Budget Gaming upgrade? - Best Graphics with cheapest CPU/ Mobo combo?

Scania · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:32

I have a budget of about £250 to throw at a CPU, 2GB RAM, Motherboard & a Graphics card to update my existing system, so Hard drives etc are not required.

I'm after the best graphics I can get for my budget without losing out too much on a poor choice of motherboard and / or CPU.

Also,with regard to sound, would I be ok with onboard? or would a cheap pci one be a better bet?

Any pointers would be appreciated.

jak731 · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:34

what is your current system?

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £94.99
(£111.61) £94.99
(£111.61)
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK) £21.99
(£25.84) £21.99
(£25.84)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.20GHz (800FSB) - Retail £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Sub Total : £216.96
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £39.53
Total : £265.44

drop the cpu down to a e21X0 if you need, but you will get a lower multiplier

Scania · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:38

A64 3000+ Sct 939,2.5GB DDR400 RAM, Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 Mobo AGP 256MB 7600GS and 600GB HD Space mixed over ATA & IDE drives. Creative Audigy 2 Soundcard.

Oh,also a 400Watt PSU.

My main aim is to have ideally, 2 machines i.e. my current mobo etc in my #2 PC and my main PC both able to run Battlefield 2 & the like at High Settings.

jak731 · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:41

as long as the PSU isnt too old or isnt some generic brand, i think it should power the spec. wait for a second opionion first though

Scania · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:43

jak731 said:
what is your current system?

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £94.99
(£111.61) £94.99
(£111.61)
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK) £21.99
(£25.84) £21.99
(£25.84)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.20GHz (800FSB) - Retail £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Sub Total : £216.96
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £39.53
Total : £265.44

drop the cpu down to a e21X0 if you need, but you will get a lower multiplier

Shipping not an issue as I live in OC land, not had an ATI card before, and I have a mate who seems cursed by his, would it be worth me saving the £50 or so extra for an 8800GT? or would I subsequently then need to find funds for a new PSU?

Cheers for the prompt reply.

Scania · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:45

Oh dear, I jus had a look and the PSU is a "Mercury 400 Watt"

so it looks like I got that bit wrong and will have to budget for a new PSU as well.....

Oh well, best to check now I suppose!

I can see this budget increasing dramatically !

jak731 · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:50

any need for a new psu will really depend on the age and reliability of your current PSU.
my friend runs a q6600G0 and a 3850 256MB with a VX450,

the 8800GT and a e2200 should draw a similar amount of power, so if your PSU is in good condition then i dont think you will need a new one

the OCZ in TWO may be a good choice to look at

Scania · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:54

jak731 said:
any need for a new psu will really depend on the age and reliability of your current PSU.
my friend runs a q6600G0 and a 3850 256MB with a VX450,

the 8800GT and a e2200 should draw a similar amount of power, so if your PSU is in good condition then i dont think you will need a new one

the OCZ in TWO may be a good choice to look at

OCZ StealthXStream 600w

That one? - Not too bad a price I suppose.

jak731 · 25 Jan 2008 at 00:56

thats the one im talking about, probs not as good as the corsairs or seasonics but should still be very high quality PSU

melbourne720 · 25 Jan 2008 at 08:46

I'd stump up for a corsair, as I've heard those OCZ PSUs are anything but stealthy. Also consider Enermax, Antec and Seasonic.

Otherwise the spec from jak731 looks spot on.

Scania · 25 Jan 2008 at 15:55

Ok, I've had a think and I am going to throw another £100 at it, but do it in a month or so (funds pending!)

melbourne720 , when you say "anything but stealthy" I assume you refer to noise?

Tbh, not that much of an issue, Games like Battlefield 2 soon drown the drone of the fans....

So, as I say, an extra £100, I'm allowing circa £50 for the PSU and was thinking of throwing another £50 towards an 8800GT (as they seem to be the card of choice atm.)

Yes? No? is the OcUK ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro 512MB better value than the 8800GT (given the extra £50 odd of the GT)

This upgrade will probably do me for a good 2 years plus, so I really want the best I can get with regard to graphics.

SBD · 25 Jan 2008 at 16:20

Something like the below should be good for a few years

Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.20GHz (800FSB) - Retail £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK) OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK) £21.99
(£25.84) £21.99
(£25.84)
Point of View GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail Point of View GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £131.99
(£155.09) £131.99
(£155.09)
Tagan TG430-U15 430W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU Tagan TG430-U15 430W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU £42.99
(£50.51) £42.99
(£50.51)
Sub Total : £296.95
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £53.53
Total : £359.43

Scania · 26 Jan 2008 at 08:35

^^

Thanks mate, thats pretty much what I'll settle on (subject to price drops etc in the meantime)