Decent spec gaming machine with this case?

xander_uk2

xander_uk2

xander_uk2

Associate
Joined
2 Dec 2003
Posts
1,026
Location
Inverness Scotland
Hi All,

I've had windows home server running on the following barebones system for the past several months:

Link

Now I really like the compact nature of the case (it's also very well built) so I'm thinking about kitting out out with a new mobo, RAM, graphics, PSU etc.

The only thing I'm not sure about is how suitable it is as a gaming case. Cooling may be an issue for example?
Does anyone have any advice, or would I be just as well going for a new one?

I was thinking about an E6600 or similar plus a relativley high end graphics card (GTS 250 or similar)

:)
 
Good point, I'm not sure yet. I was going to get an idea of what would be suitable components for the case, but I guess the only limiting factor will be the size of the graphics card?
Lets say about 200 quid or so for now :)
 
£200, well you will almost have to go dual core...

What is the motherboard in that case? Is it any good? What socket? 775?
 
The decent GTS250's (1GB) are £100+ on their own.
If you want something for solid gaming then Id advise saving up some more cash.
Going the AMD route will suit your budget more too.
 
Not necessarily, if he has a very limited budget... His motherboard might be okay to be used until he can save up more to replace it in the future.
 
Here is the official spec on the case: For the record, I can buy bits as I go. I'm in no rush, so if I can get a list of components together I'll buy as and when I can :)

T3-P5945GCX Supports High-End VGA Card And 2 HDD Bays

CPU Intel® Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D Processors
Socket 775
1333(O.C.)/1066/800/533MHz
Chipset North Bridge: Intel 945GC
South Bridge: Intel ICH7
Memory 2 x DIMM
Dual DDR2 667/533
Support max. 4GB
Expansion Slots 1 x PCI
1 x PCI-e x 16
The chassis supports PCI Express x 16 cards with 192 mm x 19 mm or smaller dimensions only.
Please note that VGA Card size limitation is up to EN9500 series and EN8600 series currently.
Graphics Integrated GMA 950
IDE 1x ATA 100
S-ATA 3 x SATA II
LAN 10/100 Mbps (Bundle LAN Card)
Audio ADI AD1988B
Azalia 8 Channel
Dimension (mm) W x H x D 175 x 290 x 360
Drive Bays 2 x 3.5" (Internal)
1 x 5.25"
Front Panel 1 x 6-in-1 Card Reader (CF, Mirco Drive, MS, MS Pro, MMC, SD)
1 x Headphone
1 x Microphone
1 x IEEE 1394 (4pin)
2 x USB 2.0
Rear Panel 4 x USB 2.0
1 x Line-In/Line-Out/Mic-in
1 x Back Surround LR/Side Surround LR/ Center LFE
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x D-sub
1 x Serial Port
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x IEEE 1394 (6pin)
1 x S/PDIF-out (Coaxial)
Power Supply Peak 300W (PFC)
O/S Support Windows Vista/XP
Key Features ASUS C.P.R.
ASUS CrashFree BIOS2
ASUS EZ Flash2
ASUS My Logo2
ASUS PC ProbeII
ASUS Q-Fan
Vista Ready
 
Yeah i thought so, if you want any kind of graphics power, even a 4850 its ~240mm and your case supports up to 192mm. Your case is going to be a limiting factor i'm afraid :(
 
Yeah, its not designed for gaming though, and that PSU isn't up to powering a gaming system either.
 
I would have been quite happy to get a new PSU as well, but in saying that I'd be as well just getting a new case as well. It's a shame to have it and not put it to use though
 
It seems that your going to need:

Case
PSU
CPU
RAM (what RAM do you have?)
Graphic Card

I guess you have a hard drive/multiple drives, optical drives and OS?
 
Yeah I already have 2 x 2gig sticks of RAM, 500GB hard drives x 2 (Hitachi drives) NEC Optical drive and a Freezer Pro 775 heatsink/fan.

I'd like a compact case to house the lot, but also leave enough room for a decent graphics card
 
Last edited:
Including the 4870 it comes to £325.96 exc delivery (I think you qualify for free delivery)

and with the 4850 it comes to £292.95
 
You already have the CPU cooler, so add some thermal paste to the basket.

With your cooler you should be able to overclock your processor to ~3.5ghz. I OCed my e5200 to 3.5 with 1.32v and 62 deg load :)

You will have a good gaming computer then, you will be full HD :)
 
Excellent advice there, thanks very much for taking the time to put that list together. Whats more, I have a tube of Arctic Silver 5 left over from the server build so it's all good :D
 
That's quite alright, I have that motherboard, its not the best for overclocking but its simple and does a good job :) and its cheap.

Good thing you got Arctic Silver 5 instead of some of the other rubbish they sell, that stuff rocks!

Ive decided, you should get the 4870, I'm going to invest in one in the near future, im waiting on funds :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom