Two $600 Gaming Rigs

anon · Jul 23, 2009

I am about to build a gaming computer for the first time, and I'm trying to decide between two different setups. The first uses the older "Intel Core 2 Duo" and DDR2 RAM. The second uses an "AMD Athlon II X2 250" and the newer DDR3 RAM. Both will run me about $600.

It will be running Vista or Windows 7 and be mainly for gaming. I will want it to be able to play just about anything I throw at it (though not necessarily at the highest resolution).

Also, if any of these parts are incompatible, or the PCU is too weak, etc., please say so!

First Build: ~ $614
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz Wolfdale - Link
GPU: Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 - Link
Motherboard: MSI P45 Neo3 - Link
RAM: Corsair (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 - Link
Hard Drive: 1TB Hitachi 7200 RPM - Link
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-S223F DVD Burner - Link
PSU: Antec NeoPower 500 - Link
Case: Antec Three Hundred - Link

Second Build: ~ $623
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0Ghz - Link
GPU: HIS Radeon 4890 1GB - Link
Motherboard: ECS Black Series 790GX - Link
RAM: OCZ (3 x 1GB) DDR3 1600 - Link
Hard Drive: 1TB Hitachi 7200 RPM - Link
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-S223F DVD Burner - Link
PSU: Antec NeoPower 500 - Link
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 - Link

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

ducis · Jul 23, 2009

I like bomber's build except for the psus.
get the first mobo
and for the psu get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189014
the rig your building isnt something that you'd want to upgrade much anyway while that psu will give you stable power for years. by no means think your getting a shotty psu, the one linked is quality stuff, just not really cut out for Xfire

extra money will get you this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

ducis said:
I like bomber's build except for the psus.
get the first mobo
and for the psu get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189014
the rig your building isnt something that you'd want to upgrade much anyway while that psu will give you stable power for years. by no means think your getting a shotty psu, the one linked is quality stuff, just not really cut out for Xfire

extra money will get you this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276

The 700W SXS or Modxstream will handle twin 4870's, twin 4890's probably not. The 500W stablepower also is a great power supply, but dont think about running crossfire on it

Russian777 · Jul 23, 2009

i would go with an intel build. But i think you can build a way better intel set up for $600.

Bodaggit23 · Jul 23, 2009

bomberboysk said:
For one, you cant have triple channel memory on a dual channel motherboard.

What do you mean?

Granted he chose a Triple Channel kit, but that doesn't mean he couldn't use
all three sticks in a Dual Channel board...

It would just run in Single Channel mode.

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

Bodaggit23 said:
What do you mean?

Granted he chose a Triple Channel kit, but that doesn't mean he couldn't use
all three sticks in a Dual Channel board...

It would just run in Single Channel mode.

Well, i should have clarified that its going to kill performance, effective data transfer rate is cut in half.

Bodaggit23 · Jul 23, 2009

bomberboysk said:
Well, i should have clarified that its going to kill performance, effective data transfer rate is cut in half.

Not if he only used 2 of the sticks.

A waste yes, but it's far from "you can't".

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

Bodaggit23 said:
Not if he only used 2 of the sticks.

A waste yes, but it's far from "you can't".

Yes, but only having 2gb of memory on a $600 rig is a major waste. Its more of a "you can't" situation, as technically what i said is correct. You cannot run a triple channel memory setup with that board, you could however run the 3 sticks in a single channel configuration.

oregon · Jul 23, 2009

I'm gonna disagree with Bomber on focusing too much on the GPU.... as far as I'm aware, the GPU is always the bottleneck. I have never played a game where my CPU bottlenecks (granted, my GPU is not that powerful), and never heard of it either.

My guess is that an athlon II at 3+ gHz is sufficient for any game for at least 3 years to come, and if it ever is not, a bit of overclocking will make it so. However, no GPU will be fully sufficient for more than a year or so, so I'd say get the most powerful GPU and only a decent processor (which the athlon II is).

EDIT: After checking the prices, I would definitely say the $20 extra is worth it to go triple. However, I still say you can't focus too much on the GPU.

anon · Jul 23, 2009

I was wondering what the motivation was behind switching the Hard Drive from the 1TB Hitachi to the 750BG Western Digital? There is actually a price increase for less data storage. Is that extra 16MB cache really so important?

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

anon said:
I was wondering what the motivation was behind switching the Hard Drive from the 1TB Hitachi to the 750BG Western Digital? There is actually a price increase for less data storage. Is that extra 16MB cache really so important?

