low budget gaming comp.

bogwalrus

My cousins saw my computer and want one. They are 12 and 13 yrs. Their parents have hired me to build two cheap enough gaming computers that will play the new games coming out and look savage.

What i would like if some of you could give me advice on reliable good performance components that wont break the bank.

I have already decided on the lexa blackline case which i am used to.
Parts that i am unsure of are:
1: motherboard-it does not need to have loads of usb ports or any extras. Just the basic mobo that could possibly support core 2duo, ddr2 800 ram and an 8800 graphics card.

2: psu and cpu heatsink- i dont really know much about both and what it good on the market )around the 50euro mark.


any help would be great guys. just to get me started.

boggy

skuzzb

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055278463
builds for every budget!

c0rn

Hi boggy,

Custompc.co.uk have nice article about building a budget pc, you can always take a look at it for some pointers.

Here is the link.

Have fun and good luck

/c0rn

bogwalrus

thanks very much guys. Both very good links. ill let you know what the final components are and how much the build ended up costing etc if your interested.

slan

Sqaull20

Something like this would be ideal..



Pc is fast enough for every game on a 22" or lower monitor and you can always overclock the cpu..

bogwalrus

that does look like a good setup. But would it play new games on high enough settings? Also where did you get the prices from and what store?

From my own searching around i was going to go for

XFX nforce 650i Ultra which i should get for around 50euro

and then E6550 core 2 duo which i have priced at around 80euro on ebay.

Was going to get an 8800 gt 512mb.

I picked these cause it seems powerful enough to play the newest games on high settings. Or could i go cheaper and still get similar results.

Any feedback would be great and thanks for helping out.

skuzzb

Yes that setup would be perfect. The E2200 should overclock fairly easily too 3GHz.
Theres not much point in spending much more. 8800gts (512) has a bit more headroom in it and at that price its a no brainer!
http://www.hardwareversand.de/ shipping is 30 quid and you have to pay through bank transfer.
My advice is set a budget and we'll have something decent priced up in 5 mins!

Also id go for a m-atx build on it in a thermaltake case like this one if you want to get it looking good http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=9152&agid=635

bogwalrus

my budget is looking at around 500-600.

So the 8800gts 512 is better? thanks for that tip. will price them now.

I think i have almost everything sorted now then. The kids will care more about what it looks like if you know what i mean so i was willing to spend more to make it look cooler. Any cool heatsinks out there for core 2 duo's? ones that shoot lasers=)

And Just a Q. whats the main significant difference between cpu's and mobos at 1333hz compared to their 1066hz counterparts??

I notice that mobo's and cpu's that are 1333hz are much cheaper on ebay. Is there a reason?

bogwalrus

man that thermaltake case is savage. Would that fit the xfx ultra. I dont think so. Want one of those cases for my own multimedia setup=)

Sqaull20

Yeah that case is class, I went for the one that is €3 cheaper, the lights shining through the side of the case would annoy the heck out of me, the kids would love it though..

Order my Matx build last week, id say I will be waiting another 2 weeks or so for it as few items werent in stock ...

This what I ordered



http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055278463&page=3

I changed the psu from 450watt Corsair to 650watt Corsair (only 10 euro difference) and went with Gigabyte G33M S2L for its overclocking...

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=20397&agid=667

No that xfx board wont fit...

Good pc your building E6550, 8800gt is perfect..

I bought two 9600gt's of this fella a month back..

http://cgi.ebay.ie/nVidia-GeForce-9600GT-512MB-DDR3-PCI-Express-2-HDCP_W0QQitemZ110249039708QQihZ001QQcategoryZ3762QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Zalman have some pretty cool cpu coolers

bogwalrus

I think im going to do exactly what you are doing with that matx. Would be a great carry around media pc. Need something to keep me busy for the winter anyway.

You could almost attach a small projector on to the side of it (that is if you wanted to get creative). I'm getting ideas now=)

Just bought that e6550 for 85euro on ebay. Not bad when komplett retail it for 135euro. Just have to find a cheap place to get those mobo's now. Might just get them off ebay.

yeah zalmans look pretty good. i have a cnp 7500 myself. Nice, big and flash. Thats what im looking for really. Will prob get the core2 duo version of the one i have, should only be around 30 euro or so.

Any ideas on a good 19 or 20 inch monitor that are cheap enough and reliable. I live by samsung but they are pricey enough.

skuzzb

Have a look at the acer monitors on here http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Acer_20_Inch_TFTs/prod.asp

Im not too sure if 12 and 13 year-olds would appriciate the difference between a 5ms or 2ms response or a bit of loss in contrast ratio and would probably just think bigger is better.

Yeh that case is pretty calss.....i like the more expensive one with the handle! Throw in a couple of CFL's and it should look pretty cool....you could also go totaly overboard and get a little watercooling kit like this one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-028-SW&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1038

Also try source all your parts from one supplier or you'll get shafted on all the different delivery rates!!!