Help Building a Budget Gaming Rig

[thirtytwopaths]

I know I know..this is a mac forum..however before the flaming begins, please note I just got done purchasing a MBP so spare me the flames for a couple of pages.

Anyways, I am looking to build a nice budget gaming rig ($1,000 max) and I am looking for some input from you guys. The last computer I built was a watercooled AMD back in 2003, so needless to say I am pretty out of the loop when it comes to recent hardware developments. To my knowledge, the new i7's are the most recent in the processor arena, however, I am not sure if this is going to be overkill if this rig is going to be used exclusively for games.

My goal essentially is to be able to play any games out there at full performance (all high settings) with no concern when it comes to playback for the next year and a half or so. What components should I be looking at?

Thanks!

[Huntn]

Pick up a copy of PC Gamer- there are many companies that advertise budget gaming PCs for reference and every so often, they run an article on building your own.

[Kaos Theory]

You should check out the Velocity Micro Z5, or Edge Z55 if you want core i7. The Z5 beat the Mac Pro in gaming tests, not to mention some other tests, and only costs $999. That's with an over-clocked quad-core CPU, 4 gigs of RAM, and a high-end GPU. Velocity Micro is one of the best boutique vendors out there, with the best customer support available. Go to Cnet.com for reviews of both systems; I recommend the configurations used by the testers. Overall, I would say that the Z5 is the best budget computer available now. Hope this helps :).
Velocity's site is velocitymicro.com :apple:

[Nerfherder88]

I would check out ibuypower.com
http://www.ibuypower.com/

Great deals if you know about custom PCs
They are always having sales

[Jack Flash]

I just built a Hackintosh.

Intel Q9400
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
eVGA 9800GTX+ 512MB
8GB DDR2-800 SDRAM
Sony Optiarc 22x DVD Burner
Antec Three Hundred Case
Antec NeoPower 500W PSU

Cost me just under $600. I did shop around on many trading forums for a couple of days looking for used parts and ended up buying the case, RAM and CPU at MicroCenter but this should give you an idea of what you should be getting for your money.

[Phatpat]

I'd just play around on Newegg and see what you can put together on your budget. You could put together a very solid rig with an i7 920. Just keep in mind those i7 mobos are expensive! You can look at some public wishlists to give you ideas. Here's one that comes out to $1200, but spend a little less on a video card and you're fine: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=6584109

Tomshardware still has plenty of good charts too.

[lancestraz]

$1000 Budget PC Buyer's Guide (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/1000_budget_pc_buyers_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_march_2009)
What an extra $500 can get you. (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/1500_gaming_pc_buyers_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_march_2009) :D

[iMpathetic]

I wouldn't trust MaximumPC. They're kind of stupid over there.

Anywho, I would go for a Core 2 Quad (9550) and a decent mobo, etc etc.

i7 is still too expensive for the budget-minded.

[Jack Flash]

I wouldn't trust MaximumPC. They're kind of stupid over there.

Anywho, I would go for a Core 2 Quad (9550) and a decent mobo, etc etc.

i7 is still too expensive for the budget-minded.

Really he's better for with an E8x00 or Q9x00. The Q9550 is a nice chip but the benefits or its L2 cache are mostly seen in processes like folding, not gaming.

He's just as well off with the Q9400 and the high overclock the E8600 gets is appealing for gaming.

[aznguyen316]

I just built a Hackintosh.

Intel Q9400
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
eVGA 9800GTX+ 512MB
8GB DDR2-800 SDRAM
Sony Optiarc 22x DVD Burner
Antec Three Hundred Case
Antec NeoPower 500W PSU

Cost me just under $600. I did shop around on many trading forums for a couple of days looking for used parts and ended up buying the case, RAM and CPU at MicroCenter but this should give you an idea of what you should be getting for your money.

sick dude.. how does OSX boot up on it? I'm a nub when it comes to hackintoshes, but to have that power for gaming, I would love it.

[Jack Flash]

sick dude.. how does OSX boot up on it? I'm a nub when it comes to hackintoshes, but to have that power for gaming, I would love it.

OS X runs completely as if I were still using my iMac... well it runs twice as fast. :)

Really I have had absolutely no problems with anything as I specifically picked this motherboard and GPU for compatibility. Don't regret the decision at all.

[iMpathetic]

I would just like to chime in about how great the Hackintosh experience is once you get everything all up and running. My specs:

-- Rocketfish (made by Lian Li) full-tower case
-- 1000W Enermax Galaxy PSU
-- Q6600@ 3.6GHz 24/7, 1.35V
-- GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6 motherboard
-- 2GB DDR3 1333MHz memory
-- 200GB WD IDE HDD
-- 150GB WD Raptor 10,000RPM
-- VisionTek HD3870X2 OC 1GB
-- Sony DVD burner with LightScribe
-- Running a dual boot of Vista Ultimate and iATKOS 10.5.5.

