How to Build a $500 Gaming Machine 305
bacterial_pus writes "Tom's Hardware has a very interesting article on how to build a $500 gaming rig. 'Instead of the newest killer rig from Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Voodoo, etc... how about a system for the rest of us with a realistic budget starting from scratch? We set out to build a reasonable gaming system that will get you through today's game titles without breaking the bank for around $500.'"
Pirates! (Score:3, Insightful)
Add that line item in and to stay on budget will require some drastic downsizing in everything else.
Oh, and I know they only cost $20 sans P/S but they also forgot a case. Idiots.
Where is the Case? (Score:1, Insightful)
Not much of a gaming system without those. And those can add an easy $200 to the price if you
go bargain basement...
-chris
A Few Omissions (Score:5, Insightful)
A $500 gaming rig? Not quite!
And then there's how to game for $500 (Score:5, Insightful)
PS2
XBox
Nintendo GC
And coming soon:
PS3
XBox 360
Remember that they were building a machine only for gaming too in that article.
Re:Pirates! (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh, and I know they only cost $20 sans P/S but they also forgot a case. Idiots.
While I realize it was bad form not to mention it directly; neither of those items is exactly rare in the typical Tom's reader's closet. I've got a few legit Windows licenses and extra chassis. They're aren't hard to come by.
~Rebecca
Oops, 512MB isn't enough (Score:3, Insightful)
This article assumes (hopefully intentionally) that you're reusing a bit of stuff from your last machine...I mean, a *case*, mouse/keyboard, monitor, speakers, etc. Money might be found for more memory then by recycling a hard drive and CDROM/DVD drive.
Of Course No Case (Score:4, Insightful)
Just how CLUELESS are you people? It's an UPGRADE! (Score:4, Insightful)
Did it ever occur to any of you that all of those items are what WE CURRENTLY HAVE? Look at the parts list that he's building up in the review. It's evident that he's talking about UPGRADING a current system on a shoestring budget!
Keyboards, mice, monitors, and cases can remain consistent through any upgrade. They neither improve nore degrade performance. HOWEVER...
A new processor is obvious.
Depending on how old your current system is, a new motherboard is probably required for the new CPU.
New memory is also often required in order to take advantage of faster buses. (No smart-ass comments about public transportation, please.) Although I personally would not recommend anything less than 1 GB for gaming or 2 GB if you plan on playing Battlefield 2.
A new video card is obviously needed for a lot of newer games, and the 6600 has a very good price/performance ratio right now.
A new hard drive is always a good idea for several reasons. (A) Price/GB is always dropping. (B) More storage is always good. (C) A new drive allows the ability to transfer data from the old hard drive more efficiently than making a backup to DVD. (D) New hard drives are just about guaranteed to be faster than older hard drives, especially if there is a multi-year difference between the two.
Everything that he mentioned in the article are what are needed to get yourself a "new" gaming system. A new case, keyboard, mouse, and monitor are not needed. The main internals that matter are clearly what he's talking about. So, it should have been evident that the article is about UPGRADING a current system, not buying a whole new gaming system from scratch!
News? (Score:2, Insightful)
Thoughts on sub-$150 Graphics? (Score:4, Insightful)
This isn't difficult. (Score:2, Insightful)
No it won't run them at top resolution at 120fps... but who cares. Anything above 30fps is very playable. Anything above 60fps is just pure gravy.
Re:Pirates! (Score:3, Insightful)
Oops, I forgot. This is Slashdot. Microsoft is evil, they can't ever be nice. Sheesh!