Help with Budget Build for Gaming/CS:S

[vir7uous]

This is my first build in nearly half a decade, I'm kind of rusty, and have had to do a lot of research to get to this point. Thanks an advance for any help you're willing to lend!

I have a budget of $600 +/-

I play Counter-Strike: Source and, this system is a budget system built solely to run CS:S @ 100 FPS @ 800x600 res using a FPS config.

I also plan on Over Clocking this machine in a month or two after purchase when im able to offered a few upgrades. =)

MoBo: GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012

Video: EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115004

RAM: Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) 4-4-4-12
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220142

Question: In wusy core2duo over clocking guide he suggests buying ram with a timing of 4-4-4-x. but yet the mother board he suggests says it only allows 5-5-5-x and 6-6-6-x. Could someone clarify/and explain, thanks?

Power Supply : ???? Any suggestions

HDD: Barracuda ATA IV IDE (Recycled from old PC)

Is there anything i am overlooking. I also have a case i am going to recycle. Thanks a ton in advance for any help!!!!

 

[drummerdude]

FSP Group (Fortron Source) 500W

...
Question: In wusy core2duo over clocking guide he suggests buying ram with a timing of 4-4-4-x. but yet the mother board he suggests says it only allows 5-5-5-x and 6-6-6-x. Could someone clarify/and explain, thanks?

depend on how much you want to oc the ram:

from wusy's guide

Please also use RAM that’s rated:
-DDR2-667 4-4-4-xx (good for ~400Mhz*)
-DDR2-800 5-5-5-xx (good for ~410Mhz*)
-DDR2-800 4-4-4-xx (good for 500Mhz+*) ->Best for E6300/E6400
-DDR2-1066 5-5-5-xx (good for 530Mhz+*)
-Or any other RAM of the above mentioned speed that has even lower timings
*refer to Part2 for maximum Mhz extraction under 1:1 operation

Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets.

thats a standard on 965p mobo's, early revisions on these boards had problems with ram. shouldnt be any problem. sometimes you have to boot with one dimm at a time:

Any pair of DIMMs that need 2.0+ Volts to work should be installed with 1 x DIMM first, as the PC will cold boot intially at 1.8 Volts.

Then jump into BIOS (don't let OS boot, don't install OS, it may suffer minor corruption), and set VDIMM to 2.0+ Volts (or whatever is called for, might be 2.4 Volts, might be 1.95 Volts).

Save & Exit BIOS / CMOS Utility

Wait until safe, then power off.

Unplug from mains power + unplug mainboard power connection (24 pins).

Install DIMM #2 in the slot specified by the mainboard manual to enable Dual-Channel mode (if available).

Then plug 24 pin ATX back in, close up case and plug back into mains power.

Cold boot PC

The VDIMM will still be at 2.0 Volts (or whatever was specified on the DIMMs and set in BIOS).


The reason is that when installing 2 x high-end DIMMs at once, on the first boot, it'll boot at 1.8 Volts to VDIMM, which might not be enough to power 2 x DIMMs calling for 2.0+ Volts each. However booting with 1 x 2.0+ Volt DIMM the first time with just 1.8 Volts VDIMM tends to work.

It is for this reason that so many people screw overclocks up, and have problems with high performance memory then just RMA it. They never try booting with just ONE DIMM at DEFAULT (which is wrong in this case) VOLTAGE.


Makes sense once you're in the know though, eh ? -

from link

heres another thread that explains a few things: link

 

[dlbaxter]

I'm looking at your list, and only the graphics card really seems to fit in with a $600 budget. A good tradeoff from the 6400 would be the 4300, whose prices are expected to fall very soon. DDR 667 should be enough too. That should help to cut the price enough to afford a decent PSU.

Right now, it's looking more like an $800 build.

I don't know if you've seen Sanji's lists, but they're very helpful for answering the sorts of surface questions you have right now. You've picked several parts from his $750 build, iirc. If you're happy with the parts you've picked, it will probably be a fantastic build for your purposes. Could probably play CS:S and rip a dvd at the same time!*

*this statement may be false

Sanji: Gaming PCs on Budget
Sanji: Parts and Builds

Good luck and don't skimp on a power supply. You don't want to learn the hard way never to do that again!

 

[billdcat4]

damn IE7, I wrote this post 3 times:

e4300 by 22nd $113
ds3 $122
kingston 2gb value ram $106
evga 7600gt $90
remember that the evga 7900gs is at 140.

fsp 450w psu $55


total: $490
might get ACF7P for 25-30 if you want to OC


cheap cheap, have fun