# Gaming PC on a budget, please help!



## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

Hey, im trying to find/build a budget gaming computer. There are really only 2 games im interested in playing, these are the recommended system specs of these games that id like to be able to play:

ArmA2:
CPU: Intel Core 2.8 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or faster
RAM: 2GB
VIDEO CARD:NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT / ATI Radeon HD 4850 with Shader Model 3 and 512 MB VRAM or faster

Fallout 3:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo processor
RAM: 2GB
VIDEO CARDirect X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)

I would like to meet or exceed these requirements, but if my budget doesn't allow, id be fine with running them on medium-high settings. My budget is a between $400-$500CAD, with $500 being the MAX i can afford to spend (including shipping). I know its alot to ask, but please give your input. If possible, can you guys use suggestions from canadian sites, such as tigerdirect.ca or newegg.ca? 

edit: btw, i already have a monitor/OS/dvd/harddrive/keyboard & mouse etc...

Please and thanks.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Have a look at this http://www.techsupportforum.com/f24...-are-6-suggested-models-with-spec-367415.html

Also think before you buy Arma2 it is the buggiest game I have ever played. Its a good game but gets annoying because of the bugs in it. If I were you I would get Operation flashpoint dragons rising instead.

Here is a list of bugs that I noticed:

People dying before you shoot them.
People dying before a cut scen is shown
The guy your supposed to kill in the second last mission is invincible.
You call for weapon support it always gets denied
A flying cow
A car that goes left when you turn right
Crap voice acting
You can get in the helicopter when its in the air but you cant get out when it lands.

Thats just a few, they are upto patch 1.4 now but need to update it a hell of alot more before I will play it again.

Fallout 3 is a good game.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Fallout 3 is buggy too, but not that bad, 1.1 fixed a lot of the major issues, and everything since 1.6 has been fairly rock solid.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Phædrus2401 said:


> Fallout 3 is buggy too, but not that bad, 1.1 fixed a lot of the major issues, and everything since 1.6 has been fairly rock solid.


yeah 1.6 sorted fallout 3 out although there really wasn't anything major in it anyway.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Well, retail version (1.0) was very buggy, lots of physics and graphics glitches, a few quest-related crashes, lots of crashes to desktop and freezes... 1.0.1.15 (or something like that) fixed a lot of the gross problems. 1.1 fixed a few more, but also caused some of its own, including one still unresolved (can't target grenades in VATS). 1.4 did nothing but add achievements. 1.5 resolved most of the bugs from 1.1 but broke a lot of mods. 1.6 is the first patch I consider "stable", and 1.7.0.3 is basically 1.6 + achievements. 


Sorry for that... I haunted the Fallout 3 tech support board for a while and soaked up a lot of info. :grin:





For CA$500... The fact that you have the HDD/OS/ODD/etc. helps a lot. 

I don't have a lot of time right now, but throwing out ideas for you and the other techs... On that budget maybe a mid-range Pentium Dual Core, say E6300, a P43 motherboard, 4GB DDR2 800 (might have to go DDR2 667, RAM prices are going up), a Radeon 4650 or thereabouts, a SeaSonic SS-500ET power supply, and maybe an Antec 200 or CM Centurion 5 case. I'd say buy from Newegg.ca, but their shipping prices are horrendous, so shop around.


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## Blue445 (Dec 21, 2008)

Hello! I build myself a PC 6 months ago that runs Fallout3 top specs perfectly at 1440 x 900.
In total the PC cost me just a bit under $600 w/ rebates and such. Mind you this was 6 months ago and I'm sure prices have gotten cheaper.
Here it is:


Case:
Rosewill R218-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HDD:
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800AAJS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 

Graphics card:
ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail 

PSU:
PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail 

Anti- Static:
Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail 

RAM:
Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664AA80A - Retail 

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7300 - Retail 


Try switching a few parts in and out to lower the price.


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

How does this setup sound?

