Spec check - Mid range gaming machine ~£450

Mirage · 18 Oct 2010 at 21:32

I've not bought a new machine for 5-6 years (not including the HTPC), my old mahcine has some asrock motherboard and a 8600GT :rolleyes:

, it's been decommissioned as I now use my laptop most the time.

Looking to spend £450 on new components, I already have a case (Old CM Praetorian), PSU (600W Corsair) and Windows7 HP.

This is what I've come up with, just wanted to see if I'm heading down the right route

:

Palit GeForce GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game £124.98
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £105.74
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard £74.99
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £70.49
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD6402AAEX) £50.51
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99

Total : £440.71

Thanks!

RJC · 18 Oct 2010 at 21:42

Spec looks good, I would change the Hard drive to the Samsung F3 1tb, there will very minimal speed difference if any.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-082-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1279

95thrifles · 18 Oct 2010 at 21:42

very good, go for it
Though dont forget an aftermarket cooler if youre going to OC, somethign like the arctic freezer 7 pro, £20, brings you just over I know

Mirage · 18 Oct 2010 at 21:47

Thanks both, think I'll go with what you've both advised too

Mirage · 1 Nov 2010 at 17:37

Just a quick update, I've ordered the mobo, CPU and ram. Gonna get a 6870 next mont and use an old 500gb samsung. In the end I went for:

£119.14 x 1 - Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 AMD 890FX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard
£104.99 x 1 - AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
£51.99 x 1 - Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
£16.16 x 1 - Plantronics GameCom 367 Gaming Headset (79732-05)
£8.50 x 1 - Logitech Classic Keyboard 200

So I've got the choice of full CF in the future!

Mirage · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:39

Bit's arrived today

.

Excuse the poor quality, it's from a 3GS...

Woo box!

Unpacked

CPU

Unboxed Mobo, this is the first time I've ever spent this kind of cash on a mobo.

Time to dust off the Praetorian. The poor things been sat in the corner, unused, for over 2 years!

Still got some stuff in there, basically the parts I didn't use in my HTPC

I'm going to be using the 8600GT that's in here for the next 3 weeks unfortunately. Such a shame but I couldn't realistically afford more stuff this month!

I currently have:
AMD Phenom II X4 965
Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5C9
2x2GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800
Corsair VX 550W
Black Coolermaster Praetorian (Old CM - before Silverstone split)
Samsung 500GB F1 HDD
MSI 8600GT (Laughable!)
Pantronics GameCon 367 Headset
OCZ Behemoth-Z Gaming Mouse

Next month I'm looking to buy:
ATI 6870
Belkin Wireless-N Router with USB Storage
CPU Cooler of some description

I'm also only using a 19" 4:3 TFT (1280x1024) so will be looking to use my 32" LCD TV until I can get a monitor between 22 and 25!

Jony27 · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:46

i think you mean next month youll be looking at the 6970

RJC · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:50

New hardware nice

stulid · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:52

classic case is fantastic.

I use to have one, my only concern would be the maximum length of card you can fit in.

Jony27 · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:52

nice case btw. loving the simplicity

and is it aluminium or steel, is it mid or full tower? lol

stulid · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:53

Jony27 said:
nice case btw. loving the simplicity
and is it aluminium or steel, is it mid or full tower? lol

its 100% aluminum, mid tower

2 front 80mm fans with a dust filter, one rear 80mm fan, and depending on the exact model it might have a top 80mm fan

Jony27 · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:54

even sexier,,is it just me or does it look like a lian-li case?

stulid · 2 Nov 2010 at 21:55

its about 7 years old at a guess

mine -

Mirage · 2 Nov 2010 at 22:55

It has the top fan, which has a dust mesh too

. It is an awesome case, so happy I spent the £80 (when that was a fair amount for a case) on this case at OcUK what must be 6 years ago now! (Review here: http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=251&pgno=1)

I am slightly worried about the length of the graphics I must admit. I've measured the gap and it's just shy of a foot, so I'll just have to be aware of this.

Here's my attempt at cable management... lol

. It does work however I can no longer remove the motherboard tray haha!

Mirage · 8 Nov 2010 at 13:40

Had some good news from SWALEC yesterday, my quartly bill came with them oweing me £140! This was an estimated reading and after providing the correct reading I'm actually owed £170. Money I wasn't expecting to get back if I'm honest!

These items are currently sat in my basket, awaiting 69xx release for final confirmation though:

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £204.99
OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G) £91.99
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366) £15.98
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £12.91

Jony27 · 8 Nov 2010 at 15:44

whats swalec? is that some compensation thingy? could always up the cooler to akasa venom or fenrir evo

stulid · 8 Nov 2010 at 15:45

South wales electricity board

Mirage · 8 Nov 2010 at 18:41

Good point about the cooler, if I'm going to spend what is now looking like £700 on a new PC (instead of the original £450!) I might as well get a better cooler.

Just need to read up on O/C the system now, my last gaming rig was a E2160 so I'm out of the loop with overclocking.

Finally, I'm not going to wait for the 69xx series. I can't really push much more than £350 given christmas and not worried about saving a small amount if the current ATI's drop.

Just a new PC desk, Wireless-N Router and possibly a new monitor and I'll be set

.

Mirage · 10 Nov 2010 at 13:09

Just ordered the last few pieces as two items I wanted were in this weeks deals.
I'm decorating the bedroom this weekend so these'll get fitted on Sunday, looking forward to having a gaming rig once again!

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1)
Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3)
Arctic Cooling MX-3 Thermal Compound

Mirage · 14 Nov 2010 at 23:03

Items arrived Thursday and got them installed. Few problems though unfortunately:

6870:

Can't believe the things so big!

Oops

Funny how I was worrying about the card (which fits easily!) but it's the HS that doesn't fit lol.

I've got 3 options, MM and buy a different cooler, mod the case (I also have a perspex window CM side panel which could be easier to test on) or dremel off the top of the heat pipes. Going to do some research on the third as I'd prefer to do that.

Unfortunately to add to my pain the system is unstable. At stock it freezes randomly (fresh W7 Ultimate). I've not had chance to problem solve yet as I've been decorating all weekend, a new bedroom for my new PC!

I've also lined up the next purchases.... so much for £450! Lol

Hanns.G HH251DPB 25" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £139.99
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £42.99
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £12.91
Ozone Ground Level Small Gaming Surface £6.99