Western digital drives are quite a bit faster than those hitachi drives, and hitachi drives overall dont have as good of a reputation as the western digital drives. I could try to find some benchmarks to compare if you would like.

oregon said:
I'm gonna disagree with Bomber on focusing too much on the GPU.... as far as I'm aware, the GPU is always the bottleneck. I have never played a game where my CPU bottlenecks (granted, my GPU is not that powerful), and never heard of it either.

My guess is that an athlon II at 3+ gHz is sufficient for any game for at least 3 years to come, and if it ever is not, a bit of overclocking will make it so. However, no GPU will be fully sufficient for more than a year or so, so I'd say get the most powerful GPU and only a decent processor (which the athlon II is).

EDIT: After checking the prices, I would definitely say the $20 extra is worth it to go triple. However, I still say you can't focus too much on the GPU.

Actually that highly depends on the game, call of duty 4 for example runs fine on a dual core. Head over to say, Grand theft auto IV, and its very hard to run at high while using a dual core.

anon · Jul 23, 2009

Fatback · Jul 23, 2009

anon said:
Round 2

Based on the suggestions, I have revised the AMD build, which I was leaning towards anyways. This build will run about $691 +tax.

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-AMD-_-19103649
GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276
Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283
Optical Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

For the PSU, either
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

I'm leaning towards the latter of the two PSUs.

The build looks good I would go with the OCZ stealthxstream PSU. I like the Antec 300 but ever since I've seen this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146055 its been my new favorite the black interior is awesome and it has room for 7 120mm fans which is great if you won't to add some extra fans for better cooling later on. I did a build with the case a couple days ago for a customer and me and him both loved it and it will probably be my next case unless I get and Xclio WTBK Advanced.

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

anon said:
Round 2

Based on the suggestions, I have revised the AMD build, which I was leaning towards anyways. This build will run about $691 +tax.

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ogle-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-AMD-_-19103649
GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276
Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283
Optical Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

For the PSU, either
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

I'm leaning towards the latter of the two PSUs.

Again, if you see any problems or have any opinions, I would really appreciate hearing them.

Looks great, Id go for the modxstream, its a slightly higher quality unit plus modular, which helps alot

The antec three hundred is probably the best budget case, while the nzxt beta is nice also, the three hundred has much better airflow, bottom mount psu, and lots of room. You will love it:good:

Glaucus · Jul 23, 2009

bomberboysk said:
Looks great, Id go for the modxstream, its a slightly higher quality unit plus modular, which helps alot The antec three hundred is probably the best budget case, while the nzxt beta is nice also, the three hundred has much better airflow, bottom mount psu, and lots of room. You will love it:good:

i personally am not a big fan of modxstream look, but the performance is great

anon · Jul 23, 2009

There's a combo deal on newegg for my Motherboard and a stepped up version of my CPU. For an extra $20, I can go from triple-core to quad-core.

Current CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-AMD-_-19103649
Current Mother Board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
Combo Deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.213790

I was wondering whether it was worth the extra $20. How much of a difference does a quad-core Phenom II make over the triple-core Phenom II?

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

anon said:
There's a combo deal on newegg for my Motherboard and a stepped up version of my CPU. For an extra $20, I can go from triple-core to quad-core.

Current CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ogle-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-AMD-_-19103649
Current Mother Board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
Combo Deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.213790

I was wondering whether it was worth the extra $20. How much of a difference does a quad-core Phenom II make over the triple-core Phenom II?

Personally speaking, i would go for this cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103472

And then this comobo deal, mobo+psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.214782

anon · Jul 23, 2009

bomberboysk said:
Personally speaking, i would go for this cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103472

And then this comobo deal, mobo+psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.214782

That combo's discount is only half of the discount in the combo I proposed. The $30 mail-in-rebate applies for the PSU with or without the combo. By using your combo setup, I would only end up saving $5 by downgrading from the Black Series Phenom II X4 to the basic Phenom II X4.

Is there any notable difference in performance between the "Black Series" Phenom II X4 and the basic Phenom II X4?

Also, my other question still stands: Is there any notable difference between the triple-core Phenom II X3 and the quad-core Phenom II X4?

Right now I'm stuck between these 3 CPUs. A $20 difference is not a big deal, but will it just be a waste or is there really some benefit to switching?

bomberboysk · Jul 23, 2009

Yes, and yes. The black editions have unlocked multi's which can help with overclocking

Two $600 Gaming Rigs

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