# Budget gaming rig



## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

A friend of mine wants me to build him a budget gaming rig.  But he's looking to only spend *$700*.  I, myself, know what parts are good on the Intel side.  And from what I read, an AMD setup would be good for a budget gaming rig.  My problem is this:  What parts do you guys recommend as far as Mobo and CPU (brand name and model).  As far as GPU....either a GTS 250 or HD5770.

What do you guys think?  And remember $700 is the limit.


CPU:
Motherboard:
Memory:
Video card:
Hard Drive:
Optical Drive:
Chassis:
Power supply:


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## Sensi Karate (Jan 13, 2010)

Tell us what website your going to buy off so we can get deals and discounts as-well as a correct price on the hardware.


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## theonedub (Jan 13, 2010)

Willing to buy second hand parts?


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## Goodman (Jan 13, 2010)

I really think for $700 as budget gaming pc you'll have no choice of going AMD , unlees you go cheap on Intel mobo , PSU & Graphic card...


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

well.....I'm assuming my friend wants to buy all the parts new.  And maybe going off websitesites such as zipzoom, directron, tigerdirect, and newegg.  More importantly what I want to know is what AMD cpu's overclock well with what motherboards.  Should he go quad or dual core?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

newegg id suggest a 790X mobo Phenom II 955 or 945  4 gig DDR3 1333mhz 550watt corsair PSU and a 5770 should all come in well under $700 with Win 7 64bit


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## Goodman (Jan 13, 2010)

HyD3 said:


> well.....I'm assuming my friend wants to buy all the parts new.  And maybe going off websitesites such as zipzoom, directron, tigerdirect, and newegg.  More importantly what I want to know is what AMD cpu's overclock well with what motherboards.  Should he go quad or dual core?



As for gaming an quadcore is not necessary a good dual will do the job just fine

AMD mobo nothing under 790 (SB750) chipset


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

im running through a quick build on newegg now other forum members can mix and match and find better at there leisure

seems newegg has taken the liberty to price gouge i certainly dont remember the x3 720 costing $160+ hmm seems ill have to dig around a bit more then i thought


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## p_o_s_pc (Jan 13, 2010)

HyD3 said:


> well.....I'm assuming my friend wants to buy all the parts new.  And maybe going off websitesites such as zipzoom, directron, tigerdirect, and newegg.  More importantly what I want to know is what AMD cpu's overclock well with what motherboards.  Should he go quad or dual core?



if he is willing to buy used i have a Asrock 790GX that is a great clocker. Now if its just for gaming grab a X3 720 and a 790GX or 785


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

So his choices are Phenom II 955 and 945 if he wants to go dual core.  And for triple core, go with X3 720?
I'm think dual core is more idea since most games dont use more than 2 cores.  How well do they overclock?  I dont know their stock speeds.  What's their highest overclocks using, lets say, a Hyper 212 plus fan.
I figure saving money on the cpu, and using it on the vid card.  Are the HD5770 good?  Is it faster than the GTS250?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

yea he might want to do that cause getting a gts 250 and a athlon II x4 quadcore 4gigs ddr3 with an operating system and decent powersupply all jump the price above $730 newegg is seriously price gouging right now hardcore the same rig i built a buddy a few weeks back is not $50 more expensive its making it a nightmare to get this in the right price range

the Phenom II 955 and 945 are quadcores at at your price range they are NOT an option sadly im still working on it


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## angelkiller (Jan 13, 2010)

I tried... Comes out at *$760*. But it's worth it.

I stuck to Intel, but for a reason. No I'm not some fanboy. Well, I am a fanboy, but only to whatever company offers the best price to performance ratio. Right now, that's Intel imo. The Core i3 is faster than anything else selling for $125 right now. And clock for clock, this thing is faster than any comparable AMD chip. PLUS, this overclocks _farther_ than AMD chips. So the Core i3 does more work per clock _and_ has a higher maximum overclock. What you end up with is an overall faster chip for the money. If you can't pay more than $700, I highly suggest you (or your friend) save up for it. It's worth it imo. If you simply can't, than get a Phenom II X2 and a 790GX or 790FX motherboard that can unlock the Phenom II X2 to a Phenom II X4.

