Hardware Revolution’s $500 Gaming Build: Version 1.1

Thumb it up!

Yesterday, I started to publish and update our Gaming PC Builds Designs, starting with Hardware Revolution’s $400 Gaming Build: Version 2.0.

We are continuing today with an updated $500 Gaming Build Design and we’ll keep going at it for the next days/weeks, as I update all/add Gaming PC Builds. Needless to say, if you haven’t done so already, make sure to subscribe for free via RSS or E-mail to not miss the future posts.

If the fact that you’ll be receiving outstanding custom Gaming PC designs for free is not enough to convince you, here are 7 Reasons to Subscribe.

About the $500 Gaming Build:

1. It will handle gaming, with modern titles, at a resolution up to 1680 x 1050 (Up to 20-22″ monitor)
2. It will be easily upgradeable in the future, with:
   • PCI-Express 2.0 16x slot for the video card.
   • AM3 socket to support more powerful and future AMD CPUs.
   • 1600MHz 1.5V DDR3 RAM.

This version (1.1) compared to the previous version of the $500 Gaming Build:

This version of the $500 Build is more of an evolution than a revolution with the hardware, hence why I’m calling it Version 1.1, instead of 2.0.

What parts have changed?
The Motherboard, RAM, case and power supply.

• The motherboard change gives you: A PCI-Express 2.0 16x slot as opposed to PCI-Express 1.0 16x, a full-size ATX instead of Micro-Atx, giving you more space to work with, especially for expansion cards. You also get more USB ports and other ports compared to before.
• The RAM is now clocked at 1600MHz and only requires 1.5V to run, making it more user-friendly.
• The case and power supply are now sold separately, allowing for more flexibility in the choices that you have and allowing for a more solid power supply. This will also help avoid the out of stock situation that happened with the previous $500 Gaming Build case/power supply combo.

So, as you can tell, you don’t get a big performance bump compared to the previous $500 Build, but rather a more balanced build that is more future-proof, as in it’s more suited for upgrades, whether it’s a CPU or Video Card upgrade.

Computer Builds FAQs:

I often get questions such as:

• Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?
• Can you suggest me a step by step guide to build a computer?
• Why should I build a PC instead of buying one in a store?
• And many more…

You will find the answers to all of these questions and more in this article: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

$500 Gaming computer hardware parts recommendations, short version:

• In Bold, you’ll find my recommendations, with a price that fits the overall budget.
• In Italic, you’ll find the best possible upgrades, that is the parts that offers the best bang for your buck.
• In simple terms, if you want a more powerful CPU or video card, pick it from the list of recommended upgrades that are in Italic.
• All upgrades are compatible with the rest of the system, as well as other upgrades, meaning that you can choose one or many upgrades without a problem.
• If upgrades just don’t cut it, visit the Gaming PCs page, where you’ll find our other gaming computer custom build designs.

Components	Make, Model and Specifications	Price
CPU/Processor	AMD Athlon II X3 425 Rana 2.7GHz Triple-Core AM3 95W AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Triple-Core AM3 95W AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Quad-Core AM3 95W	$76 $87 $113
Motherboard	ASRock M3A770DE: Socket AM3, AMD 770 Chipset, ATX GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P: Socket AM3, AMD 770 Chipset, ATX	$60 $80
RAM	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1.5V DDR3 1600 Dual Channel	$94
Video Card	Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11	$135 $165
Hard Drive	Western Digital 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Western Digital 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Western Digital 640GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s W.D. Caviar Black 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s	$48 $56 $70 $80
Optical Drive	LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner	$24
Power Supply	Antec NEO ECO 400W 80 PLUS Active PFC (No Power Cord) Antec NEO ECO 520W 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC (No Power Cord) 6 ft. Computer AC power cable 10 ft. AC Power Cable 10 ft. Right-Angle AC Power Cord	$40 $60 $3 $7 $9
Case	Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Silver) – 1x 120mm fan Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Red) – 1x 120mm fan Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Blue) – 1x 120mm fan Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Orange) – 1x 120mm fan Antec Three Hundred Illusion – 3x 120mm 1x 140mm fans	$40 $40 $40 $45 $60
Cooling	AMD CPU Stock Cooler included with CPU and Case Fans ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm CPU Cooler ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound Rosewill 120mm Case Fan Scythe 120mm “Slipstream” Case Fan	Free $30 $8 $4 $9
Sound	8 channels sound card: Integrated on the motherboard	Free
Network	Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps: Integrated on the motherboard	Free
Total price	Not Including OS, Shipping nor handling. Within -/+ 5% of Budget	$517

Is this the right type of PC for me?

