Need a cheap gaming Rig

[slipknot4]

I am thinking about building a gaming pc from scratch and I need some advice.
I don't really know anything about desktops nor system specs these days and some advice from the Pc gamers of the Escapist would be nice.

My goal is to have a rig that could play WoW on max settings at 25+ fps, my budget is limited.
It would also be nice if it could play games like Crysis, Fallout and Mass effect smoothly on medium/high settings.

Where should I start?
Please don't link me to any online shops or other forums, I really don't know a squat about anything and I need allot of it explained to me.

EDIT:
[li] I don't want to spend 1,500+ ? on a rig since it won't be necessary for me. Also, I'm a student so I don't really have infinity recourses.
[/li]

[li]I'm a music producer so I need a machine that can handle large, uncompressed wave files without lagging. I've found this to be a huge problem on my current Pc.
[/li]

[li]I've got a:
Reaper Edge gaming mouse
Logitech G15
Logitech G51
and a ViewSonic VG2021wm monitor, so I'll be playing on 1600x1280 most of the times.

So, more or less everything but a good pc.
[/li]

 

[SturmDolch]

Cheapest stuff I can think of from one store:

Antec 300 case: $60
Intel i5 650 processor: $190
Asus P7H55-M PRO Motherboard: $100
2GB Kingston Value RAM: $45
Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive: $70
Any generic DVD drive: $20
NVIDIA GTS 450: $150

Total: $635 Canadian
or
$630 US

And I'm guessing the US stores will have it even cheaper, plus you can shop around for better deals.

Oh, and I think AMD and ATI are cheaper for processors and graphics cards, but I have no idea about them. I prefer Nvidia and Intel so I never even look at AMD/ATI.

My recommendation? Come up with a budget and go to your local computer store. Ask them to put together a system for you, print out the list, and come back with it. Then post it here or start a new thread, or ask on Tom's Hardware or the PC Gamer Tech forums. And check the prices at other sites.

 

[slipknot4]

Cheapest stuff I can think of from one store:

Antec 300 case: $60
Intel i5 650 processor: $190
Asus P7H55-M PRO Motherboard: $100
2GB Kingston Value RAM: $45
Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive: $70
Any generic DVD drive: $20
NVIDIA GTS 450: $150

Total: $635 Canadian
or
$630 US

And I'm guessing the US stores will have it even cheaper, plus you can shop around for better deals.

Oh, and I think AMD and ATI are cheaper for processors and graphics cards, but I have no idea about them. I prefer Nvidia and Intel so I never even look at AMD/ATI.

My recommendation? Come up with a budget and go to your local computer store. Ask them to put together a system for you, print out the list, and come back with it. Then post it here or start a new thread, or ask on Tom's Hardware or the PC Gamer Tech forums. And check the prices at other sites.

Thanks! But, isn't that rather high end?
What are the Specs on that one?

 

[TheComedown]

Cheapest stuff I can think of from one store:

Antec 300 case: $60
Intel i5 650 processor: $190
Asus P7H55-M PRO Motherboard: $100
2GB Kingston Value RAM: $45
Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive: $70
Any generic DVD drive: $20
NVIDIA GTS 450: $150

Total: $635 Canadian
or
$630 US

And I'm guessing the US stores will have it even cheaper, plus you can shop around for better deals.

Oh, and I think AMD and ATI are cheaper for processors and graphics cards, but I have no idea about them. I prefer Nvidia and Intel so I never even look at AMD/ATI.

My recommendation? Come up with a budget and go to your local computer store. Ask them to put together a system for you, print out the list, and come back with it. Then post it here or start a new thread, or ask on Tom's Hardware or the PC Gamer Tech forums. And check the prices at other sites.

Thanks! But, isn't that rather high end?
What are the Specs on that one?

No, that's not really high end. What do you mean what are the specs? Those are the specs. It would really help if we knew your budget, and how much quality you would want, for instance WD hard drives are known for being pretty dodgy.

 

[slipknot4]

No, that's not really high end. What do you mean what are the specs? Those are the specs. It would really help if we knew your budget, and how much quality you would want, for instance WD hard drives are known for being pretty dodgy.

Like, the numbers
Sorry if I'm using the wrong terms. I'm more of a console gamer.

GPU memory
CPU speed

Since you from Sweeden im guessing you have access to a wide range of stores, what are the stores/ prices in your area?

Well, there are allot of stores but... i'm kinda shy and I don't want to run into some guy there talking about shit I don't know a thing about.