I didn't pick out any RAM, because I'm not too knowledable about what's best. But to be honest, I think anything is pretty much fine. I allotted $100 for RAM, spending less drops the $760 figure I gave earlier.

Also, I got a 4890. You could also drop down to a 5770 to save some money, but this is a gaming system, and the graphics card is definitely the most important thing. If you're trying to save money, I'd switch CPU/mobo like I listed above before I changed the graphics card. The performance drop you see by changing CPUs isn't that great, but changing GPUs is very noticable.

Antec 300
Corsair VX550
Gigabyte H55M-S2H
Intel Core i3 530
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (reviewed here)
4GB of DDR3
XFX 4890
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB

Total: *$760* before rebates, before shipping.


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## p_o_s_pc (Jan 13, 2010)

CPU 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688&cm_re=X2_240-_-19-103-688-_-Product
mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157162&cm_re=790GX-_-13-157-162-_-Product
ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...231166&cm_re=DDR2_1066-_-20-231-166-_-Product
GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161317&cm_re=5770-_-14-161-317-_-Product
PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151092

thats ~515 shipped throw in a hdd,case and OS that should come to ~700


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

thank you all for the input.  I'm gunna do some more research.  I'll take a look at the intel i3 while im at it too.  I have a feeling he might want to save some money so he may be going the AMD route.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129070

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131397R

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409


CPU fan + heatsink : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Dvd drive : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

GPU + OS combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.297959


$678   after rebates $668


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## p_o_s_pc (Jan 13, 2010)

HyD3 said:


> thank you all for the input.  I'm gunna do some more research.  I'll take a look at the intel i3 while im at it too.  I have a feeling he might want to save some money so he may be going the AMD route.



if he gets the 240 it should do ~3.6ghz for 24/7 easy


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

i agree if he wants to save money go that route and i look at the other builds and im the only one to take into account the cost of an Operating system

$680 for an athlon II x2 240 that will easily hit 3.6 i added in a coolermaster hyper 212 asus M4A77TD motherboard 4gigs DDR3 500gig hdd ati 57501gig with a 650watt PSU etc etc

to make this easier heres a pic of my newegg cart as outlined in the post above







  ati 5750 = Nvidia GTS 250 so eitherway same user exprience in the end  open box mobo means he gets a higher end board saves a few $$

theres alos enough room here to add a different case instead or add a larger HDD or perhaps a slighly more power ati 5770 but all things considered i came in under budget with a decent specs  can i get a high five ? 

with shipping the total cost comes to $ 696


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## angelkiller (Jan 13, 2010)

HyD3 said:


> thank you all for the input.  I'm gunna do some more research.  I'll take a look at the intel i3 while im at it too.  I have a feeling he might want to save some money so he may be going the AMD route.


Ah, tight budget. No problem. Both pos pc and crazyeyesreaper had builds that use the Athlon II 240 and a 790GX mobo and both people's builds are fine to use. I still would like to stress the importance of a fast graphics card. Good luck with everything! 



crazyeyesreaper said:


> Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129070


Absolutely no offense to you, but I think that case looks pretty ugly.... Usually I'm not too picky and usually Antec makes great stuff....

Cooler Master has a bunch of decent looking cases for $40.


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## TIGR (Jan 13, 2010)

CPU: Phenom II X4 945 $166
Motherboard: Asus M4A77D $73
Memory: Any 2x 2GB $100
Video card: HIS H577FM1GD $163
Hard Drive: WD3200AAJS $48
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS50 $25
Chassis: Antec Sonata III $125
Power supply: Earthwatts 500 (comes with Sonata)

All on Newegg. Use the CPU/motherboard discount to bring it down to $680 total. A simple system with quality brands/components, some room to expand and great all-around performance for the buck. Plenty overclockable. Toss in a Xigmatek S1283 to get higher clocks with lower temps out of the Phenom.

