$800 Budget Gaming Build

[Zayxic]

Hi all! Was lurking for a while but finally decided to make my first post! I'm planning on building a gaming computer this coming month or so, hope I can get some advice from all you experts. Here we go:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Mostly light gaming with the usual word processing, internet surfing, instant messaging and HD movies. I do plan on plugging this into a 32 - 40" LCD TV. Gaming mostly just consists of Spore and Warcraft 3 so far.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

I'm looking at spending no more than $800 tax in. That being said, I do plan on waiting out and hoping for prices to drop. I do know about the new Intel processors coming out around Jan 18, so was wondering how that's going to affect prices. My budget is +/- $50 at most, tuition sucks...

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

I don't have any big preferences, but I have had ASUS mobo's that have worked great for me in the past. I'd just like whatever is good, best bang/buck and good customer service.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

I have already grabbed a pair of Corsair ram thus far.
Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-6400C5 In Canada.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes I have done my research but I am still a novice to current technology.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No OCing is currently planned.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Timeline as mentioned above is sometime end of December to early 2009. I'm just waitng for prices to drop back down... Our dollar is taking quite the beating.

So as to the parts I'm currently looking at:

MOBO: ASUS P5Q ATX LGA775 P45 ($146)
NCIX.com - Buy ASUS P5Q ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard - P5Q In Canada.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 ($146)
NCIX.com - Buy Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Dual Core Processor LGA775 2.66GHZ 1066FSB 3MB Retail Box - BX80571E7300 In Canada.

RAM: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB ($65 - $30 MIR)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?affiliateid=4352418&sku=25228&promoid=10 29

VID: HIS Radeon 4670 ICEQ3 750MHZ 512MB GDDR3 ($110 - $10 MIR)
NCIX.com - Buy HIS Radeon 4670 ICEQ3 750MHZ 512MB GDDR3 2XDVI HDTV Out Video Card - H467QS512P In Canada.

HD: Seagate or WD 1TB... Which one is better? ($130ish)


CASE: Thermaltake ARMOR+ MX Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($129)
NCIX.com - Buy Thermaltake ARMOR+ MX Black ATX Mid Tower Case 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT No PS W/ Front USB eSATA Audio - VH8000BWS In Canada.

PSU: Mushkin HP-550 550W ATX 12V 24PIN ($95 - $15 MIR)
NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin HP-550 550W ATX 12V 24PIN SLI Ready ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan - 550200 In Canada.

DVD-R/W: Something $30ish that's decent? ($30ish)

SUB: $851
MIR: $55
TOTAL: $796~

As you can see I'm at $800 before tax. Hopefully going to see prices drop for me to grab parts $800 after tax. Prices were taken from PriceCanada and I'll pricematch accordingly as deals come along. The Video card, I'm just looking for best bang for my money and it has to be quiet to an extent. As I'm lazy I prob will stick to stock cooling.

So, what do you guys think? Thanks in advance for all your help. :help:

[geokilla]

Here's a few changes I'd suggest:

Mobo: Gigabyte EP43-DS3L
CPU: Intel E7200
Graphic: ASUS 8800GS for $44AR
HD: Seagate or WD 640GB. If you go WD, get the Black Series.
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 500W. I use this for my sis computer's and it's been great.
DVD: Samsung SH-S223F

You should come in at well under $800. Use the remaining money for school :). And I suggest you buy now. Hardware prices have been slowly increasing, and at this rate, I think hardware prices will keep on going up.

Also, you said you already have RAM, so why are you looking at another set of RAM?

All parts can be found at the weekly specials from NCIX. Don't forget to price match to get the best deals.

[GregH]

Take a look at the Coolermaster 690 case too - very nice case that'll save you $50 or so that can go towards a nicer gfx card

[CanadaRox]

I'm not sure if those prices are Price Matched or just sale prices. But be sure to check out Shopbot.ca and/or PriceCanada.ca and price match at NCIX so you can save a few bucks. I'd also recommend getting a cheaper case and putting the savings to the GPU. Nearly everything I've heard about Thermaltake is bad, so I'd avoid them. If you have no plans on overclocking, you could probably go a bit cheaper on the motherboard as well, but I'd strongly recommend keeping that one and getting a decent heatsink and overclocking it as it will give you a very substantial, and free, boost in performance.

[Chilly]

Samsung Black DVD+RW SATA
Muskin Redline PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15
HIS Radeon HD 4670 625MHZ 512MB 2.000GHZ GDDR3
Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case
Corsair TX750W 750W
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Dual Core 2.53GHZ 1066FSB 3MB
Samsung SpinPoint F1 640GB 7200RPM 16MB
ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45

Total : $757.49

Shipping: $0.00 (Free Shipping due to the P5Q Pro)
Shipping Insurance: $22.74
Subtotal: $780.63
No PST - Outside BC residents: $0.00
GST(5%): $39.03
YOUR TOTAL: $819.66

Mail In Rebates - $55

Total AFTER MIR's - $764.66

I suggest spending the extra money on the GPU thou and get a 4830 instead of a 4670, if you were to get this one;

NCIX.com - Buy Powercolor Radeon HD 4830 575MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ GDDR3 HDMI DVI TV-OUT PCI-E Video Card - AX4830 512MD3-H In Canada.

