Gaming PC for 1200 euro

[Butcherski]

the pc will be used mainly for gaming / gaia 3d stuff ...

CPU: q6700

GPU: 8800GTS

MB: my first choice was evga 750i FTW but since they dont seel them in poland yet i need some ideas, it has to be sli

Ram: 4gb corsair 800mhz 4 4 4 12

Case: antec 900/1200 - depends if i can get a 1200 here :<

CPU cooling: arctic cooling freezer 7 pro souns good yes ?

Hard Drives : i need a fast one with 80-150 gb's

i need to ahve some upgradeability hence the sli mobo and huge case, also im staying with air cooling fyi

 

[mihirkula]

Crossfire is more promising than SLI....Gigabyte X38-DS4 and Asus P5E are the very best

Though if you have to go SLI, that EVGA 750 is good.... the ASUS P5N 750 is cheaper in the US which runs as good.

The best cooler out there is XIGMATEK S1283. See if its available there.

WD1600AAJS would be a good choice for the HD.

PS: What are the prices of the Q6700 and Q6600 there?

 

[Andrius]

If it's going to be a "for work also" machine forget the NVIDIA chipset.
Motherboard :
ASUS P5E (170 EUR here) X38 chipset
ASUS P5N-D (122 EUR, 750i chipset like the EVGA 750i FTW)

CPU :
Q6700 is a good choice (230 EUR here)
Q6600 is a bit cheaper (180 EUR here and you won't notice the difference if you overclock).
COOLING : mihirkula said it all in the post above.

RAM : make sure you get 2x2GB DHX C4 (100 EUR here)

GPU : might want to wait for HD 4870 (crossfire compatible)
Comes out at the end of the month.

CASE : consider the Cooler Master RC-690 (around 90 EUR here)

PSU :
If you plan to do SLI/Crossfire you should get a 750W unit: Corsair TX 750W (145 EUR here). If not 550W will do just fine: Corsair VX 550W (80 EUR here).

HDD : I recommend a WD6400AAKS for performance (100 EUR).
WD3200AAKS is a bit slower but cost (65 EUR). Anything less would be wasting money (80-250 GB drives are old and slower designs).

 

[Butcherski]

q6600 is about 40 euros cheaper than q6700

and the q6700 is 10 euros cheaper then the new 45nm quads ...

 

[Butcherski]

since im "not allowed to edit my post" ...

q6600 is about 40 euros cheaper than q6700

and the q6700 is 10 euros cheaper then the new 45nm quads ...

i've already chosen the case and its nzxt tempest

its not going to be a work machine - its 90% gaming and 10% work since im starting college in about 4 months and will do only the most basic stuff

i cant find that RAM anywhere ... whats wrong with the one i posted ? or why this one is better ?


the gpu will be 8800gts ( g92 one ofc) i cant wait another month, ive been waiting too long ... and every month there is a new "better" card on the horizon ...

 

[mihirkula]

^...Stick with the Q6600 and overclock it...that way you save 40 valuable Euros and you will have the same delicious performance.

Corsair makes good RAM indeed....Andrius should answer that query in his next post

Regarding the GPU, 4870 is not just a better card, according to prelim reports, it virtually destroys every other card out there for a stunningly low price. ($350 4870 outperforms $600 9800GX2). That wait would very well be worth it.

 

[Andrius]

i cant find that RAM anywhere ... whats wrong with the one i posted ? or why this one is better ?
the gpu will be 8800gts ( g92 one ofc) i cant wait another month, ive been waiting too long ... and every month there is a new "better" card on the horizon ...

It's not that it's better(RAM performance makes so little difference it's silly to care about specs) but it leaves you with two free slots. The DHX kit is great value here so I recommended it(and it comes in 2x2GB stick kits). Any 2x2GB sticks Corsair/Geil/Mushkin/Kingston would be a good pick.

For the GPU: what you said is true but the 8800GTS is 6 months old by now (still a great value card). The HD4870 is just around the corner and it's like mihirkula said. It looks like it's going to be a monster value card.

I also second the Q6600 note. Good luck.
To edit posts use the "quick edit" button over the post. The new forum has a lot of random features.

 

[Butcherski]

Ok guys since i posted similiar topics on several other major pc forums ill try to summarize ...

CPU : q6600 / q6700 - depends on what mobo ( $$ wise ) + i've been told that the q6700 are made with a little better silicon (?)
GPU : one 8800gts - it will be enough to run everything on high ( my 19' runs 1600 ) until something better arrives
Mobo - still have nothing :< im searchin online stores for the 750's but with no luck ...
RAM - i found 4gb mushkin with low timings and great reviews so im set here
Case - nzxt tempest


So the only thing left is to get a good motherboard ... what are the best options for both SLI and one card mobos ? Ill save some money on the case so i can spend more on a solid mobo.

