Budget builld PROs I need you!! $400-$500 Budget Gaming Rig

Guy I work with needs a budget gaming rig:

Approximate Purchase Date: 1-3 weeks Budget Range: $400-$500($550 very max with OS)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming(Note: Newest game he intends to play came out in 2009 C&C4, he will also be playing Medal of Honor: Airbourne), Browsing, Word Processing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, cd-drive

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg but will use tigerdirect if there is a significant discount.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences:

Overclocking: No SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: Not sure what he plays on, but it's a 17' monitor.

Additional Comments: This build is for a 50yr old guy I work with who has been using the same e-machines system for 8 YRS!! He wants a basic gaming rig cheap as possible , with longevity in mind though. Nothing flashy, all function. Nothing special; just enough for the guy to play his C&C4 @ mid-high graphics. He does not intend to buy any newer games. He's pretty much blind so incredibly high FPS aren't the main priority. He'll be happy if he can just play his game locally without it crashing or lagging severely. He already has an HDD, so a big one isn't required.

Current Build:


CPU: Intel Pentium G850 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623G850

GPU: MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16

MOBO: BIOSTAR H61MGC LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

PSU: ENERMAX NAXN ENP450AST 450W ATX12V Power Supply

CASE: NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

RAM: Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGV38G1333ELK

I dont get why People is going with the Athlon Cpus when The Pentium G86 have better performance. I have been working on a Budget build From Intel. With that Monitor Is quite Easy.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811352009

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116397

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220466

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138332

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817194090

GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127600

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136075

Total of 401 dlls.

This Setup is Way Overkill for the Monitor He is Using, and the games he is gonna Play.

I assume he's asking if its DVI or VGA... as dsub is the same thing as VGA for video purposes. either way it doesn't matter as any card that doesn't have VGA will have an adapter from dvi

GA-78LMT-S2P Socket AM3+ 760G mATX AMD Motherboard $59 + $10 rebate + $40 bundle savings with Phenom
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0366104

Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition 3GHz Quad Core Socket AM3 Boxed Processor $119
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0382790

8GB HyperX DDR3-1333 $29.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0360526

GV-R677D5-1GD AMD Radeon HD 6770 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.1 x16 Video Card $119 + $30 rebate
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0372693

LG 22x DVD-RW 16.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0372836

TC102 Mid Tower ATX Computer Case with 500W Power Supply $36.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0357902

and your friend has a hard drive right? how likely is he going to do rebates?

This totals up as ~$344 with $40 in rebates.

I realize the PSU probably isn't very good on the TC102 (it's a cooler master)

if you wanted to go with better (probably) PSU and separate case,

BitFenix Merc Alpha $34.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0382963

Elite Power 460 Watt ATX Power Supply $37.99 + $10 rebate
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0360839

which would mean ~$380 with $50 in rebates.

(someone double check my math )

Any constructive crit on the above build?

Yeah I figured 4 would be enough. Thanks Pezcore. I think I'll go with the eco.