help making a cheap gaming pc for myself

[Neal]

Hi all.

I sold my motorbike last week, and now the cash is burning a hole in my pocket.
Just upgraded to an E2160 on a cheap abit board... but i want something a little better for playing games on basically, as this mobo has no overclocking on it...

I have a case, i have HDD's (ide only though ) and dvd re-writers (ide) and i have 2gb DDR2 667 ram - and a crappy pci-e 7300le nvidia graphics card.

basically i want something i can overclock a little too, not to the hilt though.

The e2160 is a great little cpu, but only has the 1mb cache - would the E4300 or E4400 be a better choice, i dont want to spend more than £100 on a CPU if possible.

Sata HDD? should I?
Mobo?
Sata DVD drive? should I?
PSU - better than 450w?
Graphics card?


Looking to spend about £300 all in all really. or am i going to have to spend more?

Cheers

Neal

 

[Neal]

just thought i'd add,

I have never really played games on a pc before, so i know nothing of what makes a good system really.... other than fast, and big graphics lol any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

Neal

 

[Neal]

cool so the E2160 will be ok for standard gaming use.

I was thinking about Pxx series mobo, as it seems to have good reveiws on here all the time...

I have a thermalight MST-9775 heatsink in my cupboard at home, will that be ok?

hmmm 8800 gts 320mb.... that sounds pretty trick.. but probably way more than i'll really ever use...

I was thinking of a

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1950 Pro Extreme 512MB GDDR3 @ £117.24

and maybe 2 SATAII hdd's @ £70.48

Pxx series mobo around £100


I'll look into it, money doesnt clear in my bank for 2 more days, then i can tootle off to O'cers as I only live about 6 miles away... woooop no delivery waiting!! lol

PS thanks for the advice, all good, as im learning all the time lol

 

[Neal]

it just pains me to spend £200 on a graphics card... lol call me tight!!

hmmmmm great fps and high res....


I suppose i can sell my abit IL9 pro mobo and put the ££'s to the graphics card, the sell the 7300le on fleabay and put that to it too... hmmm think i will... then its still only costing me about £120 - 130 lol



maybe a better heatsink & fan though?

 

[Neal]

ahhh so the "500gb AAKS drive Around £55" will not only outperform the cheap hitatch ones, i can get 180 extra gb for £15 less... Im swung!!

My final spec:

E2160 c2d cpu on a Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3P mobo
450w silent optronics PSU
2 gb DDR2 667 ram
500gb SataII cavair AAKS HDD
Thermalight Heatsink and fan (as pictured above)
8800gt Graphics card 320mb

also have a Aerogate I fan controller lying about, and 3 case fans... that will have to go in too! lol

and just had my new 17" flat panel delivered - absolute bargain at £97 with vat, from my staples business account!

I cant wait now.... come on halifax... claer that cash!!

many thanks for the advice

Neal

 

[Neal]

These core2Duo processors are easily fast enough, even the cheapest one, but if you spend more money on the graphics card you will really notice it more when playing games later this year and next year.

The GTS offers great bang for buck, especially the 320mb if you only have a small screen. I would get the 600mb version if you are considering a larger than 20".

I am going to get the GT 8800 rather than the cheaper ATI card - Like you say, i'll be gutted if I have to upgrade in 12months! lol

And if i sell my mobo, and graphics card I should be able to claw back £60 or so... all good.

Neal