new build would this work.

johnno · 3 Jul 2006 at 18:26

building a computer for my friend who plays a lot of cs 1.6.he wants just a simple setup just for cs 1.6 not for any games like doom or anything hes allready got a decent gfx card. he has a budget of 400 would this be the best set up for 400.

CP-164-AM AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-164-AM) 1
£66.95 £66.95
MY-012-GS G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA) (MY-012-GS) 1
£99.95 £99.95
MB-144-AS Asus M2N-SLi Deluxe (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-144-AS) 1
£94.95 £94.95
CA-034-AN Antec Performance TX640B-UK Black MiniTower Case - 400 Watt SmartPower PSU (CA-034-AN) 1
62.95 £62.95
Subtotal £324.80
VAT £56.84
Total £381.64

semi-pro waster · 3 Jul 2006 at 18:57

All the parts are compatible as far as I know, are those the only parts that he needs? If so you could maybe stretch to a 3800 and still be around the budget.

Rokusho · 3 Jul 2006 at 19:02

TBH for playing 1.6, the memory is overkill, save some cash and just get 1Gb

A.N.Other · 3 Jul 2006 at 19:24

As above, you don't actually need 2Gb to play CS (obviously) but it offers some future proofing and you don't know that CS is the only game he will ever play on it. Having 2Gb will make windows run far more smoothly and will benefit any media streaming, encoding etc he may do.

So, basically, that's a fair spec. If he's OK with the cost, go for it.

GhostRider · 3 Jul 2006 at 19:45

Has he got a PCI express graphics card. Thats a lot to spend on a mother board are you sure he wants SLI ?

ACESHIGH · 3 Jul 2006 at 22:49

You could go for this instead.... changed mobo as dual graphics slots will likely be wasted & with money saved have upgraded the CPU ... rest stays the same ...

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-165-AM)
Price: £84.95 (£99.82 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Asus M2N-E (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-147-AS)
Price: £69.95 (£82.19 Including VAT at 17.5%)

G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA) (MY-012-GS)
Price: £99.95 (£117.44 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Antec Performance TX640B-UK Black MiniTower Case - 400 Watt SmartPower PSU (CA-034-AN)
Price: £62.95 (£73.97 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Total including VAT = £373.42
This option is cheaper than the above posts

johnno · 3 Jul 2006 at 23:14

no he does not need sli. can anyone recommend a the best socket am2 mobo for 80quid he wants to overclock he wants socket am2 so he can upgrade to dual core later.

lucifersam · 3 Jul 2006 at 23:19

ACESHIGH said:
You could go for this instead.... changed mobo as dual graphics slots will likely be wasted & with money saved have upgraded the CPU ... rest stays the same ...

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-165-AM)
Price: £84.95 (£99.82 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Asus M2N-E (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-147-AS)
Price: £69.95 (£82.19 Including VAT at 17.5%)

G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA) (MY-012-GS)
Price: £99.95 (£117.44 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Antec Performance TX640B-UK Black MiniTower Case - 400 Watt SmartPower PSU (CA-034-AN)
Price: £62.95 (£73.97 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Total including VAT = £373.42
This option is cheaper than the above posts

the perfect spec for the money i think, perhaps if he can stretch to the 4200+ but for CS this isnt really worth it, this CPU should overclock well also a decent mobo

johnno · 3 Jul 2006 at 23:22

just bin on the phone to him now wants to know if this spec along with a nvidia 6800xt extreme edition would get him 100fps on cs source. so i am correct in thinking this all the components would be compatable.

lucifersam · 3 Jul 2006 at 23:36

johnno said:
just bin on the phone to him now wants to know if this spec along with a nvidia 6800xt extreme edition would get him 100fps on cs source. so i am correct in thinking this all the components would be compatable.

dunno what the situation is on the 6800xt but tell him hes probably better off with a 7600GT this will get him v.good framerates with source

johnno · 3 Jul 2006 at 23:40

ok guys thanks for the help jus stuck between which mobo to get one of these two.

Asus M2N-E (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-147-AS)
Price: £69.95 (£82.19 Including VAT at 17.5%)

MB-144-AS Asus M2N-SLi Deluxe (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-144-AS) 1
£94.95 £94.95(£111.57 Including VAT at 17.5%)

is there much difference between the two he wont be using sli. but he does wanna overclock. but is it really worth paying nearly 30quid more when that could go towards summat else.

ACESHIGH · 4 Jul 2006 at 07:28

ACESHIGH said:
You could go for this instead.... changed mobo as dual graphics slots will likely be wasted & with money saved have upgraded the CPU ... rest stays the same ...

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-165-AM)
Price: £84.95 (£99.82 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Asus M2N-E (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-147-AS)
Price: £69.95 (£82.19 Including VAT at 17.5%)

G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA) (MY-012-GS)
Price: £99.95 (£117.44 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Antec Performance TX640B-UK Black MiniTower Case - 400 Watt SmartPower PSU (CA-034-AN)
Price: £62.95 (£73.97 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Total including VAT = £373.42
This option is cheaper than the above posts

I would still go with this option. Overclocking shouldnt be much different with this mobo.

Arthalen · 4 Jul 2006 at 09:07

Have to agree, the Non-SLI setup would be the best value for the performance you need.

johnno · 4 Jul 2006 at 10:58

yep i am going to agree with u there is there much different between the two motherboard options.