$700 first build

R

Rukus.

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After my pre-build HP computer breaking down for the 6th time, the company has decided to refund my money. Giving me $700 to build a new PC with some leftover parts I have from my old PC. I HAVE.

A 21" lcd monitor
Keyboard, mouse, all needed accessories
Possibly 2 sticks of 1gb DDR3

I made a thread like this before for an $800 when I thought my situation was financially stable and it turns out my life would take a turn. Now all I need is a PC that can play Unreal 3 60fps at medium settings and something close to 1680x1050. Nothing beastly by todays standards.

Also, I'm fine building by myself as long as I ground myself and follow directions right? and then from there its just install the OS and I'm ready to go?
 
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Steam page says Arizona, so i think newegg would be best choice:
ic6UP8.png


inb4 ZOMG LOCKED PROCESSOR IS BAD

Yea, it would be nice to have an unlocked one, but then i would have to sacrafice more GPU than i already did, or some from the power supply. BUT! The 2400 will still kick the crap out of anything else in the price catergory. Especially in games.

PSU is a bit overkill, but it gives a bit of wiggle room for later expansion.
 
I have been building computers for customers, family, friends and myself for 5 years now.
I know what parts will work for YOUR specific needs. I never get it wrong either.
People always argue with me on my builds, but they always exceed the expectations of my customer. And that is all that matters. People seem to think that EXPENSIVE = GOOD.
I am here to prove that wrong.

You need it to run Unreal 3 at medium settings? $700 budget?
This build below will run that game at full settings without lag. Best part - it is less than $500

cheapgamingpc.png



Motherboard, CPU, PSU, Case, RAM, HDD

GTX 460 Special Edition Video Card

CD/DVD Burner
 
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I think Reflex's proposed build offers much more bang for the OP's buck, honestly. That's DDR2 RAM, a 460 is not as powerful as a 6870, Reflex's build has 500GB more storage, and I'm not sure why you picked a first-generation dual core over an i5-2400 (let alone that motherboard). That's really pretty expensive for all that considering that the build Reflex posted is $200 more and has a lot more horsepower.
 
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@stealthkid

What....how...hey everyone, is there anything wrong or missing from his build???
 
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runo said:
I think Reflex's offers much more bang for the OP's buck.
Click to expand...

True.
I simply gave him what he asked.
He asked for something that can just run Unreal 3 on medium.

So now he can choose for a powerful PC that will run many games on High (Reflex's build) or a PC that will just be good enough for Unreal 3 on High and maybe some other similarly graphics games.
If he is willing to spend the extra $$ on a powerhouse, then by all means do so. I would.
But if he just needs it for that one thing like he stated, save the money.

"The problem is choice"
 
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Stealthkid said:
I have been building computers for customers, family, friends and myself for 5 years now.
I know what parts will work for YOUR specific needs. I never get it wrong either.
People always argue with me on my builds, but they always exceed the expectations of my customer. And that is all that matters. People seem to think that EXPENSIVE = GOOD.
I am here to prove that wrong.

You need it to run Unreal 3 at medium settings? $700 budget?
This build below will run that game at full settings without lag. Best part - it is less than $500

[IMGg]http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/849/cheapgamingpc.png[/IMG]
Click to expand...

That build is good. For maybe 3 years ago.

List of apparent problems:
-Dual core Core2? Really? This is 2011, building a new rig without a quad doesn't make sense unless you are on an extremely tight budget.
-For $180, you can sometimes find 6870s, or 6850s, both of which are better than the 460 SE
-No-name brand PSU, It retails for $25. Probably not even worth $10.
-Socket 775 leaves NO room for upgrade. It is deader (is that even a word?) than 1156.
-You maxed out the ram that can go in that system. Not room for upgrade.
-If you have a $700 budget, why not utilize it?

And if we are talking about this Unreal 3:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSXyztq_0uM[/ame]

I doubt that a dual core will run it very well.

Rukus. said:
@stealthkid

What....how...hey everyone, is there anything wrong or missing from his build???
Click to expand...

see above. If you want to go with a $500 budget, there are better options.

Stealthkid said:
True.
I simply gave him what he asked.
He asked for something that can just run Unreal 3 on medium.

So now he can choose for a powerful PC that will run many games on High (Reflex's build) or a PC that will just be good enough for Unreal 3 on High and maybe some other similarly graphics games.
If he is willing to spend the extra $$ on a powerhouse, then by all means do so. I would.
But if he just needs it for that one thing like he stated, save the money.

"The problem is choice"
Click to expand...

Again, he has $700 set aside for this, why not use it. If you skimp now, you will have to buy more later when your system gets surpased by the games on the market.

Just my suggestions there. If you wanna go for a $500 build, i can do that too. Probably use AMD since you can get a decent tri or quad in that range.
 
Oh snap. I think I misunderstood.
I thought he meant Unreal Tournament 3, not the Unreal 3 Engine!
Oops. Reflex is correct, I made an error. >_<

Also, I know there could be better builds for $500, I just did that one quickly in about 2 mins of browsing to give him an idea of what is possible.
Also2, I suggested that he spends the extra money because I would. I was just trying to show him that there are more possibilities when it comes to building a PC.
Also3, I can't believe I misunderstood Unreal 3 as a short term for Unreal Tournament 3. :P
 
I'm going to go with reflexes build if no one else posts anything better. I DO want room to expand and don't really care about overclocking right now. Also, reflex, think this could run Battlefield 3 as well?
 
Not sure.

No body knows what BF3 will take.

If it is anything like BC2, it should be fine. Probably won't max everything though.
 
reflex99 said:
Not sure.

No body knows what BF3 will take.

If it is anything like BC2, it should be fine. Probably won't max everything though.
Click to expand...

KuNai posted something in BC2 forums a couple of weeks ago.

Basically, the requirements seem to be the same as BC2 except 4GB RAM is now recommended.
 
iEye Captain said:
KuNai posted something in BC2 forums a couple of weeks ago.

Basically, the requirements seem to be the same as BC2 except 4GB RAM is now recommended.
Click to expand...

Sweet, that means yes! Now all I need is the company to stop screwin me around and send me the check.
 
I would highly recommend paying a little bit extra to get the 2500k if you go the Sandybridge route -- basically an extra 1Ghz + to unlock later when you invest in a better cooler (~$60). Go with a cheap P67 motherboard/2500k combo (~$300) with 4GB+ of DDR3. If you shop around you can find GTX460's or 5850's for well under $150. A setup like that will have no problem maxing BC2. The build price should still be in line with Reflex's recommendation.
 
to be honest i would wait for bulldozer. i know the release date has been delayed due to the problems with the 32nm process. but its suppose to come out in late summer early fall from what i have read. but the sandy bridge ya its a good cpu and reflex build is great and worth it if u want to go a tad over budget. and u dont need a $60 buck heatsinks the hyper 212 is worth it and cost less.
 
Definitely go with the 2500k if you can afford it.

I only put the 2400 because I was trying to meet the 700$ budget.
 
Any tips on what I should and shouldn't do, it is after all my first build.
 
DON'T:
-Force stuff, pretty much everything except ram requires little to no force.
-Spill liquids on stuff
-Stick fingers in fans
-touch the pins in the socket
-lose the socket cover
-apply force to sata cables while they are connected to stuff
-bend sata cables in half
-Cross the beams

DO:
-Check to make sure you have everything plugged in before you post here telling us it doesnt work
-take a break if you get frustrated
-you *can* set it up outside the case first so that you can check that everything works before you waste time putting it in the case
-register for any applicable warranties
-save reciepts
-Take pics so we can see
 
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