May 2011 Gaming Cheapness Build

May 2011 computer kit is going to be another at the request of a reader. We're going to be shooting for an entry level gaming computer. For me, that's a computer that will play all the games you can find for it, but just not with all the settings maxed out.

I'm going to set the budget goal for $500, because a challenge is always fun, and that will definitely do it. As those that have read here for a while know, I don't go for fancy cases ever. I'll spend money only where it counts. Hardware that does work. A case will only serve you for cooling, so that's all I look for.

The verdict is in. Looks like it's going to be a 4 core AMD CPU. You should be able to pick these parts up for around $600. It's a little over the $500 budget, but, the sacrifice you need to make with video, RAM, and CPU aren't worth it. My vote is for the extra $100 to get something great vs something okay. This way it will handle any 3D game, maybe not cranked, but something you'll like.

TIP! This system may benefit from Windows Readyboost. If you have a spare flash drive, check it out.

Motherboard - ASUS M4A77TD ATX AM3 DDR3 AMD770 SB710 PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI IDE 6SATA Sound GBLAN Motherboard

Computer Case - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition ATX Mid Tower Case Black 4X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT Front USB Audio No PSU

CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor 3.2GHZ AM3 8MB Cache 125W Retail Box

CPU Cooler - stock fan included with CPU

RAM - G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Core i5 1.5V Memory Kit

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB

Video Card - ASUS Radeon HD 6850 DirectCU 790MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card

Sound Card - on the motherboard

DVD Drive - ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

Network Card - on the motherboard

Power Supply - Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration