Let's build a gaming PC for $1k
I'm doing this conversational marketing campaign with Symantec. They're going to give me a grand to build a gaming PC from parts, I'm going to write about my experiences, and then when it's all said and done I'm going to auction the PC off for Child's Play. (After politely breaking it in with a few games for a month or two, of course. Just common courtesy.)
Most of the posts will actually be over on the Symantec site — my first post is over there already — but I thought you guys might be interested in helping me pick out parts.
I'm going for gaming performance exclusively, so bigger hard drives or quad-core isn't that important to me. I'd rather give up any nicety for pure speed.
I am going to splurge on one thing, though: That Antec Skeleton open-air case. It's nearly $200, but it should make all the building and troubleshooting much less of a hassle. Plus, you know, it's neat. And since it'll be a gaming PC and not a multimedia workstation, I really don't care if I can hear all the fans. It'll be off when I'm not using it anyway.
Following the Ars Bargain Box guide I think I can squeeze in right under $1k if I ditch silly things like an outboard sound card. Vista will have to be my OS since this is a gaming box. And Intel and ATI seem to have the CPU and GPU market tied up in the low end. Just have to figure out motherboards and which CPU and GPU to actually buy.
For the record, I hate building PCs. I find it just a miserable experience. This is even worse: I'm going to build one, go through all the trouble of making it run, and then give it away. (Or maybe I'll just donate $1k to Child's Play. That might be easier.)
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Oh man, that case is $180 without power supply. Ack.
Or, you could contact the vendors you want to use for this, ask them to donate parts since it's going to charity in the end, only spend money if you really have to, and end-up with something that's worth nearly $2K instead...
That is, unless Symantec is trying to prove a specific point about this costing $1K, of course.
Yeah, I think the $1k is part of the promotion or something. I don't know! Also, I tend to get out of hand when I start going over $1k on gaming PCs anyway. This will force good discipline.
Yeah, seriously, that case is a bad idea. 20% of your budget on something that adds zero performance? You can get a case with 90% of the features for less than half of the price.
I think Symantec's point is that they want to demonstrate the new version of Norton AV isn't a resource hog anymore. Therefore it can run on the "average" PC (about $1k) without bogging it down.
Not a really fair test per se as the "average" PC now will have at least a dual-core cpu, and 2gb of ram. I don't think that even the obese, old-school version of Norton Internet Security could bog down those specs.
Yeah, that case is a pain in the tookus. However, check out this parts list:
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1
Antec Skeleton Black ATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129056
Return Policy: Manufacturer Warranty
$179.99
1
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136296
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$179.99
1
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814129113
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$269.99
$264.99
1
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145184
Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$74.99
$69.99
1
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115037
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
$164.99
1
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116488
Return Policy: Software Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$109.99
$99.99
1
Scythe SCINF-1000 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835185027
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$49.99
$44.99
1
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128337
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139005
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$65.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
$249.98
$164.98
Subtotal: $1,169.91
----
That's a lot of pretty badass equipment for $1170. I'm going to have to sacrifice the case and the Raptor HDD to get under $1k, though.
North - point taken. I'm one of those folks who moved away from Norton AV in the past for exactly this reason - way too much overhead, way too many features I didn't need or want.
Although if they really wanted to prove this point, wouldn't it be better suited to do so on a low-end home office PC (like the $299 jobs that HP or Dell have available now), not a $1K box, since in all honesty you can build a heck of a system for that kind of money?
Crap, I likely just jinxed Joel...
Joel, any phonecalls coming from Cupertino looking for their check back, just ignore those, ok? :)
If I use the Raptor from my old machine it's just under $1k. What do you guys think. Would that be cheating? I really want to mess around with that case.
Joel:
Oftentimes the bottleneck in system performance is the hard drive. If I were in your position, I'd be looking to maximise the performance of my hard drive first and foremost.
Right, but it's not like my old Raptor is slow or anything. It's a quick little drive just sitting doing nothing right now.
But maybe you're right. I'd still have to reuse the old case, though, which I don't want to do. Hrm!
Joel, hate to say it, but you left out a couple key parts. You still need an optical drive, and a power supply...
Power supply I've got in that list. The optical drive I'm going to cheat on. I've got like three sitting here than have never been used and it would be wasteful to buy another one, esp. at $20.
Oops, just saw the PS included with the motherboard. Still need a DVD drive though.
You know, it's funny, but I just (literally 2 weeks ago) built a gaming PC for under $1000. I kept my existing monitor, speakers, mouse, and keyboard, though.
All from Newegg... I paid somewhere around $820 after rebates.
