Guide - the Budget Gaming PC

Solitaire

Jebus Christo! No official minimum system requirement for APBR but from what I'm hearing about the beta its going to be a fast tri-core CPU minimum :eek:

Is this going to be the first UEngine 4 release??!? :eek:

Right, I'm off to hunt. With less going on the monitor and Win7 coming to €45 I'll have to bump this system up a notch as it sounds like its going to be playing games with recommended specs that would make Crysis and Metro 2033 cry We're talking ArmA2-on-a-bad-day here :eek:

Solitaire

Not seeing any of those offers you were talking about deejer

Aveidha

First off,thanks for looking up the monitor for me.It's just a pity there isn't anything going lol.I dunno about needing a tri-core CPU for APBR,I got into the closed beta with 2.10 dual-core from 2 years ago:D.Not to mention one of the cheapest graphics cards I've ever heard of.I like the sweet sound of Crysis crying when it meets my computer.Music to my ears!:p I havent heard of ArmA2 but I'll try it just out if it's good.

deejer

Solitaire wrote: »

Not seeing any of those offers you were talking about deejer

I know. I actually had a quick look earlier myself last night and couldnt see much. I sold an alright 21" asus monitor a few months ago for EUR60 and thought that was the going price. Think you could knock 10-20 off most of them prices anyway.

this might be an option if you are looking for something new.

Solitaire

Aveidha wrote: »

I dunno about needing a tri-core CPU for APBR,I got into the closed beta with 2.10 dual-core from 2 years ago:D.Not to mention one of the cheapest graphics cards I've ever heard of.

That might be the reason for your performance problems I looked it up and found no minimujm system requirements but I did see that the recommended system is a decent quad-core plus a HD6750-level GPU, and on several fora people trying the beta complained about horrific lag and other issues with even fast dual-cores, much worse than the previous legend, GTA4

I havent heard of ArmA2 but I'll try it just out if it's good.

Its just an FPS, the reason I cited it is because even more than GTA4 its a total ball-buster for CPUs, like the way Crysis and Metro beat the living daylights out of unassuming graphics cards :P

deejer wrote: »

this might be an option if you are looking for something new.

I can get better off HWVS for €90, that kind of monitor is only €70-80 there

Assuming that you get Win7 for €45 and have ~€500 for the system and monitor I'll roll up a build in a few minutes

Solitaire

Ick. Tried to put together a significantly superior machine but it came to nearly €540 Guess Full HD will have to wait...

For anyone who has the extra cash though:

DermotOH

Good tutorial if you want to game on Mac OS

http://lifehacker.com/5815715/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-mini-for-less-than-600

Builds useless although unless you want to order from the US,

Might be looking for a 500 build soon enough

deconduo

DermotOH wrote: »

Good tutorial if you want to game on Mac OS

Does not compute

DermotOH

deconduo wrote: »

Does not compute

Ha yeah its not for everyone

daba

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

Heres what I would put up against that comp you posted earlier.
it has a better, newer graphics card, it has a sandybridge i5 and has a brilliant case for airflow, total came to €743.62 including shipping:



I can post links to all of them components if you like

Hi
actually i'm looking for reviews about the case , i cant find anything at all online, no reviews , no videos, nothing the description and the pictures in revoltec website seems to be pleasing my taste very well , but i have doubts about the build quality ,have u use this case b4 or came across it, is it reliable & stable !!!!!

IrishMetalhead

it would be fairly hard to find reviews on it as revoltec is a very budgeted brand but i can confirm the build quality is fairly decent (same as anyother sub €50 case) and the airflow is quite good beings as it has 2 120mm fans so it's the most bang for your buck case on there for under €50 but unfortunatly you do have to sacrifice not getting a more known brand

deconduo

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

it would be fairly hard to find reviews on it as revoltec is a very budgeted brand but i can confirm the build quality is fairly decent (same as anyother sub €50 case) and the airflow is quite good beings as it has 2 120mm fans so it's the most bang for your buck case on there for under €50 but unfortunatly you do have to sacrifice not getting a more known brand

How does it compare to the Xigmatek Asgard do you know? Thats pretty much my go to case for budget builds.

Monotype

If you are planning on getting that build, you might want to revise parts of it, especially the motherboard.

Edit

deconduo wrote: »

How does it compare to the Xigmatek Asgard do you know? Thats pretty much my go to case for budget builds.

It actually looks decent enough.
http://www.revoltec.net/revoltec.net/index.php?StoryID=7&ArticleID=359&WorldID=6&websiteLang=en#

eSATA isn't seen in the asgard, so that's a bonus. It's kind of screwless but I think the asgard does better in that department (including case itself & hard drives). As far as I can make out, you can take off both sides of the case and there's a hole to attach any big CPU heatsinks.
Still worth €40, if you don't fancy the asgard.

Oh yeah, apparently the USB ports are USB 3.

Sofiztikated

deconduo wrote: »

How does it compare to the Xigmatek Asgard do you know? Thats pretty much my go to case for budget builds.

I'm guessing you know the Xigmatek lineup, how does the Asgard II compare to the III? The orange accents on the II drew my eye. Petty I know.

deconduo

Sofiztikated wrote: »

I'm guessing you know the Xigmatek lineup, how does the Asgard II compare to the III? The orange accents on the II drew my eye. Petty I know.

