Custom PC

[MonkeyBum]

Hey there,
I *think* this is the right place to plonk this, but not too sure.

Basically, I'd like to build my own pc, but one that can play games reasonably, stuff like GTA and driving games

However, I've not the faggiest idea what to do, or what to get. I have a general idea on how to plug it all in, but thats about it !

So, can anyone reccomend the components I need, needs to be as cheap as possible really...

Thanks!

[GuruJockStrap]

Really need a budget to work with mate.

Tell us the maximum you're prepared to pay and then guys can come in and spec a PC for you.

[MonkeyBum]

Hmm, well I don't really know what's reasonable.

About, £400, £350?

[Rohan]

Check out the sticky thread "Building A Gaming Rig - A Living Document" to get you started.


For a basic gaming rig you're probably looking at a minimum of about £500-£600


If you're only playing stuff like GTA then you might not need the latest greatest graphics or CPU. But if you want it to last a while then that's the minimum budget you'd be looking at.

[MonkeyBum]

Thanks, I had a look, is everything on there what I need?

[mike_w]

If I were to build a machine right now, this is what I would build:

CPU: Venice 3000+ or 3200+. They're cheap Athlon 64s, and at the moment, Athlon 64s are leading over Pentiums for gaming.

Motherboard: Something nForce4 based. I would personally go for the Abit AN8 (Ultra, if the budget will stretch). Plenty of overclocking potential, and a few nice features.

Graphics card: Plain X800 256MB or X800XL, whichever the budget allows for.

Hard drives: Seagate. I like Seagate, especially with their five year warranty.

Memory: Just a couple of sticks of Corsair Value Select. You can get faster RAM for more money, but I personally think the price premium is too high for a relatively small performance boost from tighter timings. Probably two 512MB sticks, due to a relatively small budget, otherwise two 1GB sticks.

Case: Beantech Igloo. Light, well made, good cooling and relatively cheap (for aluminium.)

PSU: Tagan 480W. Don't try and save money on the PSU - it could end in tears (or, in the case of Q-Tecs, flames). A lower rated PSU would probably do the job, but you can future proof yourself more by buying higher rated PSUs. A PSU could last longer than other component in your machine.

[Rohan]

Here's what you can get for roughly £400:

AMD Athlon 64 3000 32/64Bit CPU S939 "Venice" 90nm Retail inc Heat Sink Fan £101.40
1Gb 2x512Mb Corsair, DDR400/PC3200,128Mx64, non-ECC, 184 DIMM, unbuffered, CL2.5, Lifetime Warranty £69.33
Sapphire ATI X800 GT 256Mb GDDR3 PCI-E Retail £111.63
400W XClio-SCF aPFC Super Silent (21Db) £29.36
80Gb Hitachi (IBM/HGST) Deskstar 7K80 (7200rpm,8MB) - SATAII NCQ £39.91
Asrock 939 DUAL-SATA2 (939) ULIM1695 Dual core +8x AGP PCI-E £48.12
Add a case for about £30

Total: £431.50

All available from scan (except for the motherboard) so shipping will be free.

[kalniel]

Also is it just the base unit that you need? Can you skimp a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc from somewhere else? Ditto floppy drive, cd/DVD etc?

[MonkeyBum]

Yeah, just the base I need.

I've been looking around (mainly on ebuyer), and it looks best if I started with a barebones, obviously because i'm a "noob", will this be easier, or should I just start from complete scratch?

[MonkeyBum]

I presume the barebones would limit your choices somewhat, but I'd say if you can find a barebones that works for you go for it. (says the guy who's closet thing to an upgrade was taking a Windows 95 from 64 to 95mb Ram)

Lol,

Well this looked kool, dunno if its reccomended or not though...

[MonkeyBum]

Ah okay, whats so wrong with Intel btw, I've never understood why AMD are so king

[MonkeyBum]

Ah okay, thanks, much clearer now

[skuzgib]

AMD also beat similarly priced pentium 4s in gaming.

[unrealuniverse]

See, told you, now the bigger nerds are coming....

are you showing off

[nvening]

AMD A64 is more popular as it is better at gaming and runs cooler than Pentium4.

However, pentium4 is better at video encoding, but your rig is for games so thats not really the point.

For a while it was because A64 was 64bit but now both are.

I would get

Motherboard: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=222685
£53

CPU
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=217038
£133

GPU
Sapphire ATI X800 GT 256Mb GDDR3 PCI-E Retail £111.63
Where from?

PSU
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=179312
£63

sos i got board

[unrealuniverse]

it looks like it wasting your life finding parts and prices