I have been asked to put together 15 computers for an internet cafe. The computers are to be used for gaming. The price range isnt defined yet, but im looking for an affordable solution. 6months ago i made a computer (e2160 (overclocked), 2gb crucial cas4 ram, gigabyte p35-dsl mainboard, 8800gt top and a sweet modular ps from hyper) the whole system was rather cheap but performs really well. I was hoping to build a system similar to this, but with up to date parts. Anyone have a few mins to recommend a few pieces of hardware? Key words are affordability and ability to play new 3d games, overclockability would be appreciated as well.
E7200 is nice. And if you can wait for a couple weeks, choose 4850 or 9800GTX(assume Nvidia cut the price after the lauch of GT200).Plus the best affordable cooling fans: Arctic Alpine 7($13)/Freezer 7 Pro($23). Some ddr2 800 ram.
I assume since you're looking for affordability you're not going to go SLI or xfire. Here are some thoughts:
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35 DS3L
Proc: E8400 (or possibly the E7200 if the E8400 is too much. I'd definitely try for the E8400 though.)
Video: Wait for the 4000 series from ATI, but if you have to build now, go with an 8800GTS (G92) 512MB card.
RAM: Cheap 2x2gb DDR2 800 with decent timings from a good brand like crucial, corsair, maybe G Skill.
HSF: Xigmatek HDT-S1283
Can't fault these choices... But I don't think anyone on a budget should go for the bleeding edge. The ATI 4xxx series will be pricey at launch. The 8800GTS is still one of the best cards out there. Get no-name Nvidia own brand cards... much cheaper!!
An E7200 would be the best choice for a budget CPU. This CPU will blow away the E2160. Anything more is shear indulgence at someone else's expense!! Most games will be GPU limited (after all) at this level of CPU power. Overclock if you really want/need more speed...
Aren't Crucial Ballistix still good DDR2 RAM sticks?? They get good reviews for overclockability and are cheap....
A (UK) link which makes them sound pretty sweet:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] -CR&tool=3 OCZ Platinum sticks I tried on a Gigabyte P35 DS3 board didn't overclock well at all... If you aren't running Vista than 2x 1Gb RAM is still fine (otherwise 2x 2Gb with Vista as suggested).
Put the money you saved on the CPU towards a batch of Corsair modular HX520 PSUs. (Better build quality than the Hyper ones - I have used both.)
I assume since you're looking for affordability you're not going to go SLI or xfire. Here are some thoughts:
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35 DS3L
Proc: E8400 (or possibly the E7200 if the E8400 is too much. I'd definitely try for the E8400 though.)
Video: Wait for the 4000 series from ATI, but if you have to build now, go with an 8800GTS (G92) 512MB card.
RAM: Cheap 2x2gb DDR2 800 with decent timings from a good brand like crucial, corsair, maybe G Skill.
HSF: Xigmatek HDT-S1283
Id have to agree with everythiing here... e7200 if you can overclock (dont know if the client would like that or not) ive got one at 3.2ghz atm with no voltage increase.
I think the 8800GT would still be enough and would save some more dough, i assume these wont be running high resolutions so you wont need anything bleeding edge anywho
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"The MB is 31 C and the CPU is 109 C. I think it's the CPU overheating."
Suggestion #1: volume discount
Suggestion #2: think twice about overclocking
Suggestion #3: find the right marketing people
AMD / Intel / nVidia will be more than happy to work with you if you have a decent business model and plan.
Intel, particularly, will slap their logo anywhere - from print advertising to the wall of the cafe. AMD distributors may be more likely to give you product discount to 'brand'
Bob, thx for the heads up on the psu, i use the hyper myself, havent tried corsair.
Chook, the client isnt really a client, just a friend. He heard i made 4 of the other sytems for friends who were happy and so he tohught that i could make some for him.
Wisecracker, nice idea. I ll see if any of them wants to slap some sponsor discount on em. Dunno if 15 comps would be enough for that.
I'd tend to agree with the last poster that the other builds are a bit too high end for a cafe setting.
I'd go for 2gb of ram. It's practically free anyhow. It really improves general responsiveness of a system, especially when you're running a cheap HDD.
