Overclockers

What parts would you pick to build the best gaming system you can for $500? There’s a thread in Overclockers Forums planning a $500 gaming build right now, and you can join right into the discussion below this article!

To set the stage here, pretend you don’t have any parts from an old build: You need a Case, Power Supply, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Graphics Card, Hard Drive, and Optical Drive. How would you put together the most rocking budget system possible? Talk it over with our expert forum members in the comments!

Helpful discussions like this take place daily in our General Hardware forum, where members help each other get the most bang for their buck. Get your own personalized hardware advice from the most well informed hardware enthusiasts in the world; start your own discussion planning your ideal build to tap into our community’s expertise.

31 Comments:

Theocnoob

09-26-11 03:56 AM

We did this about 3 weeks ago already .

Knufire

09-26-11 04:44 AM

Yes, there was an extremely similar thread to this a couple weeks ago here in the General Hardware subforum, see if you can dig it up?

David

09-26-11 08:56 AM

This may float your boat:
http://www.overclockers.com/amd-inte...s-guide-82011/

Theocnoob

09-26-11 04:53 PM

Anyways with extreme dilligence you can manage

955
bleh motherboard
6870
500GB HDD
4GB DDR3
500W PSU
Case

updawg

09-27-11 07:19 PM

I overlooked that thread but it looks like the lowest budget was $650, this comes in at $450 and should be a solid performer. Thanks for the link to the other thread, I was just trying to spark some interest in designing the most powerful systems at the lowest price point, sometimes at forums people want to encourage only the best and most expensive and I was trying to veer away of those type of conversations.

bigben6

09-27-11 07:46 PM

its a turd... didnt check if GPU will fit this case, but 401 after rebates

ScrewySqrl

09-27-11 10:45 PM

$499.

better PSU, Better case with better cooling, lifetime warranty GPU. Overclockable CPU

bigben6

09-27-11 11:51 PM

uhhh
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/362?vs=143

@3.7 it is BARELY better than the build i put together, compared to the SB build the 955 is about equal and thats assuming your NOT gonna overclock the i3's which are also = to or cheaper than the 955...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/362?vs=289

I like my 955 but your forcing the buyer to OC and there is no garantee that the 955 will hit 3.7 stable, historically it SHOULD for sure but it is not a garantee...

The 955 WAS great and if it were 100 or less i would recommend it but given this is a GAMING rig, i do not see as the best option TBH, though i love mine and it does 3.8 on stock voltage multi only...

EDIT: I reposted this cause it is in response to the screwysqrl build but somehow this p[ost got -placed ABOVE his build... odd... so i just moved it cause it made no sense how the fprum placed it...

ScrewySqrl

09-27-11 11:57 PM

this *is* The 'Overclockers' forum. Tom's Hardware had a 955 OC to 3.8 on stock cooler as their $500 build for this quarter, and it outperformed the 2100 build from June.

Evilsizer

09-28-11 12:17 AM

what exactly is the computer going to built for? i mean in gaming its going to be about clock speed to a degree but then also the number of cores depending on the game. after that if its for something other then gaming then that really changes the build.

bigben6

09-28-11 01:36 AM

But a OC 955 does not stand a chance against a OC 2100.... maybe OC 955 = STOCK 2011, but this *is* The 'Overclockers' forum so why would you assume the 955 gets OC'd and the SB stays stock?!?!

Knufire

09-28-11 01:42 AM

You can't overclock non-K Sandy Bridge CPUs...the 2500K and 2600K are the only ones. Everything else has a locked multiplier, and the FSB is tied to the PCIe bus frequency, which really doesn't like being changed.

bigben6

09-28-11 01:58 AM

Ahhh i see, thanks, that makes more sense, then in this case, i guess a 955 is a more viable choice, thanks knufire i forgot about the "K" designation and how important it was in the SB application.... aplogies to screwysqirrle

Cigarsmoker

09-28-11 05:07 AM

Also the "H" chipset as listed by the OP can't be OC. Which makes sense if you pair it with a non "K" chip. For that price I'd go with ScrewySqrle's suggestion.

bigben6

09-28-11 01:13 PM

i think gaming wise screwysquirrls build is not worth the extra 100 bucks.... right now.... as games are built to use more and more cores, his may take the lead and his does allow for a cheap hex core upgrade down the road, like i said i love my 955, buuuuuuuut its past its prime and is old news....

my build ws 401 with the i3 clracksdale... for 500 a better option IMO would be:
My old build minus the i3, put in the i5-2300 + 85$
and a BIOSTAR H61MGC which saves 15 bucks and your in @ 470, 30 bucks cheaper and the i5 out games the 955 even if you OC the 955....

