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I have two options right now
option 1:
CPU: AMD athlon II X4 640
GPU: Zotac GTS 450
PSU: corsair CX430
motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-870A-USB3L
HDD: WD 500gb caviar blue
RAM: kingmax 4gb 1333mhz
case: No-name

option 2:
CPU: AMD phenom II X4 955 BE
GPU: Ati mobility radeon HD 4250
PSU: (same)
motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3
HDD: (same)
RAM: (same)
Case: no-name

FuturePastNow wrote:

You could also buy a used Core 2 Duo desktop for ~$200 and shove in the biggest graphics card its PSU can run. That'll play most any game. Violates the spirit of the contest, though.

Was just about to type what you said when I saw your post. "Build" is the operative word though I guess in this whole contest.

FuturePastNow wrote:

You could also buy a used Core 2 Duo desktop for ~$200 and shove in the biggest graphics card its PSU can run. That'll play most any game. Violates the spirit of the contest, though.

Not necessarily. If said C2D is one of the E8xxx series, then yeah. The 6xxx series are too slow for today's games.

Marty_man_X wrote:

GPU: Zotac GTS 450
GPU: Ati radeon HD 4250

Radeon HD5770 1GB would provide better performance.

Marty_max_X wrote:

option 1:
CPU: AMD athlon II X4 640
motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-870A-USB3L
option 2:
CPU: AMD phenom II X4 955 BE
motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3

Have you considered an Athlon II X3 or a Phenom II X2 processor? You could save a few dollars here to get a better GPU.

You won't get a satisfactory gaming experience with most games with the integrated Radeon HD4250. (This is the same as the HD4200 on my 785G motherboard.) If you have room in the budget, look at a Radeon HD6850.

Marty_man_X wrote:

option 2:
CPU: AMD phenom II X4 955 BE
GPU: Ati mobility radeon HD 4250
PSU: (same)
motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3
HDD: (same)
RAM: (same)
Case: no-name

I don't see a graphics card there and a Radeon HD 4250 isn't going to run any 3D game at 1680x1050, so you'd better go with the first option. For gaming, go cheap on processor, spend big on graphics.

yeah good idea guys
I just remembered that most CPU`s can handle today`s games and that the GPU should be beefy I`ll search around some more

FuturePastNow wrote:

Is Llano enough for 1680x1050 gaming? For games like WoW and Starcraft, sure, but for shooters?

It might be close, but I'd guess not quite. I have a notebook with prev gen core I5 with HD6550m graphics (which I believe is the same graphics core that's in Llano). I can run most games at med-high at native res, but that's only 1366x768. 1650X1080 is about 70% more pixels..

morphine wrote:

FuturePastNow wrote:

You could also buy a used Core 2 Duo desktop for ~$200 and shove in the biggest graphics card its PSU can run. That'll play most any game. Violates the spirit of the contest, though.

Not necessarily. If said C2D is one of the E8xxx series, then yeah. The 6xxx series are too slow for today's games.

You know, I wouldn't be so sure. We're not talking about dual 30" monitors here; just 1680x1050. I bet an E6600 and a modern mid-range GPU would do quite well.

FuturePastNow wrote:

You know, I wouldn't be so sure. We're not talking about dual 30" monitors here; just 1680x1050. I bet an E6600 and a modern mid-range GPU would do quite well.

I had an E6400 overclocked to 3.1Ghz. Granted, it didn't have as much cache as the E6600, but still, it a massive bottleneck on my system, coupled with a 4870. When I switched to an i5-760, the difference was night and day.

morphine wrote:

Not necessarily. If said C2D is one of the E8xxx series, then yeah. The 6xxx series are too slow for today's games.

I don't recall there being huge differences in IPC between the Conroe and the later Core 2 series (Wolfdale, right?). They certainly aren't far from the IPC of the Athlon II or Phenom II...