* Asus P5Q SE motherboard ($100)
* Samsung 320gb 7200 rpm SATA 2.0 HDD (technically the Spinpoint F1 HD322HJ, $59)
* 4gb Corsair RAM, 800 MHz ($45 after-rebate)
* Intel Core2Duo E8500 ($190)
* PNY GeForce GTX260 ($215 after rebate when I got it; other manufacturers are as low as $200)
* Rosewill 500W PSU (it's plenty for this machine, which can't do SLI anyway; $40. Still, an upgrade wouldn't hurt if you have cash to spare.)
* Thermaltake fan/cooler unit, which I'm really -not- happy with. ($33, from a local place)
* Vista x64 SP1 OEM ($100)
I personally went with the RaidMAX Smilodon case, but yours is about $100 pricier.
It's currently running Crysis Warhead, with everything but sounds set to Enthusiast level, with 2x AA, at 1280x1024, at 29+ FPS. So yeah, it's working wonderfully for a low-budget gamer rig
I hope this helps!
-dwarf74
Hard drive - I disagree with the Raptor, hard drives make very little difference in performance. Grab a $50 500GB drive and call it good.
Case - Kinda cool, but overly expensive. Grab an Antec P180 or P182. Great cases and potentially a lot cheaper (the P180's go on sale for $100 quite often).
PSU, RAM, Processor, OS, Fan, GPU, MoBo - All good choices.
I'd rather see you take the money saved on the case and hard drive and not cheat.
While the skeleton case looks neat, I'd hate to spill something on it.
Don't get the Skeleton, it's a waste of money
The Raptor is a waste of money as well, the Western Digital WD640GB gives you 95% of the performance for less than half the price.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2628278
"will have to be my OS since this is a gaming box. "
...Who says? XP SP2 will work just fine with any game on the market. There's nothing in Vista that's game-specific.
No. Way. The case is a good choice. I used something similar, called the TechPC bench and it makes installation a ton easier and does have a performance boost because everything receives better cooling.
You can see pictures of my set up with a Tech Station here:
http://www.sachsreport.com/pc%20pictures.htm
Actually, at my current job, my boss saw my Tech Station and wanted me to build one for my work PC. I think he wanted to show off my skills to the other execs..
The tech station used to be known as the Senfu Tech Station (discontinued) and then High Speed PC made a remake of it http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=HSPC&Category_Code=Tech_Station
now the Antec version looks even better.
I don't think you can use a graphics card with the Skeleton case.
Re: Building computers, The pain in the ass of.
Man, I hear you. My PC died last week and I hadda put a new one together on the cheap and with a quickness. I don't ever want to have to go through that again. So, hopefully I can make this one last long enough so that my next PC can just be a pill I swallow or something.
I think you're doin' okay with your list here, but really that case (while pimp) is cramping your hardware options. There's a ton of cool cases to be had for ~100 bucks. Maybe check out Antec's Nine Hundred case (blue LEDs!!!)?
I put together a competent machine for about six hundred bucks. I think I coulda built a nice gaming rig for ~800.
I think the magic formula is probably AMD Phenom Quad-Core on an MSI K9N-SLI board w/an Nvidia 8800GT (or two), 4 gb of memory (check your voltages when you order that stuff, though, seriously. What's up w/memory producers these days?), SATA optical, SATA hard drive, decent PSU and a plain-jane case (sorry). Pretty sure that's well under a thousand bucks and could probably handle just about anything you wanted to throw at it.
Anyway, good luck.
i've been building sub $1k boxes for years but i sort of have an ace in the hole. my dad works computer crimes and all sorts of computers and bits and pieces tend to pile up in the evidence locker. they can't sell the things, and no one else in the department, schools or government of any kind will take them. supposedly because of the grim specter of child porn. they try to use a lot of it themselves. for a while there every guy in the unit had his own custom tweaked box with extra drives spilling out the sides and more fans than you'd ever need.
a couple times a year they back over the excess with a steam roller and send it off for recycling. just before this point the old man used to show up with a box of crap and ask if i could use any of it. i've ended up with a ton of hard drives (the most spectery part of a coputer) ram, optical drives, sound cards and even been offered motherboards and monitors.
the nypd is big department and might have a similar problem if your interested in free parts, or even making more than one box. just ask them to wipe the drives first.
I know it won't save a lot, but how about an AMD processor? While the new 780 chipset isn't the fastest for gaming, using an ATI 3400 videocard and Vista will allow you to Crossfire videocards with ease. I know it's not super cutting edge, but could possibly allow you to save enough for your case (also, HDMI outputs for converting the MB to that home theatre in two or three years!)
