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

[Rednog]

It has been my experience that PC gaming is what you make it.
I spent ~$600 on black friday 3 years ago, running a 9800GTX and I can still run most games on med-high. I honestly will probably start to overclock this summer and will squeeze out maybe a year or two out of the system before I have to replace anything. Even then I'll probably just replace my graphics card first and see how it runs from there.
The nice thing for me with a PC is that you never really have to replace everything, monitor you can reuse, mouse, keyboard, headset, harddrives, casing, etc. Or in some cases if I really need to replace a lot of stuff, I'll just sell my old rig for like $100 or $150 and that cuts the cost of my new rig.
And people really seem to forget that consoles require a lot of peripheries too that jack up the cost. When I first got my 360 I was ok playing on a dinky 19'' TV but then a lot of games sucked because it was so small and they didn't support HD so I couldn't read the text of a lot of games, so I had to go out and buy a new TV (no I don't watch tv on a regular basis, I watch all my TV online), then I got tired of having to replace my batteries in my wireless controller and the fact that the damn batteries are so hard to get out, so I had to go buy a play and charge kit. Then playing online I had to buy a new headset because the stock one is absolute garbage and everyone just sounds like they are deep-throating their mics. Then I had to go buy a wireless receiver for my 360. Then a live subscription...the list/cost just goes on. And realize that with each new console generation you have to do all this crap over. Granted this is one of the longer consoles gens.

I personally just prefer the PC, sales on steam and D2D are great, got the BOps map pack for $10 on D2D. Went on ebay and bought steam keys for Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, and Homefront for $25 each. Gaming is what you make it, I personally found that I spent pretty much the same on the PC in the end as I did my 360 and I just save a lot more on games and I just like using my pc.

 

[Trolldor]

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

Way more expensive several years after they've been released.

 

[purity]

[...] Look at heavenly sword, a PS3 exclusive, and its still 60$ due to no profits. The only sure-fire way for lower prices for games are used game stores. [...]

Heavenly Sword, £14.89 at Play.com [http://www.play.com/Games/PlayStation3/4-/6108200/Heavenly-Sword/Product.html]

I honestly have NEVER seen a single game cheaper than the regular price at launch, the only exceptions are pre-order discounts, and I don't pre-order games anymore. In fact, here in Norway, most games cost their full price several months after. I remember seeing Bioshock 1, one and a half years after its launch, being sold at full price.

I'm from Norway as well, and this is very true. That's why sensible Norwegians buy their games from Play.com. Free shipping, and dirt cheap games! I know this isn't supporting Norwegian stores etc., but I don't care. Either the prices go down in Norway, or I keep buying from the UK/US.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I usually spend alot of money on a pc then don't upgrade for a while. It's better economics. Like buying a really good pair of shoes over crap pair that's just going to wear out after five minutes.

 

[Wolfram23]

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.

snip

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

snip
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.

Good points raised. To to add to it, I bought all the parts for my PC (last May) at a local store, Memory Express. I bought 2 year warranties on all my components, and already I had my monitor replaced for a stuck pixel (too all of 20 mins to get the new one, literally) and I got my motherboard replaced with an upgrade due to dying - MSI P55GD65 died after an overclock lol, replaced with an Asus P7P55 Pro . The warranties there cost from about 15-25% for 1, 2, 3, 4yrs no hassle exchanges. Without that you generally get 1yr manufacturer warranty but would have to ship parts out. Some GPU brands offer up to 3yr manufacturer warranties.

Rockthefly: I did cover that in my OP. You can more or less cover M+K by saying the console buyer will buy a 2nd controller or PS Move or Kinect, whatever. M+K can be had very cheap, even free because the standard hasn't changed. Every single person here has a PC, if they bought this $500 one I have no doubt they could just throw out the old PC and reuse their monitor and M+K. As for the monitor, I also specified that it's no different than needing a TV for the console, and that for the most part you can use the same TV or Monitor for both systems.

