Good gaming computer for under or around $550.

T

thezombieritual

New Member
I am looking for a good gaming computer that can run newer games like GTA IV, Fallout 3 and Black Ops, all with good graphics and performance. I also want to be able to run TES V: Skyrim when it is released. I was looking at some computers mainly the Dell Studio XPS 7100 with AMD Athlon II X4 630 CPU, ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB video and 3GB DDR3 memory, and the other computer is the iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 567D3 with AMD Phenom II X4 925 CPU, ATI Radeon HD 5570 video and 4GB DDR3 memory. The prices are $549 and $539, respectively. Out of the Phenom II and Athlon II not sure which is better, but they're both quad-cores. Also was wondering if the 5570 Radeon is better than the 5450 Radeon card. To me it sounds like the iBUYPOWER is a sweeter deal, but not too familiar with the company, but it seems to get fairly positive reviews. So what do you guys think? Would these systems be able to run these games smoothly? Any other systems you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance!
 
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I don't think those video cards are enough to play those games. Although, at that price range, you won't get much better than that.
 
The iBUYPOWER is the better deal, however would you be willing to consider building yourself? You get longer warranties, save money, higher quality system and get to choose parts to suit your needs. Building is not that hard, and we can provide links/give tips should need be. Which parts do you already have? Monitor, Windows, Kb/mouse etc.
 
Yes build your own is the best.

On the ATI cards 5570 is better it is the same series 5 but higher level 5 vs 4 and within that 7 vs 5.
 
The 5450 has 80 stream processors, while the 5570 has 400...go for that one, of the two.

Of the CPU's, the Phenom is better, but only just. They're basically the same thing except that the Phenom has an L3 cache.
 
thezombieritual said:
Are there any video cards that I could add to these systems to run these games? How much do they run? Thanks!
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The thing about that, so you know, is that besides costing more, you will loose the warranty(I think). A prebuilt with a 5450-5570 won't have enough power supply for a much better video card. So it would need to be video card + power supply, raising the cost even more.
Altho I agree with the previous DYI's, if you choose to buy pre-built, just buy one that won't need an immediate upgrade for what you want it to do.
 
Yeah I was thinking of building my own, and was looking around NewEgg for parts, but didn't spend too much time looking around. I guess that would be a good idea, now that I think about it more. And yes, I know it won't be hard to do, I'd know what to do. So I guess I'll look more into that. Plus I always wanted to build my own, and I guess now is my chance. Does anyone have video card recommendations for newer games like the ones mentioned in the first post.

Thanks for all the replies!
 
^ He's looking at iBuypower...you can pick your own parts there.

I would recommend at least a Radeon HD 5770.

Rule of thumb for the 5xxx/6xxx radeons:
5670<5750<5770<5830<6850<5850<6870<5870<6950<6970
However, the 6xxx series has an improved feature set, so I'd pick the 6850 over 5850 and 6870 over 5870.

I'll leave it to someone else to add Nvidia's cards in...
 
I am not certain on this but think I might be correct. This is about pre built systems and warranty. Mentioned losing warranty if changes are made? Well knowing I can make some changes on a notebook and not void warranty I cannot see these upgrades voiding pre build.

Of course the upgrade is not covered. But it is covered by the upgrade MFG so all is good.

Trust me if you guys can build from ground up and get warranty so can this guy. All it is is IBP goes to the MFG. But I also think they might even include the component warranty info.

Not trying to accuse any of you guys but the "I had 5 MSI MoBo's fail they suck", at least a few had to be ID10T user interface errors. And they RMA that.:P:D
 
thezombieritual said:
Yeah I was thinking of building my own, and was looking around NewEgg for parts, but didn't spend too much time looking around. I guess that would be a good idea, now that I think about it more. And yes, I know it won't be hard to do, I'd know what to do. So I guess I'll look more into that. Plus I always wanted to build my own, and I guess now is my chance. Does anyone have video card recommendations for newer games like the ones mentioned in the first post.

