£750 budget gaming rig!

[erebus]

This will be my first ever build, finnaly upgrading from my dimension 2400 as I've recently started getting into pc gaming and im afraid my dell with intels extreme graphics is far from up to the job. I will be using the OS, keyboard/mouse and the 17" TFT monitor (not sure what it's spec is, probably obselete by todays standards, may get a newer one if so) from my old setup. So i have a budget of around £750 for the system alone. I cant afford a dx10 card atm but plan an upgrade in just under a year when the first dx10 games start coming out. This is me maxing out my budget but i don't want to be wasting money so please try and help me LOWER this price. I want a reliable system that will be a good performer with dx10 over next 5 or so years.

MOTHERBOARD
ASUS P5B P965 - £84
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=434330

PROCESSOR
Intel E6600 -£199
ebuyer.com/UK/product/112706

RAM
2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP - £180
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=402849

HARD DRIVE
Western Digital WD3200KS 320GB SATAII 16MB Cache 7200 rpm - OEM - £52
ebuyer.com/UK/product/110269/rb/24128598178

GPU
Geforce 7900GS 256mb - £104
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=499273

DISK DRIVE - £21
Pioneer DVR-111DBK 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer Internal IDE (Black) - OEM
ebuyer.com/UK/product/110269/rb/24128598178

CASE - £72
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming case
overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-065-AN&tool=3

PSU - £58
Hiper 580W Type-R Modular PSU SLI/CrossFire Certified - Blue
ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=24228970080&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=98564&spec_type=ZX h0ZW5kZWQ=

WIRELESS NETWORK CARD - £18
Belkin 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter
ebuyer.com/UK/product/45622

SYSTEM PRICE: £788

My main concerns about this build:
The cpu e6300 looks like it would do my needs and may be more value for money?
The case is very expensive but its seems good for cooling and should fit the GTX. Any better suggestions?

Any comments/suggestions please!

(Had to delete the www in the urls as it wouldnt let me post them)

[muddyfox470]

You can get that DVDRW cheaper from Scan

Try buying all from one retailer makes more sense and can save a bit of money on postage etc. Especially as scan uses next day delivery as standard (and if you are a member here long enough you can get the postage free aswell !!! ).

To me it seems a very decent system although I am not quite up to speed with all the latest specs as I am wanting to keep with my 939 kit, tho C2D is definitely the way to go I am very pleased with my 7900GS as well.

Also try to get a case with that you will be happy with in a few years time, if you get one thats too outlandish it can be a bit hard to live with later on down the line. Go for a nice simple case SIlver and Black seems to be the ones in at the moment Aluminium is always nice, but question: do you want to spend £70 on a case?

Ian

[erebus]

Thanks, ill compare all the prices including delivery before i order.

[directhex]

avoid belkin network gear

[Clunk]

As you dont want to overclock at all....

Ditch the PC2-6400 ram and get some Corsair value select PC2-4300 stuff instead. It will run exactly the same speed and with the money you save on that, you can put it towards a slightly better graphics card.

Whatever you do, it is already underpowered for gaming, and within a few months it will be out of date, so 5 years is being a bit optimistic

[erebus]

Ok ill look at other network cards and as for the case i really like the look of it (hopefully will do for years to come lol) but main reason for spending so much is it will be kept in my bedroom which is an extremely smokey enviroment so good ventalation is important and also that is very quite. The reviews on that case is its good for both them needs.

[kalniel]

I'd probably downgrade the CPU and RAM, and upgrade the graphics card for starters.

That will give you much better gaming performance for the same money. The RAM won't make any difference, and the CPU will only make a difference in a few years time.

Or just keep the GPU where it is and save the money

[erebus]

Ok i've removed the not overclocking part, after reading up on it its actually alot easier than it sounds and i'd like to have the option for doing it. If i was going to upgrade the gpu any further i'd want to go for a dx10 card but as my budget doesnt allow it ill have to make do the with 7900gs i think.

[Flewis]

Dont get a 6600, get a 6300 and overclock it. Get a cooler such as the artic freezer 7 pro to help.

The basic asus board is not that great an overclocker. Get a gigabyte DS3 and u should get at least 2.8GHz on the proc.

RAM and HD are fine.

U might be able to afford an 8800GTS with the money u've saved. If not dont get a 7900, get any of the X1900 ATI cards.

The antec 900 is a quality case and definitely recommended for maximum system cooling. (Its £65 at cclonline.co.uk) You may want to get a fan controller for the 4 fans tho.

The psu will be fine for your needs too. That or an xclio 550W greatpower is also excellent value and good quality.

Dont be scared of overclocking, the c2d's were designed for efficiency not clock speeds so they have a lot of headroom for overclocking.

Use wusy's guide on the THWG forum:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardw...ict197995.html

[kalniel]

Well I would suggest a x1950xt or 7950gt as they will see you through till the end of dx9 pretty much, which is still quite a way off, but it depends on your resolution and what games you play I guess.

There's little difference between the 6300 and 6600 when you overclock.

[Flewis]

About the graphics, if you want a cheap card and want to wait for a good DX10 card try:

http://www.retekdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Video_Cards.html

The X800XT is pretty powerful and at £48 is ridiculous value. Dont know if they've still got any. If you look at benchmarks it will do better then a 7600GT but it doesnt have shader model 3 so no hdr effects. May be less powerful than what u want tho.

Just a suggestion.

[erebus]

With an e6300+artic cooler+gigabyte DS3 mobo build i'd save around £65. I'll take a look at the other gpu and fan controller mentioned now for prices although i'll grudge paying more for a dx9 card than i am already.

Plan on overclocking to 2.4 - 2.8 ghz. Hoping this reasonable overclock will not affect lifespan too much?

[dave87]

I don't know if your budget stretches but this is what £850 will buy you (and you can change case/motherboard to suit)



That'll get you DX10 now, alongside a decent processor and 2GB of RAM...

[Flewis]

Few things about that post, get ur original case suggestion.

That motherboard wont overclock. Get the DS3 or the S3(same as DS3 but doesnt support raid and has more durable capacitors)

Id say still get the 6300 and oc it, the difference in cache doesnt make much difference to performance(esp games).

Still get the cooler and fan controller.

The Xclio 550W greatpower would still be fine, the corsair one is nice but a bit expensive (not a budget part).

[erebus]

Ok i found this card instead:
256MB Asus Radeon X1950Pro, PCI-E(x16), Mem 1400MHz GDDR3, GPU 581MHz, 36Pipes

Price: £124

I mabye could go for the GTS but what im thinking is that instad of spending an extra £130 now, by the time dx10 games come around i should be able to sell this card for £60 or so and with another £130 get a better dx10 card.

[Flewis]

maybe, choice is yours.

The X1950 will definitely kick a 7900.