And headsets and controllers are not at all requirements for PC gaming. In all my life I got my first headset only last year, and only because I moved into an appartment and got a noise complaint (7.1 audio yeaaaaah) so I bought Sennheiser PC350 headset... As for controllers, to be honest in all my time PC gaming I've plugged my PS3 controller in for all of 2 games. Mafia 2 (for driving) and Batman: AA (just felt more natural).

 

[Wolfram23]

I'm actually looking to buy a gaming pc that can play games like Crysis and Crysis 2 on the best settings or damn close to the best settings, but I'm a complete novice when it comes to pc's and I don't have a fucking clue what to buy. I'm looking to buy a decent one near around the £500 mark and I know it's probably a bit optimistic to find one for that price tag but could anyone help me out?

For a good start, follow my link in the OP and check out the $1000 gaming PC. You could save a few bucks here and there on it, but it would be a great starting price. Also the forums at Tom's are great. You can literally just ask and get at least a couple different possible builds from the forum goers, and they'll debate the merits of each for you lol.

 

[Hijax]

This is awesome. I'll need to upgrade from my laptop soon too, and while i'm probably gonna go with something slightly more advancedexpensive, this has definitely shown me the value of assembling your own PC

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Impressive. It is amazing the cost of PCs you can build if your willing to shop around and not bothered with keeping up with the cutting edge tech. Makes me feel stupid for forking out £700 for my laptop a few years ago, damn you dell!

 

[Cpl.Flint]

For those looking for something portable, I bought this a while ago

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Netbook-battery-Bluetooth-Windows/dp/B00336EN88

A 12" netbook. Dual core atom, nvidia ion chipset, 2Gb ddr2 ram and 250Gb HDD. I use it for LAN gaming and university work aswell as UDK development work. I get about 3-4 hours on battery life playing L4D2. It cost me £300/$500.

Granted this model is now discontinued due to the updated ion chipset Nvidia is trying to push out, but its still incredibly fast for a netbook.

Just because you want portable, doesn't mean it has to be expensive. It might not do high end games or high end detail. but if I can plug a $20 mouse into it and play team fortress 2 for hours with friends from my lap then it serves its purpose rather well I think.

 

[purity]

[..]

Rockthefly: I did cover that in my OP. You can more or less cover M+K by saying the console buyer will buy a 2nd controller or PS Move or Kinect, whatever. M+K can be had very cheap, even free because the standard hasn't changed. Every single person here has a PC, if they bought this $500 one I have no doubt they could just throw out the old PC and reuse their monitor and M+K. As for the monitor, I also specified that it's no different than needing a TV for the console, and that for the most part you can use the same TV or Monitor for both systems.

And headsets and controllers are not at all requirements for PC gaming. In all my life I got my first headset only last year, and only because I moved into an appartment and got a noise complaint (7.1 audio yeaaaaah) so I bought Sennheiser PC350 headset... As for controllers, to be honest in all my time PC gaming I've plugged my PS3 controller in for all of 2 games. Mafia 2 (for driving) and Batman: AA (just felt more natural).

I actually only own a laptop, so I would have to at least buy a monitor. I have a "external" mouse, but no keyboard. I agree with the headsets and controllers though, and most people probably have a headset lying somewhere for their mp3-player etc.

I also don't buy your TV argument. Everyone owns a TV, whether they own a console or not. I don't think anyone buy a TV to use with the console, but buy a console for the TV they already have. I also wouldn't connect a computer to the TV, as the TV is also used by my wife/friends etc.

I guess it's mostly up to personal preference. I enjoy console gaming, because I feel it's much easier to just sit down and play on a console. I would really like to have a proper gaming PC someday though, FPS gaming is so much better with a keyboard and mouse. But I don't think it would be a good move to buy even more gaming equipment right now, while trying to get a bachelor and (after that) a master's degree ^^

 

[MrJoyless]

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

Sometimes i wonder if these ITS ONLY 500$!! threads even take into account that every single gaming platform out now is cheaper than that....also see the difference between 3 months of equipment??

- Very High Dec Vs March non overclocked - 15% performance difference !! in 4 months and you PC guys wonder why so many people are turned off of PC gaming!!

you guys must have gobs of cash to burn...

 

[SageRuffin]

While I'm no PC gamer, I am a bit of an enthusiast, so $500 for a rig like that isn't too bad.