I only figured in the cost of components you asked for. I assume if you have OS figured out.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 13, 2010)

Looks like win to me, why get a 5770 when you can get a 5850 for under $700  OC up the 720 and crush games with that setup!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

well i already said the case was fugly but i went function over form 

and again he made no mention of an Operating system but i included it anyway i want to see you guys make something far faster at equal price with an OS included 

because it wasnt but yesterday some poor chap new to TPU though operating systems came pre installed on EVERY hardrive so yea


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 13, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well i already said the case was fugly but i went function over form
> 
> and again he made no mention of an Operating system but i included it anyway i want to see you guys make something far faster at equal price with an OS included
> 
> because it wasnt but yesterday some poor chap new to TPU though operating systems came pre installed on EVERY hardrive so yea



He didn't ask for an OS, so why build him a list he doesn't ask for? And I updated my case to a CM case since a 5850 is such a long card, I really got to say that build I put together is going to be hard to beat by just staying on newegg. DDR3, Tri-core, 5850, CM case. Plus the 5750 just iisnt enough card, but I bet I could still fit a 5770 and an OS into my build instead of a 5850, but theres not a point in that since he didnt ask for that.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

well if u say so just stating in less then 24 hrs ago someone on tpu asking about a rig didnt know HDDs did NOT come with an OS preinstalled so i tend to take the safer more logical route and include everthing thats needed to make it WORK. but i agree the 5850 tri core rig wins in terms of power hands down


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 13, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well if u say so just stating in less then 24 hrs ago someone on tpu asking about a rig didnt know HDDs did NOT come with an OS preinstalled so i tend to take the safer more logical route and include everthing thats needed to make it WORK. but i agree the 5850 tri core rig wins in terms of power hands down




Who was asking about that, I didn't see this guy. I been working on an OS setup now since I mentioned it, I could cut some fat here somewhere, but really this would be worth the extra $30 to get the tricore and a 5770 over the dual and 5750.


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## TIGR (Jan 13, 2010)

Well if you do need an OS, look above. Otherwise, here you go. $668 with shipping, *$648 total* after rebates. Gives you some money to play around with.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

all good points i think the op has a number of options to look through he already said he had to research it more but otherwise  theres alot of good options here


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## Kenshai (Jan 13, 2010)

1Kurgan1 said:


> http://img.techpowerup.org/100112/Capture218.jpg
> 
> Looks like win to me, why get a 5770 when you can get a 5850 for under $700  OC up the 720 and crush games with that setup!



I'm going to have to agree here. 

Also I think I missed it what resolution is your friend gaming at?


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## LagunaX (Jan 13, 2010)

MaximumPC mag just featured your question in it's latest issue:

How to Build an Awesome Gaming PC for $647

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_awesome_pc_647


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

Actually, I totally forgot about the OS too.  So I guess my friend is gunna have to opt for a HD5770 for sure.

Hey thanks LagunaX...for that link.  I might consider that.  Do the AMD Athlon II X4 620 overclock well?

But it seems to me that most ppl on the thread recommend going dual core tho.  hummmm.  gotta think about this....


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

http://img.techpowerup.org/100112/Capture219.jpg

Man......this setup is freakin awsome too!!!!!!  I think I might show my buddy this.
thanks much!!!!


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

Kenshai said:


> I'm going to have to agree here.
> 
> Also I think I missed it what resolution is your friend gaming at?



He said that he'd get a 22 inch LCD......
so i'm guessing 1680 X 1050


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

then a 5750 or 5770 will be more then enough at 1680x1050


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## HyD3 (Jan 13, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> then a 5750 or 5770 will be more then enough at 1680x1050




yeah.....I agree.


hey all.......thanks for the advice!!!!  this really help me alot!!!!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

after looking through the tpu reviews seems the 5750 trades blows with the 9800gt gts 250 and gtx 260 from nvidia depending on game and resolution and of course the 5770 is faster


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 13, 2010)

HyD3 said:


> http://img.techpowerup.org/100112/Capture219.jpg
> 
> Man......this setup is freakin awsome too!!!!!!  I think I might show my buddy this.
> thanks much!!!!



