Build A Gaming Computer

I wanted to show you that it was possible to build a gaming computer for $500, and to give you ideas if you are on a budget. Keep in mind also, that if a computer can be used for gaming, you can use it for any office application you have. This build will not run today's games at top resolutions with graphics cranked up to maximum, but will be able to play them with some tweaking. Note that this build does not include a monitor or operating system.

CPU - Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 $68.99 - To build a gaming computer, at just under $70 currently, this processor will get us started on the right foot. It is a very overclockable CPU, and at the price, you can't beat it. This processor runs at 1.8GHz, with an 800MHz FSB (Front Side Bus), and 1MB L2 Cache. Not the best stats, but as I said, it overclocks very well.

Intel Pentium E2160 1.8GHz LGA 775 65W Processor

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L $88.99 - The Intel P35 is a great chipset for overclocking, which you will most likely want to do with that CPU. Even if you don't plan to overclock, this board still offers a nice selection of connections, onboard 7.1 sound, and support for up to 8GB of DDR2 1066 RAM.

CPU Cooler - Rosewill RCX-Z775-LX $17.99 - I tried to find a cooler here that would keep the price down, yet perform well enough to overclock the CPU safely. The Rosewill RXC will keep your processor temps below 50C, even when overclocked. It's a great heatsink for the price.

Rosewill RCX-Z775-LX 92mm Ball CPU Cooler

RAM - Patriot 2GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $40.99 - I have been using Patriot RAM for years now and it has always performed to expectations. For the price, this is a great pair of modules to help you build a gaming computer. With a CAS latency of 5 ms and a speed of 800MHz, it will work well with the overclocked CPU.

Graphics Card - XFX PVT88SFDFU GeForce 8800 GS 384MB $129.99 - The graphics card will be the most expensive part to build a gaming computer, so I wanted to choose carefully which card to use. At the time of this writing, there is even a $30.00 rebate on the card, but that is not figured into the price. The 8800 GS has proven in many benchmarks and tests that it can outperform some of the higher end ATI cards such as the HD3850. That makes it perfect for our budget build.

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500AAJS 250GB $57.99 - With 250GB, the Western Digital finds a great price point. Lower capacity drives will only save you around $10.00, and that takes you down to 160GB, so I decided to pop for the extra $10 here so that you would have a bit of room for more than just games.

Case / Power Supply - Antec NSK4480 With 380W Earthwatts Power Supply $65.00 - Antec manufactures quality computer cases, I have used them many times in the past. When that is paired with an Earthwatts power supply that is 80 PLUS certified for power efficiency, it's a combination that can't be beat at this price.

DVD Drive - LITE-ON Black SATA Drive $22.99 - DVD burners are pretty cheap these days. There's not much to say about this, it burns and plays DVD's and CD's, and will allow you to install your games.

Total Price: Around $492.93

There you have it - $493 for a budget gaming PC. If you overclock this system, it will even play games like Crysis at medium settings. The key to this build is the CPU, motherboard and graphics card. The CPU / motherboard combination is great for overclocking, which you will most likely want to do if you use this for a gaming machine. If you are not using it for gaming, or only light gaming, you can actually save another $75.00 or so on a lower end video card, and won't need to worry about overclocking it.

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