Also, I can't play many fighters or action games on a PC (which are my forte), so I'll stick with my 360, thanks. And DA2 while I'm at it.

 

[Wolfram23]

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

Sometimes i wonder if these ITS ONLY 500$!! threads even take into account that every single gaming platform out now is cheaper than that....also see the difference between 3 months of equipment??

- Very High Dec Vs March non overclocked - 15% performance difference !! in 4 months and you PC guys wonder why so many people are turned off of PC gaming!!

you guys must have gobs of cash to burn...

Yeah, ATI and Nvidia released their latest hardware just this year. Every year, they release new hardware. And when they do that, it brings the cost of PC gaming down. My $300 GPUs last year (5850 1gb) are worse than $270 6950 2gb cards which just came out. I COULD upgrade but just because you can doesn't mean you have to, or should. My PC still maxes out all the games so why would I? It's kind of like saying you always need to upgrade to a bigger, nicer HDTV because new ones come out. Obviously that's stupid.

And just to throw it out there. I built my PC initially for $1000 including monitor, mouse, and keyboard. I bought my PS3 for $200, plus I bought a TV for it for $850 (yes, for the PS3. I do not watch television), plus I bought an extra controller for $50, plus a bluetooth headset for $60, plus a SplitFish Frag for $50... so I spent $1210 to game on my console... without including games. I already had a ton of PC games from years past so by default I'm ahead on the PC side.

Since then I've bought around 12 PS3 games at $60 each. I've also bought at least 15-20 PC games, but only about 3 of them cost more than $45 and they were multiplatform games (Fallout NV, DA2, and... I'm not sure. Maybe only 2 then).

If you're not strapped for cash and you want the best bang for your buck gaming experience there's no doubt PC is cheaper. If you're looking for the absolutely cheapest intial cost option, then sure a console is cheaper. If you're looking for a good gaming experience (by this I would say that a 34" or bigger TV and maybe some good speakers for a console vs a $500 PC with a 1080p monitor) you're going to spend about the same, but get better graphics on the PC plus all the other multitude of benefits for both simply having a PC and for gaming on one.

I mean, really, unless you're 12 years old you can easily get either one. I bought my first PC with a partime job working at a grocery store.

Now I'm sure you'll (and others will) take issue with how much I spent on my PS3. But I'm not abnormal here. I have a job, I want a good experience. That means an HDTV. That means peripherals. That means I'm buying the new games because chances are I already played the old ones. It means surround sound. As it happens I've spent a lot more on my PC since purchase, because I felt like it, and I felt it was worth it (and I'm happy I did). I bought a second $300 GPU. I bought a $200 SSD. I bought a sound card. I bought a Sennheiser headset. I bought a third GPU for $65 (after rebait) just for PhysX. That was all done last summer, and I haven't spent another penny on hardware since. In another year I might upgrade, but not because I simply have to. I'll upgrade because I'm either going to go with a 3 monitor set up, and/or go with 3D gaming.

Anyway... don't mean to rant at you directly. But I just had to get it out, and to summarize my point: For a GOOD gaming experience, you'll probably spend at least the same cost initially (playing on your parent's 24" boot tube TV isn't "good").

 

[No_Remainders]

snip

Now, go find a way that I can buy a PC that cheap, except in Euros.

So in other words, three-hundred and fifty-three euro.

Yeah, go find a place that'll let me build a good PC for ?350, then we'll talk.

 

[EllEzDee]

Wow, you only need a 380w PSU to game relatively high? I'm using an 80w PSU right now and don't want to upgrade to some kind of 1000w monster just to play a game on ultra. 380w sounds quite reasonable though...

 

[Wolfram23]

snip

Now, go find a way that I can buy a PC that cheap, except in Euros.

So in other words, three-hundred and fifty-three euro.

Yeah, go find a place that'll let me build a good PC for ?350, then we'll talk.

