Want to build a PC on a budget? Meet the $500 gaming rig...

[Wolfram23]

So, basically, there's a lot of PC vs Console stuff going on lately. For those who think that a gaming PC is too pricey, or, that would like to get a PC but think that you need $1500... think again.

Tom's Hardware is a site I frequent, and they just published their most recent gaming PC "System Builder Marathon". They built a $2000, $1000, and then $500 gaming PC.

You can see the full article, including benchmarks, here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-pc-phenom-ii-radeon-hd-6850,2903.html

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 925 $125
CPU Cooler: AMD boxed heatsink/fan $0
Motherboard: ASRock M3A770DE $60
RAM: G.Skill 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 (PC3 10600) Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNS $40
Graphics: Sapphire 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1 GB $170
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U 320 GB SATA 3Gb/s $43
Case: Xigmatek Asgard II B/O CPC-T45UE-U01 $30
Power: Antec EarthWatts Green EA380D 380 W $40
Optical: Lite-On 24x DVD Burner SATA iHAS 124-04 $19
Total Price: $527

Here's 2 benchmarks I'm sure you can all appreciate - CRYSIS:

First on High details, no AA, you can see it runs the game great at any resolution:

Then, on VERY High details, no AA, it's still playable even at 1080p:

A lot of people also like to comment about how, oh, you upgrade every year! So pricey! Well, no. Most people do not. If you look at the Steam stats, there's still a plethora of people running 9800GTs and 8800GTs from, like, 5 years ago. With this $500 PC, at most, you could simply add a second 6850 in crossfire and get superb 1080p performance. Games, for the most part, aren't really pushing graphical limits anymore and there's no reason you can't run a PC like this with satisfactory performance for several years without changing a thing.

$500 might still seem like a steep investment compared to the $200 (or $300 with peripherals like Move) consoles, plus you have to build it and maybe do some troubleshooting... but there's people who will help you. Just look at the Tom's Hardware forums for an over abundance of proof. Oh, I should point out here, of course, that this PC would need an opperating system. Windows 7 64bit can be had for around $100, but you could probably just get Linux (Ubuntu) for free. As for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, well you can get those dirt cheap used, or even new M+K are as little as $25. Monitor is extra, but then so is your TV for consoles. Luckily, you can get a nice one and use it for both PC and Console gaming - they even can be had with speakers integrated.

I know it's not for everyone, but I'm just hoping to open people's eyes to the possibility.

 

[MrGalactus]

Still waaaay more expensive than a PS3 or Xbox. $500 is just far more than I can spend.

 

[The_Healer]

-

I also frequent Toms Hardware. Its hard to believe just how cheaply you can build a fairly alright PC.

While I wouldn't recommend building a gaming PC for $500 (you'd be upgrading far too soon for my liking), its definitely possible.

 

[Wolfram23]

Still waaaay more expensive than a PS3 or Xbox. $500 is just far more than I can spend.

Is it? $300 more than a stock console, without games. While the multiplatform games are all $60 new, you can find a plethora of fun games for cheap, and I don't just mean flash based games either. For example F1 2010 is $20 on Steam right now. Black Ops is $45. Witcher 2 is $45 to preorder. First Witcher is only $10. There's 957 games under $10 on Steam, including games like Gothica, Magicka, Neverwinter Nights... I bought Assassin's Creed Brotherhood for my PS3, used, for $55 2 weeks ago. Saving anywhere from 10-40 dollars on games means in the long haul, you save.

 

[Hashime]

People forget that PCs are more than gaming devices. I built a mid-high box in early 2010. My laptop has seen much less use (from late 2009) because of it. A proper keyboard, a full sized mouse, and best of all the ability to customize.

When your Xbox 360 (for which you pay more for games) is succeeded by the next model (if it lasts that long) it will essentially be useless. That gaming computer you built even if you spent $1000 will still be at least a good office machine. If not a lower end gaming rig. I would also like to point out that since the gaming market is more console focused your rig will be in business for a long time. A 500 PC will get better than console graphics on a normal sized screen. Plus in a few years that graphics card you put in will be dirt cheap making an X-fire a great upgrade path.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Still waaaay more expensive than a PS3 or Xbox. $500 is just far more than I can spend.

Is it? $300 more than a stock console, without games. While the multiplatform games are all $60 new, you can find a plethora of fun games for cheap, and I don't just mean flash based games either. For example F1 2010 is $20 on Steam right now. Black Ops is $45. Witcher 2 is $45 to preorder. First Witcher is only $10. There's 957 games under $10 on Steam, including games like Gothica, Magicka, Neverwinter Nights... I bought Assassin's Creed Brotherhood for my PS3, used, for $55 2 weeks ago. Saving anywhere from 10-40 dollars on games means in the long haul, you save.

