Building a cheap gaming rig... *sigh*

[Jason]

Well, I have no idea what I'm going to do with my christmas money this year, so I figured I'd look at getting a new gaming rig after the last one kind of 'caught fire' a bit.

I'm not going to have a tremendous amount of money to spend - somewhere in the region of $500-$600, so I have to keep the price down. Also, I'm not even remotely clued up on overclocking, so I'd prefer to avoid it if I can.

Suggestions?

[MyNameDidntFit]

Mortgage your house -- provided you own your residence, of course -- and then use all of that money to buy a PC.

>.>

[Iggy]

Well, starting with the motherboard, obviously you want one that will accommodate a fast CPU. If you don't have unlimited funds, then I would look for one that will accept a lower priced CPU, but is upgradeable when you have more cash to throw at it.

RAM is RAM. The more the merrier. Insufficient RAM will make any system a dog, so don't skimp on it.

For gaming, the video card is almost more important than the CPU, and is usually the slowest link in the system. If I had to choose, I would almost go with a slower CPU and a faster video card.

I usually buy from TigerDirect.Com here in Florida. They have Bare Bones Kits (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&name=Barebone-Kits) that you can take a look at to see what is available. I would check each mobo and see how upgradable it is in case you want to bump up the CPU later on.

I have an Intel P5N-D board with an Intel quad core Q6700, and an nVidia 9800 GTX+ video card. I have not seen much in the way of slowdowns, even with the graphics cranked up.

To be honest though, I don't usually see much difference with the higher graphics settings compared to medium settings. Usually if I can see the rain in a game, then I am good to go. I know a lot of folks are all about cranking everything up to the max, but I just don't see the need for it. I can't tell the difference anyway.

I would think you should be able to come up with a pretty good gaming machine for what you have to spend.

PS, I know a lot of peeps like to OC their stuff, but I tend to avoid trying to make a computer component do something it was not really designed to do.

[Rob]

Jason can you reuse your old case/dvd/hdd/powersupply or did the fire burn it all down :) If you can reuse some parts then you can get some very powerful cpu/mb/gpu/ram for your budget. If you have to squeeze a ps/case into the purchase then things get a little tighter.

I was just playing around on newegg and priced a AM3-AMD-X3 system with a ATI5750-1GB, 4GB-DDR3-1600, Antec300+PSU for $560 + tax/shipping. That is pretty much going to lay waste to anything out right now. The new "budget" ATI cards really tear through Crysis and anything else.

[Jason]

Yeah, the new ATI cards are phenomenal for the price. It's going to be difficult to look past those when I go for the gfx card. I might be able to salvage the case and the DVD drive, but the rest isn't really worth saving to be honest. I'll have a good look in the January sales and see what the prices are like.

[Astonix]

I would suggest looking at the recommended specs of the current games you play / will play then buy a computer based on that. That way you know you'll only be getting what you have to. Any spare money can go to upgrading what would be needed.

[Iggy]

So, did you find something that looks like it will work for you?

[Jason]

I think I'm going to hold fire until a) I know exactly what I've got to spend, and b) we're the other side of christmas and the January sales hit - they're never as good online as they are in the stores, but any money off equals better bang for my buck.

[Knighto]

Great thread! I've got around 700$ to spare (well, it's about all I got in life right now, but what the hell! I'm still willing to spend all of it) and I was thinking about getting a new laptop, but then I thought maybe I'll get a very good desktop with that kind of money. I have a question; do you think I should buy a screen for the new PC or I can just use my 32 inch Samsung LCD which I use for my 360?

[AzH]

I have no idea what I'm going to do with my christmas money this yea.

Christmas money? What are you? Twelve?

[Jason]

Yes. Indeed I am. A/S/L?

In all seriousness, my parents are not good purchasers of Christmas gifts. This has been the way for a long, long time. So instead of the hassle of having to pretend I like something I clearly have no idea how to use or need to own, and them wasting a large sum of money on an item I'll never use, I instead have money. This suits all parties.

[AzH]

32/m/UK

[Jason]

Hot. Wanna cyber?