Guide - the Budget Gaming PC

Brian

Solitaire wrote: »

Actually... I'm no longer that sure. Until recently everyone used a special benchtest made by DriverHeaven... but now there's a new one called Retouch Artists. The former puts Intel CPUs an almost ludicrous distance ahead of AMD chips. But the new Retouch puts Phenom and even Athlon2s on an almost equal footing with high-end i7s and also largely ignores HyperThreading. Naturally, each website is using the benchset that reflects their own bias best And there's nothing out there to give an honest interpretation of the issue

Ah, so it's a Photoshop-specific benchmark? I wasn't aware that performance varied so drastically between applications.

fwiw, I was looking at this - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html where the i3 530 gets 2,600 and the x4 945 gets 3,800

Solitaire

Sorry. That post was a bit much, didn't mean to upset you Edited.

You did sound like you were recommending not to touch the MSI with a bargepole. All the reviews I've seen point to it being a good budget mobo with few corners cut for the price. I'm not sure if the UD3 is worth the extra... God knows which one is more likely to go "pop"

And I never suggested that AMD chips can't run Photoshop. Every review for a good while had the Phenoms doing badly in all CS4 app tests. But that's based on the one dominant testing methodology and now there's a competing benchmark that says almost the opposite no-one knows what's right and wrong now due to the huge differences between the two tests.

Solitaire

Baza210 wrote: »

Ah, so it's a Photoshop-specific benchmark? I wasn't aware that performance varied so drastically between applications.

I was focusing on Adobe CS4, not all applications! :P

fwiw, I was looking at this - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html where the i3 530 gets 2,600 and the x4 945 gets 3,800

I don't really trust that test. It bases results on average results and speeds and it seems to have serious issues with Clarksfields - the i3-540 was miles past the superior i5-650 and the i3-530 samples were miles off and all reported being significantly underclocked. And their newer HT implementation worked on lots of stuff the older Nehalem HT didn't, yet in that test it gave all the Clarkies penaties for HT and the older i7s huge bonuses for their old HT. Liek, WTF?! :eek:

Safe to say that test seems even more irrelevent compared to real-world performance than most other synthetics

Effluo

Solitaire wrote: »

I don't really trust that test. It bases results on average results and speeds and it seems to have serious issues with Clarksfields - the i3-540 was miles past the superior i5-650 and the i3-530 samples were miles off and all reported being significantly underclocked. And their newer HT implementation worked on lots of stuff the older Nehalem HT didn't, yet in that test it gave all the Clarkies penaties for HT and the older i7s huge bonuses for their old HT. Liek, WTF?! :eek:

Oh ffs!!!

I'm gonna eat some noodles

Solitaire

Don't tell me I've upset you too?!

FFS I've already had some noodles today. Going to stomp off and play AC4 or something

dkmedia

Solitaire wrote: »

Sorry. That post was a bit much, didn't mean to upset you Edited.

You did sound like you were recommending not to touch the MSI with a bargepole. All the reviews I've seen point to it being a good budget mobo with few corners cut for the price. I'm not sure if the UD3 is worth the extra... God knows which one is more likely to go "pop"

And I never suggested that AMD chips can't run Photoshop. Every review for a good while had the Phenoms doing badly in all CS4 app tests. But that's based on the one dominant testing methodology and now there's a competing benchmark that says almost the opposite no-one knows what's right and wrong now due to the huge differences between the two tests.

At the end of the day, you cant really go wrong with the phenom or the core i3. I'd still vote for the amd build though with the ud3p, just from my experience.

Thanks Solitaire!

gamer_Niall

here is my budget 1700 euro lol
this is what i made/came up with have a look gimme some feed back pls

