Looking to build a gaming machine [+REP]

[Kevin]

Hey,
I'm looking to build a gaming machine, my budget can vary a little bit, but i want to keep it on the cheap side.

I'm Going to be starting from scratch,
Question 1: How much money will it cost me to build a decent gaming PC
(Not including the OS)

Could you also possibly list some items from different company's that would be good in the machine, i think I've already chosen my case as the

Antec 900 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268)

What do you guys reckon of it, would it be a good case.


Thank you for reading my post, all helpful answers will be rewarded with + Reputation

Kevin

[Kyle!]

Yeah that case is good, i think for a decent gaming PC, I think around £500.

[scottish]

Before i post i'll let you know - i know nothing about ATI cards i don't know which ones better and so on so i always stick to nVidia just so you know ^^

Sony DRU-V200S 20X DVD±RW DL & DVD-RAM Serial ATA - Retail Black & Silver Bezel & Nero (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151827) 151827 £17.30
Antec Nine Hundred 900 - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268) 118268 £69.99
BFG 9800GTX+ OC Edition 512MB Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148490) 148490 £162.34
Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII *32MB Cache* - OEM (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143288) 143288 £73.39
OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Platinum Performance CL5 (5-4-4-18) (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132904) 132904 £43.52
EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/147805) 147805 £153.06
Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514) 135514 £69.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB (4MB per core pair) Retail Boxed Processor (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950) 131950 £148.95


Total: £738.54

[Kevin]

Thank you both for your help, keep it coming please, im looking to spend around 500£

[scottish]

Do you need 4GB RAM
Does it definetly have to be that case
Quad or Dual core
Want SLI/Crossfire mobo or not?

[Kevin]

Do you need 4GB RAM
Does it definetly have to be that case
Quad or Dual core
Want SLI/Crossfire mobo or not?


Scrap the case if it means cheaper

[Pyroka]

Before i post i'll let you know - i know nothing about ATI cards i don't know which ones better and so on so i always stick to nVidia just so you know ^^

Sony DRU-V200S 20X DVD±RW DL & DVD-RAM Serial ATA - Retail Black & Silver Bezel & Nero (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151827) 151827 £17.30
Antec Nine Hundred 900 - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268) 118268 £69.99
BFG 9800GTX+ OC Edition 512MB Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148490) 148490 £162.34
Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII *32MB Cache* - OEM (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143288) 143288 £73.39
OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Platinum Performance CL5 (5-4-4-18) (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132904) 132904 £43.52
EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/147805) 147805 £153.06
Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514) 135514 £69.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB (4MB per core pair) Retail Boxed Processor (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950) 131950 £148.95


Total: £738.54

That sounds so ******ic. I'd so try and get the Antec 1200 if you have the money, it's well worth it. Also you'd probably get 2 good graphics cards for the price of 150 odd quid on eBay if you search hard. There's bargins to be found on that thinggg.

[scottish]

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/593/screenshot015pi4.png

What you saying that starred out ryan

Ebay sucks never buy gfx card and stuff off ebay, i never buy anything off ebay ;S

[Wootzeh]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268 Antec 900 - £69.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142585 Motherboard - £90.20
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124922 PSU - £28.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139414 DVD RW £15.93
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141471 hard drive £40.23
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755 Memory £27.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950 Processor £148.95
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148491 Graphics card £113.91

Total : 508.19

dnno if you wanted a monitor

[scottish]

Should get 4GB thats standard now.

Get a non budget PSU or you'll regret it

[Kevin]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268 Antec 900 - £69.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142585 Motherboard - £90.20
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124922 PSU - £28.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139414 DVD RW £15.93
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141471 hard drive £40.23
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755 Memory £27.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950 Processor £148.95
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148491 Graphics card £113.91

Total : 508.19

dnno if you wanted a monitor


Nah, i dont want a monitor.
What do you guys think of this setup? I think ill need 4gb ram rather to 2

[scottish]

As i said 4GB memory, that PSU is budget one get corsair or OCZ or along those lines.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9853/screenshot016wp6.png

can save a bunch if you go with the Coolermaster (case is still pretty nice tbh)

[Kevin]

That 4GB memory listed in your first post is now out of stock

[scottish]

Yeh i changed it ^^

[N!ck]

Mobo: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145751 - £98
CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950 - £149
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128022 - £39
Case & PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101 - £53
DVD-RW: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148588 - £17
HDD: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141471 - £41
GPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146705 - £119

Total = £516. IMO, the best you can buy for around your price range.

