My Budget gaming PC Specs, opinions plz

[BoxxyBrown]

Hey everyone, I know ye get a lot of these threads but I thought i'd ask here for a few opinions anyway. I'm building a low costy gaming rig for myself (First time builder/third time dismantler). It doesn't have to be able to play the newest games at insane detail, just support my CS:S and DOW addictions at a high level. I've been using my Girlfriends insanely overpowered laptop for about a few months now and i want my own rig

A few notes, I do intend to overclock, but not for a while, so i'll get a 3rd party cooler later on. also, i'm in Ireland (Hence the euro, and getting cheap parts over here can be a nightmare.)

Also an embarssingly newbie question: can i take my windows XP (and office) off my old laptop and use it for my new pc. it kills me buying it again
anyway, here are the specs:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420, 2.13 GHz, 1066Mhz FSB,
4MB cache, Conroe: €170.59

VGA: Radeon X1950 Pro 512 MB, DDR3 PCI-E: €155.04

Motherboard: Gigabyte S775 Intel 965P ATX, DS3: €96.73

Hard-Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB S300 SATA: €77.63

Ram: Corsair Memory 2X1GB 240DIMM PC5300 DDR2: €64.22

PSU: Akasa Ultra Quiet Active PFC 400W, 12cm Fan: €60.65

Case: CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Black/Silver Case: €59.37

Optical Drive: Samsung DVD Rw/R/RAM+: €30.00

Operating System: Microsoft Win XP Home SP2B OEM: €81.72

Delivery €25.00
Total: €820.95
= 555 GBR Pounds

TIA

[Thorsson]

XP - Yes if it's retail; no if it's OEM. So probably not. Office - I see no reason why not if you have the original disks.

Memory - If you are ever going to overclock get PC6400. The cost isn't much more.
Optical - make sure you get a SATA drive.
PSU - Make sure it's got a 24-pin mobo power connector. It didn't used to have, but Akasa may have updated it.

[NightshadowUK]

Very good start.

I mirror everything Thorsson said plus:

Motherboard - Which 965P model have you chosen as there's quite a few?

Hard Drive - I'd recommend going with a Samsung drive, they're faster and quieter in most cases.

PSU - If you can pick up a 380W - 480W Seasonic / Tagan for a similar price I'd favour them over an Akasa unit.

[Blitzen]

PSU - If you can pick up a 380W - 480W Seasonic / Tagan for a similar price I'd favour them over an Akasa unit

The Seasonic would be OK but don't get the Tagan. Asaka units are better.

[NightshadowUK]

Have never used an Akasa so was just recommending what I know, although after having a gander on the ol' Google Blitzen's right - Akasa PSU's have a good rep.

[Thorsson]

The reason I didn't suggest Samsung was the fact that Seagate have a 5 year warranty. For someone on a tight budget that may be worth a bit of noise.

[p5-]

Suggestion on the motherboard, p35 seems to be the current way to go. The increase in memory bandwidth is worth it alone (not to mention penryn support). The GA-P35-DS3P is about the same price as it's older p965 counterpart.

[Thorsson]

Suggestion on the motherboard, p35 seems to be the current way to go. The increase in memory bandwidth is worth it alone (not to mention penryn support). The GA-P35-DS3P is about the same price as it's older p965 counterpart.

If he can get it at the same price I agree. Prices for both components seem to vary a fair bit, e.g. at Aria (where neither are in stock) they are around the same price, but on Amazon (where they are both in stock) the P35 board is double the price.

[shaithis]

I'd go for the E2160 instead...I wouldn't exactly call the E6600 a budget chip, the extra cache makes hardly any difference and they both overclock to roughly the same speeds...

[lodore]

hello,
i would change the case if i was you.
i currently have that case and the 80mm fan at the front was driving me insane.
try to find a cheap case with 120mm fans.
lodore

[Gunbuster]

Maybe an Akasa Zen to match that Akasa PSU? comes with two 120mm fans.

[BoxxyBrown]

Hey thanks for all the responses.

regarding the PSU, I have learned from a lot of places that Akasa is a pretty reliable brand, the specs say there is a 24 pin connector, and it definitely seems the best value for money

THe DVD writer is SATA,just forgot to put it down. I was actually concerned about the RAM, i will take your advice and upgrade a little, even though I'm not quite sure how to Overclock RAM.

The Seagate Drive seems to give best GB per euro for my budget, and honestly noise isn't a factor for me, as i'm the kind of guy who's got music going 24/7. Also, i" know there are cheaper C2D's than the E6420, but even though it is a budget rig, i want at least few few quality parts (esp. the CPU and VGA).

regarding the motherboard I chose it because apparebtky it has good overclocking potential. I looked up the P35 in a few places and the cheapest i could find was about 35 euros dearer. the seem quite similar (for an undemanding user like me anyway). I may upgrade though, s the perrformance benefit dramatic or wot?

this is a link to my currently chosen mobo: http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?...de=1&InMerch=1

[lost eden]

Hard Drive - I'd recommend going with a Samsung drive, they're faster and quieter in most cases.

Recommending a Spinpoint over a Barracuda? That's crazy! IMHO you won't buy a better drive than a Barracuda, especially with that 5-year warranty. I've had a couple of drives fail on me in my time, from Maxtor & Samsung but never from Seagate.

[NightshadowUK]

It's not crazy.

SpinPoints have better read / write speeds, load games faster, and are quieter.

Barracudas have better average access / seek times and two years extra warrantly.

Neither white-washes the other, it just depends on what your priorities in a hard drive are.

[Andy3536]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=605376
I have this mobo, surly £70 is not much more than €100 Not that familiar with exchange rate though.

[BoxxyBrown]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=605376
I have this mobo, surly £70 is not much more than €100 Not that familiar with exchange rate though.

Its only E105 , problem is that delivery from Scan is about 50 euro, so scan is right out.

goddamn for some reason my keyboard is stuck on US english and it wont save when i change to UK english. grrrr....