Happy to abide!

www.microdirect.co.uk

CPU: AMD Athelon II X4 640 £62.50
Motherboard: Biostar Motherboard N68S3B AMD Socket AM3 DDR3 mATX with 2 years manufacturer's warranty(S033535) £25.42
RAM: G-Skill 4GB Ripjaws DDR3 Memory PC3-10666 1333MHz 1.5V Cas9 1x 4GB with heatspreader(S030106) £28.61
Case: Ikonik Taran A-10 Case black(S033480) £22.00
PSU: Corsair PSU 430W 430CX(S031783) £28.75
Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon AMD 6850 1GB PCI-E 2.1(x16) GDDR5 DL DVI-I HDMI DisplayPort Graphics Card Retail(S032325) £111.99
Total: £279.27

 

[Wolfram23]

Wow, you only need a 380w PSU to game relatively high? I'm using an 80w PSU right now and don't want to upgrade to some kind of 1000w monster just to play a game on ultra. 380w sounds quite reasonable though...

http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

This will give you some headroom too (at the end you can choose system load an cap aging so it'll automatically increase the power to a safe amount for longevity)

 

[No_Remainders]

Happy to abide!

www.microdirect.co.uk

CPU: AMD Athelon II X4 640 £62.50
Motherboard: Biostar Motherboard N68S3B AMD Socket AM3 DDR3 mATX with 2 years manufacturer's warranty(S033535) £25.42
RAM: G-Skill 4GB Ripjaws DDR3 Memory PC3-10666 1333MHz 1.5V Cas9 1x 4GB with heatspreader(S030106) £28.61
Case: Ikonik Taran A-10 Case black(S033480) £22.00
PSU: Corsair PSU 430W 430CX(S031783) £28.75
Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon AMD 6850 1GB PCI-E 2.1(x16) GDDR5 DL DVI-I HDMI DisplayPort Graphics Card Retail(S032325) £111.99
Total: £279.27

Either you're taking the piss, or you're just misinformed.

You've gone to a BRITISH site. More importantly, a BRITISH site which will refuse to ship outside of Britain (the hint is in the Great British Pound sign as opposed to the Euro sign).

Remember kids, ? =/= £

 

[Wolfram23]

Happy to abide!

www.microdirect.co.uk

CPU: AMD Athelon II X4 640 £62.50
Motherboard: Biostar Motherboard N68S3B AMD Socket AM3 DDR3 mATX with 2 years manufacturer's warranty(S033535) £25.42
RAM: G-Skill 4GB Ripjaws DDR3 Memory PC3-10666 1333MHz 1.5V Cas9 1x 4GB with heatspreader(S030106) £28.61
Case: Ikonik Taran A-10 Case black(S033480) £22.00
PSU: Corsair PSU 430W 430CX(S031783) £28.75
Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon AMD 6850 1GB PCI-E 2.1(x16) GDDR5 DL DVI-I HDMI DisplayPort Graphics Card Retail(S032325) £111.99
Total: £279.27

Either you're taking the piss, or you're just misinformed.

You've gone to a BRITISH site. More importantly, a BRITISH site which will refuse to ship outside of Britain (the hint is in the Great British Pound sign as opposed to the Euro sign).

Remember kids, ? =/= £

Ugh. Whatever. You could put in a half ounce of effort and try finding comparable parts yourself. But here, a similar though slightly worse PC (although at this site they don't seem to have HDDs, only external ones so... still need that):

Xigmatek Asgard II Midi-Tower - black/orange
32,90 EUR incl. 19 % VAT.
AMD Athlon II X4 640 3 GHz (Propus) 95W - boxed
84,90 EUR incl. 19 % VAT.
FOXCONN M61PML-K, MCP61P Mainboard - Sockel AM3
39,90 EUR incl. 19 % VAT.
Mach Xtreme Technology Copper DDR3-1333, CL9 - 4GB Kit
36,90 EUR incl. 19 % VAT.
Xilence Redwing PSU ATX 2.2 - 480 Watt
39,90 EUR incl. 19 % VAT.
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 5770 VAPOR-X, 1024MB DDR5, HDMI - LITE
114,90 EUR incl. 19 % VAT.

Subtotal: 349,40 EUR
incl. VAT. 19%: 55,79 EUR
excl. Shipping Cost

http://caseking.de