Gaming Computer - Tight Budget?
OK, my second Compaq notebook just broke, it was horrible for gaming so I’m done with those. I decided I’d go for a desktop this time. I honestly don’t know that much about components to a computer, so customizing one isn’t that likely without instruction. I’m also in search of a car, which leaves me with a tight spending budget for a computer. I’m guessing the absolute maximum I could afford a comuter for right now is $600-700. Please advise me to some good gaming computers that don’t burn a huge whole in my wallet.
Here you go: Lucky for you I put one together for one of my friends. The only thing is, this is for the box only. Reuse your peripherals and buy a 19″ CRT. That’s the best budget screen I can think of.
I’ve built a ton of computers. For someone who talks about budgets and low experience, find your self a friend, put this one together and maybe we’ll talk about OC’ing.
This is from Zipzoomfly:
Item No. Description Qty Unit Price
10005207 Sony NEC Optiarc AWG170S-B2 18X SATA DVD Burner Black DVD±RW Bulk ***Free Shipping*** 1 $37.49
101220-12-RFB Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer Refurbished ***Free Shipping*** 2 Discontinued
249620 MSI K9VGM-V K8M890 Sempron/Athlon 64(FX)(X2) SktAM2 DDR2 M-ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, Serial ATA Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $53.99
273015 Ultra ULT31586 Wizard Mini Tower Case (MS Blue w/ Blue UV) Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $45.99
273508 Antec BP500U Basiq 500W Power Supply Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $55.99
327727 MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E-OC GeForce 8600 GT Overclock 256MB PCI Express Video Card w/Dual DVI Retail 1 $115.98
80724-7 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4000+ Socket AM2 (65W) Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $72.90
85236 OCZ OCZ2G8002GK 2GB Kit DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Gold Gamer eXtreme XTC Edition Dual Channel Memory Retail ***Free Shipping*** 1 $89.00
Estimated Subtotal $471.34
* Note! Subtotal provided does not include any tax or shipping fees that may apply.
The Hard Drives are discontinued but you know what to do. Just make sure its SATA.
You can always spend more or less on any component, but remember every part I listed is necessary or else the machine won’t run. You can upgrade each component according to your budget. If you shop correct your money will go a long way. I’m giving my friend OS, so you can add 75-100 for Windows XP/Vista whatever. Your speed bottlenecks will always be CPU, Memory, Video Card. This is for a mid-level budget gaming system. Raid-0, decent Ram, decent CPU, above average Video Card for the money. If you need anymore help. Feel free to post another question on here directed to me
Get on DFI forums and talk to those guys, they’re geniuses and friendly.
Don’t listen to people who say Intel is faster than AMD. The Core Duo’s maybe, but the last generation processors, AMD processors have a slower clock, but would run up and down Intel’s backsides. Besides there’s a lot more to a computer than just CPU clock speed, so many people I’ve seen have fast processors and no memory. Remember its a complete budget package and I have never assembled a computer for someone and they complained that it was too slow.
I have tried the Dell, HP, and Gateway desktops. Of all these I have a Gateway right now it seems to be the most stable reliable and powerful desktop I have had so far. As far as gaming you might be able to get a Gateway computer for the price you want and just get great graphics and sound cards to go with it. Of course the cheaper the computer you buy the lower the quality of graphics and sound cards you will be in that computer. So you will need to specify what kind of cards you want in the computer. Just order your computer over the Internet or on the phone and tell them you want the best graphics card and sound card you can get they won’t steer you wrong. If you order on the Internet at the Gateway web site you should be able to specify which cards you want exactly in your system by price and quality I don’t know for sure though you would have to try ordering it online and see what you can change on the system you want. Oh you will probably want the best processor you can get too like Intel VIIV. Some say the AMD processor is better but I like the Intel for speed.
Well Compaq is a very poor quality computer especially for a laptop no offense, If you were getting a laptop Toshiba’s are pretty good You don’t have much too worry about b/c they’ve been around for a long time
uhhh don’t get Gateways desktop or laptop those are poor quality too. uhhh Emachines are good, cheaper to just build one if you can?
for gaming make sure it has a good graphics card lots of ram and a good cooling system and a fast processor.