?

[toejamfootball]

I want to build a gaming pc, I only have a 500 dollar budget.. I don't need an OS or a Monitor though, but I hardly know what parts are best..

I want to play, CoD4, CoD WaW, Day of Defeat, Red Orchestra, Europa Universalis III thats about it, I figure I dont need that great of a system to run these games nice.

I found this on another forum, any suggestions? I like the free CoD with it lol..

* CPU - Intel Pentium E5200 Dual-Core Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W
* GPU - EVGA GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCIe 2.0
* Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L P43 ATX
* RAM - 2GB WINTEC DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
* HDD - 500GB Western Digital Caviar GP
* PSU - 500W Rosewill
* Case - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid-Tower
* DVD Drive - LG 22X DVD±R Burner
* Free Call of Duty: World at War (PC Version)

Final Price: $505.09 -Current as of 6/01/2009-


Um which card is better??

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

or

EVGA 512-P3-1150-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

 

[35g700]

I would spend a little less on the video card and get a better PSU. The PSU is a very bad place to cheap out on... Here is what I would reccomend

CPU- Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
GPU- Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
MoBo- Newegg.com - ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
RAM- Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
HDD- Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
PSU- Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies
Case- Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Optical- Newegg.com - LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

The total is $513.88

If you wanted to cut costs I would recommend a cheaper case.

Anyways I built my friend a computer with almost identical parts (different case and HDD) and it runs really fast.

 

[toejamfootball]

What if I take your build and put this video card in.. is it worth it? I could spend 600 actually. Thanks for quick reply.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1156-TR GeForce GTS 250 Superclocked Edition 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[wafflehammer]

go with the ati 4770..like $100 and better than cards listed so far.

 

[hikaricloud]

There's only one 4770 on newegg right now and it's out of stock, so the 4830 wouldn't be a terrible idea.

Though you could grab this 4850 for a decent cost: Newegg.com - HIS Hightech H485FN512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[toejamfootball]

wait how is a 512mb card better then the 1gb nvidia card I posted? that ati you posted is also gddr3 and its 512mb instead of 1gb and if the 4770 is better why is it cheaper? I don't understand computer hardware.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1156-TR GeForce GTS 250 Superclocked Edition 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[Yami]

ATI tend to be cheaper and better sometimes. Also, just because one card has more RAM doesn't mean it's faster.

 

[hikaricloud]

More RAM is generally only useful for higher resolutions. All of the cards there have GDDR3.

I'm still voting for the 4850 though.

 

[35g700]

Yeah that 4850 is really good for $105. The 4850 is about equal to the 9800GTX+ and IIRC a GTS 250 is a 9800GTX+.

EDIT: If your going to spend $170 on a video card you would be better off going with a 4870

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[Hussein19891]

GTS 250 is still a great card for the price.

To be honest you will be satisfied with either card.