[FONT=verdana, arial]Gamer AMD Phenom X4 Antec 900 MKII[/FONT]
Processor {Speed}: PHENOM II X4 965 AM3 3.4 GHZ
Memory {Performance}: 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Hard Disk {Storage}: 1 TeraByte Hard Disk Drive
Optical Drive: Optical DVD 20X Rewriter ......
Video Card {Graphics}: Nvidia 9400GT 1 Gig
Motherboard: Asus M4A79 XTD EVO AM3
Monitor {Display}: 22'' TFT Wide Screen Monitor
Keyboard & Mouse: PS/2 Keyboard & Optical Mouse
AntiVirus Package: AVG AntiVirus Free Edition
Office Software: Open Office Suite PreInstalled
Warranty Period: 3 Year Return to Base Warranty
Operating System O/S: Windows 7 Professional 32 Bit
Power Supply: EVO 700 watt Gaming PSU
Networking {Broadband}: 10/100 & Wifi Wireless
TV Card: Not Installed
2nd Optical Drive: Not Installed
2nd Hard Disk: Not Installed
CPU Cooling: T/Take Performance Cooling

from www.custompc.ie ^^^^^^

i don't know much about PC builds or what goes good with what so i need help with making one

i currently have a Dell dimension 5150(piece of crap) but it has done its job so far. i play a lot of games online and off, fps mmorpg's ect, and i need a better PC so any help is appreciated

yomamasflavour

Don't touch that build, even with a bargepole!

For less than half the cost you could get a monster of a system.
Far more powerful than the one listed.

Solitaire

Over €700 isn't a budget build, let alone €1700!! :eek:

And +1 for the "don't touch with bargepole" sentiment! :P

AlmightyCushion

@ Niall - that is completely rubbish value for money and definitely not a gaming machine.

Hornd

12gigs on a 32bit OS is a *tiny bit overkill

*insanely

I know this is harsh but I find it hard to believe you have even briefly looked at this thread even a page or 2 back!

Theres loads of info with good builds on it!;)

Something like an i5/i7 build with 4 g ram is what your probably looking for.

wli

ya niall, that amd x4, is expensive for the cost.

I am in the process of building an i7 system, could any1 recommend the best i7 processor for the cost, obviously i dont just want the cheapest as it would have the best cost ratio, what i want is best for value.
Friends hav said buy the cheapest and over clock it, dnt no much bou over clocking.

Any Advice!!!

Hornd

Realistically, this probably isn't what you want to hear but in my opinion (not that it counts for much:o) generally the cheaper high end components are the best buys. Unless you specifically want/need the higher end models there generally not worth the money.

What are you going to be doing with the system? In my case I just put a pc together and went with the i5-750. There is nothing that I do that needs more than the power of the i5, if even it - just your regular apps, Photoshop and games. I could have gone with the i7 but there’s nothing I could do with it that I couldn't with the i5. Obviously for some people, they do need the difference but if you’re unsure as to what you want you probably don’t need it:)

I don't think there'll be a massive difference in future proofing between the two and its difficult to say where the 1156/1366 boards will be in the future with regards to future proofing. Unless you think you'll need the extra power I'd go with the i5-750(it has 4 real cores!) or if you want the i7 on a 1366 board then the 920! From my limited experiences with the i5-750 has been great. Brilliant speeds and runs really cool.

wli

I never really considered the i5, I would be doin a lot of gaming.
Gaming and future proofing were the main to reasons to go with the i7.
I will look again at the i5,
thanks m8

gamer_Niall

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

@ Niall - that is completely rubbish value for money and definitely not a gaming machine.

i don't know much about gaming computer builds, i would of went out and bought that thing,,,

i'll have a look threw the pages see what u guys have

and i know 1700 isn't a budget build but its what im willing to spend, i love my gaming ^^

Solitaire

For €1700 you should have a top-of-the-top-of-the range head-exploding build :eek:

EDIT: Thread split, new build is now over here

norrie rugger

Reading this thread, you guys do know that there is a nice little market here.

Many people would pay you the money to build their Gaming rigs nice and cheap for them.

FearComplex

norrie rugger wrote: »

Reading this thread, you guys do know that there is a nice little market here.

Many people would pay you the money to build their Gaming rigs nice and cheap for them.

agreed, there's definitely a market there. I need a new pc for audio production and I'd pay for someone to put it together right.

Effluo

norrie rugger wrote: »

Many people would pay you the money to build their Gaming rigs nice and cheap for them.

Working on it as you speak

thewheel2.0

What do you think of this low budget gaming/entertainment pc rig?

Screen cap of basket

dkmedia

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

What do you think of this low budget gaming/entertainment pc rig?

