tinytim

Is anyone bored enough to come up with a list of parts to build the best possible gaming computer for $500?

I plan to purchase the parts from www.newegg.com.

I already have monitor, speakers etc. So just looking at the case and the goodness inside it. I also will be using the ram from my present computer.

I'm just looking to make a mediocre gaming machine.

Edited to add that I would like it to be easily upgradable so I can get nicer parts as time goes on.

and again to add I have cd drives.

redarrow

ASPIRE (Turbo Case)Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power

ASUS "A7N8X" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL(New Version, now support AMD Barton 400MHz)

GAINWARD nVIDIA GeForce FX5700 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "FX PowerPack! Ultra/860 TV/DVI" -RETAIL

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail

Kingston 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail

Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only

Total Cost: $477~

You could just add the RAM here to the sticks you already have.
Cant have too much RAM.. (please no techies say that haveing more than 1GB can slow a comp down)

tinytim

thanks kind sir

tinytim

I would love to take the extra hundred from the ram and spend them in another category if you have any suggestions.

redarrow

No worries. Your updated list is:

ASPIRE (Turbo Case)Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "ATXB5KLW/350"

ASUS "A7N8X" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL(New Version, now support AMD Barton 400MHz)

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -BULK

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail

Western Digital 160GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD1600JB, OEM Drive Only

edit: Cost is $507~

tinytim

Thanks alot for taking the time to help me out with this.

Lasereth

RAIDMAX Elite Black Mid-Tower PC Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "ATX-208BP" -RETAIL $25

ABIT "NF7-S" nForce2 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL - $85

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail - $80

POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9600PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "R96-D3G" -RETAIL - $124

Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y080P0, OEM Drive Only - $72

Mushkin Basic Green 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-2700 - Retail


The total is $463 before shipping. I seriously doubt your old RAM will work with a new PC. What kind is it? What speed, size, RAM format, etc. If it's not PC2700 DDR RAM, then you need to get new RAM with the PC.

If your RAM is PC2700 or better, then I'd switch out the Radeon 9600 Pro videocard with a Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB 256-bit. It's a great deal and will boost your gaming power by at least 100%. Hope this helps!!

-Lasereth

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