You're looking at what 17" or 19" monitors, so you're not going to be playing at huge resolutions. You'll likely be in 1440x900 max if you go widescreen or 1280x1024, so a GT or GTS would be on the very very high end for these machines. Depending on the price difference they might be worthwhile as a future proofing measure, but they're not needed right now.
I'd stick with quality brand HDDs and PSUs as they are a real pain when they go out and I'd look for something with decent energy effeciency. The 400W and 250-320gb range is probably a good place to be.
I'd say you can't beat some good ol' cheap Raidmax cases. Make sure your local hospital has plenty of your blood type on hand cause you'll be losing plenty. I think they sharpen the edges in their cases. They are hard to beat for price and that cheesy gamer look though. Some cheap cold cathodes in windowed cases would probably go a long way towards impressing the end clients as well.
Message edited by clay12340 on 06-10-2008 at 06:08:43 PM
yes go with th cheaper amd systems but id go with cheap 3850 graphic cards on low cost 770 chipsets as the are pcie 2.0 and so is the 3850
also u could throw in a low cost quad when the prices go down in the future to lengthen the life. just make sure you get an asus or some other brand mobo that supports the low end 770 chipset with 125 wat cpu. some 770 mobos only support 95 watt phenoms
Erm, sorry 2 interupt... Bt I think in Malaysia,
the Phenom Price is pretty much affordable than the Intel Quad Processor.
Phenom X4 9550 costs MYR595 in my country(Approximately US$186).
In terms of overall performance vs prive, AMD beats Intel.
We don't just judge the processor only, take a look at the whole platform as well.
Sorry to say that Intel's latest DirectX 10 Platform G35 lacks far behind if compared to AMD 790G chipset(for mainstream computers).
This chipset supports Hybrid crossfire which combines mo/bo graphics with
ur graphic card but limited to Ati Radeon HD2400pro, 2400xt, 3450 & 3470 only. After Hybrid crossfire, this system could run crysis on 1024x768 on pretty much medium settings decently (around 20 FPS).
80% of peoples all around the world wouldn't spend much on computers.
AMD mainstream rigs are much more reliable than of Intel's.
I'm working as a computer technician, recieved A lot of "Intel junks"(worn out pentium 4s & Ds).
Only 1 out of 160+ AMD returned during warranty period.^^ Proven!!!^^v
My words: For enthusiast, price doesn't matter, go for intel!!!
If price is concerned, I'd pick AMD out of an Intel.
Standard off the shelf 400W cases but make sure they have the rear 120mm fans and you machine out the rear ali grilles to improve airflow.
Network the lost and make a ghost image from one machine once the games you want are on.
Expect to have to ghost these every 4 weeks anyway.
These will play most of the n00b FPS games the kids like.
Stick 320Gb HDD's in them - Vanilla. They are at about the cheapest price point now ...
No floppies ...
Disable USB's ...
Some good ideas here, but he said he wanted to use updated tech from the E2160 overclocked, and the 6000+ CPUs aren't much of an upgrade. For a good budget build that will outperform both the 6000+ and the x4 9550 (at games) the E7200 is probably the perfect processor. If you're not overclocking too much the stock HSF would probably work, otherwise the Freezer 7 Pro or the Xigmatek S1283 are both reasonably priced and perform well.
I do like the 8800GS idea. Unfortunately some of the "n00b FPS games" the kids like do put a strain on the video card. The 8800GS might be able to handle it, but it really depends on what kinds of games they're trying to play. If you have such crappy performance that the game doesn't play well then you will not have repeat customers. If the 8800GS can do an adequate job running the games expected to be played then it's an excellent choice. If they're looking to play games that need a bit more juice, the 9600GT or 3870 might be reasonable alternatives if the 8800GTS (G92) breaks the budget. I'd suggest researching which games are likely to be running on the PCs before deciding on the video card.
4gb of RAM can be had for under $70 these days, where 2gb is usually around $50. $20 to double the ram seems like a no-brainer.
Ghost is a great idea. I think you could get something like DriveImage (which would work well enough for this scenario) for free.
on low cost 770 chipsets as the are pcie 2.0 and so is the 3850