a budget rig is born

holmes · 01-21-12, 01:56 PM

Hi all,
I've been working on slowly piecing together a new rig over the last 4 or 5 months. My aim was to build something dirt cheap that also had some solid upgrade options. After going back and forth whether to go intel or amd, I decided to stick with amd. I think AM3+ will give me strong upgrade options for the next few years. Yes I know bulldozer in it's current incarnation can't really compete with sandy bridge. That doesn't really concern me. I have mostly everything I need except the processor -- thinking about going either athlon x2 or x3.

My gaming needs are fairly simplistic at the moment. My Samsung 930BF monitor has a resolution of 1280x1024, so I don't need some brawny video card. Well at least not yet. Actually I've been itching to play some old school games for a while -- no BF3 or crysis for me. I have an itch to play me some doom3 for some reason.. Since I'm a cheap bastard I'll probably go linux for a few months until I just buy win 7. Maybe over the next year I'll switch out the GPU or upgrade to a phenom. Thoughts? Am I crazy?

**bob saget** · 01-21-12, 03:22 PM

I've seen crazier

**Greedo** · 01-21-12, 11:07 PM

i say this as a friend and fellow bounty hunter: you shouldn't deny yourself bf3.

holmes · 01-22-12, 12:26 AM

Hehe, I've seen the BF3 videos -- don't get me wrong it looks pretty sweet. Someday I'll get to it. Maybe.

**bob saget** · 01-22-12, 01:44 AM

check out craigslist for a used GTX 260 or 275 or 285. Those should play Battlefield: Bad Company 2 no problem at that resolution, and that is a good looking and fun game too. BF3 is better, but bad company 2 is still very enjoyable and looks amazing.

holmes · 01-22-12, 12:12 PM

I was particularly cautious about cheaping out too much on the gfx card. I'll probably regret that when I get around to installing win7 and trying out some more modern games. Actually at the last minute I decided to go for the GT220 instead of the 210. Basically spending more than $100 on any one part makes me cringe. Thanks for the suggestion.

frenchy2k1 · 01-23-12, 12:47 PM

You're not going to be gaming much on a GT220 either.
You can grab really cheap older video cards on ebay/craigslist. A GTS250/9800/8800 would give you much better perfs and still probably be cheaper.
You could also grab a Radeon 6750 or a Geforce 550 for slightly less than $100 and have both DX11 and better perfs.
Otherwise, you may be better off with a Fusion A processor and just use the integrated graphics. This should still beat the GT220...

holmes · 01-24-12, 11:33 AM

Enter the buyer's remorse. Yep that GTS250 looks pretty sweet. Read a few reviews.. Found one on ebay for about the same price I paid for the 220. Oh well. Maybe in a few months I'll look into upgrading the card. I'm hoping kepler will push down prices of everything under it. I briefly considered the APUs but since I like to get my linux on, I tend to only consider nvidia. I also think the AM3+ platform gives me more options down the road.. thanks

holmes · 02-08-12, 10:47 PM

Here it is in all it's messy first boot glory..

It's been a while since I got some gaming in on my Athlon XP 2100+ and Geforce 6800GT, but wow.. Doom3 looks awesome and buttery smooth. Look forward to working my way through five years worth of games.. Cheers!

**bob saget** · 02-08-12, 11:08 PM

Enjoy it. If you are selective, there were actually a handful of decent games the last five years

holmes · 02-10-12, 09:46 AM

thank you sir

**XDanger** · 02-11-12, 04:22 AM

I think SMAA injector would be a godsend for the older rig, Like Viagr@

01-21-12, 01:56 PM	#1
holmes Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 692	a budget rig is born Hi all, I've been working on slowly piecing together a new rig over the last 4 or 5 months. My aim was to build something dirt cheap that also had some solid upgrade options. After going back and forth whether to go intel or amd, I decided to stick with amd. I think AM3+ will give me strong upgrade options for the next few years. Yes I know bulldozer in it's current incarnation can't really compete with sandy bridge. That doesn't really concern me. I have mostly everything I need except the processor -- thinking about going either athlon x2 or x3. My gaming needs are fairly simplistic at the moment. My Samsung 930BF monitor has a resolution of 1280x1024, so I don't need some brawny video card. Well at least not yet. Actually I've been itching to play some old school games for a while -- no BF3 or crysis for me. I have an itch to play me some doom3 for some reason.. Since I'm a cheap bastard I'll probably go linux for a few months until I just buy win 7. Maybe over the next year I'll switch out the GPU or upgrade to a phenom. Thoughts? Am I crazy? __________________ The Rig ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ AMD Athlon II x2 260 DDR3-1600 (2x2GB) Kingston HyperX Western Digital caviar 1TB ECS GeForce GT 220 1GB Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX case Corsair 750W PSU

01-21-12, 03:22 PM	#2
bob saget Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vancouver, originally Russia Posts: 23,133	Re: a budget rig is born I've seen crazier

01-21-12, 11:07 PM	#3
Greedo Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: mos eisley cantina Posts: 1,258	Re: a budget rig is born i say this as a friend and fellow bounty hunter: you shouldn't deny yourself bf3.