It is INSANELY FAST. Bootup times are around 15 seconds. Applications start up nearly instantly, it'd be even better if I got more memory.

My geekbench score is 7634, which is neck and neck with a 2.8GHz EIGHT CORE MAC PRO.

[DoFoT9]

got a pretty old 4500 C2D closed to 3ghz on air, paid $500 AUS for the machine, better performance than our iMac which we paid about $3500 AUS for!!! pretty good value i reckon.

just acts as my torrenting machine/mail machine/all that.

having a few troubles with it atm, its taking a while to boot up.. stupid thing haha. thats what you expect from a fake i guess..

iMpathetic: glad to see your using iATKOS - its the best one IMO :)

[Jack Flash]

iMpathetic: glad to see your using iATKOS - its the best one IMO :)

Well, except for Retail Leopard :)

[iMpathetic]

got a pretty old 4500 C2D closed to 3ghz on air, paid $500 AUS for the machine, better performance than our iMac which we paid about $3500 AUS for!!! pretty good value i reckon.

just acts as my torrenting machine/mail machine/all that.

having a few troubles with it atm, its taking a while to boot up.. stupid thing haha. thats what you expect from a fake i guess..

iMpathetic: glad to see your using iATKOS - its the best one IMO :)

I just traded a system like that for a 3870X2 OC and $75.

I love iATKOS. All I have to do is get OpenGL and Core Image to work. I can get multiple resolutions and it sees one of my GPU cards though.

Well, except for Retail Leopard :)

That's the worst kind.... if you're a non-conformist. :p

[aznguyen316]

I'm gonna have to write down some of these configs. **** is too nice, so jealous haha.

[pyromaniaque]

Get onLIVE when it comes out and you'll have yourself the cheapest gaming rig ever. :)

[aznguyen316]

Get onLIVE when it comes out and you'll have yourself the cheapest gaming rig ever. :)

No joke haha, I'm all for it, hope it's as advertised, that way more 3rd party publishers will join up (I hope). But Crysis has me ready for it as my MB can play Warhead on all min @ 30FPS but I want to see the beauty of it =(

[Radio Monk33]

Is there anything that you can recycle from your 2003 rig? AMD has some nice offerings with their phenom 2 cpu's that are backwards compatible with AM2 motherboards.

I'm liking the phenom 2 x3 720 tri-core's. They got very good reviews for price/performance. Not a bad way to hedge your bets between dual and quad core (which are still not that helpful for most things).

And I heavily recommend going ATI, which is heavily winning the battle for this generation of chips in terms of price/performance though Nvidia has the performance crown.

[iMpathetic]

If you want to run OS X at all I would suggest you stick with Intel.

AMD + ATI = DAAMIT

[DoFoT9]

Well, except for Retail Leopard :)

if you know what your doing its the best kind of course!! otherwise no lol.

I just traded a system like that for a 3870X2 OC and $75.

interesting, i could trade it but then i wouldnt have a computer !!! lol.

I love iATKOS. All I have to do is get OpenGL and Core Image to work. I can get multiple resolutions and it sees one of my GPU cards though.


not sure if mine are working, not sure how to tell. my GPU is a pain in the butt. i cant change resolutions at all otherwise the screen goes either blue or black, i have to restart and prey that the monitor gets recognised - otherwise i have to remote into the computer, delete the graphics .kext, restart, reinstall the graphics .kext and restart again. pain in the butt!!!!!

cant get multiple monitors working either for some STUPID reason, the VGA port only works on the card, the DVI port doesnt.. i read somewhere that Apple reverses the connection of the port connections, but meh i have no idea.

[torchwood04]

I wonder why no one mentions buying a used G5 or Mac mini for gaming *hmm*

[iMpathetic]

I wonder why no one mentions buying a used G5 or Mac mini for gaming *hmm*
Because they suck for gaming?

[aznguyen316]

Because they suck for gaming?

lol word, the mac mini had a x3100 right? Terrible. The newer mac minis have the capable 9400m but for that price a full blown gaming rig is doable.

[torchwood04]

The mac mini first had a radeon 9200 in the PPC models IIRC, and a GMA 950 up until recently?

[Tallest Skil]

lol word, the mac mini had a x3100 right? Terrible. The newer mac minis have the capable 9400m but for that price a full blown gaming rig is doable.

The Mac Mini never had anything better than a GMA950 from Intel.

[aznguyen316]

The Mac Mini never had anything better than a GMA950 from Intel.

Thanks for clarifying. LOL the GMA950? OUCH. okay so the 9400m was a big upgrade for the Minis.