Budget Gaming PC

External Since: Feb 10, 2008 Posts: 1

Hi Guys

Its been a while since I built a box - have moved so many times the
last few years I got rid of all my gear and have been using a Thinkpad
Laptop for day to day stuff (highly recommended, btw).

Anyway, there are just too many good games coming out for me to go
without, plus the laptop's harddrive is maxed out and I need place to
store movies and music.

Most important things:
1. Can use my older Sata hard drive
2. Must be able to use an Antec case with 380 watt power supply I
already have.
3. Must be able to play Call of Duty 4, the new Unreal, and anything
else coming up. I don't need great performance, but at least playable
resolution. I'll be getting a flat screen monitor (probably 19 in. so
if somebody has any recommendations for these, let me know).
4. Will dual boot XP and Linux.

Thanks in Advance:
1. What cpu?- I've always used AMD in the past because they've always
been cheaper than intel. I'll probably need a fan too if I get the
OEM.

2. Good budget Mobo - I've have good success with Abit. The last few
Asus gave me problems.

3. Vid card. I prefer Nvidia as they have better drivers than ATI for
Linux.

4. Ram - one or two gigs? I'm not running Vista, so are two gigs
needed? What type? I usually just went with Crucial a few years ago.

5. I had too many problems overclocking in the past, so I don't really
care about oc ability.

Price Limit is about $200 on the cpu/mobo/fan and $150-$175 on the vid
card all at Newegg is possible.

Thanks
Bill

External Since: Oct 09, 2004 Posts: 2479

stbill79 wrote:
> Hi Guys
>
> Its been a while since I built a box - have moved so many times the
> last few years I got rid of all my gear and have been using a Thinkpad
> Laptop for day to day stuff (highly recommended, btw).
>
> Anyway, there are just too many good games coming out for me to go
> without, plus the laptop's harddrive is maxed out and I need place to
> store movies and music.
>
> Most important things:
> 1. Can use my older Sata hard drive
> 2. Must be able to use an Antec case with 380 watt power supply I
> already have.
> 3. Must be able to play Call of Duty 4, the new Unreal, and anything
> else coming up. I don't need great performance, but at least playable
> resolution. I'll be getting a flat screen monitor (probably 19 in. so
> if somebody has any recommendations for these, let me know).
> 4. Will dual boot XP and Linux.
>
> Thanks in Advance:
> 1. What cpu?- I've always used AMD in the past because they've always
> been cheaper than intel. I'll probably need a fan too if I get the
> OEM.
>
> 2. Good budget Mobo - I've have good success with Abit. The last few
> Asus gave me problems.
>
> 3. Vid card. I prefer Nvidia as they have better drivers than ATI for
> Linux.
>
> 4. Ram - one or two gigs? I'm not running Vista, so are two gigs
> needed? What type? I usually just went with Crucial a few years ago.
>
> 5. I had too many problems overclocking in the past, so I don't really
> care about oc ability.
>
> Price Limit is about $200 on the cpu/mobo/fan and $150-$175 on the vid
> card all at Newegg is possible.
>
> Thanks
> Bill

GIGABYTE GA-M61SME-S2 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813128045
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?P...uctID=2

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773

Total $207.

If RAM is to be included in the price as well, then allow $50 for
2x1GB, leaving $110 for the processor. This is a $110 processor.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache AM2 65W Dual-Core $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210

An Nvidia video card, weighing in a few dollars above the top figure.

MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
($180 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127328

Another option would be an ATI HD3850, which draws 63 watts of power,
but you don't like ATI.

So what kind of electrical power does that rig draw ?

6000+ processor is 125W. 125W/12V * (1/0.90) = 11.6A
8800GTS 112.8W/12V = 9.4A
http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/msi8800gts-640/nx8800gts_full.gif

Add 0.6A HDD, 1.5A CDROM, 0.5A fans, gives a total 12V load of 23.6A.
On a dual rail supply, 12V2 = 11.6A (CPU load), 12V1 = 12A (the rest).

If the supply was an Antec TruepowerII 380W, specs are:

+3.3V @ 28A, +5V @ 35A, +12V1 @ 16A, +12V2 @ 16A, -12V @ 1A, +5VSB @ 2A

The label also mentions a total 12V current limit of 28A, so the
supply is more like 14A per rail. Which still barely meets.
Total system power estimate would be
12*23.6 + 50 (mobo+ram guesstimate) = 333W on the main rails.

So it is a pretty tight fit, if that is the supply.

Using the $110 AMD processor, cuts the 12V2 current in half, and leaves
some breathing room for the power supply.

For an Intel solution, maybe an E4500 overclocked a bit would be a solution
at $122. This Gigabyte board is pretty basic and is $67 and takes
a number of the different Intel LGA775 processors. It can take
processors up to FSB1333, while the E4500 is FSB800. The E4500
would be pretty easy on power, and not in the same consumption
class as the AMD 6000+.

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX $67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128078

Paul