"In the long haul" is nice and all, but not everyone can afford to pay $500 in one go on what is essentially a luxury.

 

[Hashime]

Still waaaay more expensive than a PS3 or Xbox. $500 is just far more than I can spend.

Is it? $300 more than a stock console, without games. While the multiplatform games are all $60 new, you can find a plethora of fun games for cheap, and I don't just mean flash based games either. For example F1 2010 is $20 on Steam right now. Black Ops is $45. Witcher 2 is $45 to preorder. First Witcher is only $10. There's 957 games under $10 on Steam, including games like Gothica, Magicka, Neverwinter Nights... I bought Assassin's Creed Brotherhood for my PS3, used, for $55 2 weeks ago. Saving anywhere from 10-40 dollars on games means in the long haul, you save.

"In the long haul" is nice and all, but not everyone can afford to pay $500 in one go on what is essentially a luxury.

Think about it. If you buy an new Xbox an 2-3 new games there is your $500. It is not a luxury either as everyone needs a computer, you would just have a better model.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It's a nice post for people who are putting together their own rig, but you wont get any converts, so let's not get into the platform wars.

 

[Syntax Error]

I got mine last year around February (around $450, I forgot the exact amount) but includes the monitor. I then got a used Sonic Edition Palit 9800GT video card for around $75. Still plays most of anything I throw at it decently enough.

 

[Dys]

Wait, you can get a current gen console for $200 now? What looks to be the cheapest package at JB hifi (a pretty typical Australian vendor) is considerably more. The ps3 is even more and that's not including the cost of subscription (xbox live adds up).

...Sooooo, yeah, where I'm from PC gaming is still quite a bit cheaper (you could comfortably shave $100 off the gpu and still have a system that outperforms current gen consoles).

 

[Hashime]

It's a nice post for people who are putting together their own rig, but you wont get any converts, so let's not get into the platform wars.

Sure you will. If no one "converted" from their childhood consoles to gaming computers there would be no reason to release PC games.

I started on a PS2, bought a wii and PS3 (2 summers of work money gone there), and now (due to lack of a TV) play PC exclusively. I "converted" when I realized that I needed a computer anyways and spending an extra $500 was worth it for both the short and long terms.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I completely agree, in the long run it is cheaper to buy a pc, however there are other initial costs you haven't included such as keyboard, mouse, headset, monitor, software, controller (you will need a controller for some games) and potential added extras (such as webcam). Those add up to and you can be pressing even further depending on how good you want the equipment to be. Still being cheaper in the long run though, but some people won't feel comfortable if they don't have a warranty on their machine. That's the only reason stopping me make one for my little brother and mum.

You also have to own a computer anyway if it's for work, shopping, communication and for any other gadgets you use. Some people make money via their computer so you can pay off minus that from overall costs.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Still waaaay more expensive than a PS3 or Xbox. $500 is just far more than I can spend.

Is it? $300 more than a stock console, without games. While the multiplatform games are all $60 new, you can find a plethora of fun games for cheap, and I don't just mean flash based games either. For example F1 2010 is $20 on Steam right now. Black Ops is $45. Witcher 2 is $45 to preorder. First Witcher is only $10. There's 957 games under $10 on Steam, including games like Gothica, Magicka, Neverwinter Nights... I bought Assassin's Creed Brotherhood for my PS3, used, for $55 2 weeks ago. Saving anywhere from 10-40 dollars on games means in the long haul, you save.

"In the long haul" is nice and all, but not everyone can afford to pay $500 in one go on what is essentially a luxury.

Think about it. If you buy an new Xbox an 2-3 new games there is your $500. It is not a luxury either as everyone needs a computer, you would just have a better model.

A new Xbox 360 is currently listed as $200 on amazon, giving you five brand new games (and trust me, no console gamer buys all their games at $60, not least of all because you can almost always get cheaper than that at launch). Now if you had bought a 360 when it was first released it cost $400, which would make your 2-3 games for $500 estimate accurate, but then you'd be getting at least five years of entertainment out of it before the next console generation even starts. And while a PC is not a luxury on it's own, a good one that's built to play games is. I can also promise that with a PC you will spend more money on games you never play (assuming you have Steam).

I say all this as someone who does all their gaming on a PC now. You can't have everything.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It's a nice post for people who are putting together their own rig, but you wont get any converts, so let's not get into the platform wars.

