Building Cheap, Simple "gaming"; computer

Hey guys, Gonna be building a computer and I was going to see if you guys will approve.

I got $350, and I play Source games now, and might go some MW2 but the comp needs to be able to play these games at decent to good framerates, atleast on medium. Kinda Hoping that Source engine games would run around 100FPS, like CSS. And COD4/MW2 have to be playable at around 30 fps on medium.

Heres what I have selected, make ammendments when needed, but I dont have much to spare.

Mobo($64): ASRock A780GXE

CPU($53):AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Brisbane 2.9GHz

PSU($30):hec HP585D RETAIL 585W ATX12V Power Supply

RAM($50): Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

Video Card($64): MSI Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

HDD: Already have one.

Case: Using a old case, Installing fans on the case door.

DVD: Have One.

This Is it. Make ammendments, I would like to stay around $350-ish, I know its a tight budget, But it will do for my needs of gaming, and video editing. I have Vegas Pro 9 and make montages for friends, and working on videos personally. So It needs to be "decently" fast, better than what I have now. Laptop celeron 1.86ghz processor 2 gb of ram, and vista

Wait, what? new mobo?, New processor? and new card?

what resolution you going to be playing at? I'd expect source games to run fine on that rig at high settings at a high res anyway and MW 1/2 as well.

Well I plan to run it at around resolutions of like 1280x1024, and hoping to run CSS on High at around 100fps? Will it be possible?, and MW2 if it will run at around 1024x768, I will Lower resolution to run it at a good framerate if possible. So, how well do you think it will run?

i have a cheap build in my blog feel free to pull parts off it to try n save some bread. it will do what you want atm any meybe a little more though probab;y more like 70fps on CSS at that resolution which is still more than necissary you stop being able to see the difference after 60

Well, It will have to Do, because I dont plan on building a computer to see my benches on Crysis, Im building one to play my games, and see how they do. So, It will have to do

This would perform quite a bit better and came to less than $340 on newegg.com:

Mobo: AsRock N68-S AM2+: $45

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240: $59

GPU: XFX 9800GT 512mb: $100

PSU: Antec BP550 550watt: $55

RAM: 4GB (2x2gb) Gskill DDR2 800: $82

This will let you crank the settings in those games.

Thanks guys, I really like aura_enchanted's one, Im gonna use His in his blog. Its a little bit better than mine, and the bench marks on it is nice, like Batman:Arkham Asylum-43fps, all high no AA or AF, So CSS will run FINE on it.

Thanks guys, I really like aura_enchanted's one, Im gonna use His in his blog. Its a little bit better than mine, and the bench marks on it is nice, like Batman:Arkham Asylum-43fps, all high no AA or AF, So CSS will run FINE on it.

colin_31

Are you in Canada? I guess I didn't catch that. The rig I put together will outperform his by a decent margin and costs 20 bucks more.

No, I dont live in canada, The prices for everything that he had priced is higher than my total. And how much do you think your build will affect performance, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, Heck even 50% above what Aura posted?

[QUOTE="colin_31"]

Thanks guys, I really like aura_enchanted's one, Im gonna use His in his blog. Its a little bit better than mine, and the bench marks on it is nice, like Batman:Arkham Asylum-43fps, all high no AA or AF, So CSS will run FINE on it.

hartsickdiscipl

Are you in Canada? I guess I didn't catch that. The rig I put together will outperform his by a decent margin and costs 20 bucks more.

before or after S & H?

also link ur parts otherwise i wont have it.

also your cpu is slightly slower (a whole 100mhz) just worth editing

[QUOTE="hartsickdiscipl"]

[QUOTE="colin_31"]

Thanks guys, I really like aura_enchanted's one, Im gonna use His in his blog. Its a little bit better than mine, and the bench marks on it is nice, like Batman:Arkham Asylum-43fps, all high no AA or AF, So CSS will run FINE on it.

aura_enchanted

Are you in Canada? I guess I didn't catch that. The rig I put together will outperform his by a decent margin and costs 20 bucks more.

before or after S & H?

also link ur parts otherwise i wont have it.

also your cpu is slightly slower (a whole 100mhz) just worth editing

The Athlon II is faster clock-for-clock than the old Athlon 64 X2, which is the CPU you were suggesting. No offense, but why pick a CPU that is more expensive, uses more power, and is slower clock-for-clock? Not to mention that the Athlon II's are better overclockers than the old 64 X2's, so you can squeeze more out of it.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2009/06/30/amd-athlon-ii-x2-250-cpu-review/5

This review compares a 3.0ghz Athlon II (the 250 model) to the X2 6000+, but it's sufficient to show that the Athlon II is the better chip. We can extrapolate that a 2.8ghz Athlon II is at least equal to a 3ghz A64 X2 6000+ from the results.

Here's what I suggest. It comes to just shy of $340 before shipping and handling.

CPU $58:

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

MOBO ($45):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157158

RAM ($82):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

GPU ($100):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150323

PSU ($55)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

These components (especially due to the GPU) will give approximately 15-20% better game performance in most cases than the system the other poster referenced in his blog. The 4670 isn't even as fast as a 9600gt, let alone a 9800gt.

definately go for hartsickdisc's build it would perfom MUCH BETTER and itll come with a future proof socket. i garauntee it will be a night and day difference

You suggested a 9800GT, What about spending about $30 less on a 9600GSO, cause the benchmarks are like at a maximum 8-10 frames off of the 9800GT. And you could possibly OC the 9600GSO to run at about the same speed as a 9600GT?

You suggested a 9800GT, What about spending about $30 less on a 9600GSO, cause the benchmarks are like at a maximum 8-10 frames off of the 9800GT. And you could possibly OC the 9600GSO to run at about the same speed as a 9600GT?

colin_31