ScrewySqrl

09-28-11 06:31 PM

can't quite get a 2300/2400 build under $500 yet

bigben6

09-29-11 01:50 PM

Why not, my first build plus the changes above i added.... OFC deal on newegg vary day too day so maybe something changed...

ScrewySqrl

09-29-11 03:43 PM

Probably because I don't trust the fireworks factory inside that Broadway case...which also has a single 80mm fan.

Cheap PSUs are just waiting to fry.
Edit: just zoomed in on your 500W PSU in that case:

+3.3: 22a, +5: 36a, +12v: 18a

That would have been a nice choice in 1987, but not today.

Grosjambon

09-29-11 04:15 PM

From OCF,
1tb f3 7200 rpm
870XT
965 x4
ati 6870 hd
2x2 ddr3 1600
450w GOLD superflower.
for 510$ shipped to can (around 40-50$) in shipping
U just have to findd the good deals and jump on them.

Overclockers.com

09-29-11 04:46 PM

Highlighted this thread on the frontpage, nice one updawg.

... Return to article to continue reading.

Knufire

09-29-11 08:51 PM

6870, 955 BE, and 8GB of RAM for under $500 shipped.
99954
99955

rishidev

09-30-11 03:59 AM

phenom II 955
gigabyte 990 ud3/ud5
8gb gskill ripjaws/sniper
NZXT Beta Evo Mid Tower Black Steel Cabinet
any 450 or 500 watt gold certified psu
22 inch dvi/hdmi port AOC monitor
---> cooler master 212+ or thermalright 120 extreme cpu coolers or even a hyper tx 3 ( im using @ 4.1 ghz)<-----
amd radeon 6790/ 550ti or 6870/560ti for more $$
hp dvd writer
wd black 1tb 64mb or 2tb green or 500gb green for less$$
yup thats about it........

snowbrdd

09-30-11 04:01 AM

Haha I knew knufire would be all over this.

I.M.O.G.

09-30-11 05:07 AM

That looks like a pretty nice build rishidev, nice contribution.

Pretty similar to the knufire setup which is very nice also.

ix3u

09-30-11 05:08 AM

did a toms hardware build like 3 months ago. turned out pretty wellat about $545. i had hdd and a cd rom, but past that ...

turbohans

09-30-11 08:30 AM

I see a lot of people saying we did this thread already. In fact, I see threads like this all the time!

The thing is, it's a very good question and changes every few months. Should really be done as a seasonal or quarterly article here!!! As there are always people wanting that great deal on an awesome build.

Thats one of the reasons I love this forum, anyone can come here and get the true bang-for-their-buck computer without sacrificing any quality.

David

09-30-11 10:12 AM

It's done roughly yearly at the moment:
http://www.overclockers.com/?s=Buyers+Guide

Sometimes a build is quite subjective - there's maybe room for covering overclocking, gaming, number crunching, workstation, etc. as well as the price bracket issue ...

turbohans

09-30-11 10:38 AM

Personal preference plays a huge role in that selection also I would say. Due to that it really is a vague question to answer I have noticed. From what I have seen though there are a lot of requests for opinions for builds in the $500~1000usd range.
That is all well and fine, I was just thinking something non-biased that would give new users a good and recent place to start when thinking of buying a computer.

bigben6

09-30-11 12:57 PM

i5 @ microcenter for 150 this weekend makes an i5 build very doable, just add 30 bucks to my first build for a better case/psu combo.... 955 is still a good proc as well!

Brolloks

09-30-11 01:12 PM

Great pick

The key is to get a solid GPU, that will be the heart of the gaming rig....for a 22" LCD dont go lower than a 6870 or GTX 560 Ti otherwise your FPS will suck or you will need to drop the eye candy.

Skimp on the case as it is only cosmetic, PSU needs to be solid , 500W is plenty power though.
AMD quads and boards are cheap and can bring the overall cost down a lot without compromising performance compared to Intel parts

Brett Magnetic

10-07-11 04:02 AM

-AMD Phenom II x4 3.2 BE
-Motherboard feat. SATA 6.0Gb/s
-8GB DDR3 1600 CAS 9
-Radeon 6870 1GB
-500 GB SATA 6.0Gb/s
-600w Corsair 80 Plus PSU w/ 2 required PCI-e adapters
-DVD-RW Optical
-Standard cheap case
+ a free Dirt 3 game to boot!!

This all comes to $498.92 after rebates and codes!!

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