£550 gaming build?..

truecrippler · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:09

Ok so I've started looking for components for a gaming build.

I don't need a keyboard, mouse or OS.

£550 is the max I can go but anything less would be much much better.
I'll hopefully be playing games such as COD, Arma, GTA IV, Assassins Creed, Crysis, L4D, BFBC2 etc.

So far I've got this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

A few questions though:

Is a quad core absolutely necessary? Could I go or a good Intel Dual Core within the same price range and expect the same performance? What about an AMD X3?

What about the parts I've shown above, are there any other alternatives, such as similar products but at a lower price or with better build quality?

The case doesn't need to be stylish or anything, once it has enough room for everything and decent airflow, that would be cool.

GPU good? Or better alternative?

I'll be buying this within a month, so do you think AMD X4 series will go down in price soon?

I don't know what else to ask lol.
Thanks for any responses.

Knightinator · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:12

If you went for the cm 430 with the 500w psu then that would allow you to drop the ocz one and would save you some money.

truecrippler · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:17

Knightinator said:
If you went for the cm 430 with the 500w psu then that would allow you to drop the ocz one and would save you some money.

That's true my dear fellow.

That brings me to £525.90 (including shipping).

Will be shipping to Ireland btw, so that will be an extra £10 or so.

I live in the UK for now (UNI), if only I had a car

.

redfist · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:17

Have a look at my spec, this plays all of the games you want. I have spent that much for the performance i got, although if i was going to do it again i would spend less on the case (although i love it!) and more on the GPU.

truecrippler · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:19

redfist said:
Have a look at my spec, this plays all of the games you want. I have spent that much for the performance i got, although if i was going to do it again i would spend less on the case (although i love it!) and more on the GPU.

Would your set-up bring me over budget, considering I'm adding a monitor to it?

truecrippler · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:25

Considering the build has left me with around £25 to spend, would a 955 instead of an 840 be worth that much extra?

silversurfer · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:29

Is a quad core absolutely necessary?

For modern games, yep

redfist · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:29

Dam sorry, my internet speeds are really slow tonight & the image didn't load. as said previosly "if you went for the cm 430 with the 500w psu" this would allow you to upgrade to the CPU & GPu slighlty

truecrippler · 20 Mar 2011 at 21:33

Thanks for the replies guys.
Will go for the 955... I have a feeling I'm adding this up wrongly, hope not

.

I see that there are different Motherboards, is the one I picked good enough?