Will you be looking at buying a genuine copy of Vista?

[Kevin]

Mobo: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145751 - £98
CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950 - £149
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128022 - £39
Case & PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101 - £53
DVD-RW: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148588 - £17
HDD: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141471 - £41
GPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146705 - £119

Total = £516. IMO, the best you can buy for around your price range.

Will you be looking at buying a genuine copy of Vista?

I'll be looking for vista, but i doubt it will be genuine :P.

If i were to order this, is there any tools/cables I would need to buy?


EDIT: somone over at ebuyer forums created this setup:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/atomicpineapple/500pc-4.jpg

Ooops, needs RAM. 4GB Kingston here. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/133709 £35



What's that like^^

[scottish]

Sata if they don't come with the mobo (you'll need ones for hdd and the dvd-rw)

[scottish]

If your not ocing your Processor no real need to get better heatsink. You won't need 650W PSU either for them specs.

[N!ck]

All the cables you need will come with the mobo. I still prefer my setup. The mobo in the eBuyer forum setup is good, for the money, but has a slightly older iP35 chipset, compared to the iP35 in mine, and I prefer the HDD in mine as it has 32MB cache. Also, the RAM that i recommended runs at a higher clock, so data can flow in and out of it faster.

The case and PSU combination may be a better chouce if you plan on upgrading parts in the future. If not, the PSU in mine will be fine.

[Kevin]

I'm stuck now, i dont know whether to save up for a little while and get the better one, do you reckon its a noticeable difference and i will regret it?

[N!ck]

I'm stuck now, i dont know whether to save up for a little while and get the better one, do you reckon its a noticeable difference and i will regret it?

What is your decision between?

[lolwut]

Ebay sucks never buy gfx card and stuff off ebay, i never buy anything off ebay ;S
Just because you don't buy things off eBay doesn't mean he can't...

I reckon if you hunt for a Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM, 1 or 2 HDD's, Asus Mobo and PSU on eBuyer, you'd save enough to get Cooler Master C690 (or atleast I think that's what it's called, the case ***** and Andys have).

[scottish]

I'm not saying he can't?

I'm highly recommending he doesn't. :)

[illegal]

You are looking at £1,000 if you want a decent moniter + sound system as well. I'd suggest you go for 4/8GB of RAM. A large 200+ GB hard drive, because assuming your planning on installing games and also listening to music on this system. Your going to want a fast processer, I suggest a Intel Duel Core 2 Processer. 'top of the line' graphics card and also a good sound card. I'd go with seround sound as well, gun-shots etc sound much better.

[Kevin]

You are looking at £1,000 if you want a decent moniter + sound system as well. I'd suggest you go for 4/8GB of RAM. A large 200+ GB hard drive, because assuming your planning on installing games and also listening to music on this system. Your going to want a fast processer, I suggest a Intel Duel Core 2 Processer. 'top of the line' graphics card and also a good sound card. I'd go with seround sound as well, gun-shots etc sound much better.


I allready have 22" LG monitor, Im taking it in baby steps, buy the CPU then mabye surround sound

[DaveTaylor]

Every machine I seen posted is still to much there are lot cheaper machines that game like mine.

[scottish]

Depends what games though, cause even the 8 series nvidia does fine for some games like the 8600 can run most games fine which saves about 100+ quid.

Dual core can run as good as quad core games, etc.

[DaveTaylor]

Depends what games though, cause even the 8 series nvidia does fine for some games like the 8600 can run most games fine which saves about 100+ quid.

Dual core can run as good as quad core games, etc.

I have a dual core and it runs crysis better than my friends quad core due to my GFX card, as the game depends more on the GPU than the CPU.

[Wootzeh]

I have a dual core and it runs crysis better than my friends quad core due to my GFX card, as the game depends more on the GPU than the CPU.
compare it running flight sim then?

