Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Could use some advice on a tight budget gaming system...

Tags:
Last response: in Systems
Share

I'm purchasing this system (I customized it off their site) from a VERY reputable local dealer in my area whom I have purchased my last 2 systems from. Since I have a limited budget, my goal is to try and max out the best gaming system possible for my budget. I would really appreciate any advice/recommendations or just that my system looks good for my budget range and that I should go for it as is.

So here's the system I have customized:

Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6300 1.86GHz
CPU Heatsink / Fan : Intel Retail Heatsink and Fan
Motherboard : MSI P965 Platinum
Memory : Kingston 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM Kit (2 x 512MB )
Case : Antec Sonata II
Power Supplies : Antec 450W SmartPower 2.0
Hard Drives 1 : Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II w/ NCQ, 8MB
Hard Drives 2 : Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II w/ NCQ, 8MB
Optical Drive 1 : LG 16X DVD-ROM (OEM)
Video Cards : eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI-E
Sound Cards : Onboard 8-Channel 7.1 Audio
Ethernet Cards : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan
Operating System : Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit) DVD, OEM
Office Ready PC : Microsoft Office Ready Pre-installed

Thanks in advance for any help provided.

More about : advice tight budget gaming system

Register or log in to remove

Yeah the perfect system for your budget , on a side note what is your budget :?: Like how much money, the green stuff you want to spend :D 

You need a bigger PSU to start with that 450 :roll: aint gonna cut it. :lol: 

more like a 700 watt or something bigger :D 

Get better Ram if you can although that stuff aint bad .

Two things I see that could be better and one that is overkill.
You really need a better power supply. The graphics card you chose need more power then most and with 4 drives, you are cutting it too tight. Add $25 for a 600W.
You will need 2 gigs of RAM, the newer games are starting to use more and Vista works better with 2 Gigs (2x1GB) sticks.
The Video card is probably the best one out right now. You do not need all the memory, you could get 2 8800 320mb for that price. Get one now and put the money on the above items.

Thanks for the posts guys.

As far as budget goes, I'm looking at around $1,800 (C) or $1,550 (U.S.)

I thought of going the lesser route with the GTX but then wouldn't I have to upgrade the board to SLI as well as the PSU? I'm sure I read somewhere that 450W was sufficient for running a GTX card. Maybe I need 500W to be safe? I thought it was wiser to get a top-end single card but maybe it's not according to you guys.
Related ressources
Ask the community

Hi first of all welcome to the forums :D 

look here is the thing money is precious so no need to use it where you cant see the full benefits of the investment.

8800 gtx= 550 dollars

8800 gts320mb= 300 dollars saving of 150 dollars which you can use in the ram and PSU

get the 8800 GTX ONLY IF you have a 30 inch monitor otherwise its a waste also you need a Top end Cpu to benefit from its full power .

If you are gaming in 1600x1200 or less than 1920 then you Dont need the GtX the increase in performance in these resolutions is not worth the extra money.

:)  You will be very happy with a Gts 320 mb with the rest of your configuration.

All of the 8800 cards need more amps from the + 12 v Rails. The PSU you chose it rated at +12v1 15a and +12v2 17a. I have read the 8800 looks for 20-22A on the rail. Also 15+17 seems like it would be 32A but in pratice it give 26-28A because of the PSU efficiency.

Any 8800 card can be used in SLI or single card systems.

Quote:
Hi first of all welcome to the forums :D 

look here is the thing money is precious so no need to use it where you cant see the full benefits of the investment.

8800 gtx= 550 dollars

8800 gts320mb= 300 dollars saving of 150 dollars which you can use in the ram and PSU

get the 8800 GTX ONLY IF you have a 30 inch monitor otherwise its a waste also you need a Top end Cpu to benefit from its full power .

If you are gaming in 1600x1200 or less than 1920 then you Dont need the GtX the increase in performance in these resolutions is not worth the extra money.

:)  You will be very happy with a Gts 320 mb with the rest of your configuration.


Thanks for the warm welcome :)  That is very true what you just said. I don't need that card for what little gains I'll get (monitor is a WS 22") so a GTS should suffice. What ram/psu should I put in place then? Should I get the Superclocked GTS 320MB card or regular one? Do I still need alot of PSU for a GTS now?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

The links lead to EVga 320 cards the first is the SUperclocked the other the normal.

You can go to this link to check the review http://firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_8800_gts...

Really good card . A 450 should be sufficient.

Buy this ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1682...

AWESOME stuff . :D 

Awesome - thanks for the links. I've re-configured slightly. Upped the processor, and ram and have about $100 to spend still. Any areas I should consider upping slash? New system:

Processor : Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E6400 2.13GHz
CPU Heatsink / Fan : Intel Retail Heatsink and Fan
Motherboards : MSI P965 Platinum
Memory : OCZ 2GB PC2-6400 Gold Gamer eXtreme XTC Edition DDR2
Case : Antec Sonata II w/ 450W SmartPower 2.0
Power Supplies : Antec 450W SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply with Case
Hard Drives 1 : Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II w/ NCQ, 8MB
Hard Drives 2 : Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II w/ NCQ, 8MB
Optical Drive 1 : LG 16X DVD-ROM, Black (OEM) 1 $24.95 $24.95
Video Cards : eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB SuperClocked
Sound Cards : Onboard 8-Channel 7.1 Audio
Ethernet Cards : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit) OEM
Office Ready PC : Microsoft Office Ready Pre-installed (w/ Systems Only)
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Systems categories
!