You also may be able to save some on the power supply, 650 watts may be more than you need, think about 450 or less and see if that cuts it down some. According to a PSU calculator (http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine), you only need 306 watts with this setup, it's more efficient to use 70% of a 450 watt PSU than 45% of a 650 watt unit.
And while the case is indeed great, I'd be more concerned about having to dust it to keep it looking nice. I prefer to keep my dusty PC parts under a metal case. But those are my aesthetics only, I don't want to rain on the parade. Especially since my case was only a little less than that one without PSU because I thought it was pretty.
Keep another 10 bucks handy for a fresh keyboard after you "break it in"...
I think everyone at Symantec who reads your blog would prefer you didn't cheat ;).
The Antec P182 is on sale for $100 with free shipping with a promo code at newegg.com right now. I have this case, and let me say it is an absolute beauty for a gaming case. All of the cables are routed behind the motherboard, the PSU is compartmentalized away from the motherboard, and the airflow is wonderful. I have 5 fans in it, an my video card (HD4850) has never gone above 70 degrees.
Below is the system I configured that fits the budget fairly well and is entirely solid components. Gaming strength is more than adequate, and more money is to be saved if someone were to look a bit harder.
The key components I was unwilling to drop were the power supply and the case. Together, they're nearly a perfect combination of incredible quality and affordability. (The Antec Earthwatts are Seasonic OEM, blowing away most of the other "500W" PSUs)
Shipped, the total is $1061.88. There are currently $75 in rebates, bringing the total cost down to $986.88 some six to eight weeks later. The motherboard could be traded down to a GA-P45-DS3L, but it offers no CPU combo deal (roughly--but not entirely--offsetting the savings)
If you care, Vista Home Premium can be bundled with an effectively free Microsoft shirt. Didn't bother listing that one, but swag never hurts.
the P182 could probably be sacrificed to make way for an Antec Solo, which is overall a perfectly fine case that's just slightly smaller (but better designed in some respects) and notably cheaper. That would bring the cost down to $966.88, the remainder of which could be put into a decent keyboard/mouse combo or more memory.
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129025
$119.99
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136283
$129.99
ZOTAC ZT-X26E3KA-FSP GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814500055
$269.99
Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817371007
$49.99
mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model 991599 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820146784
$59.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116488
$99.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500
GIGABYTE 2GB USB Flash Drive Gift
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128359
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115036
GIGABYTE 2GB USB Flash Drive Gift - Retail (Free!)
Item #: N82E16800999082
$294.98 (Combo price)
Grand Total: $1061.88 shipped, $75 in various MIRs as of this writing (some may expire tonight)
Oh, by Crossfire videocards, I actually mean Crossfire the ATI 3400 with the onboard video chip of the motherboard. It's not as good as the 4870 (by far), but would be a very cost-effective savings if you need to keep the price low.
Ditto on getting Windows XP Pro SP3 -- you can still buy it from NewEgg, though strangely enough, it costs *more* than Vista Home Premium. For less gaming headaches, it's worth the $40 difference. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515
Not sure what you hate about building PC's. I've been home brewing my computers since the first 486sx desktop I built way back when. It's definitely gotten a lot less painful over the years, short of the occasional hiccups and minor disasters.
I spec'd and built a $1000 E8400 PC for a friend of mine earlier this year and a lot of the hardware was very close to what you propose. I'd also veto the Skeleton -- it's gimmicky and I really don't see the need for it outside of a test-bench environment where you have to swap out pieces and parts all the time. It's just not practical at all.
Also, does it have to be a *complete* systems? Including monitor, keyboard and mouse? I didn't see those in your list either.
Okay, here's the final list:
1
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129024
Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$149.99
$129.99
1
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128337
Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$89.99
$84.99
1
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814129113
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
Standard Return Policy
$269.99
$264.99
1
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115037
Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
$164.99
1
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145184
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy
$74.99
$69.99
1
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136218
Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$74.99
1
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106228
Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$21.99
1
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116488
Software Return Policy
$109.99
$99.99
1
Scythe SCINF-1000 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835185027
I was trying to avoid getting another Sonata. I've had the previous two versions and they're fine, but I just wanted to try something new. But the price for a good case with a good power supply is too hard to resist. And I didn't cheat!
I'd be weary of that power supply.
Wait... stop. There are GAMES for Vista?
Learn somethin' new every day.
--Charlie
Lonin,
What's your concern about the PSU? Quality? Wattage? Color?
Just curious.
If it's an Antec case, it should have an Antec PSU. You could do a lot worse, Lonin!
-dwarf74
That same ATI card is £384.00 in EnglandLand. WTF?
Gilbert, the video card companies got in trouble for price fixing in the U.S., which sent the prices tumbling. Perhaps that isn't illegal in the U.K., so they just keep plowing your arses.