Building a budget gaming PC - The Best for the Money!

[ztrain727]

Hi Everyone...

I know it's a pain in the ass to have ANOTHER "I'm building a PC. What parts should I get". But this one is a little different I hope.

SO:
I have a Dell Dimension 4700 from 2004. I just got an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2ghz CPU (the chip only, no heatsink or accessories) and an EVGA 7900 gt co, each for slightly over $100.

Since neither of these items run in my old PC , I'm going to buy everything I NEED to have a decent quality PC that can run this video card and processor.

My Plans:What parts I'm planning on getting...(looking for suggestions)

New Motherboard for my new processor: GA-P35-DS3L

My new PSU to power my 7900 gt co: Antec NeoPower NeoHE
This one has much better reviews though:Antec earthwatts EA380 ATX12V v2.0 380W Power Supply

A stock Intel Core 2 Duo Heatsink for my processor: Like This If anyone know of a superior heatsink for under $20, PLEASE share!

A new case since my new mobo won't fit in my small tower (Dimension 4700 case). I want to go really cheap here if possible. I was looking at this.

I have 1gb of DDR2 ram so I'll use that for now, though I'll try to get another gig.

I have a 40gb SATA HDD and a 250GB external USB 2.0 HDD, so I should be fine with those.

I have a CD RW and another DVD/CD RW drive.

I have a sound card.

So ideally all these new parts should cost under $200, and after this upgrade, my PC should be a HELL of a lot better. (Right now I have a Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 7600gt, crappy stock Dell mobo, PSU and case.

Please help me fine tune my 'new' PC! If there are any compatibility issues, please tell me as well. (i.e. that ram wont work with that mobo, that PSU isn't powerful enough...)

Anyway, I'm pretty excited and hope that, with some fine tuning, this list can help other budget gamers build pretty solid PC's.
THANKS!

 

[oscaryu1]

380W is not going to power that PC. Look at the Rosewill 550W or Rosewill 600W, or OCZ 600W/700W.

Also look at the P31-DS3L. Supports 45nm, ect, like the P35, just -4GB of the memory.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200034
^ Have that on my rig. If it can cool a Q6600 better than a stock heatsink, no doubt it's quite a monster for the price.

Case is crap. Went for looks over performance. I'd get something along the lines of: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 or this one whichever color you like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220144
Faster than XMS2, CL4, DDR2-800 2GB. After the rebate, it's a huge steal.

 

[ztrain727]

Thank you so much. This really is exactly the type of advice I was looking for. Your a lifesaver oscaryu1! Thanks!

 

[oscaryu1]

No problem I just noticed that Newegg had removed the P31-DS3L, but no worries there. There's the P31-S3G from Gigabyte too. P31 chipset, the same.

And just in case you do get a P31-DS3L, when it says it supports only up to DDR2-800, that's a lie It supports up to DDR2-1066 according to the box I got. A big plus.