If you’re looking for a PC to play video games, you’re at the right place. If this is not what you’re looking for, check out our other Computer Systems instead.

About Gaming PCs:

Gaming Computers are all about playing video games. Every year, new video games that pushes the boundaries of visual effects are released and demand more and more power from your computer to run.

This is why our Gaming Builds Designs focus both on current performance for today’s games, as well as being ready to upgrade, to be ready to handle future games. For Gaming Builds Designs, the majority of the budget goes to the Video Card and the Processor to ensure high performance in video games, as well as a solid power supply with a case with good cooling abilities, to ensure reliability.

Upgrades will usually focus on the processor and video card for enhanced performance, as well as on the power supply and cooling, to enhance overclocking capabilities. You may choose to upgrade the hard drive for more capacity, or change the case to get one that matches your personal preferences, such as look, cooling, size, etc.

$500 Gaming Computer Hardware parts recommendations, detailed version:

Motherboard:

ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX

A basic, yet reliable motherboard at a great price that supports everything in this system. Come with six USB ports, two of them being Hybrid E-SATA/USB ports, S/PDIF Out via Optical and Coaxial, two PS/2, Gigabit LAN and 8 Channels audio on the back.

Two PCI-Express 2.0 16X (Green at 16X, Orange at 4x), one PCI-Express 1X and three PCI slots, four SATA ports and the usual IDE port, etc.

If you wonder who is ASRock, they belong to ASUS. Simply put, they are their budget brand, offering the same reliability known from ASUS, but with lower prices.

Recommended upgrades:

1. GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P: Socket AM3, AMD 770 Chipset, ATX – Based on the same chipset, the AMD 770, however this is board well known on Hardware Revolution, as it is the one that I recommend on most AMD AM3 builds. Why? Because it offers the perfect balance of performance, reliability and low price. If you don’t mind spending a bit more to get the peace of mind of going with a brand name, this is the way to go.

CPU:

AMD Athlon II X3 425 Rana 2.7GHz Triple-Core AM3 95W

The other contenders in the same price range would have been the Intel E5300 (2.6GHz $70) or the E6300 (2.8GHz). I picked the AMD Athlon II X3 425 over them for the following reason:

• The AMD Athlon II X3 435 outperforms the E6300 in four out of four benchmarks. I’m sure that you can figure out that even if you take out a few FPS to account for the 200MHz difference between the Athlon II X3 425 (The one recommended) and the Athlon II X3 435 (The one in the benchmark), the X3 425 still comes out on top of the Pentium E6300.

Recommended upgrades:

1. AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Triple-Core AM3 95W – For $11 ($87) more, you get an extra 200Mhz.
   
2. AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Quad-Core AM3 95W For $37 ($113) more, you get an extra core and an extra 100MHz.
   

Video Card:

Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11

The Radeon HD 5750 is AMD’s replacement for the Radeon HD 4850 and they did a great job with it. The Radeon HD 5750 consumes way less power, supports DirectX 11 for the new video games and has a 1GB of memory buffer, to handle games such as GTA: 4.

It is capable of handling the vast majority of games at 1680 x 1050 with high visual quality.

Finally, it is HDCP Ready and will handle Blu-Ray and other 1080p content playback, with audio over HDMI as well, no matter what kind of audio setup (2.1, 5.1, 7.1, etc.) you throw at it.

VS Nvidia video card:
The main competition from Nvidia at this price range is the Geforce GTS 250. Both cards perform on par, however, with its higher power consumption and lack of DirectX 11 support, it is hard to recommend the GTS 250 these days.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11 This one offers performance on the level of the 4870 1gb, while consuming way less power at idle (15W!) and at load (108W) than any card offering this level of performance thanks to the 40nm process it’s based on. Support DirectX 11 as well. Perfect for 1680 x 1050 or some 1920 x 1080 (1080p), althought you might have to lower the details a bit depending on the video game.

RAM:

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1.5V DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel

4GB of RAM is pretty much mandatory to handle the latest video games along with Windows and background background such as your anti-virus, web broswer, music/video player, etc.

Considering the price of RAM these days and the ever-expending memory use of games and programs, 4GB of high-speed DDR3 memory is a no-brainer.

I went with G.Skill for their high reliability and compatibility with the majority of motherboards. I chose these particular sticks as they only require the standard 1.5V to run at 1600MHz, resulting in lower power consumption, but more importantly, because they are user-friendly as they don’t require to increase the voltage for stock settings.