Total : $802.89

Shipping: $0.00 (Free Shipping due to the P5Q Pro)
Shipping Insurance: $24.09
Subtotal: $826.98
No PST - Outside BC residents: $0.00
GST(5%): $41.35
YOUR TOTAL: $868.33

Mail In Rebates - $55

Total AFTER MIR's - $813.33

[matsta31]

nice one chilly.

750W is overkill, but it is cheap. 300 is a nice little case.

The e7200 with not much tweaking and another heatsink, you could get it quite easily to E8400 level.

For the GPU, I never played Warcraft 3 so I dont know what you need.

[CactusJoe]

Warcraft 3 is a joke. I mean, its a great game. I totally like DOTA. But you don't need much to play it.
I was using a p4 3.0 ghz 1g ram 7600gs video card and it was running as smooth as it can.

So don't worry. With this build, im sure you will be able run warcraft 3 at least 8 times.. filling a game with 1 computer is nice.. xD

[5ILVgeARX]

if you give us specs/size of your monitor , we can help you choose a good $ ratio GPU

[Zayxic]

Originally Posted by geokilla

Here's a few changes I'd suggest:

Mobo: Gigabyte EP43-DS3L
CPU: Intel E7200
Graphic: ASUS 8800GS for $44AR
HD: Seagate or WD 640GB. If you go WD, get the Black Series.
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 500W. I use this for my sis computer's and it's been great.
DVD: Samsung SH-S223F

You should come in at well under $800. Use the remaining money for school :). And I suggest you buy now. Hardware prices have been slowly increasing, and at this rate, I think hardware prices will keep on going up.

Also, you said you already have RAM, so why are you looking at another set of RAM?

All parts can be found at the weekly specials from NCIX. Don't forget to price match to get the best deals.

I was looking at the EP45-DS3L, any major differences between that and EP43? (I listed the ram again to stick that into the price calculation )

Originally Posted by GregH

Take a look at the Coolermaster 690 case too - very nice case that'll save you $50 or so that can go towards a nicer gfx card

Thanks, I'll keep the case in mind when I go look at them in person before I make my final decision.

Originally Posted by CanadaRox

I'm not sure if those prices are Price Matched or just sale prices. But be sure to check out Shopbot.ca and/or PriceCanada.ca and price match at NCIX so you can save a few bucks. I'd also recommend getting a cheaper case and putting the savings to the GPU. Nearly everything I've heard about Thermaltake is bad, so I'd avoid them. If you have no plans on overclocking, you could probably go a bit cheaper on the motherboard as well, but I'd strongly recommend keeping that one and getting a decent heatsink and overclocking it as it will give you a very substantial, and free, boost in performance.

I'm using PriceCanada and Shopbot to look at prices, and will be pricematching with NCIX if need be. =) My bro was telling me to grab a heatsink so I could OC the CPU, so I'll see how that goes and I may.

Originally Posted by Chilly

Samsung Black DVD+RW SATA
Muskin Redline PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15
HIS Radeon HD 4670 625MHZ 512MB 2.000GHZ GDDR3
Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case
Corsair TX750W 750W
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Dual Core 2.53GHZ 1066FSB 3MB
Samsung SpinPoint F1 640GB 7200RPM 16MB
ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45

Total : $757.49

Shipping: $0.00 (Free Shipping due to the P5Q Pro)
Shipping Insurance: $22.74
Subtotal: $780.63
No PST - Outside BC residents: $0.00
GST(5%): $39.03
YOUR TOTAL: $819.66

Mail In Rebates - $55

Total AFTER MIR's - $764.66

I suggest spending the extra money on the GPU thou and get a 4830 instead of a 4670, if you were to get this one;

NCIX.com - Buy Powercolor Radeon HD 4830 575MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ GDDR3 HDMI DVI TV-OUT PCI-E Video Card - AX4830 512MD3-H In Canada.

Total : $802.89

Shipping: $0.00 (Free Shipping due to the P5Q Pro)
Shipping Insurance: $24.09
Subtotal: $826.98
No PST - Outside BC residents: $0.00
GST(5%): $41.35
YOUR TOTAL: $868.33

Mail In Rebates - $55

Total AFTER MIR's - $813.33

I've been reading some disappointing things about the Samsung spinpoint HD. Are the issues fixed and worth taking a look? I've never had any experience with or heard of Powercolor until recently. How are they? As well I'm looking for a quieter video card if I can, how's this one on sound?

Originally Posted by matsta31

nice one chilly.

750W is overkill, but it is cheap. 300 is a nice little case.

The e7200 with not much tweaking and another heatsink, you could get it quite easily to E8400 level.

For the GPU, I never played Warcraft 3 so I dont know what you need.

