# Need help with gaming computer build



## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums and to building computers so I wanted to ask for your help building a gaming computer. I know what every part of the computer does, I just don't know which ones to pick out for my gaming needs. I don't want it to be top of the line or anything, just something that I can play steam games like Counterstrike source, HL2, and Team Fortress 2, maybe even crysis or crysis warhead. 


I want to have 4gb ram at least, intel processor, and after that I'm pretty much lost. I don't know whether to get nvidia or ati graphics card (whichever I end up choosing needs to be able to run the games above). I also don't know what motherboard I should get for my gaming needs. My budget is pretty low and I know that won't leave me much to work with, but that's why I'm asking for your advice. I also don't know what soundcard to get, or if its already on-board sound in the motherboard. I really just need one dvd drive, preferably white color to match the case I picked out. Am I missing anything else? If so please help  


I already have a case picked out that comes with a 450watt power supply (do you think I'll need to upgrade the powersupply for gaming?). Here's the link to the case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811148029 

I was just going to pick out components that were good for the price (at least I thought so) and put them together, but then I thought, "What if the parts aren't compatible?" So I wanted to ask for advice from people who know whether or not they are compatible.

Thanks everybody


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

Oh I forgot to mention that I don't know how to tell if the parts are compatible with the case.


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

Hello,

Have a look at the link below.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f24...-are-6-suggested-models-with-spec-367415.html

That PSU is is low quality and not sufficient.


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

Thank you for the link, but that's really not what I was looking for. I was hoping I could get personalized help. Also $800 is too much, like I said I'm on a low budget. Low as in pretty low.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

We can help you better if we know what your actual budget is, that way we don't have to guess with specific items.


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

I'm really looking to spend around $450. That is not including the monitor, this is just for the tower.


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

anybody?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Motherboard:
Asus P5QL/EPU LGA775 Intel P43 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131393
$79.99

CPU:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E6300 2.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091
$83.99

RAM:
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 CL5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227248
$48.99

Case:
CoolerMaster Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
$44.98

Power Supply:
SeaSonic SS-500ES Bronze 500w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151079
$65.99

Graphics Card:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 1GB GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102842
$69.99

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 7200RPM SATA 16MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074
$49.99

Optical Drive:
Samsung DVD Burner Black SATA 22x DVD+/-RW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188
$24.99

Total: $468.92

Nice mid-range gaming machine, should play most things on medium-ish quality quite nicely.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Nice quick work _*Phædrus2401*_ and it is almost midnight here, so I am hitting the sack (have to be up at 5:00) for tonight. Thanks for jumping in and lending a hand and you night owls can run this ship while I sleep. 

Have a great Tuesday.


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

Wow thanks phaedrus! that was really helpful.

Now that I have a rough idea, I was wondering if anybody would take the time to go over this with me step by step, part by part. 

First I want to start with the motherboard. I'm willing to spend more for a good motherboard, so what is a good motherboard for gaming in the $125 range? I've pretty much looked through newegg's entire stock of computer hardware today, but I have no idea what to look for in them to determine if they are good for gaming or not. Also, some have onboard graphics, but I've heard those are usually poor quality, so I'm looking for a motherboard without onboard graphics, and it has to be able to support at least 4 gigs of ram (preferably more), and like I said before I want it to be able to handle gaming fairly well

Second is the processor. I am also willing to spend more for a good processor that I will not regret buying. 

Here is what I have in mind so far, I would like you all to tell me if each individual component is good for gaming.

Motherboard: 
Open Box: ASUS P5Q Premium LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131326R
$124.99

CPU:
Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056
$119.99

RAM:
the cheapest ram I could find that works with the motherboard was around $90 and that's too much. Any suggestions? If I have to I would be willing to use only 2gb if it will lower the price.

Case:
LOGISYS Computer Area 51 CS51WSL Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 480W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811148029
$34.99

Power Supply:
There's a 480watt power supply that comes with the case, I don't know if I should replace it or not. I have already been told that I might have to, but if I don't have to I really don't want to.

Graphics card:
I have no clue how to choose a graphics card. Anybody want to make a suggestion?

Hard drive:
SAMSUNG HD502HI 500GB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152137
$49.99

Optical drive:
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188
$24.99

Total (so far): $354.95

If there is anything of equal quality for less money please let me know, and I would appreciate it if anybody could help me fill the blank fields.

Thanks again guys, you are all being really helpful :smile:


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Don't get an open box motherboard, that means that it was returned as faulty and the manufacturer couldn't find anything wrong with it. A significant percentage of open box motherboards *do* have something wrong with them, and they have no warranty. The Asus P5QL should do fine in your price range.

The E7500 costs half again as much as the E6300 for about a 10% performance gain, I recommend the E6300 in all my budget gaming builds as the best bang-for-the-buck Intel processor on the market. On high end builds I generally recommend the E8400 or E8500, but those would leave you with very little left over for other components on your budget.

I don't know where you're finding 4GB DDR2 800 RAM for $90. There are dozens of 2x2GB RAM kits in the $45-60 range that will work just fine in either the P5QL or P5Q Deluxe.

