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Thread: Cheap gaming comp

  1. #1
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    • Hidden Hippo's system
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    Cheap gaming comp

    I've been set the challenge by a friend to build a decent gaming computer for ~£500. I've come up with two setups and was wondering what everyone thought was the best of the two. Both are based on a pretty similar system, with variations between processors/mobos and graphics cards.

    Here's the first

    E6300 - £124.54
    Abit AB9 - £82.24
    1GB Corsair Value Select - £84.59
    BFG 7600GS OC - £84.59
    Antec Black Quiet Midi Case w/ 400W PSU -£70.49
    Western Digital Caviar 160GB HDD - £42.49
    Sony DDU 1615 DVD ROM - £12.34
    Total - £501.28

    Here's the second:

    AMD X2 4200+ - 117.49
    DFI Infinity nF Ultrall-M2/G - £68.14
    1GB Corsair Value Select - £84.59
    Leadtek 7600GT - £105.75
    Antec Black Quiet Midi Case w/ 400W PSU -£70.49
    Western Digital Caviar 160GB HDD - £42.49
    Sony DDU 1615 DVD ROM - £12.34
    Total - £501.29

    Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
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    • DanceswithUnix's system
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    On the AMD rig I would drop the CPU down to a 3800, and spend the difference upgrading the 7600GT to a 7900GS. If fact, if the machine is aimed at gaming I would do whatever it took to up the graphics to at least a 7900GS as I think the 7600 is the gaming bottleneck.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Rack's Avatar
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    ^^ what he said. Or even a X1950Pro. 2G of RAM would be nice if you can find it cheap enough (unlikely tho I agree)

    I could only get it to £530 with a decent PSU, 2G of RAM and an X1950Pro.



    If you went skt 939 you'd probably find a cheap CPU and RAM 2nd hand. Even a bundle with motherboard from someone upgrading - I've seen that about a fair bit recently.

  4. #4
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    C2D system a little cheaper



    And under 600 with 2BG Ram

    Last edited by starbuck_; 15-12-2006 at 11:02 AM.

  5. #5
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
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    • DanceswithUnix's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus X470-PRO
      • CPU:
      • 3700X
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200MHz ECC
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Linux, 1TB Games (Win 10)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix RX Vega 56
      • PSU:
      • 650W Corsair TX
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Fedora 33 + Win 10 Pro 64 (yuk)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Benq XL2730Z 1440p + Iiyama 27" 1440p
      • Internet:
      • Zen 80Mb/20Mb VDSL
    That 3800 price was OEM, so a heatsink would have to be added. Still, if you dropped to single core retail 3200 (with heatsink) that would save over 30 quid and get you down to ~500. By the time enough games are supporting multi core to want that missing core, AMD would have released their new cpu with improved cache, SSE etc.

    Of course you are supposed to add a new Windows license in the mix as well unless you have a retail copy of Windows or you run Linux only, which seems unlikely on a games machine

  6. #6
    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    *cough*windows*cough*

  7. #7
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    • Hidden Hippo's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z68AP-D3
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500k (stock)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Corsair Ballistix 1600MHz
      • Storage:
      • 250GB WD Caviar
      • Graphics card(s):
      • HD4870 1GB
      • PSU:
      • Tagan TG530-U15 530W
      • Case:
      • Thermaltake Armour
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64-bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • BenQ FP241W
    Windows is the only problem at the moment, but I've narrowed down the hardware to:

    E6300, 1GB Corsair XMS2 PC5400, 7900GS, Gigabyte S3, Akasa Zen, Seasonic S12-430W, WD 160GB and an LG 16xDVD ROM drive. I expect it will be possible to get a copy of Windows OEM for under £50, so that hopefully won't be a problem.

  8. #8
    Tools are the subtlest of traps redsky009's Avatar
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      • Storage:
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      • Graphics card(s):
      • 1GB PowerColor HD4870
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 520W (modular)
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 532
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • NEC LCD2070NX (20", 1600x1200)
      • Internet:
      • 22Mb ADSL 2+
    Quote Originally Posted by Hidden Hippo View Post
    Windows is the only problem at the moment, but I've narrowed down the hardware to:

    E6300, 1GB Corsair XMS2 PC5400, 7900GS, Gigabyte S3, Akasa Zen, Seasonic S12-430W, WD 160GB and an LG 16xDVD ROM drive. I expect it will be possible to get a copy of Windows OEM for under £50, so that hopefully won't be a problem.
    Go for XP MCE for around £70 OEM (make sure you get one that comes with the Vista coupon) as that will stand you in better stead next year (i.e. Home premium over Home sh1te version(tm))

  9. #9
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    You're spending a lot on the ram. You should be able to get 1gb sticks for around 55 quid each if you wait for offers/wait for the price drop.

  10. #10
    a scumbag, arghhhh
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    Quote Originally Posted by redsky009 View Post
    Go for XP MCE for around £70 OEM (make sure you get one that comes with the Vista coupon) as that will stand you in better stead next year (i.e. Home premium over Home sh1te version(tm))
    yes make sure and buy a copy of windows, also one time i smoked weed but i didn't inhale.
    "The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorise, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save – the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour – your capital. The less you are, the less you express your own life, the more you have, the greater is your alienated life, the greater is the store of your estranged being." Karl Marx

  11. #11
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    • Hidden Hippo's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z68AP-D3
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500k (stock)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Corsair Ballistix 1600MHz
      • Storage:
      • 250GB WD Caviar
      • Graphics card(s):
      • HD4870 1GB
      • PSU:
      • Tagan TG530-U15 530W
      • Case:
      • Thermaltake Armour
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64-bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • BenQ FP241W
    The RAM isn't that expensive, the kit alone (link:http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=126737) only costs £69.96 with VAT, so it's not that bad. Plus, he'll be dual channeling that, rather than single which would be achieved with 1GB sticks (I doubt I could budget for 2 sticks).

    Why Windows MCE? Isn't it identical to Home/Pro except with some extra bloatware installed?

  12. #12
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    • kalniel's system
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      • Memory:
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      • PSU:
      • Seasonic 600W
      • Case:
      • Cooler Master HAF 912
      • Operating System:
      • Win 10 Pro x64
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      • Dell S2721DGF
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      • rubbish
    Ah yes, didn't see the price on that - better than the 84 in your earlier posts, good choice

  13. #13
    Tools are the subtlest of traps redsky009's Avatar
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    • redsky009's system
      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
      • Intel C2D E6600 @ 3.29 Ghz with Arctic Freezer Pro 7 cooling
      • Memory:
      • 4 GB Corsair Twin XMS 6400 (Cas 4)
      • Storage:
      • 320GB Seagate + 500GB WD (SATA 300, 7,200rpm)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 1GB PowerColor HD4870
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 520W (modular)
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 532
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • NEC LCD2070NX (20", 1600x1200)
      • Internet:
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hidden Hippo View Post
    Why Windows MCE? Isn't it identical to Home/Pro except with some extra bloatware installed?
    Yes, but MCE upgrades to Vista Home Premium (which looks half decent) as opposed to XP Home which upgrades to Vista Home Basic which looks like a complete waste of time

    or you could get XP pro which upgrades to Vista Ultimate or Business I think...

  14. #14
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    • Hidden Hippo's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z68AP-D3
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500k (stock)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Corsair Ballistix 1600MHz
      • Storage:
      • 250GB WD Caviar
      • Graphics card(s):
      • HD4870 1GB
      • PSU:
      • Tagan TG530-U15 530W
      • Case:
      • Thermaltake Armour
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64-bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • BenQ FP241W
    Aah. I'll have a look over the upgrades then, and see what they upgrade to.

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