Glad to help, I would highly suggest your friend spend that $30 over the $700 budget, will end up with a more rounded machine with the tri-core and 5770.


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Jan 13, 2010)

HyD3 said:


> A friend of mine wants me to build him a budget gaming rig.  But he's looking to only spend *$700*.  I, myself, know what parts are good on the Intel side.  And from what I read, an AMD setup would be good for a budget gaming rig.  My problem is this:  What parts do you guys recommend as far as Mobo and CPU (brand name and model).  As far as GPU....either a GTS 250 or HD5770.
> 
> What do you guys think?  And remember $700 is the limit.
> 
> ...




I just built a gaming rig for my brother with the same budget in mind.

Motherboard : ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 $95 USD

CPU : AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition $99 USD

Memory : CORSAIR XMS3 4GB $95 USD

Video Card : XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB $125 USD

Hard Drive : Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB  $55 USD

Optical Drive : LITE-ON Black 24X DVD $27 USD

Power Supply : COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS $30 USD

Case : COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP $40 USD

Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit  $104 USD

Total = $670 USD, leaveing money for tax.

This rig is running stable 24/7 @ 4.2 GHZ, and does everything he needs it, to and has alot of room for upgrading. He just upgraded to a 600w Corsair PSU, and a XFX 5850, he plans on increasing the ram, and buying a quad core CPU. This rig will meet almost everyones needs, and has a lot of room for upgrades alowing someone to get 5+ years out of this set up.

Also you can pick up the case and ram and processor from Frys ( I saw that you live in San Diego ) and save on shipping.


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## Bluefox1115 (Jan 13, 2010)

amd phenom II 720, 4gb ddr3-1333, asus m4a series board, ati hd 5750, antec 200, corsair 520watt psu, 22x samsung sata dvd-rw, WD Caviar black 500gb, windows 7 rtm. stock cooler is fine. done.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 13, 2010)

Bluefox1115 said:


> amd phenom II 720, 4gb ddr3-1333, asus m4a series board, ati hd 5750, antec 200, corsair 520watt psu, 22x samsung sata dvd-rw, WD Caviar black 500gb, windows 7 rtm. stock cooler is fine. done.



Better RAM, cheaper mobo, cheaper case, better vid card is a better way to go. Isn't goign to need a top of the line mobo now, just something that can run DDR3, odds are they wont need all the OCing options of a 790FX board.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

hell open box Asus m4 770 is $69 great board good for overclocking for the most part which is what i linked in my posts not hard to get a good bored just gotta think outside the box


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 13, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> hell open box Asus m4 770 is $69 great board good for overclocking for the most part which is what i linked in my posts not hard to get a good bored just gotta think outside the box



Right, but you can get a 785G chipset for $69 and thats a far better OCing chipset than a 770, and its brand new not open box. Granted it's not an Asus, but you can get an MSI 785G for $79.


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## BlackOmega (Jan 13, 2010)

Here's about the best build I can put together for $702/shipped. But there is a $20 rebate on the PSU. So $682. And the HDD is SATA 3.0.


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Jan 13, 2010)

BlackOmega said:


> Here's about the best build I can put together for $702/shipped. But there is a $20 rebate on the PSU. So $682. And the HDD is SATA 3.0.
> 
> http://forums.techpowerup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=32039&d=1263379132



Sata 3 on a mechanical drive, is like putting a spoiler for an F1 car, on your grandmothers buick, it will just never go fast enough to even think about making any kind of use of it.


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## BlackOmega (Jan 13, 2010)

No matter it was cheap enough. Either sata II 320GB drive for 48 bucks or Sata 3.0. I think thats a badass build for $700. The case is cheap but whatever, it'll hold all the parts.


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## 1nf3rn0x (Jan 13, 2010)

You want cheap, that runs crysis at ultra high pretty good? 