MOBO: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135246
VID: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150436
PSU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171028
RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688

total cost with shipping: $408.27CAD, $368.27CAD after mail in rebates

Would this be a decent setup to play these games on high settings? Anything you'd change?

edit: if someone could suggest a different MOBO with 4 ram slots with a 16gb max, that would be great. Its kind of a shame to have a 16gb max with only 2 slots, 2x8gb ram is EXPENSIVE! 4x4gb or 4x2gb would be much more reasonable i think.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

The power supply you have there is junk, and insufficient for a Radeon 4870 in any case. You'll need a PSU like this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=Corsair 650

It's more expensive, but if you went with the CoolerMaster PSU you'd see a ton of problems start cropping up.

Also, Sapphire is a better brand for graphics cards than XFX; XFX has terrible tech support. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102849&Tpk=Sapphire Radeon 4870


ECS is NOT a good motherboard manufacturer, their quality is very spotty. This would be a better choice: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131391

And this would be a better choice for the RAM:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148212
More performance for $2 more.



That's raised the cost a bit, but it's not a good idea to go with shoddy brands. You can either save some coin and end up constantly tweaking and fixing your computer, or your can pay a little more for some real stability, so you can actually *enjoy* that performance.


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

Is that video card the cheapest one i can use to play those games on high settings? Your new suggestions have put me over budget by about $30. My total with shipping is $516.95. Is there a different video card i could get that would still allow me to have the game on max settings? It says its crossfire ready, but the MOBO isn't. Is there an equally good card that perhaps isn't crossfire ready and would maybe be a bit cheaper?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

I have a 4870 and it manages to get 45-60fps in Fallout 3 at 1440x900 on max.

The 4850:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824
Should manage 30-50fps in Fallout 3 at the same resolution and settings, which is still excellent.

All Radeon 4000 cards are CrossFire compatible.


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

If i were to stick with the video card you originally suggested, is there another PSU that i could use? The one you suggested seems a little overkill, and throws off my budget. Also, can you suggest another similar board that has 4 ram slots instead of 2?

edit: Or if i went with the 2nd one you suggested, is there another PSU that is cheaper that would work with it?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

You don't want a cheaper PSU:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/power-supply-information-and-selection-192217.html


The Corsair TX650W is excellent quality and will run the system stably and reliably. They're some of the best power supplies for the money. The PSU is *not* the place to cut costs.


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

I know, i mean is there a cheaper corsair psu that will still give enough power and reliability? Or is that one of the cheaper ones? Any suggestions on a diff MOBO?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

There are no decent motherboards in your price range that support 16GB of RAM. You won't need more than 4GB for years anyway.

The Corsair TX series is the cheaper counterpart to the HX series. You might manage on a VX550W, but we don't officially recommend it.


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

alright, fair enough on the psu. About the MOBO, i was thinking more like 8gb max. 4 x 2gb is cheaper than 2 x 4gb. It'd be cheaper to upgrade in the future if i wanted to max out the whole 8gb.

just curious, why wouldn't this psu be sufficient? I dont really want crossfire

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031&Tpk=cooler master 500w

edit: and hows this MOBO? Its a little more, but other than that, does it look ok? Would everything be compatible?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131391


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

kawana said:


> alright, fair enough on the psu. About the MOBO, i was thinking more like 8gb max. 4 x 2gb is cheaper than 2 x 4gb. It'd be cheaper to upgrade in the future if i wanted to max out the whole 8gb.
> 
> just curious, why wouldn't this psu be sufficient? I dont really want crossfire
> 
> ...


you can get voltage issues if you use 4 sticks of ram 2 sticks are always better.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

also that coolermaster psu is underpowerd and isn't very good.

You should never skimp on a power supply because if you do you might aswell throw your computer out of the window when you have built it because a cheap psu can destroy the whole system.


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

Hmm alright, you make valid points. Ill try and decide exactly what i want tomorrow, and ill run the final specs by you to make sure it all is compatible and such.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

why not wait a little while longer until you have a bit more of a better budget?


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## predat0r (Jun 5, 2009)

yeah i would wait until you have a bigger budget like at least 800. You will be much more satisfied


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## kawana (Oct 7, 2009)

Alright, well for now at least im putting the gaming computer on hold. Ive decided to buy fallout for ps3, and put the rest of the money into my car


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