01-22-12, 12:26 AM	#4
holmes Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 692	Re: a budget rig is born Hehe, I've seen the BF3 videos -- don't get me wrong it looks pretty sweet. Someday I'll get to it. Maybe. __________________ The Rig ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ AMD Athlon II x2 260 DDR3-1600 (2x2GB) Kingston HyperX Western Digital caviar 1TB ECS GeForce GT 220 1GB Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX case Corsair 750W PSU

01-22-12, 01:44 AM	#5
bob saget Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vancouver, originally Russia Posts: 23,133	Re: a budget rig is born check out craigslist for a used GTX 260 or 275 or 285. Those should play Battlefield: Bad Company 2 no problem at that resolution, and that is a good looking and fun game too. BF3 is better, but bad company 2 is still very enjoyable and looks amazing.

01-22-12, 12:12 PM	#6
holmes Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 692	Re: a budget rig is born I was particularly cautious about cheaping out too much on the gfx card. I'll probably regret that when I get around to installing win7 and trying out some more modern games. Actually at the last minute I decided to go for the GT220 instead of the 210. Basically spending more than $100 on any one part makes me cringe. Thanks for the suggestion. __________________ The Rig ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ AMD Athlon II x2 260 DDR3-1600 (2x2GB) Kingston HyperX Western Digital caviar 1TB ECS GeForce GT 220 1GB Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX case Corsair 750W PSU

01-23-12, 12:47 PM	#7
frenchy2k1 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 446	Re: a budget rig is born You're not going to be gaming much on a GT220 either. You can grab really cheap older video cards on ebay/craigslist. A GTS250/9800/8800 would give you much better perfs and still probably be cheaper. You could also grab a Radeon 6750 or a Geforce 550 for slightly less than $100 and have both DX11 and better perfs. Otherwise, you may be better off with a Fusion A processor and just use the integrated graphics. This should still beat the GT220... __________________ As the universe is curved, there cannot be a straight answer...

01-24-12, 11:33 AM	#8
holmes Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 692	Re: a budget rig is born Enter the buyer's remorse. Yep that GTS250 looks pretty sweet. Read a few reviews.. Found one on ebay for about the same price I paid for the 220. Oh well. Maybe in a few months I'll look into upgrading the card. I'm hoping kepler will push down prices of everything under it. I briefly considered the APUs but since I like to get my linux on, I tend to only consider nvidia. I also think the AM3+ platform gives me more options down the road.. thanks __________________ The Rig ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ AMD Athlon II x2 260 DDR3-1600 (2x2GB) Kingston HyperX Western Digital caviar 1TB ECS GeForce GT 220 1GB Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX case Corsair 750W PSU

02-08-12, 10:47 PM	#9
holmes Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 692	Re: a budget rig is born Here it is in all it's messy first boot glory.. It's been a while since I got some gaming in on my Athlon XP 2100+ and Geforce 6800GT, but wow.. Doom3 looks awesome and buttery smooth. Look forward to working my way through five years worth of games.. Cheers! __________________ The Rig ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ AMD Athlon II x2 260 DDR3-1600 (2x2GB) Kingston HyperX Western Digital caviar 1TB ECS GeForce GT 220 1GB Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX case Corsair 750W PSU

02-08-12, 11:08 PM	#10
bob saget Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vancouver, originally Russia Posts: 23,133	Re: a budget rig is born Enjoy it. If you are selective, there were actually a handful of decent games the last five years

02-10-12, 09:46 AM	#11
holmes Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 692	Re: a budget rig is born thank you sir __________________ The Rig ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ AMD Athlon II x2 260 DDR3-1600 (2x2GB) Kingston HyperX Western Digital caviar 1TB ECS GeForce GT 220 1GB Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX case Corsair 750W PSU

02-11-12, 04:22 AM	#12
XDanger Whaaat? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5,674	Re: a budget rig is born I think SMAA injector would be a godsend for the older rig, Like Viagr@ __________________ 2500K 4.4ghz,P8P67Pro,120gb Force3, 12gb Vengeance,HD6950,TX850v2,W7HP,LaCie Blue 22" crt COMMODORE 64 Silver Label 1Mhz/128D 4Mhz(Z80)