Sure you will. If no one "converted" from their childhood consoles to gaming computers there would be no reason to release PC games.

I started on a PS2, bought a wii and PS3 (2 summers of work money gone there), and now (due to lack of a TV) play PC exclusively. I "converted" when I realized that I needed a computer anyways and spending an extra $500 was worth it for both the short and long terms.

Alright then let me rephrase that, noone will convert due to a forum post, they will just whip out their e-peens and start going at it like madmen.
So let people decide on their own terms, as you did also.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Wait, you can get a current gen console for $200 now? What looks to be the cheapest package at JB hifi (a pretty typical Australian vendor) is considerably more. The ps3 is even more and that's not including the cost of subscription (xbox live adds up).

...Sooooo, yeah, where I'm from PC gaming is still quite a bit cheaper (you could comfortably shave $100 off the gpu and still have a system that outperforms current gen consoles).

I will throw this in that is with kinect and a large storage space.

EDIT: actually after looking at game australia, even without kinnect it's still $450

 

[The Rockerfly]

I completely agree, in the long run it is cheaper to buy a pc, however there are other initial costs you haven't included such as keyboard, mouse, headset, monitor, software, controller (you will need a controller for some games) and potential added extras (such as webcam). Those add up to and you can be pressing even further depending on how good you want the equipment to be. [...]

^ This

I know my mouse (it is a very good mouse) cost £30,
along with a good keyboard £25
headset (no idea with this one) for a good one £30,
monitor (I don't count a tv with consoles because you use it to watch tv anyway) £150 seems to be an average
software including windows 7, office 2007 and avg for a year. Mincrosoft says about £125 but I can find it for about £70, office 2007 standard costs £170 according do google shopping and avg £20
Controller (don't say you don't need one, play devil may cry without one) £30

So overall the extras which most of are a necessity or a must have with pc gaming comes to £525 (including VAT, not including post and packaging)£525 plus the PC costs £1025 and I am not prepared to spend that on a building a computer. It is far cheaper to buy a pre-made one because at least you get the software included but I assume most pc gamers just to pirate the software

 

[JezebelinHell]

Wait until Black Friday sales and that gets either cheaper or better gear for the same price.

Still being cheaper in the long run though, but some people won't feel comfortable if they don't have a warranty on their machine. That's the only reason stopping me make one for my little brother and mum.

Your warranty is on individual parts which are much easier to replace than a machine. If you have to send a machine in for work you are talking WEEKS. And generally you have to pay even more for a warranty that lasts any real length of time. You MAY get a year without paying additional for it. And it will be a hassle regardless. Companies are not striving to make it easy for you to get warranty service. Also, the Internet has endless information and forum help for any PC problems. And trust me the help board regulars probably know more than 90% of the people you would be talking to from any company you purchase from. Companies do not make money on support, they already have your money at that point so they can under staff support easily to save bucks. I have worked at and with enough people in tech support. We get shafted and that makes even the ones that know things so happy to help you.

If you build your own each part usually has a 1-3 month warranty. Past that it is rather pointless because the cost of shipping it back and forth is more than half the cost of most parts since you will track it and insure it and pack it up very nice and so on. You will probably opt to just buy a comparable part or since prices drop quickly on PC hardware you will probably get an upgrade. Also, you are usually offered extended warranties on each part you buy. You can opt to skip it on the cheap parts and save money by just extending it on the more expensive items (CPU/MB). Honestly, I cannot think of one part that has ever died in the first year of owning custom built PCs over the past 15 years. Short of being fried by my wonderful electric supplier, not much has died. Ever.
There have been some bad runs of parts that have had issues. You should deal with a reputable company when you buy parts. Personally, I have never had an issue with NewEgg, they are easy to work with for things and have nice customer reviews of parts so you can usually tell if there is a lot of DOAs going on with something you are looking at but as far as parts randomly dying after that it just isn't common. I have 4 PCs that I am responsible for just in my house and you couldn't get me to buy one off the shelf other than my laptop and I would've built it if it was practical. That was my Black Friday splurge last year, had to have it for school.

office 2007 standard costs £170....
It is far cheaper to buy a pre-made one because at least you get the software included but I assume most pc gamers just to pirate the software

I didn't know Office was required to play games... OpenOffice.org, it is free and if you don't specifically need Office for something there is no reason to throw that in for a gaming PC. If you need Office for something then you need to tack that money on to something other than your bill for your gaming PC.
And thank you so much for just assuming we all pirate our software as if there are not plenty of FREE things to be had legally or that we don't have a previous licensed version of Windows. Also, you would have to pay for a full version of Office for a pre-built because they only come with trials now. I have licensed copies of MS Office and I quit using it by choice.

