Need Advice on gaming rig.

[mrgoblin]

Basically Im on a very fixed budget. I bought a watercooled pc and its great but not practical for lan events. I participate regularly in lan events for cs and I want to know what is the cheapest sff type pc I can build that will run cs. Those requirements are very low and the cheaper it is the happier ill be. It just needs to run cs. I need a cd drive and it needs to be a small form factor pc. If anyone could reccomend a build. Please let me know. Also mods, please dont move this to sff because even thought it pertains to it, no one will read it and I need to know by tuesday

 

[Corporate Thug]

whats your budget?
are you sure you want a whole new SFF pc just for CS?

 

[mrgoblin]

My budget is very low like under 400. I need it for cs because A; i hurt my back on the job and B: i make some money playing cs.

 

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
My budget is very low like under 400. I need it for cs because A; i hurt my back on the job and B: i make some money playing cs.

You dont make money with CS unless you are in the top four in the world, and even then, you would need a big sponsor......
If you do a search on AMD systems, you will find many in your budget...

 

[mrgoblin]

I dont make a living off it but I lan and play against friends and such. Im not a pro gamer lol

 

[mrgoblin]

I looked at amd systems on ewiz.com and nothing was under 400

 

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
I dont make a living off it but I lan and play against friends and such. Im not a pro gamer lol

Nothing better IMO (well other than surfing) than lanning it up with friends.

I copied this from another thread, try search, it helps wonders:

2400+/ecs mobo at frys: $79
512 pc2700 at Circuit City: $19 AR
case/psu: whatever for $50
HSF: coolermaster x-dream $9.99 at frys
geforce4 mx: $40
sound: onboard
HDD: 80 GB WD SE $80
52X cd-rom or cdrw: $40

total is 318 + tax

 

[mrgoblin]

ok so take that and add 200 for an xpc case and im over the budget Anyone know of a used system?

 

[Regs]

200 for a damn case? I thought you were on a budget.

 

[mrgoblin]

yea, its barebones so mobo case psu. Unfortunately these little things dont come so cheap ive learned

 

[mrgoblin]

anyone else? bump

 

[mrgoblin]

grr. bump

 

[Outlawv6]

Shuttle KT266 $218

512 MB Corsair PC2100 $82
or
256 MB Buffalo PC2700 $42
or
512MB Centon PC2700 $20 after rebate

1700 XP $47

Black Lite-on 52 CD-rom $16

WD 20 Gig 7200rpm $52
or
Maxtor 7200rpm 40Gig $60

then a Radeon 7000 for like $40 (a complete joke ;-) )
or
Chaintech Geforce4 Ti 4400 "GT41" $132
or
Geforce 3 Ti200 64Mb for $61
or
Gainward GeForce 4 Ti4200 128Mb for $99.74
or
ATI 9000 128Mb $72


With the shuttle, centon ram, 1700, 40 gig, CD drive and Geforce 3 it is $422 plus tax and shipping. you can cut corners just about anywhere, like if you don't need a 7200 rpm drive or want a slower proc (about 10 bucks) or just use the integrated video, but I doubt that'll be much fun


edit: fixing links darn these chubby fingers

 

[fell8]

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
grr. bump

I use the Aopen 340D case for my mobile computer. Combined with a retail XP 1800+ and Asus A7N266-VM AA it makes for a combo that is Dell-quiet.

I imagine you might want to go for a faster CPU and Nforce2 micro-ATX MB. Half-hight cards are easy to find (note: they almost always have full-height brackets), but not with high-end video chipsets. You did say you were on a budget though, so on-board video will prove the most affordable option.

Good luck!

 

[mrgoblin]

Thanks for the info guys. Im really liking the shuttle and aopen. The problem is these things seem to cost alot when I dont have much to spend. I suppose I could just buy the cheapest barebones kit I can find and hit the computer show. The shuttle barebones is just over my budget right now. My car needed a minor repair so now ive got 250 to spend and im not sure its possible. If theres a 100 buck barebones sff then im good to go but if not im screwed till payday

 

[Scrooge2]

I don't know about you guys, but back in the old days (in fact that was 1 month ago) i played cs fine on a duron 1 gig pc 100 512 ram, 20 gig 7200rpm drive, and a tnt2 32mb ultra. You really don't need ANYTHING powerful for CS. My video was a little slow, and I'd consider upgrading to at least a geforce 2. But other than that I had no problems with CS. I'm sure you could find a low end system of similar quality for under 200 total these days.

 

[fell8]

Well, the Aopen case runs ~$55 w/PS (200W, runs the 1800 flawlessly), shipped. This case goes for $35 shipped, but isn't rated as highly. Nforce2 boards with video like the Shuttle MN31N start at just over $85 (check out the dual VGA). Retail XPs (with HSF and 3yr warranty) start at $57. That's pretty affordable (at least compared to some alternatives). I don't think a barebones will prove much cheaper, certainly not for the quality.