Budget Gaming PC spec..

[BlueMagician]

Hello to all!

I'm looking for some advice regarding budget PC games systems. I want to build half a dozen or more systems to create a mini LAN gaming lounge at our school, for our borders to chill out with during the evening.

In terms of basic PC spec, I was thinking something like:

* ASUS M2N4-SLI NF4 SLI
* AMD AM2 Athlon 64 3500 Orleans Core, 2.2GHz
* 1GB Corsair XMS2, DDR2 PC6400 (800)
* 80 Gb Seagate ST380811AS Barracuda 7200.9
* Samsung Black 16x DVD-ROM + 40x CD-ROM IDE £10.39 £12.21
* Scan 3XS '2012' 4 in1 Kit. Black/Silver inc Keyb/Mouse/Speakers ATX Midi Tower 400W Passive PFC PSU
* Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 OEM Single

What really bakes my noodle, is graphics cards. It's been a while since I bought a graphics card, and when I did, it was high end I was aiming for. I haven't got a clue what gives the best value for money in at the budget end these days. 6 series, 7 series, GS or non blah blah?

I'll be using on-board sound, and probably 17" CRTs @ 1024x768 or 1280 x 1024, but of course I want them to game at the highest res possible and give them the best experience I can, but I have to draw the line somewhere.


Can anyone add to this, or point me in a different direction entirely?
Is is gonna be better at this range in the budget just to get a shedload of XB360's with cheap TFT's and LAN them all together??

Thank you very much in advance,
S.

[Ferral]

For the graphics I would say go for the mid range 7 series but get the GT card, they tend to be quite powerful. Still using my XFX 6600 GT AGP card and it still runs most things fine

[BlueMagician]

For the graphics I would say go for the mid range 7 series but get the GT card...

Hmm.. It seems the XFX 7600GT card comes in at under £100, which is nice..

What do you think would give the best return: £50 spent going from 512MiB to 1024MiB system RAM, or £50 put towards a better GFX card?


Thanks,
S.

[chuckskull]

7600GT is about the best mid-range card. Depends on your budget really. A gig of RAM is bare minimum now too.

[Ferral]

Yeah definately 1 Gb of ram minimum now. Anything less and you will notice some major performance drops.

[BlueMagician]

Okies, thanks for that! What do you think of the overall spec? I figured I could probably save ~ £40 per seat by using an older socket technology, but would shoot myself in the foot for upgrading.

Does anyone have experience of the cheaper cases/psu's? That Scan deal including a '400 watt' PSU seems very good value for money!

S.

[IBM]

Using XP Pro just to help networking? Does XP Home not do all you need it to do?

[BlueMagician]

Using XP Pro just to help networking? Does XP Home not do all you need it to do?

Good call, but unfortunately these machines will also be 'serious *cough* work machines' for when the ICT suites are full, so they will need to join our curriculum domain.

S.

[Clunk]

Does anyone have experience of the cheaper cases/psu's? That Scan deal including a '400 watt' PSU seems very good value for money!

S.

Never scrimp on a psu for a gaming pc, you will only end up buying 2 or more.

[nvening]

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...id=44&rstrat=0

And 7600GT with GB is the best plan for def

[BlueMagician]

Thanks for all this guys.. I'll slap up a proposal and let you know how I got on when I hear more. I want to get these kids out of their dorms with their shoddy laptops, and give them a taste of a real LAN gaming environment.

The Director Of Finance said he'd never seen me so enthusiastic.
I've been working there for nearly 7 years.
Says it all really..


Cheers,
S.

[jackvdbuk]

why not try to find a load of x1800xt's? there very cheap now look around, still a good performer