Cheap build? ~£200

Well, mate needs a new pc as his is ancient now!. Looking to play games like aion, so doesnt need to be a god like pc but good enough for future games.
Havent got a budget(yet) so cheapest possible is what im looking for, so far i got this:

Amd x245- £46
Asus M4A785D-M PRO, AMD 785G- £57
4gb pc6400- Where from? Its like £60!!
Ati 4850/5000 series(depending on price)- ~£70
Case- Might use old one or will buy cheap £30
PSU: Dont know what he has but its a dell so possibly 300w? New PSu in order do you think?
Hard drive: He has some IDE drives but may grab one sata cheap secondhand or if budget allows,new.

I dont know where to cut corners but secondhand maybe an option tbh. Any ideas would be appreciated, especially in cutting the costs down!.

I would most definitely get a newer PSU!!

This is what I would aim for:

400W Silverpower PSU ~ £31

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...ed-cooling-fan

OR

430W Antec PSU ~ £31

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/430W-...asiq-Power-PSU

AMD Athlon II X2 240 ~ £44

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...che-65W-Retail

Sapphire 52025-00-40R ~ £39

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sapph...-RAID-uATX-VGA

4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 ~ £65

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143803

HD4830 512mb ~ £57

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...DP512MD3A.html

The total comes to around £236.

Antec Basiq PSUs are not of the same high standard as most other Antec PSUs (there still reasonable, but not as good). It might be worth considering the Antec Earthwatts 380 as an alternative.

Otherwise (as usual) it's very hard to fault CAT's suggested build :D

Perhaps try stretch to a X4 620, or 785G board and a 5000+ for quad unlocking?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by arthurleung

Perhaps try stretch to a X4 620, or 785G board and a 5000+ for quad unlocking?

---

Regarding the 5000+ check this post:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...ilable-uk.html

Also check this thread for a bargain motherboard for around £35 which supports unlocking:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...therboard.html

It is out of stock at Scan ATM and is the cheapest motherboard so far I have seen to support unlocking!

RAM look 2nd hand 4x2gb even if it's 2 sets of 2x1gb
Although 2x1gb should be ok if you can keep windows clean

2nd hand can get you some decent stuff but you have to hunt for it and need to be patient.
Keep one eye on the Hexus for sale section at all times ;)

BTW,the Silverpower 400W should do the job as I know it can power an HD4850 without any issues. As Pob255 says look for some secondhand RAM. You can then put the money saved into an X2 545.

Ahhh but is that the right silverpower?

Where you thinking of the Seasonic 400w silverpower?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...2V-6Serial-ATA
Which is very good but £12 more

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pob255

Ahhh but is that the right silverpower?

Where you thinking of the Seasonic 400w silverpower?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...2V-6Serial-ATA
Which is very good but £12 more

---

The one you have mentioned is a better model which I think is made by Seasonic. The unit I mentioned is a cheaper unit but I know watforddude uses this unit with his HD4850 and everything seems fine. The unit itself has had good reviews and I have used one myself in a budget build before and it is surprisingly well made for the price and quite heavy too. I would have recommended the 400W OCZ stealthxstream but Ebuyer have no stock at the moment.

While the min specs for Aion are
Minimum Specs:

CPU Pentium 4 2.0GHz
RAM 1G
Graphics Card GeForec FX 5600
Video Memory of 128MB 3D accleration required
DirectX 9.0 or higher

it's actually fairly graphicly intensive for an MMO if you turn all the settings on.
A lot will depend on screen size, for anything 19" or under that 4830 should be fine and you'll be hard pressed/lucky to find cheaper even 2nd hand (on fleabay)
a 8800gt cost me £52 on fleabay 2 months back and the 4830 is roughtly as fast.
unless prices have changed
However at the same time I got 4x1gb OZC reaper pcs-6400 for my self cost me £35 :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

The one you have mentioned is a better model which I think is made by Seasonic. The unit I mentioned is a cheaper unit but I know watforddude uses this unit with his HD4850 and everything seems fine. The unit itself has had good reviews and I have used one myself in a budget build before and it is surprisingly well made for the price and quite heavy too. I would have recommended the 400W OCZ stealthxstream but Ebuyer have no stock at the moment.

---

That's why I said are you sure.
The only reviews I've seen are for the seasonic model not this other one, I recogon it should cope though.

If the budget can be raised a small amount the advantage of going for a better unit would be higher efficiency.

Hence decent 400W units within the £30 to £40 price range are:
1.)OCZ stealthxstream 400W
2.)Corsair CX400W
3.)FSP Blue Storm II 400W

The 400W Silverpower SP-SS-400 is around £44 and the 500W version is only a few quid more!! :confused:
There is also the Corsair HX450W and the 500W versions of the OCZ stealthxstream and modxtstream PSU for a few quid more.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Also check this thread for a bargain motherboard for around £35 which supports unlocking:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...therboard.html

It is out of stock at Scan ATM and is the cheapest motherboard so far I have seen to support unlocking!

---

In stock at Microdirect for £41 - but their specs list SB700 / SB710, so it might be worth phoning them first to check which their stock is (from memory this motherboard can come with either fitted, and if it's got the SB700 it won't unlock anything!).

I think i have read that the company which makes the silver power PSU makes seasonic PSU's

Other way around, Sliverpower is owned by MAXPoint who also own Tagan (and xcilo I think)
Some of these silverpower psu's are made by tagan but they also commisioned seasonic to make some.
Seasonic is one of the relatively small number of actual psu manufactors.
others are
FSP (Forttron Source Power)
CWT (Chanwell technology)
Tagan
Evermax
Delta
HEC
PC Power & cooling (now owned by OCZ, not sure what's happening there)

Most of these actual manufactors make PSUs for rebranding and to spec
Rebranding can be just sticking a different companies sticker on a unit or simular cosmetic changes.
Made to spec means they work with another company who want the units, normally taking and exsisting design and changing componentents within it.