BleepingComputer.com: ~$400 gaming rig

Hey guys, first time building a computer, and I got a kind of small budget. This computer will be used to play mostly WAR and Modern Warfare 2. Need an Operating System and everything, all I have is monitor mouse, keyboard, speakers, and the wireless stuff. Hopefully someone can help! (I don't mind buying something refurbished or an open box deal)

You're probably not going to be able to build a computer for $400 which will handle gaming well at all.

For one, the operating system is going to cost at least 90$, because you almost have to get it new. Hard drives are at least 50$ for a decent one, and graphics cards aren't going to be that great for that cheap.

case- 20$
motherboard- 80$
RAM- 40$
Hard Drive- 60$
Power source- 60$
graphics card- 80$
CPU- 80$

420$ minus shipping.... lets see if I can run to newegg and find something good for those...



CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103711
75$
Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813130172
80$
case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811147109
25$
Power source- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817182160
55$
Hard drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136098
50$
RAM- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148097
45$
Video card- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814187091
90$

420$ Thats about the best you're gonna get for a "gaming" computer that cheap. Of course, then you have to add in shipping and just realizing that those components are pretty crappy and they might die on you.

monitor?- 100$

Vaerli,
one thing you forgot, the CPU is an OEM so there is no cooling fan. The cooling fan must be purchased seperate or you can get the retail version of a CPU which comes with a cooling fan..

This is my recommendation. It's a slightly edited version of the list posted by Vaerli

CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...3-688-_-Product $60
MB- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...7-160-_-Product $55
case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811147109 $25
PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817182160 $55
HDD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136098 $50
RAM- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148097 $45
Graphics card- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125244 $60 after rebate
OS- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...6-754-_-Product $107

It would also be my recommendation that you get two 120mm case fans: one to replace the stock one (which is probably not very good) and another to place in the front as an intake fan.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835200048

This post has been edited by RainbowSix: 09 November 2009 - 04:30 PM

I read that pretty late last night, and it wasn't perfectly optimized for price, or every single detail. It was rushed at the end, and I barely got in the addition of the prices from newegg.

RainbowSix, the only major issue I have with that build is the motherboard- its a MicroATX form factor. I guess its not that much of an issue since the case will fit it, I just dislike microATX.

If you don't want windows 7 or Vista, there's always the cheaper XP.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116511


Overall, you're not getting a computer that can run games without at least 520$ down on the build(assuming you want a Windows operating system), and shipping usually costs 15-30$. In fact, for the money, thats probably a pretty sweet build that RainbowSix came up with.

I suggest saving your money and getting a better PC later on if you can wait. Don't get XP, it's out of the mainstream support period and just sucks. The build posted by RainbowSix is a good value, but don't expect good performance and you'll be upgrading or replacing your PC sooner than you think.

I guess what I don't really understand is why is this build not so great? It kills the recommended specs for most the games I'm looking at, and I really just don't see which part is bad? Can someone maybe tell me what part is bad/why? And please don't just say all of them, I'm really trying to learn so I can make an educated purchase

With games, the minimum specs are for playable. If you have those minimum requirements, the game will at least run, although slowly and won't look nice. Under recommended specs, the game will run well enough to offer, hopefully, a somewhat fluid experience with a bit of eye candy turned on. I just bought a game, Dragon Age, which runs fine on my PC but I cannot run with anti-aliasing on and I do get a slowdown in some areas. Overall, the game runs well with a PC that has far more performance than what the game recommends, but some higher-end features would severely slow it down. Technically, looking at the back of the game box, the PC above meets the recommended levels for Dragon Age, but it would not run nearly as smoothly as mine. In short, just because you may have the recommended specs, doesn't mean that your computer will run the game smoothly. If you're planning on getting any newer games, now or later on, it might be a good idea to get a better PC. First, that processor is decent, but the Phenom II X2 is better, and the quad core Phenom II X4 would do nicely for newer games since some can use all four cores. A full ATX motherboard would be better, especially if you get one with more than one PCI-Express X16 slot. Having more means you can use two or three graphics cards. If you're going for the more budget-friendly AMD, an AM3 motherboard would be ideal since you can use the cooler (thermally) DDR3. The graphics card is a very mid-range card, but if you play shooters, you may want a more powerful Radeon 4870 or 4890, or perhaps the 5770. You will also want Windows 7 64-bit, which RainbowSix included, since you can use 4GB of memory. That setup will run the games, but it might be slow and you will have to upgrade again soon if you want to run newer games smoothly.

Its actually amazing for a 450$ computer. Its just that the technology is getting into the obsolete category. It'll run things great, you just have to be aware that some of it may not be the best quality, and of unknown brands. I think DJB is a bit too used to working with higher priced and tier components.

If you're dying for it, it's gonna work for you great. Eventually I would get another stick of DDR2 RAM, or maybe upgrade to 1066 speed RAM.

Actually, the graphics card is pretty good, and should get you pretty good framerates on decent settings.

I admit I generally focus on gamers with budgets twice this one, but most gamers usually require PC's that have higher-priced and tiered components with an eye for fluid gaming with some visual bells and whistles. The 4670 is not that good of a graphics card (BTW, if you're an Nvidia fan, the GeForce 9600 is roughly equal to it), it is very mid range for most first person shooters. It will certainly run the games but don't expect high performance.

I really appreciate the help from all of you guys! Well I think I'm going to get what I can for around the $450 range. However, I know that technology is improving at a very fast rate. So what should I look for in a MOBO to make sure I'll be able to upgrade the other hardware (ie. Socket, features, all that good stuff.) ?? Because I do plan on upgrading, its just that I want the computer by christmas, and I do intend to invest more into this system over time. In case you guys were wondering I have :

OS: XP Pro
CPU: Pentium 4 2.8ghz (single core)
Video Card: Nvidia Geforce FX 5200
RAM: 2 gigs

This post has been edited by gumbi33: 10 November 2009 - 06:59 PM

If you're planning on upgrading over the course of a few months, just save it all up and get it at once.

RainbowSix changed the graphics card, which was the same one that I posted at the time I made that comment. The 9800 is a good series, and will run most things on high settings.