catbarf on 7/1/2009 at 23:04
My brother has come to the same conclusion I did in March- that gaming on a laptop sporting integrated graphics just doesn't cut it. His budget is $450, and he would like to get the best possible rig for this price. Buying components off the Internet is fine, we're prepared to assemble it ourselves, and we already have an OS. We realize, of course, that he's not going to be able to run Crysis at Ultra High with 8x AA (If such a thing is possible on today's hardware), but we'd like to get the best value possible. As far as hardware, we have a DVD drive and sound card, as well as a crappy CRT that we'd like to replace if possible. Other components will need to be bought. So, what are the best value components currently on the market? All help would be appreciated with this project.
catbarf on 8/1/2009 at 03:10
Thanks, I'll see if both of those can fit into the budget.
bikerdude on 8/1/2009 at 20:47
Quote Posted by sh0ck3r
Core2 Duo E8400 ($164) ATI 4850 ($124.99 after rebate)t/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272
Hmm thats 85% of the budget in just two items, I assume that catbarfs mate wants to build a complete system..(case, psu, mobo, copu, mem, gfx, hdd, LCD) each item can't cost more than $50 - So in this instance buying a pre-made system is one option..
That is unless some parts/software(windows etc) can be removed from his current pc..?
Case w/psu(480w) $59 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811192051)
Mobo AMD 720G - $69 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138117)
Cpu Amd 4800+ X2 $45 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103220)
Cpu Heatsink&fan $29 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185044)
Mem $GB DDR2-1066 - $45 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104062)
GFX Ati HD4650 - $64 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161262), (this is a bloody quick little card for the money, nothing beats it at this price point)
LCD 19" ws 1440*900 - $139 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009139)
Total - £450 p/shipping - (thats if you reuse the DVD drive, the sound card and the HDD)
HDD Seagate 320Gb - $60 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148316) (I am running 3x of these, 120MB/s read/write speeds, extremly quiet & cool)
Sound Xfi X-gamer - $66 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006) (this
isnt the crippled extreme audio, so EAX 5.0 supported, vgood 4 thief)
DVD+R/W_DL Lighscribe - $23 - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106281)
Total with the bits above - $599 p/shipping
Half of those items have free shipping on them, and as your buying all of the items from them, Im sure your get a discount on the shipping as well.
doctorfrog on 8/1/2009 at 20:56
TomsHardware.com just released the graphics card summary of the month. I'm waiting another month for myself, but I aim to get something cheap, powerful, and above all, quiet and reliable.
(
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2118.html)
It bugs the hell out of me that these days, reviewers
still don't evaluate video cards for how much racket they spew out when not under load.
sh0ck3r on 8/1/2009 at 21:57
Isn't it just about US$300 including shipping and after rebate? Is there some tax not included in the Grand Total?
catbarf on 8/1/2009 at 23:05
Thanks a ton for the parts list- if he can dredge up another $50 or so then that system might be a winner.
