£500 budget gaming spec - help a first timer out

Dirigibibble · 17 Nov 2008 at 00:17

Hi, I'm hoping to have £500 to spend before christmas to replace my 5 year old case before it finally catches fire or just gives up and falls to pieces or whatever.

Like I say I'm new at this so go ahead and be brutal with my spec (I have an old DVD-RW drive I can use hence the IDE cable):

Any obvious compatibility issues or suggestions to get better performance? £500 is pretty much my upper limit so there's not much wiggle room, I guess?

Also, how do I check if the motherboard will actually fit inside the case :confused:

Thanks!

AdamEW · 17 Nov 2008 at 00:40

Check out the sticky from the top of the page,

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11840938&postcount=3

The money you save from having the dvd-rw drive you could spend on a hd4850

Dirigibibble · 17 Nov 2008 at 01:33

Whoops, always check the stickies... Sorry.

I'm pretty much at the level of understanding where bigger number = better so I'm not too sure why that build is superior to be honest.

I assume it's a more reliable PSU so worth buying seperately and spending a bit more for but I'm really confused by RAM, CPUs and motherboards. To me it seems like a slower CPU, more but slower RAM (is more but slower really better for gaming?), and I have no way of telling one motherboard from another.

I've no doubt I'm wrong about all that, is there a quick and simple explanation why? Other than the fact that I'm entirely ignorant and should trust my betters of course

I'm guessing there's some hidden number I can't see or understand that is in fact bigger than the numbers on my spec, point me at those numbers, I like bigger numbers.

Thanks.

ukbrainstew · 17 Nov 2008 at 02:46

You can do much better than that build, try something like this:

That E7300 will clock to 3.6-4ghz and at that sort of speed will run rings around that X2. Plus you get 2GB more RAM and a better GPU for your troubles, all whilst staying under budget by a few pennies (Prince inc. VAT and shjipping is £499.28).

People will try and push you to the P45 version of that motherboard but honestly, on a budget, its really can't be beat. It offers basically any connection you could ever need and will give you a very decent overclock just fine. My brother's is running on a 1600mhz FSB just fine.

Dirigibibble · 17 Nov 2008 at 08:10

Thanks for the suggestion ukbrainstew, I like the look of that, bit scary to think about overclocking on my first DIY PC but I likes them thar big numbers so I guess I'll give it a try. I'm going to take you guys' word for it that that's the RAM to go for I suppose.

I notice the thermal compound and cables vanished from the budget but if I can get the £500 I can probably find another £15

Anyone got any tweaks for that spec?

ukbrainstew · 17 Nov 2008 at 09:10

Dirigibibble said:
Thanks for the suggestion ukbrainstew, I like the look of that, bit scary to think about overclocking on my first DIY PC but I likes them thar big numbers so I guess I'll give it a try. I'm going to take you guys' word for it that that's the RAM to go for I suppose.

I notice the thermal compound and cables vanished from the budget but if I can get the £500 I can probably find another £15

Anyone got any tweaks for that spec?

No need for the thermal compound, the Akasa already has some very good stuff pre-applied. No need for the cables either as they come wth your motherboard.

I oveclocked on my first build and it was no trouble at all, just do your research beforehand. Even at stock that E7300 should comfortably outpace that X2 you chos previously.