HELP! Building a gaming rig

[ShoCk]

Hi guys,

Well basically im building a gaming PC and after saving for ages ive got £900 to spend on it. As its for gaming im looking at AMD and also i really want a 7800GT But im not sure what mobo to go for or cooling and stuff and i was hoping u guys could help me out. £900 is the maximum price!
Could you guys list what sort of spec i would need and also some good cases that i could use that are Silver/black.

[PCuser21]

You could make a RAW power gaming pc there. I just built a PC for 600 with a Asus A8n SLi deluxe MOBO, 1GB value RAM and a digimate 19" TFT . I'm also getting a 6800gt and another one next year whne it starts getting slow You could probably get a
AMD X2 3800+-250
Asus A8n SLi deluxe-100
7800GT-270
Corsair value RAM-80
These are alll estimate prices, but are close enough. Alotoghter, about 700, and buy a 200 quid 19" TFT which is 900 and if you dont wanna go over 900, you could downgrade to a 17" which is still good
hope that helped

[ShoCk]

thanks

ok, so far i have:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ = £235
ASUS A8N-SLI = £89
GeForce 7800GT = £255
1Gb Corsair value RAM = £65
17" TFT monitor = £167

which makes a total of: £811

i dont need a keyboard or mouse, but i need a case, PSU and fans for about £80 leaving me wiv some change any ideas or suggestions welcomed. thnks

[Zaneblade]

the Arctic Cooling Silentium T1 Full ATX Midi Tower with 350W PSU is about £60 depending on were you look....

the Antec SUPER LANBOY Aluminium Mini Tower Case is nice and im quite sure it is nice and small

[Mafney]

You could try and squeeze a 7800 GTX.

As for cooling, maybe a CoolRiver Deluxe watercooling system.
Its designed for people who are "begginers" at watercooling so its all set up, you just need to install it. It should have a manual so it shouldn't prove too difficult.

[Lu-tze]

Are you not needing a hdd, optical drive, floppy, OS then?

The 3800 is a nice chip, but if you need the above and have to cut spending, then i think the 3700 or 3500 are still good choices, particularly for a gaming computer.

Get a cheap case like a coolermaster centurion 530/thermaltake soprano, and a 400-460W psu like the akasa or tagan. it will cost more obviously, but you wont have any issues for power that you might have with an inexpensive 350W.

I'd probably use the hsf that comes with the cpu, or buy a cheap one like the arctic cooling freezer 64. And get one or two akasa amber case fans. These will provide ample cooling and you can always upgrade to water-cooling later down the line when you have more money.

[Nox]

You could also get a larger CRT instead of the TFT if space permits.

Nox

[ArmagoN]

What HDD, DVD-ROM drive you using???

[Reaps]

1Gb Corsair value RAM = £65

Tbh, i would go for the geil value as they have a bit of oc'ing room with the default timings... each to their own though.

[arthurleung]

1GB will be probably going to limit your system performance. You also have chosen a monitor too small to use your GPU efficiently.

You will not need anything greater than a 6800GT for a 17" monitor. 80 quids is barely enough to cover the PSU and the case.

[sawyen]

a proper Tagan will set u off £60... that leaves you with £20 for a case... what?!

Unless you really fancy using ur motherboard box as a case, you'll need to kill some luxury.. maybe a 3200+ Venice would have been more than enough..

and yea, you won't need a 7800s for a 17''.. its really overkill. 6800GT or X800XL would be more appropriate for those gaming res.

[ShoCk]

Thanks guys for all the help

ok here goes:

AMD Athlon 64 3700 San Deigo = £185.80
Asus A8n SLi deluxe = £101.04
GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB = £229.98
1Gb Corsair Value = £78.85
DiamondMax 80Gb = £34.22
Sharp LL-173C-B 17" TFT =£151.77
ATX Gaming Case with 500W PSU = £54.99
Sound Blaster 7.1 24-Bit =£16.39

Total price =£852.84

Please tell me if i am missing anything or if you can get cheaper prices elsewhere. I have a CD and floppy drive at home.

Also, do i have 2 buy seperate USB2 and firewire cards? How does that work?
All help much appreciated. Thanks.

[Lu-tze]

you wont need seperate USB2 and firewire cards as they'll be incorporated into the motherboard.

[sawyen]

ATX Gaming Case with 500W PSU = £54.99

How much would that PSU cost as a fraction of 55 quids? 15 maybe? I'm telling you, that 500W will probably have weaker rails than a 300W... You really need to get a good PSU.. I'm sure many people here will vouch that claim..
that IF you're lucky enough to not get a QTec PSU built in.. if you did, good luck man..

EDIT: Also, drop that Ultra and get a 6800GT instead... really... that 40 quid is not worth it.. GT ---> Ultra speeds is as easy as chips with green peas..

[ed^chigliak]

That 500W rating for the PSU/Case combo could easily be a maximum load & not the rated output it can sustain. You should avoid it.

It's VERY important you know the PSU is good. Trouble shooting random problems is a complete mare and in the end you end up owning 1 naff cheap PSU in the bottom of your cupboard and 2nd decent PSU for your PC costing you more in the long run.

If you want cheap but adequate case look at the original gaming bomb case on scan for £20 and then get yourself 400w+ PSU like seasonic, enermax, tagan, antec etc

You could pick up an akasa, thermaltake, fortron PSU for £40ish and then £40 for the case there is some decent stuff around. Antec SLK3000B £34 springs to mind at ocuk

EDIT: I would go 7800GT for the simple reason it is more efficient design. The power consumption is less than a 6800GT. That means less heat = less cooling = less noise.

[sawyen]

That 500W rating for the PSU/Case combo could easily be a maximum load & not the rated output it can sustain. You should avoid it.

It's VERY important you know the PSU is good. Trouble shooting random problems is a complete mare and in the end you end up owning 1 naff cheap PSU in the bottom of your cupboard and 2nd decent PSU for your PC costing you more in the long run.

If you want cheap but adequate case look at the original gaming bomb case on scan for £20 and then get yourself 400w+ PSU like seasonic, enermax, tagan, antec etc

You could pick up an akasa, thermaltake, fortron PSU for £40ish and then £40 for the case there is some decent stuff around. Antec SLK3000B £34 springs to mind at ocuk

EDIT: I would go 7800GT for the simple reason it is more efficient design. The power consumption is less than a 6800GT. That means less heat = less cooling = less noise.

Considering if your budget can fit, 7800GT would be sweet.... but if you only game at 1280x1024 and doesnt have that extra cash to spend.. 6800GT would be more than enuf.. Remember, PSU is the integral part of your system.. when it goes.. it will probably take the mobo with it as well.. think well and buy well.... not that we have anything against Homebrand 500W PSU... but are u willing to take the risk?