Need a bit of advice on a "Budget" gaming system.

[BrettCB]

Hey everyone. My brothers computer just took a hit during a thunderstorm and he decided it was time to upgrade. I offered to build him a new PC as I've built my last two and he decided to go that route. The question is what exactly is he going to need? He plays games, mainly World Of Warcraft & Counter-Strike: Source. However, he also wants to be able to play future games, also. A number of the parts on his old PC are going to be recycled and I'm mainly looking to forgo the upgrade of the CPU, motherboard, graphics card, PSU, and RAM. Also, a new case might not be a bad idea either. He has a budget of around $900 but he would prefer not to use the entire thing. I've listed the parts we are reusing below. Any help is appreciated.

Parts:

NEC 16x DVD-R/W Drive
300GB Harddrive
Linksys WiFi PCI Card
Audigy Soundcard
Hauppauge TV-Tuner Card

Again, I'm not really sure where to start here. Any input would be a major help.

Thanks,

BrettCB

 

[necine]

Text

Upgrade w/ new vid card and your all done.

 

[ultimatebob]

Whatever you build, I'd recommend avoiding Windows Vista. Windows XP still has better video, networking, and sound drivers, which leads to better gaming performance.

 

[gwai lo]

Monitor?

 

[SerpentRoyal]

-Antec Solo or SLK3000B...$50
-Abit IP35-E...$70 AR @ MWAVE
-2 x 1GB HP/Crucial DDR2 667 RAM...$44 AR @ hot deals forum
-Antec Earthwatts 430 or 500...$30 AR @ Fry's (check hot deals forum)
-CPU...E4300/E4400 around $100.
-GPU...EVGA 7900 around $150
-WXP Pro...$140 @ Zipzoomfly

Overclock the CPU to 3.0GHz or higher.

 

[tofumonster]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal


Overclock the CPU to 3.0GHz or higher.

Won't he need to buy an after market CPU HSF with a 1.2 Ghz increase?

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
Whatever you build, I'd recommend avoiding Windows Vista. Windows XP still has better video, networking, and sound drivers, which leads to better gaming performance.

Not really, there is little point in buying XP nowadays to be honest. Vista is a great OS and the performance gap in gaming is almost null right now.

 

[piasabird]

If you can squeze in enough dollars try to buy an Intel E6550 Processor. The thing is they have the 1333 Hhz Bus and the 4 meg Shared L2 Cache. I think this is the best processor for the money.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: tofumonster

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal


Overclock the CPU to 3.0GHz or higher.

Won't he need to buy an after market CPU HSF with a 1.2 Ghz increase?

Stock cooler should work okay when not priming.

 

[Nickrand]

Originally posted by: necine
Text

Upgrade w/ new vid card and your all done.

Excuse my ignorance. On that computer you can just turn off the integrated graphics and add a video card??

 

[dantonic]

Originally posted by: BrettCB
A number of the parts on his old PC are going to be recycled and I'm mainly looking to forgo the upgrade of the CPU, motherboard, graphics card, PSU, and RAM.

for·go also fore·go (fôr-go', for-) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. for·went also fore·went (-went'), for·gone also fore·gone (-gôn', -gon'), for·go·ing also fore·go·ing, for·goes also fore·goes
To abstain from; relinquish: unwilling to forgo dessert.

I am assuming you actually DID want to upgrade these items.