Budget gaming rig <900$

[2ez4u]

So basically this summer I will be building my first rig and I need some help on finding cheaper parts, but yet great for gaming. I will mostly play games like Counter-strike: source, Team fortress 2, left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, CoD4, CoD: WaW, basically online multiplayer fps. I wanna get decent fps on those games and maybe future games to come. What i'm asking for is either cheaper parts that are effective for a gaming rig and if some parts suck maybe a part to replace it. I already bought a 700w OCZ ModXStream PSU and a monitor. Also must include a keyboard, mouse, mouse pad and headset.

And this is the list I came up with from directcanada and newegg:

Case: Antec nine hundred
Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower Gamer Case 900 Atx 9 Drive Bay No Ps Top USB2.0 1394 Audio - DirectCanada

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Triple Core Processor AM3 2.8GHZ 7.5MB Cache 95W 45NM Retail Box - DirectCanada

Motherboard: Biostar TA790GX
Biostar TA790GX128M ATX AM2+/AM3 AMD790GX 2PCI-E 2PCI RAID Video Sound GBLAN CrossFireX Motherboard - DirectCanada

Video Card: EVGA 9800GTX+
Newegg.ca - EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

RAM: G.Skill 4GB F2-8500CL5D
G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit - DirectCanada

Hard drive: Western Digital WD10EADS 1TB
Western Digital WD10EADS Caviar Green 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM - DirectCanada

DVD writer: Samsung SH-S223F
Samsung SH-S223F Black 22X Dvd Writer Sata Oem - DirectCanada

Headset: Logitech precision gaming headset
PRECISION PC GAMING HEADSET W/MICROPHONE STEREO 3.5MM - DirectCanada

Mouse: Logitech MX518
Logitech MX518 GAMING-GRADE Optical Mouse 1600-DPI USB SILVER-BLACK - DirectCanada

Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse
Newegg.ca - Saitek PZ30AU Black 104 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys USB Standard Eclipse Keyboard - Keyboards

Mouse pad: Xtrac ripper XL
Newegg.ca - XTRAC PADS RIPPER XL Optical Mouse pad - Mouse Pads & Accessories

Thx for help, trying to save a little money here and there

[Realityshift]

I would drop the 1tb for a 640 black, itll be a decent amount faster then the green drive. Also just a heads up but the precision PC gaming headset is hella uncomfortable, if you watch Futureshop they normally have their higher end plantronics on for cheap, I recently got the audio .370s for $24 and their pretty comfortable and offer decent sound quality.

Also id get this over the MX518, Steelseries Ikari Optical Professional Gaming Mouse - DirectCanada

Steelseries 3H Foldable Gaming Stereo Headset W/ Microphone - DirectCanada would probubly offer better sound quality and comfort over the logitechs.

Rest of the build looks good, personally id take a CM 690 over the 900 case, but since you have a modular PSU cable management should be to much of an issue in the 900.

Oh and personally id drop the 9800GTX+ for this ....

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE55 590MHZ 896MB 1.998GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Video Card - DirectCanada

Trust me, I went from a 9800GTX+, then 9800GTX sli, to the GTX 260 core 216 and the change was VERY noticable, I get awesome frame rates on crysis at gamer settings in DX10 and any other game is well over 60 FPS at maxed settings.

[2ez4u]

For the gaming headset would you recommend this creative fatal1ty?
Creative Fatality Gaming Headset 8FT Noise Canceling Microphone W/ Volume Control - DirectCanada

It seems to be a pretty decent price for it.

[geokilla]

Looks good to me. Check out tonight's NCIX specials and their AMD bundle. You might be able to find better deals then what you plan to buy from Direct Canada. The RAM is overpriced imo.

I agree with Reality. Change the hard drive to a WD 640GB Black. Ask yourself, do you need 1TB of space. If you do, then well get a 1TB Black. Otherwise that 640GB should be good.