Yeah, I thought 500W would be enough haha. I did see the 750W go on sale but thought that was way to much. As mentioned above I may OC and will keep it in mind. ;)

Originally Posted by CactusJoe

Warcraft 3 is a joke. I mean, its a great game. I totally like DOTA. But you don't need much to play it.
I was using a p4 3.0 ghz 1g ram 7600gs video card and it was running as smooth as it can.

So don't worry. With this build, im sure you will be able run warcraft 3 at least 8 times.. filling a game with 1 computer is nice.. xD

I know warcraft 3 isn't very demanding haha, which is kind of why I don't want to spend too much on a GPU unnecessarily. =)

Originally Posted by 5ILVgeARX

if you give us specs/size of your monitor , we can help you choose a good $ ratio GPU

Currently I have a 22" LCD, but will be using a 32" or 40" LCD TV in the future once I get the money for it haha.

Thanks everyone for their help so far! Really appreciate it.

[BALISTX]

Regarding the Gigabyte EP43-DS3L and EP45-DS3L, the only difference is memory speed. The P45-DS3L supports up to 1333 and the P43-DS3L supports up to 1200

[joeperson]

And no crossfire on the 43

[BALISTX]

Nether does the EP45-DS3L. I think you are thinking of the EP45-DS3R

[Chilly]

Originally Posted by Zayxic

I was looking at the EP45-DS3L, any major differences between that and EP43? (I listed the ram again to stick that into the price calculation )

Not much, the physical motherboards seem to be the same. The only major difference I can find is the chipset, the EP45 uses the P45, and EP34 uses the P43(go figure eh ). So whats the difference between P45 and P43 you ask? Well the P45 supports DDR3 and the splinting of the PCI-e x16 lane into 2 x8 lanes, and its slightly higher binned(OC's better), otherwise there the same.

Franky the EP45 doesn't implement/utilize the improvements anyways. The only benefit in other words would be if you were to overclock. The EP45 will be easier to overclock, as well as achive higher clocks then the EP43 would.

Originally Posted by Zayxic

I'm using PriceCanada and Shopbot to look at prices, and will be pricematching with NCIX if need be. =) My bro was telling me to grab a heatsink so I could OC the CPU, so I'll see how that goes and I may.

A decent/great heatsink will run you anywhere from $30-$80, unless you plan to overclock, I would spend the money elsewhere. That being said if you don't mind spending the extra cash its worth it regardless of if you overclock or not. If you don't overclock it will keep temps down, if you do it will enable possible higher clocks at lower temps.

Originally Posted by Zayxic

I've been reading some disappointing things about the Samsung spinpoint HD. Are the issues fixed and worth taking a look? I've never had any experience with or heard of Powercolor until recently. How are they? As well I'm looking for a quieter video card if I can, how's this one on sound?

When it comes to the Samsung F1, Its a good drive, it burst speeds seem to be limited to 1.5Gbps, everything else on the drive is FAST. While it may not be as fast as a WD Black 640GB, you can't beat that price, its a great fast drive.

The issue of massive failures only affected the 1TB edition.

Powercolor on the other hand has been an ATi vendor for as long as I can remember, never had an issue with them personally. As for how loud the card is, from what I'm reading online at various sites, its not a loud fan, but its not the quietest.

Originally Posted by Zayxic

Yeah, I thought 500W would be enough haha. I did see the 750W go on sale but thought that was way to much. As mentioned above I may OC and will keep it in mind. ;)

Hahaha, yes, even a *quality* 450watt PSU should be enough for you BUT for the price the 750Watt is, I see no reason not to get it. That said If your looking to save a few $$$ upfront, you can't go wrong with the Corsair VX450. I'd avoid any OCZ powersupplys, they're wattage claims seem to be always overrated for what they are (an OCZ 650 shouldn't be rated above 550, etc).

Originally Posted by Zayxic

I know warcraft 3 isn't very demanding haha, which is kind of why I don't want to spend too much on a GPU unnecessarily. =)

The GPU is the one of the most important parts when gaming, never skimp on it if you can. If you ever have the urge to pay any other games that WC3 (and I'm sure you will with a new PC, some join us on the HWC COD4 server when its up ).

That being said if you *TRULY* feel as if you will never play beyond WC 3, then even the 4670 is overkill, so get that. I highly recommend the 4830, I think you'll enjoy it more in the long run.

Originally Posted by Zayxic

Thanks everyone for their help so far! Really appreciate it.

Anytime

[joeperson]

:O got my acronyms mixed up

[Zayxic]

Wow... Thanks for all the information! =)

Looks like I'll be making some changes! =D

CASE: Antec 300 -- thought it over and decided just to save some $$ and use it on GPU
MOBO: EP43 or 45 -DS3L ...still undecided if I want to OC, may just get the 45 so in the case I do, I'll be prepared...
VID: Moving on up to 4830, going to research up on Powercolor
PSU: Is there anything bad about the mushkin? I just thought it was decent for its pricepoint...