Thanks for all the replies!
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You could probably fit a GTX460 768MB into your budget pretty easily. That will run games far better than HD5450/HD5570. Couple that with an Athlon II X3, dirt cheap awesome DDR3, and a solid AM3 motherboard, and you're good to go. A ModXStream Pro PSU will probably be best for your budget. Go for NZXT Beta Evo case IMO.
 
Drenlin said:
^ He's looking at iBuypower...you can pick your own parts there.

I would recommend at least a Radeon HD 5770.

Rule of thumb for the 5xxx/6xxx radeons:
5670<5750<5770<5830<6850<5850<6870<5870<6950<6970
However, the 6xxx series has an improved feature set, so I'd pick the 6850 over 5850 and 6870 over 5870.

I'll leave it to someone else to add Nvidia's cards in...
Click to expand...
5670<5750<5770<5830<6850<5850<6870<5870<6950<6970

G210<GT220<GT240<GT430<GTS250<GTS450<GTX260<GTX460 768MB<GTX460 1GB<GTX560<GTX470<GTX570<GTX480<GTX580

In terms of raw gaming performance. Due to newer features and better power/noise/temps i'd get
GTS450 over GTX260
GTX570 over GTX480
GTX560 over GTX470
 
Well I've decided I want to build my own. What do you think of this set up:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.569868
which is Thermaltake case, Asus ATX motherboad, AMD Phenon II X6 3.0ghz, 4Gb GSkill Rip Jaws memory, ModXStream 700W power supply and Seagate Barracuda 1Tb HDD.

Then add an EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB video card.

Would this make a solid gaming machine? It's a bit more than I was looking to spend, but it'll be worth it to save up some cash.Thanks for all the help you guys, you've been very helpful!
 
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That's not a bad combo, though it's probably not what I wouldn't picked. The cae is pretty expensive to begin with, so that takes some of the "value" off. I'd pick a Samsung F3 or WD Caviar Black over the Seagate hard drive as well. My biggest issue is that the PSU isn't exactly the highest quality unit around, though AFAIK they do run in spec, though they're just barely able to deliver their rated power. They don't take well to heat...onyl rated at 40C. Other than that, though, it's a fairly solid combo.

What budget are you really trying to stay inside? That combo plus a 460 would be a lot more than $550...and you still need Windows...
 
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Drenlin said:
What budget are you really trying to stay inside? That combo plus a 460 would be a lot more than $550...and you still need Windows...
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Like I said, If I would have to spend a little more, I'd save some money up.

And that you mention it, the case is pretty expensive. I could probably get a case that doesn't cost as much and use the same motherboard, CPU and RAM that are in the Combo. Then get a Caviar HDD, better PSU and the 460. And yes, I know I still need Windows. I could probably save some money in the HDD, since I don't need 1Tb.

Any PSU and case recommendations?

EDIT: How is the Raidmax Blackstorm case? It's a sweet looking case for $80.
And the Thermaltake Armor A90 too?
 
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The Blackstorm doesn't have a whole lot in the way of features, besides the tool-less bays. Not sure it's worth $80...

Same story with the Armor, though it's a little better. Neither of them has any cable management.
 
fastdude said:
You could probably fit a GTX460 768MB into your budget pretty easily. That will run games far better than HD5450/HD5570. Couple that with an Athlon II X3, dirt cheap awesome DDR3, and a solid AM3 motherboard, and you're good to go. A ModXStream Pro PSU will probably be best for your budget. Go for NZXT Beta Evo case IMO.
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A GTX460 in a $550 budget? How's that possible?
I have a $800 budget and I can hardly fit an HD5xxx into it.
Can you elaborate the specific combination of parts including the GTX460?

fastdude said:
5670<5750<5770<5830<6850<5850<6870<5870<6950<6970

G210<GT220<GT240<GT430<GTS250<GTS450<GTX260<GTX460 768MB<GTX460 1GB<GTX560<GTX470<GTX570<GTX480<GTX580

In terms of raw gaming performance. Due to newer features and better power/noise/temps i'd get
GTS450 over GTX260
GTX570 over GTX480
GTX560 over GTX470
Click to expand...
Awesome that helped a lot, thanks. I was looking for some comparison between the PC cards as well as I'm only familiar with laptop cards.
 
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