This is all typed in a hurry, i am not a native english speaker so i will translate what i think in greek on the fly to english and type it out.

Ok here's the thing. initialy incomplete so i can see what people have to say about it and change the way i do it, before i go too far and it gets difficult to improve.

there have been quite the lot of questions about a cheap gaming pc so instead of answering every single post about this every time i will try to make a nifty list which shows what you can start with and where to go from there.

since i am more familiar with DAAMiT (amd/ati, i have used intelidia for quite some time) i will deal with this.

also since this will be a list that i will hopefully update once in a while, i will not deal with previous-gen stuff (am2/ddr2)
i know i will break the hearts of lots of people... but... yeah ok.

here goes, from memory (i will add specifics later)



CPU : phenom II x2

RAM : 1x1GB ddr3 nothing particularly fancy

MOBO : good quality but nothing fancy. gigabyte/asus/msi

GPU : 3450 (i did say we start cheap)

PSU : 400W PSU, a corsair perhaps.

HDD : 160GB sataII WD/seagate

CASE : must fit ATX mobo. not less than about 30GBP/50EUR/50USD

This pc costs about 300GBP, give or take, ignoring bargains etc.

now, the bigger the budget, you can change the components as you see in this list, going down.


short explanation for this table.

if you will spend more money than what the starting point costs, depending on how much more you will be spending, you go down 'steps' in the table. the prices are, of course, rough estimates. Also, the components are also rough estimates. For example, there are 66euro phenomII X2s and there are 100euro ones. There are 150euro X4s and there are 250euro ones. there are 100euro 4850s and there are 150euro ones. The reason for that is that one shop might not have the x2 245 but might have the 250 one... so you buy the 250 one and then spend a bit less on... say the HDD. or something else anyway. Another reason is that someone might prefer a bigger HDD. or a second HDD.

I could've gone into detail and start listing stuff based on the minutae we're interested (amperage on rails etcetc) but i chose to have a little more leeway rather than building down to a price. I could've actually gone and chosen components based on measurements. for instance 65W 245 x2, 50W 4650, 50W for mobo and ram, 50W for HDDs etc, you can make do, struggling, with a 300W psu. That's what i do, as a crazy guy... but for the sake of the wellbeing of the sanity of others, i choose to suggest a bit more, rather than dancing on the limits.

so if you have 400 to spend, go for the cheapest machine i suggested. If you have 500, you go to the row labeled '100' and see that i suggest the 4770 (instead of the admitedly wimpy 3650) and a single stick of 2GB ddr3, instead of a single stick of 1GB. the reason for that is that you can add another stick a bit later. Also, remember that when you reach 650euro+ you can choose a mobo with SLI (crossfire) and upgrade your machine with another 4870, for instance. that's why i suggested a case that can fit an ATX as mATX mobos with sli/crossfire are not too many. if someone thinks he will stick with that machine and never upgrade it, then ok... the cheapest capable machine that can do that right now which also looks kinda cool is: sharkoon rush case, the cheapest corsair psu, a mATX mobo with amd chipset, two sticks of 1GB DDR2, a 4850, a dvd and a western digital sata 120/160GB. there ya go. 400 euros.)

i could've gone with a ddr2 machine, but after a while, if you want to add more mem (the most usual upgrade, next to gpu) finding ddr2 will be a bit more tough than ddr3. and pricier. go check out ddr1 prices.

in the end, this list is only for amd/ati, for this month, from me and based on my knowledge and preferences. there are gazzilion others like it and much better anywhere.

that's about it, for now.

It's more economical to go DDR2 atm. Maybe in a few months ddr3 will be cheaper.

Micro-ATX will be cheaper than ATX most of the time, and for a low budget build you dont want an ATX anyways. Small cases usually cost less.

Don't skimp on the PSU as it will take all the parts out if it dies. Corsair 400cx will be fine.

Might want a DVD drive so you can play bought games.

the 3450 will be fine for JUST LFS, but you can find an 8800gt/9800gt for $70 USD so I'd say go with that. If not that, a 4670.

I almost fell for it.

Quote from george_tsiros :

not upgradeable. conscious choice. the price difference doesn't the sacrifice of staying with previous generation.

Worrying about upgradability is really a gamble. By the time DDR2 becomes defunct and the performance gap between ddr2 and 3 becomes really wide, (2-3 years) chances are you'll need a new motherboard anyways.

Quote :

an atx case can fit both kinds of mobo. a microatx case can't take an atx mobo. also the idea is having an upgrade path. more pcie slots, etc.

micro-atx theoretically are cheaper to make, and should be cheaper for the end user. I'm saying that you're building a guide for an "Affordable" rig, not performance rig where you'll need 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16 and 2x pci-e x1 ports for a high end sound card like an Asus xonar DX and crossfiring 3 4890's + a 9800gt for PhysX. All you should need is a pci-e x16 for the graphics card (DFI actually makes a micro-atx board with 2x pci-e 16l btw), a pci for a wireless adapter, and an x1 or another PCI in case you are an audiophile and need a good sound card.

Quote from george_tsiros :

400cx will be fine only for the initial build. that's why i went 500/600 as the gpu changes. 200W for the 4890 and 100W plus the rest of the system and we need a good quality 600W to be in the 50-70% of the psu.

Wattage isnt the most important part of the PSU. I didn't mean quantity, I meant quality. The corsair has good amperage on the +12v rail, and will be stable for years. If you want a 4890/4870/gtx260/gtx275 the 450vx will be fine.

Really, people overestimate how much wattage they need. The 450vx powered my rig before I sold it, even when it had 3 hard drives in it, it worked with a 4870 and a gtx 260 with the phenom II OC"d to 3.8ghz. I'm sure a 4890 would work on that power supply, too.

Quote from george_tsiros :

i put the 3450 because it is one of the cheapest you can get that can manage lfs. if you want more performance, there's the upgrade path. that's why i put it that way.

For $40 more, it's worth buying a better graphics card, since the resale value goes way down once you buy one. Best bang for buck is a bit higher range than the 3450.

A dead power supply won't kill anything else

ok then, i shall mail you a power supply i have here, that is faulty, and you use it in your machine. Deal?

You don't get to sue me after your pc catches fire, though...

I 100% agree with george tsiros, a faulty power supply could fry components of your motherboard. PSU's don't only die completely, some PSU's when they become faulty can in fact cause the power rails connected to your motherboard and other devices to go above the recommended voltage for each specific rail, effectively supplying components with too much power and causing components to fry. And a faulty PSU can on the other hand cause the power rails to not give enough power. Each power rail has a minimum and maximum voltage....and when tested the voltage should be in between the min and max value, if any rail falls below or rises above these values the PSU must be replaced.

Quote from george_tsiros :

I almost fell for it.

Quote from george_tsiros :

ok then, i shall mail you a power supply i have here, that is faulty, and you use it in your machine. Deal?

You don't get to sue me after your pc catches fire, though...

If its more then 520W, send it

As someone who lost a £80 thinking he could save money using a £30 PSU and then having to buy both another mobo AND an expensive PSU anyway I really wouldn't skimp on one tbh.