Getting a Gaming PC soon , Help me decide *

LpPepper · 27-10-2010 11:42pm #1

So ,

Looking at a cheap but good gaming pc . A mate of mine bought a custom pc off ebay back in July - AMD sempron 140 single core 2.7Ghz , 4GB DDR2 Ram , 500GB HD and then bought himself a Sapphire HD 5750 1GB .

He has XP installed on that . Plays WoW with Maxed settings and gets a constant 60FPS . Also plays Fallout New Vegas with settings maxed and gets high FPS .

Now , some boardsies here have said that single core processors are no good for gaming . With that advice I've found this - http://cgi.ebay.ie/AMD-445-TRIPLE-CORE-DESKTOP-PC-COMPUTER-500GB-H-DRIVE-/400151622320?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item5d2ae532b0#shId

Looks good , I'll be buying the Sapphire HD 5750 1GB regardless of what PC I get . Only worry is is that it has only 2GB of ram .

Advice would be appreciated.

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 12:29am

OR this :

http://cgi.ebay.ie/SPS-DESKTOP-PC-INTEL-E5400-500GB-4GB-GAMING-COMPUTER-/160439362815?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item255aee64ff

(again buying the Sapphire 5750 1GB )

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 12:37am

All these things are coming through around €300 shipped but are loaded with substandard junk as well. I can happily give you pre-assembled substandard junk from HWVS for €250 shipped

:P

How much are you willing to pay on top of everything else for the base unit?

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 12:39am

Solitaire wrote: »

All these things are coming through around €300 shipped but are loaded with substandard junk as well. I can happily give you pre-assembled substandard junk from HWVS for €250 shipped :P

How much are you willing to pay on top of everything else for the base unit?

Max is €450 Incl. the Graphics Card

What I dont understand is how its "substandard" if my mate gets 40-50FPS with settings maxed on Fallout New Vegas

?

EDIT: Also it must be pre-built if possible , Ive no idea how to assemble one Haha

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 12:47am

Its not too hard to build these things but I'll use the assembly option in HWVS this time. So you have €400 for hardware, taking off assembly and shipping.

And the issue with substandard junk is reliability and longevity. And to a lesser degree expandability and upgradeability, but for you the bigger issue would be cheapo kamikaze PSUs blowing your rig, heat issues with substandard case airflow and cooling, or phantom stability issues with mobo or RAM.

And to be honest I really don't know how anyone could get 40+FPS in NV with a single-core CPU. Sure, the engine in question is as old as the hills (early 2006 actually!

) but even then... maybe if the second core was unlocked it would be feasible. Especially at lower resolutions!

I'm off to bother HWVS, back in a mo!

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 1:00am

Solitaire wrote: »

Its not too hard to build these things but I'll use the assembly option in HWVS this time. So you have €400 for hardware, taking off assembly and shipping.

And the issue with substandard junk is reliability and longevity. And to a lesser degree expandability and upgradeability, but for you the bigger issue would be cheapo kamikaze PSUs blowing your rig, heat issues with substandard case airflow and cooling, or phantom stability issues with mobo or RAM.

And to be honest I really don't know how anyone could get 40+FPS in NV with a single-core CPU. Sure, the engine in question is as old as the hills (early 2006 actually! ) but even then... maybe if the second core was unlocked it would be feasible. Especially at lower resolutions!

I'm off to bother HWVS, back in a mo!

Thanks for the reply again

Well its true

I witnessed it yesterday :DHaha , He overclocked his 5750 a little too.

Here's my current basket on HWVS - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/basket.jsp

I cant choose a mainframe (not that intelligent with pc's

)

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 1:13am

You can't use basket links for HWVS, it simply shows the viewer's own basket (or blank if they weren't messing with the site in the past hour)

Here's mine anyway:

€437 shipped. No amazing instant improvement the eBay builds, the thing is it might live longer

The mobo is better, and sound quality may be noticeably better as it uses a RealTek chip instead of those awful Via codecs you get on Asus/ASRock boards

CPU and graphics are what you want, I got 4GB of branded 800MHz DDR2 for it, a decent 500GB HDD and (where most of the extra money went!) a decent case and PSU.

