Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > General Homebuilt > First build - budget gaming
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mGuyA   03-09-2007 at 10:40:43 AM

For your consideration and critique, my first build.

I am looking to build a gaming system that will last three years with future upgrades - graphics, memory, disk.

__39.00 COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel
_122.99 GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX
_154.99 EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB
_149.00 ENERMAX Liberty ELT620AWT ATX12V 620W Power Supply
_221.00 Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz
_214.99 Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
__74.99 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
__37.99 LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE Model LH-20A1H-186
_109.99 Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista
1126.92 Total
my newegg public wish list <<- oops, not yet published @ newegg

Did I forget something? Something incompatible?

Can I drop the PSU down to ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W? Other suggestions for PSU? I do have an assortment of usb devices I will connect to the system - game pads, printer, scanner.

Recommendations for cheaper memory?

I greatly appreciate any and all comments. I am a noob at this. My prior experience is adding memory, hard drives, video cards and replacing psu in retail systems.

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slashzapper   03-09-2007 at 11:00:26 AM
- 0 +

well you could go with cheaper memory and cheaper processor as well.

I would suggest the e 4300 its a very good overclocker .

Use the money you save to get a better graphics card i mean before you take this one out of the box its gonna be obsolete .

I would suggest wait for the cheaper DX 10 cards 8600 etc

Firstly atleast you would be buying better tech , rather than paying for something which no one may remember by this summer.

I f you really dont care about DX 10 then i would suggest this card the x1950xt 256 mb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102067

Its got a 20 dollar rebate and is under 200 dollars awesome performance for the money. You will be very satisfied 8)

Reply to slashzapper
alcattle   03-09-2007 at 11:09:59 AM
- 0 +

For the most part, you get an A+. Best start I have seen this week. As for your changes, depends on your needs. Will you overclock? What type of games will you play? Are you going to upgrade your graphics card using this PSU?
Yes that 500W PSU will still power an 8800, maybe 2 79xx series.
With the rebate/discount that is real good deal on DDR2-800

Your public want list points to a budget gamer, nothing like this list

Reply to alcattle
mGuyA   03-09-2007 at 04:35:23 PM
- 0 +

slashzapper, can you recommend cheaper memory? I chose Patriot because a review, other than Kingston and PNY I have no experience with the brands of quality ram. I'm interested in recommendations.

The cpu ... I haven't overclocked before. I figure I will try to overclock, but I am not comfortable with upping the voltages. I picked the E6400 because I understand it will overclock better than the E6300 - if I could affiord it I would be going for the E6600.

I'll be checking the reviews for the X1900GT. The graphics card feels like a tightrope walk to me -- I would get an 8800GS but for the $$. I am looking for something that will work until AMD/ATI comes out with their DX10 cards and prices drop some. I wont wait any longer -- I wanted to do this build last year. Also I want to get the Vista upgrade coupon, it expires on 3/15.

Thanks for the help.

Reply to mGuyA
skyguy   03-09-2007 at 04:39:11 PM
- 0 +

Go with the 4300, not the 6400. It'll let you get a better overclock without touching the voltages, plus you'll only need 667 RAM. This will help keep costs lower too.

As for graphics card, if you want a DX10 card in the not-too-distant future in a few months, just get an EVGA 7600GT now. Reason 1: it is a very good card for the price, and will handle most current games at 1280 rez for example. But more importantly, Reason 2: EVGA has a "Step-Up" program where you can trade up to a better card, using the purchase price of your current card as a credit against the new one....but it has to be within 90 days of purchase. So you can get the 7600GT now, and then upgrade to a DX10 in 3 months for not too much more money....Win-win right there. ;)

Reply to skyguy
mGuyA   03-09-2007 at 04:48:18 PM
- 0 +

Hey Big Al, an A+! cool :)

I want to try moderate overclocking -- go for what I can get without upping the voltages.

I play FPS's exclusively, online and solo. I have a 20" CRT that I've been running at 1280x960/1280x1024. It can go higher hut I've never had a graphics card that could do it -- ti4200, R9800, 7600GS. I plan to get in the next two years a 22" wide screen and a DX10 graphics card.

I plan for the motherboard, memory, and psu to last 'till I retire the system. So yes, graphics card upgrade with this psu and no SLI. Definetly one more hard drive, maybe total of 3 hard drives.

Thanks for the help!

Reply to mGuyA
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