As far as I can tell the only difference is essentially cosmetic. The front panel is moved from the middle of the case to the top and one of the 5.25'' bays has been replaced by a 3.5'' bay instead.

Inside they are identical really.

IrishMetalhead

ypu defo go with a new mobo if your going for that set-up because you can get p67 or z68 board for that price now easily

Tea_Bag

While everyone is still talking about cases, can anyone give me a heads up the best case to get for under £35 from scan.co.uk?

short link to cases

they only have the xigmatek asgard 1 on the site, and lots of coolermasters, but does anyone have any opinions for me?

im a little worried about standing a Super flower amazon PSU (which is bloody heavy) on the top of the case, it just doesnt seem right over there, but id say they can handle it fine and im just being paranoid. still though, any opinions?

EDIT: it would be lovely if the case had 2 or more fans pre installed?

deconduo

I've had no problems with SF Amazons and the Asgards. An extra fan would be nice though. I find them much better quality than the CM Elites.

The NZXT Beta is a decent choice as well.

Tea_Bag

yea i noticed that NZXT Beta and it was the only one that stood out to me. Hmm choices choices choices. Thanks Dec

EDIT: the only cheap CM case im being lured into is the Coolermaster Elite 360, buit id have to use it as my HTPC case and not a gaming case.

anyone know off hand how big of a CPU heatsink cooler the asgard can take? i think mine is 120mm (Akasa freedom tower)

deconduo

Tea_Bag wrote: »

yea i noticed that NZXT Beta and it was the only one that stood out to me. Hmm choices choices choices. Thanks Dec

EDIT: the only cheap CM case im being lured into is the Coolermaster Elite 360, buit id have to use it as my HTPC case and not a gaming case.

anyone know off hand how big of a CPU heatsink cooler the asgard can take? i think mine is 120mm (Akasa freedom tower)

The largest one I've used in an Asgard is the Arctic Freezer 7. I didn't have any problems with it, though thats only 92mm I think.

daba

well i agree with you , it has everything that other expensive cases have . usb 3.0 in the front , 2 revoltec fans 120/140, excellent air flow "i hope", looks very decent and clean design , ssd adaptor, toolless or screwless installation. i will buy it and may b the first one to review it ???

Monotype

Yes, please. I'd be interested to see more. :cool:

SwarfegaHead

Could anyone tell me if it'd would it be worth shelling out an extra 30 quid on the AMD Phenom II 3.2 6-core over the Phenom II Quadcore 3.4?

Monotype

What will you be using it for? If it's for games, you won't see much difference having extra cores, but other applications may avail of them. The X6s overclock pretty well.
If it's a new build and money is tight, it might be worth your while spending any extra money on getting a board which will be compatible with the new processors - i.e., socket AM3+ for full utilisation or AM3 880G/890GX/890FX (and possibly others) boards listed as being compatible on the individual manufacturer websites.

SwarfegaHead

It's mainly for gaming at the minute but it's something I'm planning to keep for a while so upgrading to allow for some home music recording might be a factor, which can be pretty heavy or so I'm told. New to all this built-it-yourself stuff so not really sure what the story is!

Edit: Was looking at the Saphhire Crossfire 890GX to compliment the graphics card I got. Opinion?

Monotype

Where are you buying this from? Pixmania? You don't often see Sapphire boards. Is this a whole build? Maybe start with your budget.
There's not much info on their website about their board - They're not a large player in this division, more famous for their graphics cards but they're getting involved in everything now releasing decent PSU line recently.

SwarfegaHead

yeah pixmania for the minute, as soon as I've got what I want in mind I might shop around see what prices are like. I haven't really planned a budget as such, just tryna keep it as cheap as I can, I'm mainly gearing it towards playing Arma 2 well, and BF3 when that comes out, as well as not needing upgrading for a while.

Here's the Sappire card: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/8929023/art/sapphire-technology/pure-crossfirex-890gx-am3.html

Any possible alternatives are welcomed!

IrishMetalhead

you should check out hardwareversand.de as there alot cheaper then pixmania and the cheapest place to buy in general.
wouldnt bother with that mobo as its am3 which is getting replaced by the am3+ boards for when the new amd procs come out so i would highly recommend getting one of them if your planning to upgrade in the near future also while sapphire make brilliant graphic cards there motherboards arnt so good

edit: also have you already gotten your graphics card? if so what one do you have? plus i just specced out something for you on hardwareversand for just under €550 without the graphics card that is highly upgradeable if you want me to post it?

Monotype

I don't think the Sapphire board is a good idea unless they provide information on AM3+ compatibility. It is at a fairly competitive price against most 890GX boards.
On hardwareversand, I see an Asrock 890GX for similar price and they said that they would offer compatibility with a BIOS upgrade. I would recommend waiting a little time to get a full AM3+ board. The 970 don't have a definite arrival time but this 980FX board from gigabyte looks like a good deal and is due in a week.
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=48265

The only thing about hardwareversand is that you have to pay using a bank transfer. Shipping is a fixed €30, regardless of what you buy, so good for larger orders. If you don't fancy this, scan.co.uk is a good site - except their login and their RAM selection so you can use memoryc.com to complement them. Scan and memoryc have very fast delivery (memoryc has free delivery).

IrishMetalhead

actually there is one 970 board in atm and shockingly enough it's asus who bet everyone else to market with the 970 chipset, suprise suprise

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=47591&agid=1232
(good looking board tho)