I also tried to add a cheap 120mm exhaust fan but it wouldn't add to the main build, and for some reason HWVS doesn't have any option to add fans to the System Builder

:o This means you have two 120mm fans in the case - as opposed to a single 60-80mm fan you'd get in the eBay builds! Imagine how hot and sweaty it'd get in there with a tiny little noisemaker trying to move all that stale air!

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 1:20am

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 1:43am

*gets out shiny red marker*

:P

LpPepper wrote: »

Right , dont know if everything is there or is correct but thats what I have .

8.49e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=8642&agid=288

No better than the cooler that comes with the CPU

73.07e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30590&agid=1242

Very risky! You might get a Phenom2 quad on the sly - or be stuck with a dual-core. And more and more games don't like running on two cores...

55.07e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26542&agid=682

This is a 2.5" HDD, used in notebooks or uSFF builds.

108.59e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28978&agid=1004

There are cheaper HD5750 1GB here, and you would only get one if you were gaming on a Full HD (1920*1080) screen and intended on heavily OCing it to take advantage of the extra memory. And even then for a bit over a fiver more you start to find HD5770 1GB cards anyway.

17.07e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=27003&agid=282

This burner is IDE. You'd want a SATA DVD drive.

9.27e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=22355&agid=221

Fair enough, but a model with a black fascia is a better idea to match your black case. Silver is out-of-stock anyway.

40.79e -http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28166&agid=625

Case is nice-looking but not good for cooling, and the PSU bundled with it will almost certainly be dire.

56.78e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=38051&agid=1192

DDR3 memory. Fine if your chosen motherboard can take DDR3 memory!

41.92e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30426&agid=1005

This motherboard is for Intel Socket 775 CPUs! Utterly incompatible with chosen CPU and memory.

3.84e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=6656&agid=668

Chipset cooler. Not needed.

20e - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=746&agid=829

Now , not sure if that all would work together , or if Im missing something .
Comes to 438.88e with shipping

massy086 · 28-10-2010 1:52am

[IMG][/img]

ddr3 quicker ram better graphic,s card than your mate,s (very important bragging right,s lol)

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 2:02am

That's a good €25 overbudget once you add the assembly though!

massy086 · 28-10-2010 2:04am

ah im sure he can scrap up 25 euro its worth it dont ya think

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 2:13am

Oh, that mobo is using Via sound so it'd need a sound card

Thanks Asus/ASRock/whatever else you call yourselves for lowering the bar on integrated audio again! :rolleyes::mad:

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 2:36am

Solitaire:

What if I use your basket but change the 512MB 5750 for the 1GB one? Then it comes to about €335 including assembly and DHL Post .

Btw , Im using a 22inch Philips LCD TV at the moment with my Dell laptop hooked up via HDMI , so will be using the HDMI port on the graphics card

massy086 · 28-10-2010 3:33am

can u not go 25 over my build is a beast you wont have any bother,s with it nor with sols just older tech ddr2 and all

Lu Tze · 28-10-2010 3:58am

If you want to buy second hand (seeing as you are risking ebay!) there are some decent deals on adverts if you can sift through the ridiculously priced stuff.

Something like this if you could haggle the price down a bit to 320 or so.

http://www.adverts.ie/312925/desktops/cheap-gaming-rig-almost-complete/

And then add in your graphics card.

Jonny7 · 28-10-2010 7:49am

All us nerds in here generally steer clear of ebay PC's. The reason for that is the guy who makes them gets a good processor and then builds a PC around it with the cheapest parts known to man.

I would recommend you find an extra 25 euros and go with Massys build, PC parts have suddenly dropped in price and its a very good time to buy

The 5770 is the bigger brother of the 5750, enough said.

DDR3 ram, upgradeable quality motherboard, branded power supply that won't bug out, branded ram, one of the fastest standard 7200rpm harddrives, flipping hell its amazing value really come to think of it.

If you really are sticking to your budget then Solitaires build is excellent as well.

Lu Tze · 28-10-2010 8:11am

Jonny7 wrote: »

All us nerds in here generally steer clear of ebay PC's.

12 GIGAHERTZ PROCCESSOR!!!!!

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 8:44am

My only issue with massy's is that it could have poor or no sound out of the box

Curse you Asus!! :mad:

What about my build plus the HD5770 1GB?

Only a fiver or so overbudget then!

