New gaming PC for under €550

Trevor451

Hey guys I am looking for a gaming pc that can run GTA 4, flight simulator x etc at high enough settings for less than €550 including shipping

Solitaire suggested me a build earlier on in the year but new components may have came onto the market so I may as well start from scratch

BTW I already have OS, VGA monitor and keyboard and mouse
Regards,
Trevor

cherryghost

I love a challenge



The Tri core can be unlocked to a quad core. The PSU may be overkill, but at least whenever you upgrade you could keep it :P A 550W one would be enough, and shave a tenner off that if you wanted.

Monotype

The F3 is only about €1 dearer, and the F3 ecogreen is 1c dearer than that.

I wouldn't be keen on the coolermaster GXs, they're known to be a bit dodgy.

Trevor451

Thanks for suggesting the build cherryghost I just have a couple more questions to ask I am such a newb when it comes to choosing out parts :pac:

Will this game definitely run GTA 4 and other modern games on high enough settings and will it last long before I have to upgrade it again?

Are all of the components compatible? (like for example case can house motherboard, correct motherboard for cpu? etc)

Are there any other cheap upgrades I could get that would improve the performance of the machine?

If the PSU is a bit doggy which one do you recommend?

Regards
Trevor

VenomIreland

cherryghost wrote: »

I love a challenge



The Tri core can be unlocked to a quad core. The PSU may be overkill, but at least whenever you upgrade you could keep it :P A 550W one would be enough, and shave a tenner off that if you wanted.

Mind if I "borrow" most of that build for a friend's build?

Jonny7

Trevor451 wrote: »

Thanks for suggesting the build cherryghost I just have a couple more questions to ask I am such a newb when it comes to choosing out parts :pac:

Will this game definitely run GTA 4 and other modern games on high enough settings and will it last long before I have to upgrade it again?

Are all of the components compatible? (like for example case can house motherboard, correct motherboard for cpu? etc)

Are there any other cheap upgrades I could get that would improve the performance of the machine?

If the PSU is a bit doggy which one do you recommend?

Regards
Trevor

The PC cherryghost has specced with run almost every single game on the market right now at good settings on a 22 inch monitor.

I say almost, because GTA4 is special.

Its a dreadful port from the console, badly coded etc. It's heavily CPU dependent. Basically its a pig of a game.

You might possibly want to consider reading the last few pages of the budget build sticky - adding 50 to 100 euros to your budget could result in a much more desirable PC

I believe a 6 core AMD with 6850 is possible for under 650 euros.

Or quad core AMD with 6850/460GTX for under 600 euros.

Either way, around 600 euros is really the sweet spot.

Oops little edit: the mentioned machine will still run GTA4 fine - just remember its a good bit more of a system hog than most other games

Monotype

Trevor451 wrote: »

If the PSU is a bit doggy which one do you recommend?

In the similar price region
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=19286
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=24479
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30069

The 550W is still more than enough. You could cut back as far as 450W to be honest.

cherryghost

Trevor451 wrote: »

Thanks for suggesting the build cherryghost I just have a couple more questions to ask I am such a newb when it comes to choosing out parts :pac:

Will this game definitely run GTA 4 and other modern games on high enough settings and will it last long before I have to upgrade it again?

Are all of the components compatible? (like for example case can house motherboard, correct motherboard for cpu? etc)

Are there any other cheap upgrades I could get that would improve the performance of the machine?

If the PSU is a bit doggy which one do you recommend?

Regards
Trevor

The CPU I listed there can be unlocked to a quad core in the bios settings of that motherboards, its basically extra grunt for free :P As jonny said, you could invest in an extra 40/50 euro and just get a quad core CPU as it is, but my build saves money if you wish to do so.

Imo the Coolermaster series of PSUs are fine. My mates been using a similar one for 2 years now with no issues, very quiet. Reviews are very good for that PSU also, the only criticism is the lack of modular design, but meh, its cheap what else do you expect?

All of the components are indeed compatible.

