Building a new budget gaming PC

Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
edited January 2009 in Hardware
Hello, I'm building a new computer because at the moment the computer I have is a bit rubbish and doesn't run any of the latest games, but I'm not sure what I should get. My friend Revorocks told me that I should join this forum and ask for advice on what to buy. My budget is at around £500-£550($740-$850) I can stretch a little more than that though. I'm going to mainly use the PC to play games and listen to music.
So far I'm thinking of getting:
Intel E8400
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
ATI HD4870
OCZ 2GB DDR2 1066MHz Reaper HPC (will buy 2GB more later)
Antec 900 Case
Antec EarthWatts 650W

I don't really know what motherboard I should get. I would also just like to check that this would be a good build and if there is anything better I could get for the same price range.

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    My friend Revorocks...
    Enough said, just run along now!


    JUST JOKING.

    OK, seriously, a couple more questions:

    1) would you please give us links to the UK online vendors you intend to shop
    2) what monitor size and screen resolutions will you use or will you eventually upgrade to?
    3) how long do you intend to run your new system before replacing or major upgrades?
    4) music - really high fidelity, high average, or just 'good' sound

    The answers will make a big difference in what we recommend.
  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited December 2008
    Leonardo wrote:
    Enough said, just run along now!

    :D
  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited December 2008
    He will shop from www.ebuyer.com
    However, I think he would also use another vendor, if they are safe, reliable and cheap.
    He is running a 19" wide screen at the moment. I don't know how quickly he can get money so best wait till he tells you :)
    I tell all my friends to join this forum when they have a question :D
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited December 2008
    Thanks for replying, here are the answers to those questions:

    1) I will be shopping on ebuyer
    2) I have a 19" wide screen running at 1440x900, hopefully I should upgrade it to a 22" at 1680x1050 later next year
    3) I intend to keep it till the i7's start to become more mainstream or till it completely fails to play games.
    4) Just 'good' sound
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited December 2008
    Hi Guys,

    Check out this site. I get all my gear from hear

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

    Never had any problems
  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited December 2008
    www.ebuyer.com Is cheaper. We have seen overclockers before. Ebuyers service is brilliant.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Everything looks good, but I'd consider upgrading that cooler to the OCZ Vendetta for just a few £ more:
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134542

    It's a better, more modern cooler.

    For motherboards, you should consider the ASUS P5Q-series boards, Gigabyte's EP45 boards, and possibly DFI's Lanparty DK P45-T2RS. All are available through the retailer you've suggested using, but prices vary based on the options the board supports.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited December 2008
    revorocks wrote:
    www.ebuyer.com Is cheaper.

    Possibly but not by much. I find overclockers seem to have a better choice and it is easier to browse for what you want. I guess it is all personal opinion

    If Ebuyer work for you then its all good. I would consider an nVidia card. You seem to get more for your money. Mine has just blown up but I cant afford to get one til Feb.

    These are the two im looking at.

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-007-ZT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1009&name=Zotac%20AMP%20GeForce%209800%20GTX+%20512MB%20GDDR3%20TV-Out/Dual%20DVI%20(PCI-Express)%20-%20Retail
    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-177-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1009&name=Asus%20GeForce%209800%20GTX+%20"Dark%20Knight"%20512MB%20GDDR3%20HDTV/DVI%20(PCI-Express)%20-%20Retail
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited December 2008
    Buddy J wrote:
    Everything looks good, but I'd consider upgrading that cooler to the OCZ Vendetta for just a few £ more:
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134542

    It's a better, more modern cooler.

    For motherboards, you should consider the ASUS P5Q-series boards, Gigabyte's EP45 boards, and possibly DFI's Lanparty DK P45-T2RS. All are available through the retailer you've suggested using, but prices vary based on the options the board supports.

    Cool. Looks good but will it fit in the antec 900? If so ill get that instead

    Also I have a question about those motherboards, should I be looking for P45 or iP45?
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    It should fit in the 900 without issue. It's the same height as my Xigmatek, and the Xigmatek fits in my 900 nicely.

    There is no difference between P45 and iP45 other than adding the "i" in front of things seems to be common among European sites. I'd guess it's to signify it's an Intel chipset.
  • DarakDarak Whitchurch
    edited December 2008
    A note on UK online shops..

    Right i have looked extensivly into buying computer parts and it is ALLWAYS best to check all known vendors before just buying the part.

    The ones i allways check are:

    overclockers.co.uk
    ebuyer.com
    scan.co.uk
    aria.co.uk
    crucial.co.uk (memory only)

    I allways find that one or the other is cheaper on certain parts... Overclockers however i have found is cheapest on most parts you would want. but as i said check all of them.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited December 2008
    You also need to take delivery cost into consideration too.
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited December 2008
    Thanks I'll check out those sites. I'm still really confused on what motherboard to get though, too much to choose from...
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Well, will you be messing with overclocking, or do you just need a good stable platform?
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited December 2008
    I'm going to try a bit of overclocking but nothing too crazy.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    This will work then: Gigabyte EP45-DS3R
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145683

    It's not too expensive (I think), and should provide a full-featured, stable platform to build on. And when you decide to overclock, it'll do that too.
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited December 2008
    Looks good, a little expensive but I guess I can spend a little extra.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited December 2008
    I don't know if you are still buying from Ebuyer but it is worth checking out their BGrade stock. you can get some real bargins there. Most of it is either end of line or stuff that has been returned in working order or has damaged packaging. They all come with the standard guarantee and you can get some good discounts.

    As I said before my GPU has just died and I was putting of buying a new one due to christmas and a tax bill but I found an ATI X1950 for £57 inc VAT. My old one was the X1750 and that could handle anything I threw at it so Im hopeful this one will be just as good.
  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited December 2008
    A discount you say? Where on ebuyer can I find their B-grade stock? Could I have a link? I can't find it.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited December 2008
    I dont know about ebuyer. Overclockers have a clearance section and ebuyer might have a similar section its on the bottom of the list on overclockers.

    They dont have all parts so you might not get the exact part you want but its a good way to get good parts cheaper. Have a look and see what you can find.

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=595
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited December 2008
    Ohh yea, this is revorocks talking lol, Im at randomguys house. yea we found that on OCUK but I thought you were saying that there is one on ebuyer. I don't think there is, never mind.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited December 2008
    Incidently, dabs use to be quite good for parts too. I think it is dabs.com but it might be .co.uk.

    You can often buy the different components from different sites depending on who has it the cheapest. Only problem is that you may have to pay two lots of delivery.
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited January 2009
    Ok I've ordered and built my system and all is running well. Thanks for the help everyone. Here are the specs:

    Asus P5Q SE
    Intel E8400
    OCZ Vendetta Cooler
    Crucial Ballistix 2GB 1066mhz
    Sapphire HD4870 512mb
    Samsung 1TB HDD
    Antec 900
    OCZ SteathXtreme 600W PSU

    I hope I've made a good choice on this hardware but I'm pretty pleased with it so far and it certainly makes a huge difference from the Pentium D system with an ATI X550 graphics card I've been using for years.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Congrats! You've got a great system there that'll serve you for a long time. Well done.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Hell of a solid rig. :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Your research and planning were very good. Your new PC is a very well balanced system. Very well done.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Yea I wouldnt call that a budget system at all. Good choices mate :thumbsup:
  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited January 2009
    It was a budget rig... Just with a budget of £650 :P
    Yup its a nice system.. Runs very cool and quick :) Well done.
  • Randomguy33Randomguy33 Hove, East Sussex, England
    edited January 2009
    Thanks, I'm glad you all like it :D
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