Jonny7 · 28-10-2010 11:14am

One of these days some brave soul is going to take up the mantle and setup a little ebay store with 500 euro quality gaming PCs in Ireland

massy086 · 28-10-2010 11:36am

Solitaire wrote: »

My only issue with massy's is that it could have poor or no sound out of the box Curse you Asus!! :mad:

What about my build plus the HD5770 1GB? Only a fiver or so overbudget then!

it seems to onboard audio alright and usb3 its a nice board imo

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodmbspec&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=2057

Monotype · 28-10-2010 12:54pm

Jonny7 wrote: »

One of these days some brave soul is going to take up the mantle and setup a little ebay store with 500 euro quality gaming PCs in Ireland

Unfortunately, people would just look at the price difference and go for the cheaper option. People in the know will just build their own.

In my opinion, try to scrape together the extra money for massy's build - you're moving from "better than ebay" to an actually decent platform.
You'll need an extra SATA cable, as that board only has one according to the website. How stingy are MSI!

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 1:43pm

Monotype wrote: »

Unfortunately, people would just look at the price difference and go for the cheaper option. People in the know will just build their own.

Maybe we could tell people to get the quality unit instead

Peopole listen to us!

:P

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 5:02pm

Solitaire ,

I'm gonna go with your build due to the fact that'll have sound out of the box

Thanks though massy for helping .

I'll be using a HDMI cable from the 5770 to my LCD Tv ,

Ive also read up that the 5770 needs at least a 500w PSU though

And does it come with everything assembled including the 5770? And does it come with a 3 pin or 2 pin plug?

Thanks

Monotype · 28-10-2010 6:06pm

LpPepper wrote: »

Ive also read up that the 5770 needs at least a 500w PSU though

They're allowing room for a crappy PSU. Or if you have 12 hard drives.

Actually, I was wondering what happens with cables and hardwareversand. Do they supply extra ones if your short and give you the left overs that come with GPUs and motherboards?
I know komplett used to give all the extras when they used to do builds.

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 6:25pm

What do you mean by allowing room for a crapppy PSU?

Theres one in the list Solitaire put up isnt there? (Included with the case)

massy086 · 28-10-2010 6:49pm

LpPepper wrote: »

Solitaire ,

I'm gonna go with your build due to the fact that'll have sound out of the box Thanks though massy for helping .

I'll be using a HDMI cable from the 5770 to my LCD Tv ,

Ive also read up that the 5770 needs at least a 500w PSU though

And does it come with everything assembled including the 5770? And does it come with a 3 pin or 2 pin plug?

Thanks

my build come,s with sound oout of the box and sol will tell you it,s a much better build but its your pc

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 6:55pm

massy086 wrote: »

my build come,s with sound oout of the box and sol will tell you it,s a much better build but its your pc

Wait I'm a tad confused , which one did he say doesnt or wont have sound?

I may just go with yours , depends how money is

massy086 · 28-10-2010 7:07pm

LpPepper wrote: »

Wait I'm a tad confused , which one did he say doesnt or wont have sound?

I may just go with yours , depends how money is

i think he meant the board you picked

LpPepper · 28-10-2010 7:08pm

massy086 wrote: »

i think he meant the board you picked

Oh right , well money depending I might go with yours Massy .

Does the 5770 not need at least a 450w PSU? Thats what It says on the website

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 7:08pm

LpPepper wrote: »

What do you mean by allowing room for a crapppy PSU?

A terrible PSU that claims its 500W but in reality would explode spectacularly if you tried pulling more than 200W from its 12V rail(s) :eek: The PSU I listed is rated for 450W, and can supply 396W of 12V power alone. Plus its decent enough to shut down rather than explode if you tried to pull 500W from its 12V rails

Your build would normally use 150W while gaming and could peak around 200W on a bad day or if OCd somewhat. This is close to the 50% load mark for the PSU, the preferred way to run a PC.

Theres one in the list Solitaire put up isnt there? (Included with the case)

Nope, our builds have seperate PSUs as they're the only good-quality ones. Ones with cases are almost always bad news

LpPepper wrote: »

Wait I'm a tad confused , which one did he say doesnt or wont have sound?

massy's build has a mobo with dodgy onboard sound. Its not quite as good as a decent Realtek 7.1 chip (my build has a mobo with one) but not bad either.... if it works. In practice those Via sound chips tend to suffer from horrid interference on many motherboards. You don't really want to listen to your network port while listening to music! :eek::o:p

Getting a Gaming PC soon , Help me decide *

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