Motherboard: Asus P5QL-SE
Processor: Intel e7500 core 2 duo/ Intel e8400 core 2 duo__both easily overlclock with stock cooler
Ram: 4gb Kingston ram ddr2 @ 800MHz
Psu: Corsair 400w ATX can run any 6 pin card out today, easily.
HardDrive: 500gb Seagate Barracude 7200rpm
Graphics card: XFX 4770(around the performance of a 4850)/ Asus 4850: extremely fast for the price
Case: Antec two-hundred
Just forgot to add these... CD/DVD: Any good one that is about $60 dollars
OS:Win 7 64bit

All that exactly $800 dollars Australian Imagine what savings you could get from using newegg. About $100 dollars or more!!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 13, 2010)

everyone completely avoid reading the thread and thus completely misses the need that he forgot about an OS ie win 7 64bit so most of you have to tack on an extra $100 to your builds thus they dont fit the budget  figured id bring to the awareness of those late to the game


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## 1Kurgan1 (Jan 14, 2010)

BlackOmega said:


> No matter it was cheap enough. Either sata II 320GB drive for 48 bucks or Sata 3.0. I think thats a badass build for $700. The case is cheap but whatever, it'll hold all the parts.



Problem is you used ZZF, it's a great site for a deal now and then, but their average price is higher. If you want a real HDD you need to look around $60, $50 is just to low, for around $60 you can get a 500GB or a 640GB drive.



1nf3rn0x said:


> You want cheap, that runs crysis at ultra high pretty good?
> 
> Motherboard: Asus P5QL-SE
> Processor: Intel e7500 core 2 duo/ Intel e8400 core 2 duo__both easily overlclock with stock cooler
> ...



the e7x00 and x8x00 over here just aren't worth it with the PII 720 on the market. A still growing family and socket and a bit faster with that extra core, also normally the 720 is a cheaper processor also.


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## BlackOmega (Jan 15, 2010)

1Kurgan1 said:


> Problem is you used ZZF, it's a great site for a deal now and then, but their average price is higher. If you want a real HDD you need to look around $60, $50 is just to low, for around $60 you can get a 500GB or a 640GB drive.




 Nothing wrong with ZZF, I used them for my current build; they were $40 cheaper than newegg with better RAM. 

 Of all the builds I saw, I think mine would be the most powerful quite honestly, and most of the pieces are quality parts. The worst thing about my build is the case, and it is a cheap flimsy piece of shit but it would suffice until he got paid again and could get an OS and a better case. 

 PS: I went with those drives simply to keep as close as I could to $700. I know that for a few dollars more you could get double the storage.


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## Kenshai (Jan 15, 2010)

BlackOmega said:


> Nothing wrong with ZZF, I used them for my current build; they were $40 cheaper than newegg with better RAM.
> 
> Of all the builds I saw, I think mine would be the most powerful quite honestly, and most of the pieces are quality parts. The worst thing about my build is the case, and it is a cheap flimsy piece of shit but it would suffice until he got paid again and could get an OS and a better case.
> 
> PS: I went with those drives simply to keep as close as I could to $700. I know that for a few dollars more you could get double the storage.



Even at that point you're missing an OS, so essentially you're over budget, people set a budget in mind for the complete system.


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## Bo_Fox (Jan 15, 2010)

If you decide on a GTS 250, watch out for underclocked versions!!!  

A 5770 is like $20 more than a 5750 (which is pretty much worth it), and a 5750 is like $20 more than a GTS 250 (also worth it), heh heh!


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## BlackOmega (Jan 15, 2010)

Kenshai said:


> Even at that point you're missing an OS, so essentially you're over budget, people set a budget in mind for the complete system.



 I know, I should've read through the whole post. Although, he coud've edited the first post to reflect what he needs. 

 Regardless, I personally would run Ubuntu for a couple of weeks so I could put together that rig. Then I'd save up for an OS, it's not like they're super expensive ~$100 OEM. $120 for w7 64 IIRC.

 Also, why doesn't he just use his old OS for the time being?