In my opinion, there is little incentive to move to faster frequency RAM, as it brings only a small performance increase (According to Tom’s Hardware ) for a much higher price. DDR3 1600MHz is the sweet spot, costing about the same as lower speed, offering good performance and overclocking headroom.

Note that the RAM will most likely not run at 1600MHz to begin with. This is normal, you need to adjust your BIOS settings to reach that speed.

Hard Drive:

Western Digital Caviar Blue 3.5″ 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

A standard SATA hard drive, that offers 320GB of storage, plenty enough to handle your video/music collection and all your games.

I went with Western Digital because their hard drive offers the highest reliability in my experience, being less prone to failure on average. The Blue Caviar series drives come with a 3 year warranty.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Western Digital 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s - ($56) Get an extra 180GB for $8 more.
2. Western Digital 640GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s- ($70) Get twice the capacity for $22 more.
3. Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s - ($80) This is the first upgrade that offers more performance, thanks to a larger 32MB cache and the fact that this is the high-performance series from Western Digital, the Caviar Black. For $32 more, you get 430GB more, a tad more performance and a 5 years warranty instead of 3.
   

Optical Drive:

LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner

This drive is able to read and burn CDs and DVDs. Silent, compatible with all major formats including DVD-RAM.

The motherboard includes two SATA cables (One will be used for the hard drive and one for this DVD Burner), so no need to worry about cables.

Also, seeing as DVD Burners are often go out of stock lately, here are a two alternatives that you can use to replace it. All are SATA based.

1. LITE-ON Black 24X SATA Black CD/DVD Writer
2. HP Black 24X SATA 24X CD/DVD Writer – Retail

Case:

Cooler Master Elite 310 ATX Mid Tower (Black/Silver)

Priced at $40, this new case is a nice surprise from Cooler Master. It offers a nice design, it’s solid (not flimsy metal usually found on cases at this price), a side window and decent cooling. Seriously, in my opinion, for $40, this case just plain rocks!

The case comes with one 120mm case fan on the back. That’s nothing spectacular, but it’s good enough to keep your system cool enough. Mind you, it has space for two additional 120mm fans, one on the side window and one in the front, which requires to remove the front panel though.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Blue) – 1x 120mm fan – The same case, but with a blue bezel.
2. Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Blue) – 1x 120mm fan- The same case, but with a red bezel.
3. Cooler Master Elite 310 (Black/Orange) – 1x 120mm fan - The same case, but with an orange bezel.
4. Antec Three Hundred Illusion – 3x 120mm 1x 140mm fans – The Antec Three Hundred is a smaller version of the well known Antec Nine Hundred. This particular edition (Illusion) comes with three 120mm and one 140mm case fans, all of them on which you can adjust the speed.If you intend on overclocking, for an extra $20, this case will definitely help you lower your temperatures.

Power Supply:

Antec NEO ECO 400W 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC

This power supply is capable of delivering up to 400W, not that should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply, but more importantly 30A on the 12V line, the most important factor when it comes to choosing a power supply for a gaming computer.

Best of all, it is 80 PLUS certified, meaning that it’s always at least 80% efficient, resulting in less heat, more silence and a lower electricity bill for you.

Power Consumption:

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, it is estimated that this system will consume at load (peak usage):

• 238W with the recommended Athlon II X3 425 and the Radeon 5750.
• 256W with an Athlon II X3/X4 and a Radeon 5770.

This goes to prove how efficient these new Radeon 57xx cards are, especially compared to the older Radeon 48xx series. The power supply will have no problem handling any of the recommended upgrades, even in the worse case scenario. However, if you intend on overclocking, I cannot recommend enough that you upgrade the power supply.

Upgrades:
Antec NEO ECO 520W 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC (No Power Cord) – If you intend on overclocking or simply want more overhead, this power supply offers an extra 120W over the main recommendation, for an extra $20.

Note that neither the recommend power supply nor the upgrade comes with a power cord.
If you don’t happen to have an extra one laying around, here are some that you can buy:

• 6 ft. Computer AC power cable
• 10 ft. AC Power Cable
• 10 ft. Right-Angle AC Power Cord

Cooling: Stock cooling

To save on costs, I recommend using the cooler included with the CPU. While there are better coolers, the one that is included is good enough to handle the cpu under normal operation. The case includes cooling fans as well to help you keep your system cool.

