Budget gamer pc build

[Adam448]

Hello i found this site very helpful when choosing the motherboard and im just about finished choosing all the components i need. What i want to do is build a pc for around £350 probably about $600.. which will play the newest games out but i dont mind if not on the highest settings. Also i want to be able to get more out of it with overclocking which ive never done before. My main worries are the power supply because i hear its important to have a decent one and if all these components would fit in together and allow me to overclock.

Here are the components i need, i have a hdrive and cdrw already.


OcUK ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail(£111.61)
Abit IP35-E (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard(£64.61)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)(£29.36)
Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU *SPECIAL OFFER*(£42.99)
Intel E2160 Socket 775 Pentium Dual Core 2x1.8Ghz 800FSB Retail Boxed Processor127248121 in stock £47.42
Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler105994965 in stock £15.91

This actually comes to about £315 so i have cash to spare.

 

[nyker96]

I like your choice of IP35-E, but couple it with a E2140 is good, since you got nice DDR800s that can even go higher. At DDR800 speed you already running at 3.2Ghz. So this mem will max out your CPU so no need to for E2160 here. I'd say if you have cash, get a better PSU, makes the parts stay healthier and better OC potential as well. Overall you are right on the money for a nice budget build.

 

[sutahz]

Please correct me if im wrong (as I'm not going to research if CM PSU's are bad w/ Abit mobos) but just use the supplied PSU and if you dont like it or you believe its your OC'ing bottleneck then replace it. OR if that PSU has been shown to go out very quickly and/or ruin mobo's/cpus/video cards along the way then of coure order a diff one.

 

[Adam448]

ok thanks for the feedback. I may look into buying a 8800 card as im under budget to get better performance.

Ill do some research on the PSU then decide what one to buy. I dont really know the overclocking procedures yet but ill take your advice and buy the e2140 then.

 

[Denithor]

I personally would stick with the e2160 or if it's a small difference bump up to e2180 (price difference is <$5 here in the US) for the higher multiplier. You will hit about the same max overclock point but your other components (motherboard, memory) will run lower speed and therefore consume less power/generate less heat so it will be better overall.

Once you get your cpu to 3GHz your choice in GPU is much more important for gaming performance. Depending on your resolution you might even go for a small increase to the 8800GT 256MB model (if at 1600x1200 or below you should be fine with 256MB). If you play at higher resolution though (or plan to in the future before you upgrade your video card the next time) go for the 512MB version.

Coolermaster PSUs tend to be better than the standard "generic" models included with many cases. The only thing to remember is that you have >$500 worth of parts in there and if the PSU goes out it can take anywhere from nothing to the entire system with it. People often try to save a few bucks on the PSU only to have it cost a lot more later if something goes bad (in >10 years of building/fixing systems I have seen about 6-8 PSUs gone bad, a couple did nothing to the rest of the system, the others killed various parts and cost >$100 to fix plus the replacement PSU). So it's not an extremely common problem but if it happens you are probably 60-70% likely to need other parts beyond just putting in a replacement PSU.

One thing to consider: buy a good quality PSU to use for your system and save the one included with the case as a backup. I can tell you from experience that if you ever need a backup PSU it's nice to have one available.

 

[aigomorla]

Okey...

i used to advocate the IP35-E because when i used it most of the builds were done on air, and i wasnt trying for the higher overclocks.

If your comforatable with being moderately limited... voltage wise no higher then 1.475 with a vdroop that really annoys the hell out of me. .07 being the highest out of all the boards i own, the IP35-E will match your needs..

If u are looking to overclock, and you want to pump the voltage a little when its cold, then stay away from the board, and pick up a Asus P5K-E or Gigabyte P35-DS3P DS4 DQ6

 

[VirtualLarry]

why so many "rate my build" threads in CPUs & Overclocking lately. Shouldn't they go into General Hardware.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
why so many "rate my build" threads in CPUs & Overclocking lately. Shouldn't they go into General Hardware.

very true....

But i guess he wanted advice from people who overclock, more then just system builders...

 

[Adam448]

ok thanks for the feedback, sorry if posted in wrong forum!.

Im now going for the 8800 512mb card

Coolermaster Hyper TX 2 CPU Cooler as ive read the abit ip35 and freezer pro 7 dont fit very well.

I looked into the Asus P5K-E or Gigabyte P35-DS3P DS4 DQ6 motherboards but they will take me over budget and i would rather have the better graphics card for better game performance.

Ill take your advice and go for the corsair HX450 PSU and I-cute case

 

[nyker96]

Originally posted by: Adam448
ok thanks for the feedback, sorry if posted in wrong forum!.

Im now going for the 8800 512mb card

Coolermaster Hyper TX 2 CPU Cooler as ive read the abit ip35 and freezer pro 7 dont fit very well.

I looked into the Asus P5K-E or Gigabyte P35-DS3P DS4 DQ6 motherboards but they will take me over budget and i would rather have the better graphics card for better game performance.

Ill take your advice and go for the corsair HX450 PSU and I-cute case

Good choice on 8800GT, at this point if you can afford that baby it's the way to go. One tip, I have used both ACF7 pro and Hyper TX2 with IP35. The ACF7 you can fit it just need to take off the fan and move it up 1/2 inch or so. The verticle fan position is designed to be moved up if needed to fit your m.b. so it's no problem at all.

ok, happy building!

 

[JimiP]

Originally posted by: nyker96

Originally posted by: Adam448
ok thanks for the feedback, sorry if posted in wrong forum!.

Im now going for the 8800 512mb card

Coolermaster Hyper TX 2 CPU Cooler as ive read the abit ip35 and freezer pro 7 dont fit very well.

I looked into the Asus P5K-E or Gigabyte P35-DS3P DS4 DQ6 motherboards but they will take me over budget and i would rather have the better graphics card for better game performance.

Ill take your advice and go for the corsair HX450 PSU and I-cute case

Good choice on 8800GT, at this point if you can afford that baby it's the way to go. One tip, I have used both ACF7 pro and Hyper TX2 with IP35. The ACF7 you can fit it just need to take off the fan and move it up 1/2 inch or so. The verticle fan position is designed to be moved up if needed to fit your m.b. so it's no problem at all.

ok, happy building!

You could also just move the RAM sticks to the opposite slots. Assuming that he's talking about space issues between the RAM and fan.

 

[BladeVenom]

I'd go with the Antec w/ 380 Earth Watts PSU. The Earth Watts are good power supply.

I'd stick with 2160 for the higher multiplier.

 

[BladeVenom]

As far as fitting. Someone's posted pics on the IP35-E thread.
http://image.bayimg.com/aafljaabh.jpg
http://image.bayimg.com/aaflkaabh.jpg
http://image.bayimg.com/aaflhaabh.jpg

Trimmed a bit so it's not pushing against the other heatsink:
http://image.bayimg.com/pafplaabh.jpg