And then there are the online shops.
Komplett.se has a Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 for 1.099 sek (160.805 usd)
Dunno if that's cheep or not

 

[SturmDolch]

i would reccomend NOT getting the GTX 450 and instead opting for the better value (especially in europe) Radeon HD 6750.

Antec 300 case
Intel i5 650 processor

These are the only two from the list i would reccomend. In terms of motherboard get a better one than listed, sure it might cost you more but a decent motherboard will save you a whole host of headaches. i would look for something in the ATX formfactor, perhaps an Asus Deluxe.

Alright, see? ^ Told you I know nothing when it comes to ATi. Thanks for posting that.

Also, what he said:

No, that's not really high end. What do you mean what are the specs? Those are the specs. It would really help if we knew your budget, and how much quality you would want, for instance WD hard drives are known for being pretty dodgy.

 

[nofear220]

I am thinking about building a gaming pc from scratch and I need some advice.
I don't really know anything about desktops nor system specs these days and some advice from the Pc gamers of the Escapist would be nice.

My goal is to have a rig that could play WoW on max settings at 25+ fps, my budget is limited.
It would also be nice if it could play games like Crysis, Fallout and Mass effect smoothly on medium/high settings.

Where should I start?
Please don't link me to any online shops or other forums, I really don't know a squat about anything and I need allot of it explained to me.

It would be nice to actually KNOW your budget, a budget gaming rig could mean anywhere from $500 to $1500. I can help you choose because I know all the best brands and types of hardware for specific applications. Also remeber that adding on an operating system like windows 7 will make a $500 rig closer to $650

 

[slipknot4]

It would be nice to actually KNOW your budget, a budget gaming rig could mean anywhere from $500 to $1500. I can help you choose because I know all the best brands and types of hardware for specific applications.

As cheap as possible really, I could go all the way up to 1000$ but I don't want to.
After all, it's mainly for WoW

 

[Continuity]

My goal is to have a rig that could play WoW on max settings at 25+ fps

I think my wristwatch can do that (and its wind-up)... Seriously WoW isn't exactly a gaming benchmark.

To be honest I know nothing about building ultra low-end systems but i would of though you'd be best off going to a computer forum rather than here, sure we're going to know stuff about gaming rigs but no gamer ever custom build an ultra low-end system, its not worth the effort, just get a pre-built that meets your budget and performance requirements.

Try here:

http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f75/

So long as you throw them some details they should be able to help you.

 

[TheComedown]

No, that's not really high end. What do you mean what are the specs? Those are the specs. It would really help if we knew your budget, and how much quality you would want, for instance WD hard drives are known for being pretty dodgy.

Like, the numbers
Sorry if I'm using the wrong terms. I'm more of a console gamer.

GPU memory
CPU speed

The 450 has a GB of ram, but when you look at video cards there is 100 different other things you need to take into account, the memory bus, core clocks, shared clocks, what format ram (450 is gddr5) and memory bandwidth. I will also say do not get the 450 if you want to game with stuff like crysis.

The i5-650 is a dual core (4 threads) 3.2 GHz processor.

Google it next time, its about 2 seconds from the manufactures site.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

Seeing how you specifically mentioned a limited budget, here´s my advice:

Get an AMD processor (you should be able to get a 3000 3/4 core for the aquivalent of 90 euro)
Get either and ATI 57** oder an Nvidia GTS 450 (both should be avaible for around 120 euro)
Get 4 Gig of DDR3 ram (around 50 euro)
Get a motherboard that can support your cpu and ram (there is NO reason to go above 70 euro, not for the purposes you described. When a salesperson tries to sell you a motherboard for more than that, he is bullshitting you)

The rest doesn´t make a big difference anyway.

If all you want to do is play wow on max smoothly, you do not need to spent more than 400-430 euros.

The 450 has a GB of ram, but when you look at video cards there is 100 different other things you need to take into account, the memory bus, core clocks, shared clocks, what format ram (450 is gddr5) and memory bandwidth. I will also say do not get the 450 if you want to game with stuff like crysis.

This is just silly. He said he wants to play Crysis on decent settings. A 450 is MORE than enough for that. I played it on a 250 and it was both good looking and smooth.