Screen cap of basket

I'd change the ram, i'd go with at least 1333mhz ram to allow for a better overclock. For around €15 more you could get the hd 5770 rather than the hd 5750. You could use a triple core Amd Athlon II x3 435 instead of the II x4 640, that would save €22. The triple core cpu is clocked higher than the quad, so you should have a higher potential overclock as well, basically I think 3 "fast" cores are better than 4 slower ones when it comes to gaming. You could save €5 by choosing the Coolermaster rc 331 or 333.

http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/CPU/AMD-Athlon-II-X3-435-and-AMD-X4-Athlon-II-630/Page-4.html =>Some benchmarks

Overall, the build seems pretty good- Good quality power supply with plenty of power for what you need, good budget case & fast hard drive.

What resolution do you game at?

Solitaire

Good stuff

Some niggles:

MSI 770-C45 is a much better mobo

Dreadful memory, worse than most DDR2 modules A 2x2GB kit of 1333MHz DDR3-10600 modules should set you back €80-90 and given the performance difference you should go for them instead.

Do you need a DVD drive?

Case is nice but if you don't need the window there are now better models in the €30-45 price range. Check out the Thermaltake V3, NZXT Gamma, Antec 200 and Antec 300. Note that the first two have swanky internal paintjobs despite being cheaper!

dkmedia

Solitaire wrote: »

Good stuff

Some niggles:

MSI 770-C45 is a much better mobo

Dreadful memory, worse than most DDR2 modules A 2x2GB kit of 1333MHz DDR3-10600 modules should set you back €80-90 and given the performance difference you should go for them instead.

Check out the Thermaltake V3, NZXT Gamma, Antec 200 and Antec 300. Note that the first two have swanky internal paintjobs despite being cheaper!

Hey Solitaire!

I have to say I agree with everything that you said, the Msi mobo is much better than the Asrock for only an extra €3 . If I'm not mistaken it could be possible to unlock the triple core amd into a quad using that mobo -> obviously no guarantees.

thewheel2.0

Thanks for your inputs especially bout the motherboard and RAM.

Ive been gaming on my macbook pro so any upgrade at all will be a good one!
And i have a DVD drive.

Its a bit expensive but here we go:
Second Revision

Not sure about RAM and Graphics this time. Pretty happy with the rest of it and yes I want the window in the case:D

dkmedia

What resolution will you be playing games on?

If below 1920 x 1080 the hd 5750 will be fine, whereas the hd 5770 will offer better performance at this resolution.

>>By the way, you have 2 motherboards in your basket lol - I was wondering how it cost so much.<<

Solitaire

Heh... forgot to say earlier about the graphics cards. HD5770 if the monitor is 1080p, HD5750 for a msaller screen resolution.

Yup, second mobo is what's causing the problem :D

thewheel2.0

I'l be gaming at either 1080i or 1080p here is the Monitor I have.

Third revision

What does everyone think of the graphics? Are club3D a good brand? Could I go for a less expensive one like this? I dont know what to choose when it comes to graphics cards?

So I was looking on HWS do they now take paypal? They said they would send me a paypal link to pay in my order confirmaiton. So I dont have to use back transfer anymore?

Solitaire

That other card ain't no HD5770...

That's about as cheap as you can get a HD5770 1GB at the moment. Don't get a 512MB version, you need the larger framebuffer at 1080p! And no, I've never had a problem with Club3D before.

And to be a pain in the ass I thought I should mention that A-Data have both cheaper and better RAM modules :P

dkmedia

definately not the hd 5570!

the third revision of your build looks good.

Did you check total price on komplett, dabs & Pixmania?

>>Pixmania have a deal at the moment<<

http://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk/discounts/pixmania.ie

15% off for baskets over €400, valid until the 23rd of March. Could end up saving you a lot of money. They accept Laser, Paypal and Credit Card.

EDIT:
http://twitpic.com/19lm08/full heres a basket that I used to get a price, they didnt have the case you wanted so I just added the Akasa Zen (they have other Coolermaster cases as well as some cheap cases with side windows), i had to add a 1tb Spinpoint rather than the 500gb one.

Total including delivery comes to €555, assuming the 15% discount works (and applies to the delivery as well): 555 x .15 = 83.25
So total now becomes 555 - 83.25 = €471.75

Solitaire

The Zen is nice but really not very good for airflow Pix still has the NZXT Gamma for under €40 and the Antec 200 for a couple of quid more; both are far superior cases.