The power supplies that come with cases are generally garbage, I recommend sawing off the power cables and using it as a bookend. A decent 500w power supply should cost at least $60, a 480w bundled with a $35 case is guaranteed junk. The SeaSonic I linked to is a very good unit, a very reasonably priced 500w PSU from one of the best brands out there with 83+% efficiency. 

That case... Eh. It only comes with one fan, and only has one extra fan mount. Just a side fan is insufficient for any gaming computer. Another 120mm fan will cost you $7 for a cheap-o, $12-15 for a high-CFM, low-noise unit from Antec or Scythe. The Centurion 5 is a very good budget case, high quality, good airflow, and reasonably easy to work with.

If you get the SeaSonic PSU then either the Radeon 4670 or the GeForce 9600GT should work just fine for playing games on medium graphics settings, you won't start getting high graphics settings unless you bump your budget to a smidgen over $500.

Samsung makes ok hard drives, but we prefer Western Digital and Seagate for their higher reliability and 3-5yr warranties. The Samsung will work though.


The system I specced out in my earlier post should be just what you need. I picked out each part for a reason, basing my decisions on the quality of the parts involved and what I think the best bang-for-buck ratio is. There are a couple of places you could cut corners, but I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe someone with more experience with AMD CPUs might be able to spec an AMD build for you that might give a little bit more performance. But what I gave you should be just fine.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

le patron,

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. Phædrus2401 did a fantastic job of picking out very compatible parts for you to make a reasonable priced machine that will do the job for you. 

It is fine to tweak a few of those with his help, but my advice is not to begin changing much around or the price is going to go up and the integrity of the build (parts were chosen to work well together) might begin to decline. If you wish a higher price tag, then he can assist you to get higher priced parts. Looks like a very nice build in that budget range to me.


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

I realize that the guide he gave me was perfect for my budget, but now that I realized that I want a more powerful gaming computer than that, I am willing to spend a little more money, I will just buy the parts one at a time.

This is my updated list after phaedrus's advice:

Motherboard:
ASUS P5QL/EPU LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131393
$79.99

CPU:
Intel Pentium E6300 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091
$83.99

RAM:
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
$49.99

Case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
$44.98

Power Supply:
SeaSonic SS-500ES Bronze 500W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151079
$65.99

Graphics card:
GIGABYTE GV-N96TZL-512I GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125272
$94.99
($74.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card)

Hard drive:
SAMSUNG HD502HI 500GB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152137
$49.99

Optical drive:
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151188
$24.99

Total (so far): $494.91

Just a little bit over my price range for higher quality components. Is the integrity of this machine good?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

The parts are all still compatible, only thing is the 9600GT isn't really a step up over the 4670, and that model is more expensive and has less RAM (though neither the 4670 or 9600GT will use a full gigabyte, to be honest). If you want a step up in gaming performance replace the power supply with this:
SeaSonic S12 SS-550HT 550w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151027
$89.99

And the graphics card with this:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102835
$109.99

Or

BFG GeForce 9800GT 512MB GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143186
$109.99

But that does bump the cost up quite a bit. Your call. Preferably you would be using a 600-650w PSU for those graphics cards, but most of the good manufacturers jump from 550w to 650w and 650w ones are generally around ~$100 for a quality one like the Corsair tx650w or the Seasonic S12E 650w.


EDIT: Actually, that Corsair RAM you picked out isn't confirmed compatible with the motherboard: http://corsair.com/configurator/memory_results.aspx?id=155225 it might work, it might not. I'm trying to find a compatible set right now, I think that OCZ RAM I posted earlier was, but to be honest OCZ's memory configurator is crap and I can't tell for sure.


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

alright thanks, and I appreciate you trying to find a compatible set of ram


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## le patron (Aug 18, 2009)

any luck phaedrus? I would look for myself, but I don't know what to look for.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160&Tpk=CT2KIT25664AA800
Should be compatible according to Crucial's website: http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=P5QL/EPU#
One clue about memory configurators, they *always* list the most expensive option first, and in this case that was a $460 8GB set of RAM that runs at 667MHz. So yeah. Be careful what you buy.


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## elite1387 (Nov 11, 2008)

le patron you should keep in mind for some games the graphic card might be considered even more important than the CPU. If you're going to upgrade the power supply, if it's over 500W I would recommend the GTX 260 core 216, it's a definite step up from the 9800 GT and the 4770.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

We recommend minimum 600w for the GTX260, preferably 650w.


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## elite1387 (Nov 11, 2008)

The 480W PSU you're getting with the case, you may have to upgrade, free stuff generally isn't known for being of highest quality IMO. 

If you're going with the SeaSonic S12 SS-550HT 550w PSU suggested by Phaedrus, you could possibly go with the radeon 4850, on newegg it's about $100-$130, and in some benchmarks it rivals the GTX 260, and uses less energy.

I believe a 550w PSU should be able to support the 4850, it only recommends 450W on the product page.

For the memory, you chould try using ddr2-1066, if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of speed, it should work with the motherboard and CPU, and it's also a bit cheaper, $53-$60.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Some quality PC6400 RAM for the same $53 w/ free shipping.
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122


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