Best possible gaming PC at $450 budget?

[BiGyLiLuPdAmIdL]

The 630, 640, and 635 are not good chocies for cpu's. Although they are quad core, they only have 2mb of L2 cache. The x2 555 that I posted has 6mb of L3 cache. Quad core doesn't necessarily mean better than dual core. It depends on the applications you are running. If thats the case just get an i3 540, it has 2 cores but 4 threads for multitasking.

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3540

Otherwise for AMD the only CPU worth it is the x4 955 because it has the 6mb cache on it.

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

Just my opinion: The best CPU around the $100 range is the i3 540. The best CPU in the $150 range is the AMD x4 955. And the best CPU in the $200 range is the i5 750 (quad core with 8mb cache). Anythign in between isn't really worth it.

oh and YES Rosewill PSU's are better than expected. Look at the amperage on that guy. 700 watter for $55 is a good deal. You will need it to power that 5770.

 

[GoogleIntel]

I don't see a reason to buy i3 540 when i3 550 cost exactly the same
Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale 3.2GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3550

 

[BiGyLiLuPdAmIdL]

It looks like it just went on sale but yesterday it was more $$ before so I just said the 540. The point though is that the i3's in general are the best route to go for the $100 price tag.

 

[VampD]

The 630, 640, and 635 are not good chocies for cpu's. Although they are quad core, they only have 2mb of L2 cache. The x2 555 that I posted has 6mb of L3 cache. Quad core doesn't necessarily mean better than dual core. It depends on the applications you are running. If thats the case just get an i3 540, it has 2 cores but 4 threads for multitasking.

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3540

Otherwise for AMD the only CPU worth it is the x4 955 because it has the 6mb cache on it.

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

Just my opinion: The best CPU around the $100 range is the i3 540. The best CPU in the $150 range is the AMD x4 955. And the best CPU in the $200 range is the i5 750 (quad core with 8mb cache). Anythign in between isn't really worth it.

oh and YES Rosewill PSU's are better than expected. Look at the amperage on that guy. 700 watter for $55 is a good deal. You will need it to power that 5770.

uh wait now I'm lost, so the AMD x2 555 actually has more L2 cache then the 600 AMDs which translates to better gaming performance?

 

[Trotter]

The 555 is a Phenom II while the 640 is a Athlon II. The Phenom line have full caches while the Athlon line have half the cache of the Phenoms. More cache can translate as better gaming performance, but the difference is not a big thing most of the time.

The 640 is a full quad while the 555 is a dual core but with the potential of unlocking up to two other cores. My daughter's fiancé built her a computer using a 555 and was able to unlock both of the cores and they are stable, but not every chip will do this.

 

[VampD]

The 555 is a Phenom II while the 640 is a Athlon II. The Phenom line have full caches while the Athlon line have half the cache of the Phenoms. More cache can translate as better gaming performance, but the difference is not a big thing most of the time.

The 640 is a full quad while the 555 is a dual core but with the potential of unlocking up to two other cores. My daughter's fiancé built her a computer using a 555 and was able to unlock both of the cores and they are stable, but not every chip will do this.

hmmm so is it a safer bet just sticking with a cheaper i3 or i5 ( if there even is one? What would you recommend for a more future proof gaming system the 640 or 555 with that being said?

I guess its an argument of whether or not dual core with more L2 cache vs quad core is better for future games? This person I'm building the computer for has no experience and therefore will be playing it on the safe side and not OCing or changing any default settings.

 

[KJamesJR]

I'm new at this so I'm going to attempt to put what I've learned into this post... Bare with me.


Memory

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ

Vid

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR VA5675NHG1 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

PSU

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS550-PCARE3-US 550W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

HDD

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147073

Optical

Newegg.com - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive

Note: Intel is far more expensive when measuring Price for Performance.

Edit: I didn't realize you already purchased the ATX mobo and CPU, So I threw in a new case and took out the CPU/Mobo.

 

[VampD]

er sorry to cause confusion, I don't have any parts, I merely said "got mobo and cpu" meaning I decided which part I would get on previous recommendations although this has now changed ( the whole dual core with more L2 cache vs quad core for AMD debate ). Doesn't everyone think the GTX 460 is a great steal at $140 compared to other ATI cards?

 

[supertech]

actually, BiGyLiLuPdAmIdL, the recommended psu for the 5770 is a 500w, not a 700w.