recommendations for ~$500 gaming system

I am building a computer for my father and he has about $500 to spend. I am leaning more toward an AMD system but the exact processor doesn't really matter.

The motherboard needs to be a quality board (no pcchips please). Prefer Abit or Asus, but will entertain other boards if the price/performance benefit is in my favor. Nforce2 chipset is preferred but I will consider others if people have had good experience with them.

The video card must be capable of running ms flight sim 2004 at 1024x768 at the least. I would like no less than an ATI 9500 with 128mb. My dad isn't really into overclocking but one that can do it would be nice.

80gb or more hard drive with 7200 rpm is desired

Probably the component I am having the most difficulty finding is the case. I would like a mid-tower case that has really good airflow. My preference is to find a case that supports both 120mm intake and exhaust. Power supply is negotiable.

Memory must be at least 512mb twin channel. He said he would like 1 gig of memory, but for what he is going to use it for I don't think he has the $$ in his budget. Ultra performance isn't really a must as the system will most likely not be overclocked. PC2700 is a minimum.

I also need a DVD drive and a floppy drive to round out the system. Please list any links or parts you suggest would fit these requirements.

Thanks!!

1800+ appears to be the chip of choice now for the low end.

1800+ 56.00 link

aopen nforce 2 81.00 (71 after rebate) link

buffalo 512mb stick of pc3200 83.00 link
buffalo 256mb stick of pc2700 43.00 link

sapphire 9500np (not softmodable) 135.00 link

WD 80gb 7200 67.00 link
the SE version is an extra 10 bucks. there is also the 120 for around 95 bucks which is a pretty good price.

Antec 3700 case with 1 120 supplied optional 2nd 120 comes with Antec 350W psu 62.00 link
just ordered one of these for myself. very nice build. kinda heavy though.

Toshiba 16x dvd rom 34.95 link Toshiba makes great dvdroms. i have one that is about 3 years old that works great.

Samsung FD Drive 6.99 link

lets see where we ended up...

System configured with 1gb of pc3200 - $608.94 (598.94 AR)

System configured with 512mb of pc2700 - $528.94 (518.94 AR)

plus shipping naturally.

Talk to me on aim....pballpro2k1 and ill help you out.

what does the budget of $500 have to cover?
eg: does it cover an entire system, or entire system minus monitor and/or Speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc.

if it does not include monitor etc then it's quite possible as Maxvla has clearly shown.

if you want monitor etc then it becomes nearly impossible.

Thats a tough request. I think your $500 budget might be a little low. I would save a few more months a look at the $800 range. In most cases you get what you pay for so I try to get the best possible products that I can. Not necessarily the high end stuff but definitely quality.

to answer some questions, this budget is just for the box. the rest of the peripherals are already available. The $500 was really a target, I am probalby going to end up moving more toward the $600 or maybe a bit higher, but not too much. Thanks for the help so far and it seems like you picked out pretty much what I have so far. The only thing I have different is the video card.
here I don't know what it's capabilities are or if it is moddable or anything. But for $35 cheaper than the newegg one I might look at it.

Keep the recommendations coming!

also, as for the motherboard, I think I am going to get the nf-7 from gameve.com where it is $75 including shipping.

both of those are good deals. take advantage of them and it'll knock another 40 bucks off the price.

creepy said:

Talk to me on aim....pballpro2k1 and ill help you out.

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I would, but I haven't used any of those programs in so long I don't know if my information is valid anymore.

Maxvla said:

both of those are good deals. take advantage of them and it'll knock another 40 bucks off the price.

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the only thing I am kinda worried about is the video card from ecost. I have never used them before and even though they have free shipping (very nice) they don't have any pics of the card or any information other than the requisite PR stuff. has newegg really spoiled us this much?

mid 6 on RR... i'd be hesitant but its probably safe.

http://resellerratings.com/seller1932.html

Well, I decided to give ecost.com a try and it looks like I shouldn't have. Pricing constraint? What is that about?

Thank you for your order....

We apologize but your order has been cancelled due to lack of availability, and pricing constraint.

You have not been charged, as the order was not processed. Thank you for your understanding.

If you have any questions please contact our customer service dept at xxx-xxx-xxxx

Click to expand...

This is such BS!! I just looked on their website and now they have them in stock but at $159 instead of $99. What a crock!!! I wonder if there is anything I can do about it. I still have my receipt from when my order was processed...

There are precious few vendors I will deal with for computer parts. The more places I try the more compelled I am to just stick with the handful that can be trusted implicitly. Odd that you can trust a gigantic company like newegg more than a mom and pop type of operation but its true.

I think newegg has 9500 non-pro (red with L shaped memory) softmodable to 9700 pro for around $130 (not Sapphire). If it is still in stock then it is a "must buy" for a budget sensitive computer enthusiast.

yeah, I know that one was there, but I was hoping to get one that was softmoddable. Maybe I will check the forums for a bit. This is the last part I have to buy and quite frankly the one I care the least about. He isn't going to pick it up until November but he told me to order and build it now anyway. More Ghz for my folding! Anyway, I have a pci video card lying around I can use for configuring the system but I really want a nice video card for him.

Any other suggestions for around $150?

There is a refurb 9800SE sapphire card on Newegg for $142 that I am thinking about getting. If someone can tell me that this card (stock) is faster than a stock 9500 then I think I am going to buy it. link here

What do you think?

out of stock

not when I ordered it