[Kevin]

What do you guys think of this setup:

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/663719524c885ffebuyer_setup.jpg

[scottish]

I'd get a quad core (about 15 quid more) and get a lower end Gfx card.

Have you looked at like 8800's?

[Kevin]

I'd get a quad core (about 15 quid more) and get a lower end Gfx card.

Have you looked at like 8800's?

Why do you reccon a lower end graphics card?

[scottish]

You don't exactly need top end graphics cards really, my old 8600 still plays most games on max settings (obviously not crysis and so on) so it's not exactly NEEDED to get the brand new gfx card, if you wish to then yeh, fine but you know :P

[N!ck]

What do you guys think of this setup:

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/663719524c885ffebuyer_setup.jpg

You forgot a disk drive. Motherboard is also a but hmm-ish but would probably be fine.

And i still stand by my recommendation. Higher cache HDD, faster RAM and Quad core CPU. Graphics card not as good, but £20-30 cheaper overall (consider you still need an optical drive in your config).

Maybe interchange netween the Q6600 and and E8400 CPUs and the 4850 and 4870 GPUs, but that's up to you - whether you want graphics power or processing power.

http://uploadpicz.com/images/EYRG92B.png

[Kevin]

Which graphics card is better:

This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148490

Or this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152939

[N!ck]

Which graphics card is better:

This:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148490

Or this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152939

The 4870 easy. The 4850 which i recommended is also better than the 9800 and a lot cheaper :).

[Kevin]

The 4870 easy. The 4850 which i recommended is also better than the 9800 and a lot cheaper :).

The 4850:
Sorry, this product is now discontinued and is no longer available for sale on the Ebuyer.com website.


Would you be able to add me on msn nick and scott? It would be great if you could. my msn is:http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/7229cf35c373b92myemail.jpg


Thank you,

Kevin

[N!ck]

The 4850:
Sorry, this product is now discontinued and is no longer available for sale on the Ebuyer.com website.


Would you be able to add me on msn nick and scott? It would be great if you could. my msn is:http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/7229cf35c373b92myemail.jpg


Thank you,

Kevin

4850 is there? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146705

I added you on MSN btw.

[Kevin]

Right, me and scott have been speaking on MSN for ages, what do you guys think of this setup:

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/06605528c9cf77dbadboy.jpg

[N!ck]

Yes, but this RAM if you want 4GB. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148859

Other than that it is OK.

[Kevin]

Yes, but this RAM if you want 4GB. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148859

Other than that it is OK.

It looks like a decent PC build and a good buy?

[Nick.]

Get a Macintosh!

I kid, I kid... We all know they don't excel in the gaming world :8

[N!ck]

It looks like a decent PC build and a good buy?

With the RAM change then yes it's a decent PC build.

[Kevin]

With the RAM change then yes it's a decent PC build.

What's wrong with the OCZ ram?

[N!ck]

What's wrong with the OCZ ram?

The one i posted has a higher clock, so data can flow in and out of it faster and it slightly cheaper.

[Kevin]

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/039627538d17ab9Custom_PC_build.jpg

Right ive fixed the ram, what do you guys think of it now

[Kevin]

FINAL BUILD;

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/7723cd8b62ef1a7FINAL_BUILD.jpg


Please let me know what you think of it, have i missed anything, is everything compatible with eachother.

Thank you,

Kevin.

[Stephen!]

Looks OK.. but i think you've gone over the top by getting antistatic matting. The wrist band is enough.

[N!ck]

Yes. Click buy :). I personally wouldn't bother with all the anti-static stuff, but if it's your first time doing something like this then you may as well get it for peace of mind. The wrist-band will be useful though.

[Kevin]

Looks OK.. but i think you've gone over the top by getting antistatic matting. The wrist band is enough.


Yes. Click buy :). I personally wouldn't bother with all the anti-static stuff, but if it's your first time doing something like this then you may as well get it for peace of mind. The wrist-band will be useful though.


I think since it is my first build and im dealing with an expensive machine i should take precautions

[Kevin]

Look, I'm extremely sorry for this double post, but a member on ebuyer forums has advised me to change the Motherboard and the Processor


The 3ghz dual core will be better for gaming than the quad's 2.4 ghz IMO http://forums.ebuyer.com/images/smilies/smile.gif Also did you take the 64 bit OS for 4GB of ram

If look at the Mobo i suggested earlier you will see it as a PCI-E 2.0 which will utilize the power of the 4870 and is more future proof


I need to get this order out tonight to have any chance of it being delivered before or shortly after christmas, thank you for your help and time, Do you reccon it's in order to change both?

