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I along with many other people struggle to get money for gaming, thus I want a cheap alternative. Here is my guide on how to get a great gaming PC for under $800.

To accomplish this, you will need a little knowledge on how to build a computer, but most components come with an install manual and if you have troubles, call your local computer shop and they will usually give you some advice over the phone.

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The best way to shop for computer parts is definitely online. You will get the best prices on all of these items by using places like eBay and smaller computer shop’s online stores.

Other places to buy computer parts at good prices are places like Computer Markets and Local Swap meets. I would also recommend checking out all your local computer shops, they usually have good prices on the more common parts.

Well, the first thing to think about is all of the parts you will need.

• Case
• Motherboard
• CPU
• RAM
• Hard drive
• Video card
• CD/DVD Drive
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Monitor (screen)
• Speakers
• Headset

The things you don’t want to scrimp on would be the video card and the CPU.

Well, first things first. 

Case - $90.00

A nice cheap plain one off eBay will do the trick nicely, because face it, who is going to care what your tower looks like, and you will most likely have it tucked away anyway. eBay link. As you can see, this tower is packaged with a Power Source, eliminating the need to purchase one.

The Total for this item, delivered is $90, this leaves us with $710.

Motherboard - $82.01

Now, the things you will want in a motherboard for a good gaming PC are:

• The ability to accept DDR2 Ram
• PCI Express slots for the latest Video Cards
• And most importantly, to be able to accept a good CPU

I would recommend getting a well known brand of motherboard. An Intel, Gigabyte, Asus or Asrock (The budget branch of Asus) will do the job nicely. I would recommend a Gigabyte GA-VM900M as they are reliable and relatively cheap. A great place to get these is from over at PC Meal.

The Price is $71.01 + $11 postage, leaving us with $627.99.

CPU - $99.90

A Dual Core is necessary for running a good gaming PC, and they are getting cheaper and cheaper. Link here. The postage is free if packaged with the motherboard, which is an added bonus.

The Price is $99.90, leaving us with $528.09.

RAM - $69.00

I love to have RAM, and lots of it. DDR2 Ram is what you want these days, and for gaming, I would recommend at least 1 GB of Kingston ValueRAM.

Kingston ValueRAM products are engineered to meet industry standard specifications and rigorously tested to ensure quality. Kingston ValueRAM is ideal for those who purchase memory by spec and are looking for competitively priced generic memory that is 100-percent tested to meet industry specifications. Get this from PLE.com.au

The Price of the RAM being $69, leaving us with $459.09

Hard Drive - $66.00

For gaming, you will want at least 120 GB, but 160-320 GB is preferred. Also, make sure it is SATA. For this fine piece of technology, we go back to our friends at PC Meal. They do a mighty fine price on a 160 GB, this will suffice. The postage is free as we are still under 11kgs.

So, with the cost being $66, leaves us with $393.09. 

Video Card - $137.95

I have been really happy with my 512mb 8500gt PCI-E card. This will play all the latest games, and a bit more! You can get these nice and cheap off eBay and I recommend this seller/item. eBay link.

With the cost being $137.95, this leaves us with $255.14.

CD/DVD Drive - $48.00

I will be brief here, this one below is good, cheap and has a good Samsung warranty. eBay link

The cost is $48, leaving us with $207.14.

Keyboard and Mouse - $57.75

PC Meal $28.60

PC Meal $29.15

Total Cost is $57.75 leaving us with $149.39.

Monitor - $50

You can usually pick up 19” CRT Monitors for $50 in the newspaper. I would recommend doing this if you are on a tight budget. Another place you can look is local swap-meets or second hand stores such as Cash-Converters. A lot of schools are upgrading to LCD monitors at the moment and are selling off old monitors very cheap as well. You could try ringing around to some schools in your area to find out, but your best bet would be your newspaper.

So, a 19” CRT costs about $50, leaving us with $99.39

Speakers and Headset - $97.89

I quite like the Logitech R-20 speakers, the sound quality is exceptional. They are a great price on our beloved eBay eBay link I would also recommend a Logitech Headset. They have great sound quality and they have a good quality microphone in them. The ones listed below are equipped with a noise canceling microphone and are a good price. eBay link

The cost of the speaker system is $48.90 and the cost of the headset is $48.99, leaving us with a whopping $1.50.

www.ebay.com.au

Thousands of sellers selling the same thing make for a competitive market.

When buying on eBay, be sure to check the feedback rating of a seller. If they only have one or two feedback, be very cautious, but you should feel safer buying from power sellers or people with thousands of feedback.

www.pcmeal.com.au

Pc Meal is a recent discovery of mine. They have great prices and their weekly specials are amazing. I am upgrading my computer at the moment, and I know a lot of my parts will be coming from there!

www.ple.com.au

They have 2 shops in WA, but they have an online store and have cheap shipping. They will ship Australia wide, and be sure to keep an eye on their weekly specials. They once had G-15 Keyboards for $78 delivered.

www.pcvelocity.com.au

These guys have some parts cheap, but the best thing about them is the service. They will help you with anything, even if it was not purchased from them.

Conclusion

Be sure to check out your local computer shop’s website as well. The clearance items at most places are extra cheap and are still brand new!

And that, is how to make a good gaming computer for under $800