Maybe take up monotypes suggestion and get a slighty faster hard drive for a measily amount of cash :P Might speed up loading times in games a bit, but that's about it.

The build as it is with the CPU unlocked should play GTAIV no bother. It's got a high clock rate already and the overclocking headroom is huge on it, from what I've read. It really is a great processor for such little money.

Monotype

They're not terrible, but if they can't reach what they're labelled as, I'd tend to choose something else. Coolermaster's high end PSUs are very good - just the cheaper ones fall short.

PogMoThoin

These the best value for money psus on hdv.de that will actually do what its rated for:
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30069&agid=240
or stretching a little further:
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=24479&agid=240

Hank Scorpio

fwiw gta4 runs pretty well on my pc ( specs in sig )

however the gpu usage jumps all over the place, resulting in funny fps drops

maxed out gpu usage i get 100fps + maxed out in 1080p resolution ( strangly this usually happens when im in doors in the game, rarely outside )

sometimes the gpu usage drops to 60 and the frames can go as low as 40, but this rarely happens!

all in all its a horrible port of a console game(and overrated!:p mafia too owns it even tho its so short)

jozi

I might go with the mobo, cpu and ram combo from this. Does hardware versandt still post to ireland, or do they not take credit card?

Maybe a little OT will my ati x800xl work alright with the above? I doubt I'll be gaming much with this setup but I like the sound and price listed.

cherryghost

jozi wrote: »

I might go with the mobo, cpu and ram combo from this. Does hardware versandt still post to ireland, or do they not take credit card?

Maybe a little OT will my ati x800xl work alright with the above? I doubt I'll be gaming much with this setup but I like the sound and price listed.

They still post to Ireland yep, and they do take credit card.

And yes, your card will work on that setup no problem

Trevor451

Hi I was doing some research today at school today about the case and on the Cooler master website it states that it has USB ports and audio jacks on the case itself? where abouts are these ports located?
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2908

EDIT: Found out that the ports were at the very top of the case :P

Should I get any more fans to keep the computer cool or are 3 fans included in the case enough to keep it cool even when running games?

EDIT (again) I was under the impression that hardwareversand does not take payments by credit card? when you go to the last page on the checkout it states "You complete the order followed by the payment at the PayPal-website. Note: Your order will be not processed until your payment was received at our PayPal-account. If your payment did not reach us within 7 Days, we will cancel the order. We deliever exclusively to the at address registered at PayPal. Important: At present we can''t accept PayPal transfers with credit card. "

cherryghost

Trevor451 wrote: »

Hi I was doing some research today at school today about the case and on the Cooler master website it states that it has USB ports and audio jacks on the case itself? where abouts are these ports located?
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2908

There's 2 USB ports, 1 mic jack, 1 headphone jack and one SATA docking port on the top, towards the front.

jozi

cherryghost wrote: »

They still post to Ireland yep, and they do take credit card.

And yes, your card will work on that setup no problem

Thanks, and they are pretty much still the cheapest around then?

VenomIreland

Wait, HV.de accept credit and debit cards now? I thought it was only bank transfer and paypal.

Trevor451

VenomIreland wrote: »

Wait, HV.de accept credit and debit cards now? I thought it was only bank transfer and paypal.

+1 Last time I heard hardwareversand only accept paypal (but you cant use credit card through paypal) or you can use bank transfer which is slow and is risky to use

cherryghost

Sorry my bad, but sure you can add credit cards to your paypal account anyway :P

Trevor451

Hi I managed to get a extra €50 from somewhere What could I upgrade on this build that would increase performance greatly?




BTW will all of the components be compatible and fit properly in the case? For some reason all the psu units seem to be different sizes and I am really confused

deconduo

Change the processor to this:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=37139&agid=1242
(Bit faster, worth the 3 extra euro)

Change motherboard to this:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=34887&agid=1232
(USB3 support, same price)

Change DVD to this:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=23095&agid=699
(Is in stock)

With the extra cash you can grab a 6850:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39511&agid=1004


-Your case is out of stock, so you'd want to change that

-You could probably drop down to the 550W PSU and put the money towards a case upgrade.

