Cheapo gaming rig, perhaps

[Mattbot2]

Might be building myself a cheapo gaming rig. Still not sure though. Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

Any good?

Already got;

Vista Business 64bit (Woot MSDNAA)
Samsung SM2032MW 20" 1680x1050 screen
Logitech X-230 2.1 stereo speakers

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would spend a bit more and get at least a 8800gt/9800gt:

http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?P...&_s_icmp=ho014

For around £20 more you are getting a great card.I would also go for one of the 640gb Samsung or Western Digital hard drives too as these are supposed to be faster. I would get a different mouse though as the RX1000 does not have enough buttons. I have the LX710 desktop which has the LX7 mouse which is basically a wireless RX1000 with more buttons.The RX1500 maybe a good budget choice:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145247

[Mattbot2]

I would spend a bit more and get at least a 8800gt/9800gt:

http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?P...&_s_icmp=ho014

I would also go for For around £20 more you are getting a great card.Apart from that your build looks solid although I would go with a Western Digital or Samsung hard disk.

I'm really on quite a tight budget, want to keep it cheap. From what i've seen in reviews, the 9600GT will do me fine. I don't need everything maxed out, i'm perfectly happy playing a game on medium - low settings. Also, Maxtor recently got bought out by Seagate i believe, and since then their failure rates have been much lower.

Thanks for taking the time to give some advice!

[Webby]

I would change/add a couple of things if it was me,

Hard drive I would rather get a WD or Samsung over Maxtor personal preference the samsung 640GB drive is £43.50 and very fast and quiet.

And I would add an after market CPU cooler the Xigmatek HDT-963 is on today only (in the super specials section) for £11.74 which is a bargain, will keep the CPU much cooler than the stock cooler and be quieter about it as well!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I'm really on quite a tight budget, want to keep it cheap. From what i've seen in reviews, the 9600GT will do me fine. I don't need everything maxed out, i'm perfectly happy playing a game on medium - low settings. Also, Maxtor recently got bought out by Seagate i believe, and since then their failure rates have been much lower.

Thanks for taking the time to give some advice!

I have an HD3870 which is around the same performance level as a 9600gt. I usually game at 1280x800 or 1440x900. You should be able to run Crysis Warhead at 1280x800 on gamer settings(second from highest) at least in XP. I assume that XP is not available on MSDNAA anymore??

I would really change the mouse though!!The lack of buttons on the RX1000 would be annoying even for normal usage IMHO as a mate has one of these! There are even no backward or forward buttons!! You can get an MX518 for just under £20 which is a good gaming mouse:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?W...ttons%2c+Black

The Logitech RX1500 also seems good value too.

[staffsMike]

I'd mirror what Webby is saying. The build itself is very reasonable though

I've never trusted maxtor having had too many faliure or Seagate for the same reason but less so.

Let us know what you think of the PSU, I'm interested to see how it fairs

[spoon_]

You're really on VERY tight budget there, god £360 pounds only?

[Andy3536]

I can actually save you some money (if you want)
RC-330 case comes with a 460W PSU. It won't be as good as the corsair but is more than enough for what your using.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101

Saved £10

Ok so it's not all that much but every little helps on a budget (slaps back pocket)

[Mattbot2]

You're really on VERY tight budget there, god £360 pounds only?

Yes...

I can actually save you some money (if you want)
RC-330 case comes with a 460W PSU. It won't be as good as the corsair but is more than enough for what your using.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101

Yeah, I'm still weighing up the odds of scan vs ebuyer.

[Hicks12]

Id say change the Hard drive if YOU want performance, i have only just had an 80gb maxtor fail after a good 6 years(atleast) and i think it was due to electric discharge or something so wasnt its fault. Id be a bit safer with a western digital 640GB AAKS for like £43 which an extremely quiet and fast drive.
9600GT is a great card, not worth jumping to the 8800GT if you cant afford it(or the 9800GT).

And I would add an after market CPU cooler the Xigmatek HDT-963 is on today only (in the super specials section) for £11.74 which is a bargain, will keep the CPU much cooler than the stock cooler and be quieter about it as well!

Is the 92mm fan near the same sound levels as the 120mm version? im getting a HSF but currently have a arctic 7 so would it be an improvement in both sound and performance?

[staffsMike]

I'd say it would almost certainly be as it's both a better heatsink and almost certainly a quieter fan but it is also very easy to change on that heatsink I believe so you could always change it later.

[Hicks12]

Well i think ill go with that unless there are better £10 ones? Anything i need tobuy for it? crossbow bolt kit and what thermal paste? arctic 5? anything else lol.

Thanks and sorry for hijacking the thread.

[staffsMike]

Nothing better for less than £20 i'd say.

It comes with paste but whether it's good or not I don't know. Crossbow is nice but I doubt you really need it.

[Hicks12]

Well crossbow is £3 and arctic 5 is £5, need to get something for a few quid to get free postage so any suggestions? is it wise putting another fan on it? so a pull and push affect if so what clips would i need?. Is there an item that can change a couple of 5" bays to hold an intake fan as i noticed i have only 2 intake fans with 4 out.

[Hicks12]

I just noticed its the 3 pipe version not the newer 4pipe, is there alot of difference? Reviews differ alot.

[Webby]

As far as I know you can only mount a single fan on it, it uses little rubber mounts which slide into a slot which is only on one side of the fins.

1 less heatpipe will not be to much of an issue as if i remember correctly with the 4 pipes the two edge ones were only half covered by the IHS anyway with only 3 I believe they will be completely covered by the IHS.