Oh, and don't forget to price match.

NCIX.com - Buy AMD Power of Black Bundle Deal Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHZ & Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P DDR3 Motherboard - 720-GA-MA790XT-UD4P In Canada.

NCIX.com - Buy AMD Power of Black Bundle Deal Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHZ & Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 DDR2 Motherboard - 720-GA-MA770-UD3 In Canada.

Both bundles are good, so choose which bundle you want. Both will be better and cheaper than your Phenom II and Biostar motherboard that you planned earlier.

[2ez4u]

wow thanks geokilla that saves me a bunch of cash

[CroSsFiRe2009]

Ok..kind of a new poster here too so bear with me here :P
First off, are you overclocking or not and are you limited to ordering only from direct canada and newegg? NCIX seems to have pretty good prices and almost everything can be price matched with them, not to mention if you don't live in BC, you don't have to pay PST and you can still get free shipping for $10 LINK. Personally, For that amount of money, you can probably go for a intel setup. IMO, if you can afford to drop another $100 and not planning extreme overclocks, you can probably go for Intel's retail edge program provided you know somebody working at stores with an electronics section such as bestbuy, futureshop, staples. Basically you can get an i7 920 and WinVista for $130 or get that with a DX58SO for $390. Shipping should be around $40 since they use UPS. LINK. If you can't do that, a Intel Quad setup should be just as good too, cheaper too.

If I were to go around gettin a computer with that budget it would be this:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Quad Core Processor LGA775 2.66GHZ 1333FSB 4MB Retail Box

Patriot Viper Extreme Performance 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 Memory Kit

Gigabyte EP45-UD3L ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 PCI-E 2PCI SATA2 HD Sound GBLAN Motherboard

Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB SATA2 7200RPM 4.2MS 32MB 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM

Antec Nine Hundred Two Mid Tower Gamer Case 902 ATX 9 Drive Bay No PS Top USB2.0 eSATA Audio

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE55 590MHZ 896MB 1.998GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Video Card

Samsung SH-S223F Black 22X DVD Writer SATA OEM

Steelseries I-2 White Glass Mouse Pad 10X12IN

NCIX.COM $10 Gift Card *Pre Activated*


All that should be $894 after taxes, shipping and with the $65 worth of rebates, will be $830
/crap..just realized i'm overbudget since i forgot the cost of your mouse
Anyways, u can always swap out the intel mobo and cpu for your amd one, both are good choices. Everything else i chose should still be good, keyboard/headset/mouse are more personal choices and I'll leave that up to you.
Hope this helps

[CroSsFiRe2009]

damn..somebody beat me to referring him to ncix instead while i was writing my textwall lol

[2ez4u]

Thanks didnt know that the card gives you free shipping for 10$, gonna try and get some stuff from there and yes I do live out of BC.

[Realityshift]

Crossfire, the x3 720 BE destroys the Q8400 and is comparable to an E8400 so I wouldnt really sudgest going for intel at this budget point, the x3 720 is a great CPU to run and even with the stock heatsink will overclock better then the Q8400. How do you figure a Q8400 is going to be as good as an i7 920?

2ez, remember NCIX will pricematch any reputable Etailer, so if you see something you like at newegg or directcanada and NCIX stocks it you can get the same price (minus mail in rebates that dont transfer) at NCIX and order everything from 1 place. IMHO stick with your original build but change out the stuff me and geo listed and you will be far happier with that build then with the intel. If you wanted to go intel E8400 or bust, quad cores offer gamers nothing in return for the added cost besides low clock speeds, theres tons of people out there that will scream up and down that quad cores are the future and youd be dumb not to get one, but with my dual core I can play ANY game on the market right now and anything ive seen on the horizon as well ;) With the tri core when they eventually make magor games multi threaded you will see a bit more performance based on the extra core.

[2ez4u]

Just one question how do I price match on ncic and do they refuse at times, if so do they refuse often.