However, there are two reasons why you may choose to upgrade your cooling system:

1. To keep your computer components cooler, which in return extend their lifespan and allows you to overclock to higher speed.
2. To keep your system silent, as the stock cooling can get noisy at times, especially during prolonged gaming sessions.

Alternatives:

1. Cpu Cooler: If you have any intention of overclocking, I cannot stress enough the importance of a good cooler.The ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm CPU Cooler offers the best value regarding performance for the price.
2. Thermal Compound: Use the ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound either with the stock cooler or better, with the upgraded CPU cooler to lower your CPU temperatures further more. For $8, this is a wise investment.
3. Case cooling: You can add up to two additional 120 mm fans in the Cooler Master Elite 310, one in the front (Requires removal of front panel) and one on the side. At least adding one on the side will help keep your video card cool, but the best is to get two. If you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind a bit of noise at 29.3 dBA, the Rosewill 120mm Case Fan is a good choice.
   Go for the Scythe 120mm “Slipstream” Case Fan if you’re looking for a higher-quality, more silent fan. This particular model is relatively silent at only 24dBA.

Sound Card: 8 channels sound card: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this sound card will handle many different sound setups, including headphones, a microphone and more. While integrated audio on a PC used to be absolutely horrible, it has gotten much better in the last few years, thus why I have no trouble recommending it.

Network: Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this network adapter will allow you to access your local network and Internet.

Recommended operating systems:

The operating system cost, if there’s one, is not included in the total cost. The two reason for this are:

1. The budget only considers hardware.
2. You may be able re-use a previous license, go with an open-source OS such as Linux or , if you’re so inclined and are aware of what you’re doing, use torrents.

If you decide that you need a need OS, here are some recommendations:

Windows 7

Despite Linux gaining more and more support, Windows still is the platform of choice for compatibility at the moment. Considering that you’ll have 4GB of RAM or more, along with a dedicated video that also has memory (512MB or 1GB), you’ll need a 64-bit version, as 32-bit is limited to 4GB of memory for the entire system, which is not enough now, nor in the future if you decide to upgrade.

Windows 7 is by far better than Windows Vista, looks better, more functional, less annoying, consumes less resources and brings DirectX 11 to the table.

Three Available Versions:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium: The basic edition, with all the looks, most of the functionality and DirectX 11.
2. Windows 7 Professional: If you want the virtual XP mode, you’ll need at least the Professional edition. Also required if you want to backup to a network, using the built-in backup mode in Windows.
3. Windows 7 Ultimate: To help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker and to work and switch between 35 languages.

OEM vs Retail:

The OEM version allows you to only install it once on a computer. You cannot transfer the license to another computer in the future and you do not receive support from Microsoft. It’s the same type of license you get when you get Windows on a desktop or laptop that you buy from Dell, HP and such. It’s less expensive, but gives less flexibility. Ideal if you intend on keeping your computer for many years.

The Retail version is the full version, which allows you to transfer the license to another computer in the future and you can call Microsoft if you need any form of support. Ideal if you intend on upgrading/changing your computer down the road.

Other than that, you get the same features on both, only the license differs. The price between the two differs obviously.

OEM Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM – $105
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM – $140
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit OEM – $175

Retail Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail – $184
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail – $275
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail – $292

Linux

A lot of people these days boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and have fun! For Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, and Mandrake, try Distrowatch.com, Cheapbytes.com, LinuxQuestions.org or one of the many others.

While Linux does not offer the wide compatibility of Windows with video games, gaming on Linux is still possible, through projects such as Wine, Cedega and Crossover. For more on the topic of Linux Gaming, I invite you to read this excellent article from AnandTech: Linux Gaming: Are we there yet?

What about Word processing, Excel and other Windows-based programs that you need? Linux being an open platform, there are many free alternatives that will answer your needs. For Word/Excel and such, try OpenOffice.

Cost: Free

Conclusion

What do you think of this 1.1 version of the $500 Gaming PC?

What about the new Gaming PC layout?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Building this system?

Do you need a guide on how to build a computer or do you have some questions?
Consult our: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

Finally, if your newly built computer won’t start, I invite you to read Help me: Why won’t my newly assembled PC start or boot?

Don’t miss the new/updates to the Gaming PCs!

Make sure not to miss the next Gaming PC Builds that will be published in the next days/weeks by subscribe for free via RSS or E-mail. If the fact that you’ll be receiving outstanding custom Gaming PC designs for free is not enough to convince you, here are 7 Reasons to Subscribe.