# $650 gaming build



## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Case:
Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129070
$49.95

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L Intel P43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380
$79.99

CPU:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116093
$94.99

RAM:
G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 CL5 1.8V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207
$73.99

Graphics card:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 512MB GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102854
$66.99

Power supply:
Corsair VX550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
$79.99

Hard drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283
$79.99

Optical drive:
Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
$28.99

Operating system:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
$99.99

TOTAL PRICE: 
$654.87



Will play most modern games on medium settings on a 1680x1050 resolution. High to ultra high on 1280x800. Will overclock moderately with an aftermarket CPU cooler. Upgradeable, can take up to a Radeon 4850/GeForce GTS250 without a PSU upgrade, or a Radeon 5750, and CPUs including high-end Wolfdale dual cores, and Core 2 Quad CPUs. Should be very stable, and have a lifetime of 5+ years at minimum.


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## JCP21 (Oct 18, 2009)

For 650 thats goods may use some of it for my next build


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## beefers1 (Aug 23, 2007)

Wow, that's an awesome build. Way better than mine which cost $900 not even 2 years ago. Gotta keep it in mind for when I go off to university next year.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Alternate build for AMD:


Replace the motherboard and CPU with these components:

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AMD 785G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
$79.99

CPU:
AMD Athlon II x3 435 AM3 2.9GHz
http://www.provantage.com/amd-adx435wfgibox~7AAMD2AU.htm
$96.00


Had to go to Provantage to find the CPU since they didn't have it at newegg, but right now it's the best AMD CPU in that price range. It will do slightly better in newer games and multi-threaded tasks due to the extra CPU core, but may lose ground during FPS games and games made before ~2008. I am *not* 100% sure the RAM is compatible, as Gigabyte's RAM support list seemed fairly incomplete, and G.Skill's website is down, so take that with a grain of salt.


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## sabot105mm (Feb 15, 2009)

i would go with the amd, 775 socket is pretty much on its last effort for life


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

sabot105mm said:


> i would go with the amd, 775 socket is pretty much on its last effort for life


Not quite. The high-end dual core CPUs available for 775 (E8000 series) and mid-upper range quad cores (Q6600, Q8400 and up, Q9300 and up) can still compete quite well with the i5 750 on most tasks, and will likely outperform the i3 CPUs by a large margin. Intel is still making CPUs for the socket, and is even releasing a new line of budget CPUs (the Celeron E3000 series) next year. The AMD is probably the better CPU for the money in this case, though.


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## sabot105mm (Feb 15, 2009)

yes i know not quite but alot less then 5 years, just saying


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

775 platform is still very much in the running.


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## sabot105mm (Feb 15, 2009)

Tyree said:


> 775 platform is still very much in the running.


i dont like doing this, but this is what i read. intel will be discontinuing alot of the 775 socketed processors, and none will be in the making, now what i ment by saying 775 is on its finale days is there will never be a processor developed 
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090618PD214.html


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Reading the article thoroughly says "some" will be discontinued (units that aren't large sellers), some will be "phased out" (that will be as long as there is a market and that could be months to yrs.) 
I'm not being argumentative but the 775 pin platform is far from being obsolete and is still a very strong & solidperformer. Personally, I think the i7 will go the way of the Prescott and the i5 will be the next mainstream platform.


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## FreeNerd (Sep 16, 2009)

I was going to say that 775 better not be dying. While the i7 is a great CPU, I am not maxing out my E8500 @3.6, not even close. 

I was toying around with upgrading last week, but when I really sat down and looked at my rig, I am still playing top tier games on max detail settings & 1600x1200. Until that changes I won't be upgrading my computer to the i7.


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