 

[nofear220]

As cheap as possible really, I could go all the way up to 1000$ but I don't want to.
After all, it's mainly for WoW

Well first I should probably warn you that a whole new Socket from intel is being released in about a month or so, and it will have blisteringly fast cpu's for the mainstream market like you. I would suggest waiting unless you really cant (although seeing as gaming isnt very cpu intensive, you could build one with todays motherboards and cpus and take advantage of low prices once the new ones come out. The lower end video cards are very new though so there is no point waiting for the next generation of them, and I have the perfect one in mind for you (AMD 6850).

 

[slipknot4]

My goal is to have a rig that could play WoW on max settings at 25+ fps

I think my wristwatch can do that (and its wind-up)... Seriously WoW isn't exactly a gaming benchmark.

To be honest I know nothing about building ultra low-end systems but i would of though you'd be best off going to a computer forum rather than here, sure we're going to know stuff about gaming rigs but no gamer ever custom build an ultra low-end system, its not worth the effort, just get a pre-built that meets your budget and performance requirements.

Wow itself isn't a very demanding game, but when you're playing with 25 people at the same time in a raid when everyone is trying their best to kill something, things get messy.
And I've had problems with running WoW smoothly for years. I need something that could play it on max settings and by that I mean everything maxed out on ultra and still have a decent fps.

 

[SimuLord]

"Cheap" + "gaming" = #DIV0!

You get what you pay for with PC parts. That said, remember---build smart, not "big".

 

[loc978]

...I still haven't found a game that taxes my old dual-core Athlon system I built in 2007 overmuch (and honestly, that whole proposed i5 system would be twiddling its thumbs waiting on HDD load times, especially in a graphically simple MMO such as WoW), so with that in mind...

(priced from newegg, just for an example... you may be able to get some of this cheaper locally or from other sites)
-AMD Phenom II X4 940 3.0GHz (OEM, comes without accessories) - $95.99
-COOLER MASTER DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler - $10.99
-Arctic Silver AA-1.75G Thermal Compound - $4.99

-MSI 790XT-G45 AM3 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - $69.99

-Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 RAM - $47.99

-XFX Radeon HD 4670 1GB PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card - $64.99

-Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower- $59.95 (pretty sure none of the 'hundred' series come with power supplies, so that other build wouldn't work... but trust me when I say these cases will save you a lot of heartache in a build... never had to take a drill to one, which is sadly a unique feature)
-COOLER MASTER Elite 460W ATX Power Supply - $29.99 (make sure this is on a good surge protector, though... non-Tagan power supplies are... fragile)

-Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB 10000 RPM SATA Hard Drive -$99.99
-Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive -$64.99 (optional, if you need the space)
-Nippon Labs Ultra Thin Premium SATA II Cable - $5.49 (each... need one for each hard drive and one for the DVD ROM)

-SONY Black 18X DVD-ROM SATA -$16.99

Total (keep in mind this build does not include keyboard, mouse, monitor or OS): $512.84 (or 583.32 with optional storage Hard Drive)... plus shipping.

 

[shado_temple]

We need just a bit more detail. Do you need a monitor, keyboard, etc? What sort of optical drives are you looking for? Are you planning on doing anything else besides WOW with said rig?
Also, you mentioned your breaking point for budget, but didn't say what you actually want to spend on this rig. Please include.

Also, when push comes to shove, the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065] is the best $30 you can spend on CPU cooling.

 

[loc978]

Also, when push comes to shove, the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065] is the best $30 you can spend on CPU cooling.

won't fit on anything I build

 

[samonix]

ATI and AMD are essentially equal to Intel/nvidia rigs but about half the price.
Processor speed > number of cores for WoW (it only ever uses 1, most games do for that matter)

protip: overclock. it sounds a lot harder than it is and you don't need expensive cooling to do it. Also it is very very hard to break a computer by overclocking, so don't be scared to try it.


Also WoW is hugely dependant on processor and RAM speed, not so much GPUs. Even Cataclysms graphical updates are minor in comparison to most other games. WoW, especially with high latencies, uses huge amount of CPU to run raids and BGs smoothly. Don't believe people saying it doesn't take a good system because it does.

 

[shado_temple]

Also, when push comes to shove, the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065] is the best $30 you can spend on CPU cooling.

won't fit on anything I build

Does it not fit in the mid towers? Fits just fine in my big ol' ATCS 840 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119187&cm_re=atcs_840_full_tower_case-_-11-119-187-_-Product].

 

[loc978]

between the required larger standoffs and the height of the cooler, it would run into my side fan and generally interrupt case airflow... plus, my CPUs never heat up much anyway... it's my GPUs I worry about.