[scottish]

I doubt you'll notice performance between dual and quad core on gfx but quad is more future proof aswell if games eventually reach the 4 cores.

You can also overclock the Quar core to 3ghz easily

Idk about the mobo as you took the one from ebuyer thread IIRC post the two links :P

[Kevin]

I doubt you'll notice performance between dual and quad core on gfx but quad is more future proof aswell if games eventually reach the 4 cores.

You can also overclock the Quar core to 3ghz easily

Idk about the mobo as you took the one from ebuyer thread IIRC post the two links :P

The two links for the mobo's

One he has recommended
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145704


One that was in the latest build:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148800

[Stephen!]

You will NOT notice a difference between a PCI-E 1 and 2.0 motherboard with a 4870.

[Kevin]

Right, this is what i have decided on:

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/525267672ce2f41last_1.jpg

[scottish]

thought you were switching to samsung? :P

[Kevin]

thought you were switching to samsung? :P

I was going to, but a hard drive is a hard drive, and that has bigger cache, even though samsung has more extras, most of them are just ******** though

[Soy]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268 Antec 900 - £69.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142585 Motherboard - £90.20
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124922 PSU - £28.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139414 DVD RW £15.93
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141471 hard drive £40.23
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755 Memory £27.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950 Processor £148.95
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148491 Graphics card £113.91

Total : 508.19

dnno if you wanted a monitor

That looks 10/10 for the price, but prehaps get a 4850 HD for the graphics card (about the same price as the 9800GT) but better in performance.

You get a PC like that and you should be ready for the future of gaming :)

[Kevin]

No, this is what i shall go with, aslong as everything is there

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/3210c94d6d64971google_checkout.jpg

[scottish]

Costs him £26 shipping cause hes from ireland :|||| costs £0 if your from uk omg lol

[Kevin]

Yea, i cant afford to be paying out any more shipping:

Is this EVERYTHING I NEED:

Kingston RAM
Wireless Adaptor
Graphics card
Quad Processor
Maxtor 500GB Hard drive
CoolMaster Case
Sony CD Drive
Gigabite MOBO

[Nick.]

Yea, i cant afford to be paying out any more shipping:

Is this EVERYTHING I NEED:

Kingston RAM
Wireless Adaptor
Graphics card
Quad Processor
Maxtor 500GB Hard drive
CoolMaster Case
Sony CD Drive
Gigabite MOBO
Where do the USB ports come from? Sorry if that sounds like a silly question I've never built a PC lol.

[scottish]

Mobo comes with 6 or 8 ports from what i remember and case has 2 built in front

[Kevin]

WOAH, it's been a long and winding process, but there finally on order!!, I'd like to thank everyone who posted this thread, rep will be rewarded to those who i can.

Please do not post any more suggestions, as it has been ordered, this is the final decision

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/192893922860c3eORDERED.jpg


Cant wait for it to arrive, got RIPPED off on the shipping and the delivery date, but who cares! it's done and ill be gaming in no time


Thank's again,

Kevin

[Jordy]

WOAH, it's been a long and winding process, but there finally on order!!, I'd like to thank everyone who posted this thread, rep will be rewarded to those who i can.

Please do not post any more suggestions, as it has been ordered, this is the final decision

http://www.tehupload.com/uploads/192893922860c3eORDERED.jpg


Cant wait for it to arrive, got RIPPED off on the shipping and the delivery date, but who cares! it's done and ill be gaming in no time


Thank's again,

KevinThat's decent shipping, it usually costs me about £6 per item on eBuyer (Despite it supposedly being free), it's also going to Ireland so that's rather good.

[N!ck]

Why did you change the hard drive?

[scottish]

Recommendations on ebuyer forums.

[N!ck]

Recommendations on ebuyer forums.

Kk, fair enough. Looks a decent build.

[DaveTaylor]

compare it running flight sim then?

Give me a license and the game and I will?