Sub $500 Gaming PC

M

Mr. Miyagi

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
2,982
Alright, so my PC decided to take a dump after Quakecon last year and haven't really had the funds until recently to get a new PC.

Old specs were:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.45GHz
Asus K8N-E
2x 512MB Corsair XMS PC3200Pro
Nvidia GeForce 5500 (my 6800 OC died on the way to Qcon)
2x 500GB Seagate 7200.8 HDDs

I'm looking at just keeping my old HDDs, cd-rom drive and sound card. Here is what I have so far as specifications, let me know if I should change or add anything. I'm trying to really keep this pretty cheap. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ @ Newegg.com $57.99
ATI Radeon 3850 (read reviews and looks to be a great card, reminds me of the 9600XT) @ZipZoomFly $164.99
Crucial Ballistix 2GB @ Newegg.com $49.99 (After rebate)
Xclio Goodpower 500w PSU @ Newegg.com $49.99
Cooler Master Centurion 5 @ Newegg.com $39.99

My only debate is the motherboard (looking more at the Asus)
Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 AM2 @ Newegg.com $74.99
or
Asus M2N-E AM2 @ Newegg.com $94.99

Total without shipping: around $458.00
 
I'd go with an AMD 690G board, so I could turn it into an HTPC later down the line when it gets replaced.

Do you plan on OC'ing? If so, you might want to consider getting a 3rd party CPU HSF unless that chip already comes with the 4-heatpipe stock AMD cooler.

What size monitor do you have?
What games do you play and at what settings/resolution?
 
I'm using a Dell 19" Trinitron but mostly just play CS:S (TF2 and the like) @ 800x600 @ 120Hz so I don't really need the fastest video card/processor, just something that can keep it at 100FPS constant, but will probably go to a Dell 2005FPW when I go back to college. Looking at DNF when it finally comes out :p

Yes, I will be overclocking and already have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro that I'll just use from my previous build.

Do you have a recommendation for a 690G board?
 
What drew you to the Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe? Like features, etc. Also, I wouldn't count rebates until the rebate check is in your hand. Granted, rebates do have a probability of going through, they are still not a guaranteed discount. So until the rebate check is in your hands, don't count it as part of your overall costs. Plus, it does take a while for that rebate to come in. So you will be out $70 for those 2 or so months while the rebates are being processed.

Also you will need to buy a HSF for the Black Edition CPU as well. The Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 is a good choice.
 
Very true with the rebates, but yes, I can be without $70 for a while.

I've been reading reviews for the M2N-SLI and seems to be a great board. Granted the chipset is not the newest, but I've read it's solid, nice features and a great overclocker. The layout is awesome too. I do not mind spending a little more for a quality motherboard and this seemed like the best choice.
 
Ahh, thought you were going for the SLI portion since that mobo does have SLI. Even though SLI is pretty a bad upgrade path for you. Anyway, yes that mobo is a good choice.

You have made some pretty good choices. Just make sure you get a HSF for that CPU and you should be set. Though wait for a second opinion before you buy.
 
Yes, SLI is a nice feature, but is not a smart upgrade path for me.

I currently have the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 but should I continue using it or try something new?

Thank you for the help.
 
That combo deal is the nail right there... such a good deal. I don't like that Asus board, but thats just personal preference. For a HSF, I recommend the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. It should be around $20 at the egg.
 
Thanks for the help everyone, I went through with the order. (I already ordered the AMD 5000+ when the deal was still good). I'll let you all know how it goes.
 
Wow, I just received my CPU/RAM along with everything that I just ordered yesterday. Newegg rocks! Now I just need to wait for my videocard from TigerDirect.
 
Sorry for the late reply, but I moved back to college and set everything up. I just need to reinstall XP. I did a quick wiring job but need to work on it more. I'm having some overclocking issues, but I think I'll look into it more when I reinstall the OS.

comp001cd4.jpg
 
I can run @ 3.1GHz fine at 15.5 x 200MHz @ 1.4375 voltage, but no matter what, I can't get it stable above (HTT is at 4x). I'll try some other multi's and FSB speeds. I'm starting to wonder if there is another setting that I'm missing because I rememeber with the nForce3 chipset, fast write had to be off and there were some tweaks, like the HDDs in the SATA3+4 and not the SATA1+2.

Also the fact that I can't get CS:S to run at a constant 100fps is a little annoying but I think that problem will be fixed with a clean install.
 
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