Hardcore Budget Build - $600

N

Number1SuperGuy

New Member
I've been researching a cheap build geared towards performance and I think I've done pretty good. I wanted to keep the computer around $600 but make it good enough to play the latest games smoothly. The only thing I don't think I'm happy with right now is the case is really plain-looking. It'll do but if someone can find a sexy case that fits in the budget please post it! Also, feel free to post any other comments that might increase performance or save some money. Here's what I've come up with so far:

P.S. This is not an AMD/ATI bashing thread. They have cheap parts that can still perform. They're perfect for a budget computer build.

Case: Rosewill R230-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $19

Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM AM2 AMD 690G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $40

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail - $160

Video Card: MSI RX3850-T2D256E OC Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $170 (For those of you who aren't familiar with this card it's an amazing deal. It actually performs nearly as well as the 8800GT at nearly half the cost. Here's the proof: http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/472/10/)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $105

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail - $37 (after rebate)

DVD-RW: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black PATA Model SH-S202G - OEM - $26

Power Supply: hec Orion XPOWER585 ATX12V 2.01 585W Power Supply - Retail - $30

Total Cost: $614 (including shipping and rebates) For those of you familiar with the tool, this computer scores about a 21.5 on the UT3 System Score Calculator (a pretty decent performance rating tool). From my experience, anything over a 20 runs the latest games smooth as silk. And for a little comparison, most intel/nvidia builds in this price range score about a 14. A computer with Intel's most powerful quad core and SLI 8800 GTs scores a 25 (this 25 point build costs about $2500 by the way).

Does anyone notice any incompatibilities or changes you might make?
 
Last edited:
for some reason i think the first picture at media setting looks better than the second one.

The sun on the second one looks more clear but the mountain on the first one looks better than the second picture. and the first picture is brighter an looks better to me

but again i know nothing about video cards
 
mkjaekmi said:
where does it show that graphic card on that calculator scale thing?
Click to expand...

That card actually isn't listed (not sure why, it came out before the 8800 GT) so I picked the older generation of it that has similar performance, the HD2900.

Good choice. In my opinion, i would get a 250gb hdd for $60 and use that money on a better case.
Click to expand...

Good observation, that was actually something I was considering doing but I'm big on downloading games (legally of course :P) so I really like the large HDD.

for some reason i think the first picture at media setting looks better than the second one.

The sun on the second one looks more clear but the mountain on the first one looks better than the second picture. and the first picture is brighter an looks better to me

but again i know nothing about video cards
Click to expand...

The first one is easier to see, mainly because the graphics aren't quite as realistic. After analyzing the two pictures I realized the second one almost looks like a photograph (excluding the gun of course ;))

EDIT: In case you looked it up and were wondering, the HD2900 is a very expensive card because it uses older technology. The HD3000 series uses newer technology that provides better performance at a lower cost.
EDIT EDIT: Here's a comparison chart http://www.legitreviews.com/article/591/1/
 
Last edited:
power supply is crap, just cut on the hdd get a 250gb and put the rest of that money into a good power supply
 
Number1SuperGuy said:
This is a budget build and I don't plan on going with crossfire as that really increases the price. This power supply should be perfect.
Click to expand...

Where did i said to get crossfire? all i said was get a better power siupply cuz something of 30$ with 585 watts means it's not a good power supply but if you don't mind frying or having your fps drop all the time go ahead and buy it
 
Last edited:
chupacabra said:
Where did i said to get crossfire? all i said was get a better power siupply cuz something of 30$ with 585 watts means it's not a good power supply but if you don't mind frying or having your fps drop all the time go ahead and buy it
Click to expand...

It was $40 before the instant rebate. And price isn't everything, you have to view the actual specs of a product and look into customer reviews. I've done my research and there's nothing to worry about.

just curious, can you run a pci-e 2.0 card in a pci-e x 16 slot?
Click to expand...

2.0 is backwards compatible so yes, you can.

just curious, can you run a pci-e 2.0 card in a pci-e x 16 slot?
Click to expand...
Yes, but it will not run at full speed.
Click to expand...
Yes it will.
 
Number1SuperGuy said:
It was $40 before the instant rebate. And price isn't everything, you have to view the actual specs of a product and look into customer reviews. I've done my research and there's nothing to worry about.
Click to expand...

O RLY? then what's this comment on the unit:

"Strengths: HEC makes solid power supplies - not this one
Weaknesses: like some reviewers said, HEC needs to catch up
Summary: In terms of value, this is crap. Don't expect anything great from it. I tried adding 1 new 500GB to it, everything works fine. I tried upgrading from 7500GS to 2600XT and that's when I ran into trouble. Seems the power supply was not designed to supply anything more than 500W (rough estimate). The fans are still much smaller compared to competitors."
 
I wouldn't go as far as saying that the HD3850 performs nearly as well as the 8800gt. Maybe in some games they're close, but in others the 8800gt blows the 3850 out of the water.
 
$600 as a hardcore budget build? Dang. A hardcore budget build for me would be like $200 - $300. A $600 computer would be a dream for me. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top