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## kurosagi01 (Jan 16, 2010)

BlackOmega said:


> I know, I should've read through the whole post. Although, he coud've edited the first post to reflect what he needs.
> 
> Regardless, I personally would run Ubuntu for a couple of weeks so I could put together that rig. Then I'd save up for an OS, it's not like they're super expensive ~$100 OEM. $120 for w7 64 IIRC.
> 
> Also, why doesn't he just use his old OS for the time being?



The build is for his friend not for himself.
This what i would do it is a bit off budget by $40 but im pretty sure your friend can save or have $40 extra?
If not then replace the 5770 with a 5750 or something.





The new NZXT Gamma look much better in terms of cable management than beta evo and its CHEAP and black interior can't get any better.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 16, 2010)

wheres the CPU cooler kuro??  talk about a hot running chip


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## BlackOmega (Jan 16, 2010)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> Sata 3 on a mechanical drive, is like putting a spoiler for an F1 car, on your grandmothers buick, it will just never go fast enough to even think about making any kind of use of it.



 Do you have any idea how big an F1 spoiler is? I bet that thing creates downforce sitting still let alone 200 MPH.
 And Buicks are surprisingly quick, especially the super/turbo charged ones. 

Buick GNX


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## kurosagi01 (Jan 16, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> wheres the CPU cooler kuro??  talk about a hot running chip



doesn't it come with the standard?? surely if it did his friend can use it until he has money to buy an aftermarket.
hows this then:


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 16, 2010)

you have the OEM cpu OEM = no heatsink 

if it says OEM no heatsink
if it says retail it comes with a heatsink

it works out if he wants to overclock he will need a better heatsink anyway so he can just grab a Coolermaster Hyper 212 and be done with it but if not the retail is the better bet


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## BlackOmega (Jan 16, 2010)

Why are you guys recommending the Athlons? Comparatively to the Phenom II's, the Athlons get smoked in gaming due to the lack of the L3 cache. Not to mention the Phenom II's OC very easily; with the stock heatsink on the 720 you should be able to run @ 3200MHz, you won't even need a voltage bump to run @ 3.2. 

 Also, those ripjaws aren't the greatest sticks; the taller RAM sinks will get in the way of mounting certain cooler's on certain boards (i.e. Xiggy DK/TRUE on a GD70). 

 I know newegg is a good company, but since they went public their prices have started to suck; not to mention the lack of high end motherboard selection (AM3).


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## kurosagi01 (Jan 16, 2010)

Then this be best,it meets his friend's budget.


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## BlackOmega (Jan 16, 2010)

Well I put together another rig that would SMOKE most of the other ones on here. It's 732.92 shipped. $682.92 after rebates. But on the plus side, it has a C3 955, a 5770 and 1600 MHz RAM. 
  So if he buys Win7 OEM for ~$100, it'll put em about $80 over budget HOWEVER, I think he'd be best served by slightly exceeding his budget so he can have a MUCH better rig.


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## kurosagi01 (Jan 16, 2010)

BlackOmega said:


> Well I put together another rig that would SMOKE most of the other ones on here. It's 732.92 shipped. $682.92 after rebates. But on the plus side, it has a C3 955, a 5770 and 1600 MHz RAM.
> So if he buys Win7 OEM for ~$100, it'll put em about $80 over budget HOWEVER, I think he'd be best served by slightly exceeding his budget so he can have a MUCH better rig.
> 
> http://forums.techpowerup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=32190&d=1263679407



now i'm pretty sure i stated its not for him,its for his FRIEND,and i believe his friend would only want to spend only $700 and not anymore higher,if it was hyd3 im pretty sure he might spend a bit more but its his friend who might not want to spend no more than $700.


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## Vincy Boy (Jan 16, 2010)

just being a bit crazy. I just got that Sapphire 5850 with the thermaltake PSU a few days ago along with that cheap Foxconn ELA board and a celeron 3200 (overclocked it to 3.6). I cannot tell the difference in gaming between the system I put together with those parts and my previous X58 setup with a 5770. (had to sell that system... was so painful)


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