New build

[davecj]

Hi!

I’m hoping to build a new pc as my current machine is quite old (athlon xp 1800, geforce 4) so anything really is going to be an upgrade.

I’d like to keep the costs to around £500 (~$1000). The main thing I use the pc for is gaming, along with some internet browsing. I can salvage some parts from the old box: a 250gb ide hdd, an ide dvd drive, mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, soundcard.

After having read many articles and threads on this site and others I still feel like a lost sheep but I’ve come up with a few components I think are good bang for my buck. I could be wrong though so I’d be grateful if some kind person(s) could point me in a better direction.

CPU: I like the look of the Core 2 Duo E6420; I think the extra 2mb cache is worth the extra £10 (compared to the 6400). It’s £116 on ebuyer: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126906

Motherboard: The asus p5b looks solid, £60 ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/113965 , but I’m not sure if I should go with a deluxe for another £40

Ram: Corsair 2gb seems a decent choice http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/98710 for £70

HDD: I’d like a raptor just to speed general things up, a 74gb one is £85 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114117

VGA: This one seemed an easier choice, for my budget I think the x1950xt is the best one to go for, at around £105 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119441

Case/PSU: I’m a little stumped on this one. I don’t think I need to worry too much about cooling as I don’t intend to overclock, I don’t want my pc to die, but neither do I wish to drown in excessive fan sound. Aesthetics is not a concern for me.

Without Case/PSU that comes to about £440.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

davecj

 

[foxrocks]

CPU: The 'old' C2D CPUs don't make sense to buy at their current price points. Get an E6750 instead for about £120.

Motherboard: If you can stretch to it, the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R would be a better choice and is available at about £75. It's a newer chipset than the Asus P5B and will overclock a lot better.

RAM: Ebuyer is good for some stuff but doesn't seem to have much choice when it comes to RAM & motherboards for some reason. Overclockers.co.uk has that Corsair RAM at about the same price as Ebuyer, but has a much bigger range to choose from if you want to look at other brands. However that Corsair kit does represent decent value at £70.

HD: For a PC of your budget I'd recommend you stay well clear of Raptors: they're luxuury items and you will get much better bang for buck by using the money elsewhere in your build. If you decide to get a new SATA storage drive, the Seagate 7200.10 Barracuda series is good value, with 250Gb available at overclockers.co.uk for £43, or 320GB for £52.

Video card: The X1950XT is indeed the best card to go for if you can't stretch to a Geforce 8800GTS, but with the money you haven't splurged on a Raptor you might be able to afford that step up after all. This is a field where Ebuyer seems to have slightly better prices, with a stock speed EVGA 320MB 8800GTS available for £184.

PSU: This is one area you definitely don't want to skimp on in a rig used for gaming, and I would recommend the 520W Corsair for £64 (overclockers.co.uk). The 620W model (£88) will give you more room for upgrades if you can afford it, but with your proposed current rig it's certainly not necessary.

Case: Assuming you don't want to spend a fortune, the Coolermaster Centurion 534 is decent value at £40 (Ebuyer). If you want something a little flashier, the Antec Nine Hundred is a good value 'gaming' look case and is available for £65.