Really budget gaming computer help

[NevoraskiA]

I agree you're going to have to upgrade that power supply. I just upgraded this computer for Starcraft II... and now I'm building a new computer.

I upgraded my power supply to 500 watts (after upgrading to 430... i underupgraded). I upgraded my video card to PNY NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT X16 PCIE (which is still too slow... it just barely runs ultra settings)... I added 1 GB of ram (Starcraft II requires 1 GB by itself (and that's a minimum))... My processor still isn't updated to requirements for Starcraft II, but it runs the game fine... it just loads the game and maps a little slower. (this was a 5 to 6 year old computer that I upgraded).

Your power supply, video card, and ram upgrades are more then likely going to be at least $200. That leaves you $200 to work with for the CPU.

Make sure you search newegg.com and tigerdirect.com and compare prices and how the items work. Hope this info helps.

 

[KJamesJR]

Okay, here's pretty much an entire budget build that could work... The total cost is $404 BUT you're getting $45 dollars in rebates. So really it comes to $359.

Case
Newegg.com - APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro ATX Tower Computer Case

MOBO
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 AMD 780L Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

GPU
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

PSU
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CMPSU-500CX 500W ATX12V v2.3 Active PFC Power Supply

Memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

CPU
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 265 Regor 3.3GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX265OCGMBOX

Now you said you have a Hard drive and disc drive already, so I did not include those. However, when your rebates come in you can get yourself a new hard drive or disc drive... Or both.

Edit: I heard the builder series PSU's could be horrible, try looking into the other 500W OCZ they have. Runs more money though.

 

[Abstract Hero]

I'm not going to fight Trotter on this but I stand behind the builders series PSUs as long as it is NOT the 430CX. Some will agree with me others will not.

Just realize that the Builders Series is cheaper because you are sacrificing some voltage as compared to a more expensive Corsair PSU of the same wattage.

To be safe spend the little extra and get this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

 

[Joho128]

Thankk you all for your posts!!! i have all the info i need now TYVM

 

[NevoraskiA]

I definately would NEVER in my life go with a micro tower, but if it works it works. What can I say... you get what you pay for. Micro towers have little room to work with and in my opinion are harder to upgrade. Gotta get what you can afford though. That motherboard looks like a micro version of the one i'm getting *and at half the price of mine*.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Mate, that post doesn't make much sense.

First of all, CPU speed isn't a measure of how well a computer will perform. You could have a 3.8Ghz Pentium 4 and a 2.53Ghz i7 860S, and the 860 would run circles around the P4 even though its clock speed is a full ~1.3Ghz slower. You have to take into account the number of cores, cache, efficiency of the architecture, etc.

Secondly, in regard to the next paragraph, a lot of what you've said isn't even possible. 6Ghz processors? They don't exist yet. Multiple motherboards? How were you planning to link them together? Especially with only two PSUs. Only one Nvidia Graphics card and you expect to run 3 instances of Crysis on multiple monitors? You won't even be able to do that even if you get a 580 and OC the **** out of it.

Don't post nonsense advice to other members, if you're not sure about something then create a new thread and ask. That's what we're here for