Solitaire

A decent 550W PSU would be plenty Not sure about that mobo unless you already have a decent soundcard though

Skerries

would he not be better off throwing the money into the best CPU he could get as the rest looks fine?

Curry Addict

heres what i would go for ... Article-No. Article Availability Delivery price
HV20I576DE Intel Core i5-760 Box 8192Kb, LGA1156
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 163,91 €
HV1131ILDE Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3, PCI-Express
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 113,72 €
HV20G303DE 4GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL9
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
Delivery late, new date requested. 55,41 €
HV203GXQDE JCP Midi Tower ATX "Dark Crystal", schwarz, 500W Netzteil
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 40,79 €
HV1025SFDE Sapphire HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 112,53 €
HV1310F3DE Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 48,07 €
HV207SC3DE Samsung SH-223C bare schwarz SATA
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 14,82 €
Sum: 549,25 €

this build rox for the price

deconduo

Horrible advice. The case/PSU bundle is really terrible. You need a decent PSU or this will happen:

http://www.corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=622747

Curry Addict

deconduo wrote: »

Horrible advice. The case/PSU bundle is really terrible. You need a decent PSU or this will happen:

http://www.corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=622747

i know my stuff mate, enuf of the dumb founded bull****, if u want to go technical shoot. i have a similar build with a lot more power draw...

deconduo

Curry Addict wrote: »

i know my stuff mate, enuf of the dumb founded bull****, if u want to go technical shoot. i have a similar build with a lot more power draw...

So tell me the specs on it. Show me a review. Anyone can say 'I've used it before and its fine' when theres no evidence to show otherwise. On the HWVS site it says 500W PSU. NOTHING else, no specs, nothing. Add this to the fact that its a 20 euro PSU and you have a recipe for a dead build.

Solitaire

Curry Addict wrote: »

i know my stuff mate, enuf of the dumb founded bull****, if u want to go technical shoot. i have a similar build with a lot more power draw...

Careful now, don't get too personal with the remarks here, deconduo is in the right in this affair.

There's no guarantee that it won't work, but that case is mediocre and the PSU, while probably up to supplying the needs of an ultrabudget rig, could have a tantrum if loaded with an OCd quad and a gaming-grade GPU. Its a risk that, if you're already spending ~€500 on a rig, you'd be mad not to spend that extra €40 on a decent PSU.

Curry Addict

sorry a bit ott by me but i spent time specing that pc and then get this negative reaction with no techincal grounding. if u are going to rubbish someones time and energy i think its important to have solid grounds for it.
rather than a branded manufacturers porpaganda. as i said i have similar and
with at least 50watt higher load on the 12v rail.

i can put forward the technical detail on why this works grand but ill wait for decundos technical input here and explination on how hes worked out why this psu wont work in this application first.

Solitaire

He probably think it'll detonate. And it might, but IMHO its less likely to detonate - I think its a (very) low-end HEC/Hiroshi PSU - but I'm still worried that it'll be an unreliable inefficient PITA. I seriously doubt it has any PCIe connectors, nor an 8-pin EPS connector, nor Active PFC, and I'm fairly sure that unit maxes out at something like 336W IIRC? Its more like either a very old PSU or an overrated 350W unit. And if there is a PSU you really don't want to load by more than 50% of its true rating, its a cheapy casecombo PSU That rig could approach 200W at stock, which is well over the 50% mark for an overrated 350W model!!

Trevor451

Hi guys and thanks for the replys

Anyway I have chosen to go with the AMD X3 3.1GHZ and the PowerColor HD 6850.




BTW why is the soundcard on the ASUS M4A77T/USB3 meant to be bad? It seems to use the standard HD audio found on most motherboards?

And yeah I presume that all of the components are compatible with each other and fit in the case properly? (and also work with w7 64 bit) I cant be too careful :P

Regards,
Trevor

EDIT: oh yeah forgot to mention - would I need additional fans or would the ones included be fine?