 

[Andrius]

Q6600/Q6700 are made from the same dies.
The Q6700 is made from dies that run a little cooler and consume a bit less power. They should have about the same "thermal" limit. Extreme cooling you could push the Q6700 further because of the higher multiplier (10x266MHz vs 9x266MHz).

Any motherboard can run 1Graphics card.
The best option is the X38/X48 chipset (also support CrossFire but not SLI):
ASUS P5E (170 EUR)
GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 (165 EUR).

Then there are P35 boards (all single graphics, some basic CrossFire):
ASUS P5K E/Pro/Premium (100-150EUR)
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L (75EUR), GA-EP35-DS3R/DS3P/DS4 (100-130EUR)

SLI capable boards:
750i chipset
ASUS P5N-D (750i chipset, 122 EUR)
EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW (200 EUR)
MSI P7N SLI Platinum (130 EUR)
MSI P7N Zilent (160 EUR)

780i chipset
ASUS P5N-T Deluxe (210 EUR)
ASUS Striker II formula (260 EUR)
EVGA nForce 780i SLI (240 EUR
MSI P7N MSI P7N Diamond (230 EUR)

 

[Butcherski]

ok i decided to go for a x38 chipest without SLI ... what is my best choice ?

on another forums i was told that DFI LT X38-T2R is the best mobo out there and its in my budget ... but i cant seem to find any reviews and basing my purchase on one or two opinions doesnt seem smart ...

 

[Andrius]

The GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 is a good choice (163 EUR here).
The ASUS P5E would also be a nice one (I like it's layout better) (170 here).
DFI boards are said to be awesome overclockers.

I for one don't like them because they are poorly made (misaligned components, strange connector selections, the cooling is just WTH, they never heard of LPT/COM I guess) and the green slots are just out there.
They are also tweaker boards (easy to overclock to "some point" after that it's a mess of settings and combinations). Most boards only go to "that point". The DFI X48 was reviewed a few days ago on http://www.bit-tech.net./hardware/2008/05/12/dfi-lanparty-lt-x48-t2r/1

 

[Butcherski]

What about the cheapest solid motherboard ? Im now thinking about the 9800GX2 ...

I wouldnt need SLI or any other fancy options, just a solid mobo - probably P35 since from what reviews i found say theres not much diffrence with P35/X38 for average user and P35 boards seem to be much cheaper ... but theres so many of them :x

 

[Andrius]

Any ASUS P5K Pro/E/Premium, Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3x/GA-EP35-DS4 would do. Just check what features you need. (IE RAID, aditional connectors, firewire, cooling).
I like the ASUS P5K Pro for features but the reviewer had some issues with sound, E is a great board featurewise, Premium is a bit close to P5E.
The Gigabyte P35 boards don't have 8-phase power regulation for the CPU so that limits overclocking. Aside from that you're probably good with any of them.
Personaly I'd get an ASUS P5K Pro or GA-EP35-DS3R right now (~100 EUR).

 

[Butcherski]

bump for more opinions on my mobo

I've changed the quad core for e8400, becouse i wont need those two extra cores for some time ( about 3-4 months ) and by then ill buy a quad from the new 45nm line.

As for my mobo needs : 2-3 SATA cables, decent onboard sound, easy overclocking ( i dont care for all the low level tweaks like in the DFI board ), and thats basically it ... i dont need raid, wifi or ony other fancy stuff. My case will have decent airflow so the temps arent too important either.

Oh and Andrius i appreciate your interest but do you realize that you're only making it harder ? listing all those good mobos and leaving the choice too me

One more change - ill be getting mushkin xp2 8500 sticks ( 1066 mhz). I hope that narrowed the searching field atleast a little ...

And i would greatly appreciate when somebody recommends a board to atleast give one good reason to buy it. I've been reading online reviews like crazy and it seems that every mobo has some weak points ...

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

yeah get a dual core and then upgrade to quad in the future. You should get a P35 mobo and use the money u saved to get a 9800gx2 or hd3870x2

 

[Andrius]

^Sorry about that. I'd go with the DS3R then (cheap, all the really good features are there, RAID, 8x SATA, the only weakness I can see is the lack of an 8-phase power regulation but you only need that above 400MHz FSB and if you want that you're better of with an X38 board that runs 400MHz FSB stock). With a product as complex as a motherboard weaknesses are unavoidable. The memory and the board are a bit of a mismatch but you switched to the E8400 so it's likely a better choice.

Since nobody wants to comment I'd say make a new thread. That usually works as there's less to read.

Good luck