[Build Help] Low-budget casual gaming/Hackintosh rig
Currently on a MacBook Pro that's about to kick the bucket. Looking for a (very) low-budget machine that I'll use as a Hackintosh for everyday computing and a standard Win 7 64-bit gaming box to hold me over before I go deep-$$$ on a serious machine. Let me know what you think. First build; experience with upgrades/tinkering.
Monitor, keyboard, mouse are covered. I'm going low-ball on HDD and RAM because I can upgrade those when the time comes. Have a arsenal of external HDDs to cover media storage for the short-to-mid-term. Want to go MicroATX due to desk/office space.
Main question/concern revolves around MoBo/Case/CPU/Video Card compatibility/general goodness.
Much thanks in advance.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i3-560 3.33Ghz Dual-Core Processor | $119.99 @ Best Buy |
| Motherboard | ASRock H55M-LE Micro ATX LGA1156 Motherboard | $67.98 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory | $21.49 @ NCIX US |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $47.99 @ Compuvest |
| Video Card | Zotac GeForce GT 520 1GB Video Card | $39.99 @ Microcenter |
| Case | Inwin Dragon Slayer MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $68.98 @ Newegg |
| Power Supply | Logisys 350W Micro ATX Power Supply | $19.99 @ Mwave |
| Optical Drive | Lite-On iHAS224-06 DVD/CD Writer | $20.99 @ SuperBiiz |
| Total | ||
| Prices include shipping and discounts when available. | $407.40 |
Posted Jun 24, 2012, 3:17 AM UTC · edited