OP
I am thinking you were posting to show people that were interested in a gaming PC just what they could get for $500. Since they are all sitting at a PC you think they have a keyboard, mouse and monitor that is at least usable.
I am done. They have no interest in owning a PC.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Yeah, I paid £300 for a barebones quad core intel PC, added my old Radeon 4830 (old!) and a 1tb HDD and an old dvd writer I had laying about and it's run everything I've thrown at it just fine.

I really don't see the reason in spending £300+ on a damn video card unless you're playing on a 40" monitor at like 2880x1800 or something.

No I can't crank everything completely up to max at 1920x1080, but everything just runs fine, and looks pretty enough to me, way past console levels.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Wait until Black Friday sales and that gets either cheaper or better gear for the same price.

Still being cheaper in the long run though, but some people won't feel comfortable if they don't have a warranty on their machine. That's the only reason stopping me make one for my little brother and mum.

Your warranty is on individual parts which are much easier to replace than a machine. If you have to send a machine in for work you are talking WEEKS. And generally you have to pay even more for a warranty that lasts any real length of time. You MAY get a year without paying additional for it. And it will be a hassle regardless. Companies are not striving to make it easy for you to get warranty service. Also, the Internet has endless information and forum help for any PC problems. And trust me the help board regulars probably know more than 90% of the people you would be talking to from any company you purchase from. Companies do not make money on support, they already have your money at that point so they can under staff support easily to save bucks. I have worked at and with enough people in tech support. We get shafted and that makes even the ones that know things so happy to help you.

If you build your own each part usually has a 1-3 month warranty. Past that it is rather pointless because the cost of shipping it back and forth is more than half the cost of most parts since you will track it and insure it and pack it up very nice and so on. You will probably opt to just buy a comparable part or since prices drop quickly on PC hardware you will probably get an upgrade. Also, you are usually offered extended warranties on each part you buy. You can opt to skip it on the cheap parts and save money by just extending it on the more expensive items (CPU/MB). Honestly, I cannot think of one part that has ever died in the first year of owning custom built PCs over the past 15 years. Short of being fried by my wonderful electric supplier, not much has died. Ever.
There have been some bad runs of parts that have had issues. You should deal with a reputable company when you buy parts. Personally, I have never had an issue with NewEgg, they are easy to work with for things and have nice customer reviews of parts so you can usually tell if there is a lot of DOAs going on with something you are looking at but as far as parts randomly dying after that it just isn't common. I have 4 PCs that I am responsible for just in my house and you couldn't get me to buy one off the shelf other than my laptop and I would've built it if it was practical. That was my Black Friday splurge last year, had to have it for school.

office 2007 standard costs £170....
It is far cheaper to buy a pre-made one because at least you get the software included but I assume most pc gamers just to pirate the software

I didn't know Office was required to play games... OpenOffice.org, it is free and if you don't specifically need Office for something there is no reason to throw that in for a gaming PC. If you need Office for something then you need to tack that money on to something other than your bill for your gaming PC.
And thank you so much for just assuming we all pirate our software as if there are not plenty of FREE things to be had legally or that we don't have a previous licensed version of Windows. Also, you would have to pay for a full version of Office for a pre-built because they only come with trials now. I have licensed copies of MS Office and I quit using it by choice.

OP
I am thinking you were posting to show people that were interested in a gaming PC just what they could get for $500. Since they are all sitting at a PC you think they have a keyboard, mouse and monitor that is at least usable.
I am done. They have no interest in owning a PC.

Didn't know that on the warranty side of it so I might suggest that to my mum and brother.

I didn't say all, I said most and because most PC gamers I've met have, I was in the gaming society at uni (everyone pirated everything), 4chans video games pirate everything, people I know from primary and secondary school have pirated everything and since video game developers are discouraged by the amount of piracy, it's not unfair to assume that a lot of people do pirate.

Some of us have to have a computer to work so we need to have working tools, you might not tack it on but it comes under my computer costs, I add up all the costs and just because I also play games on it, doesn't mean I shouldn't include the cost of software. I agree though that office 2007 sucks and no wonder you quit it

 

[beniki]

Show me a cheap laptop with the same specs and then I'll be interested. Seriously, the mobility of a laptop in my gaming platform is what I'm looking for, and something that no console can match.

I travel, and to play my games as I do, I'd rather not lug around a TV.