Optimal GPU/CPU/Memory trade-offs for a £600 Gaming PC?

Jsbeer

Jsbeer

Jsbeer

Associate
Joined
30 Sep 2009
Posts
580
My ancient HD2400Pro just isn't enough nowadays so I was thinking of getting a gaming system which will hopefully last me for a few years. Not begin rich, £600 is close to my maximum budget and I am planning to keeping use my old CRT 1024*768 monitor and keyboard too. Unfortunately, I can't build this myself so will be getting an off-the-shelf one.

I mainly play FPS (and am REALLY hoping to get into NS2 when it comes out), but also Dungeons & Dragons Online MMO and some strategy games so the CPU is also important. From what little I know the HD 6850 is the best value gaming card at present, and I think that for around 600 quid I could get something like:


8GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory
ATi Radeon 6850 1GB Graphics Card
1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk
650watt EZCool PSU

Would this be a decent cost/benefit trade-off? Or perhaps I should get more memory or go for a faster Hard Drive? Anyone more experienced in these matters care to comment ;)
 
As above, post it in general hardware for the best response.

However if you're only running at 1024*768, then you certainly won't need an overly-powerful GPU as it is hardly a demanding resolution, so you can probably drop the 6850 and get something a little more "mundane" to save funds.
 
Thanks for the replies - I only ever hang out in PC Games so didnt think about posting this in Hardware, but will do so now.

Also, although I am planning on keeping my old monitor for a while I will probably eventually upgrade it so the extra power from a decent GPU will be put to good use eventually ;)
 
Last edited:
Also, although I am planning on keeping my old monitor for a whille I will probably eventually upgrade it so the extra power from a decent GPU will be put to good use eventually....
 
Last edited:
Regarding your choice of psu. EZcool are a terrible brand, not the sort of thing you want to use on a high end system. Theyre specs are wildly overrated and not capable of outputting the power they state.
 
setter said:
Regarding your choice of psu. EZcool are a terrible brand, not the sort of thing you want to use on a high end system. Theyre specs are wildly overrated and not capable of outputting the power they state.
Click to expand...

Someone else mentioned this when I posted in the PC Games Forum. Possible alternatives for the PSU are:

Xigmatek Premium Grade 500W PSU

or

OCZ StealthXstream 2 600W

Do people think either of these are better as they are only slightly more expensive than the EZcool?
 
For future reference please don't start duplicate threads.

If you start a thread in the wrong section of the forum then ask for it to be moved to the right one.
 
Surveyor said:
For future reference please don't start duplicate threads.

If you start a thread in the wrong section of the forum then ask for it to be moved to the right one.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the head up - as I tend only to lurk in the PC Gaming Forum I wasn't aware of this :(
 
http://i.cubeupload.com/Hdk8CT.png

If the image is larger than 1280 pixels wide then please resize, put in spoiler tags or link only. Thank you.

A little over your budget, but it would keep you playing at the highest quality in gaming for a few years, doesn't include a monitor, though.

Sub Total : £559.91
Shipping : £12.50
Government will rob: £114.48
Total: £686.89
 
Last edited:
As already said, no point in upgrading without a monitor imo.

The improved graphical capabilities will be completely wasted.

I couldnt imagine still playing on a 1024 CRT! How do you do it? :D
 
I'm not sure if a 550ti could keep you playing at the highest levels now, never mind the next few years :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £53.99
1 x Xigmatek Pantheon Mid Tower Case - Black £35.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £32.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £31.99
Total : £653.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).





Either exchange the SSD for a HDD and/or add either one later.
Obviously, you really could use a new monitor to take advantage of all that :)

Edit: Y'know, I could have sworn you said something about stretching to £650 max lol... Ah well, food for thought :o

PS, Build it yourself!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom