Budget Gaming Build

[Ditane731]

Ok, so I am fairly inexperienced at building computers have only built one before and it was about as simple as possible. Now I'm doing a build that I want to use for gaming. Some of the stuff isn't quite what I wanted, but I'm on a budget. I am planning on some upgrades in the future and to prepare for that, some of the stuff I am using might not be quite the optimal (e.g. my case is probably way to big, and my motherboard is probably not the best, but it is pretty cheap and has good reviews). I am planning on maybe overclocking some in the future (after I get a non stock fan/heatsink), but nothing really crazy. So any feedback would be appreciated.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred (I already have it) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
PSU: Antec BP550 550W (also already have it) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128078

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100226L Radeon HD 3850 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102715

Memory: 4Gb from Mushkin - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

A DVD Burner with lightscribe (I've always wanted lightscribe but never had it) --- Newegg seems to change up on which model is instock all the time so I'm just going to go with whatever is in stock.

I figured I'd go on and grab a tube of AS5 to use with the stock cooler if I need and the new one whenever I buy it.

And last I'm going to go witha Q6600 CPU. I'm probably going to get it from buy.com since they have it at about the same as Neweggs price, but the one they have is the G0 stepping. From what I've heard the G0 is much better if you plan on overclocking. And newegg can't guarantee that that's the one I would get.

It looks like after Tax, Shipping, and rebates I'll be paying right about $600. Which is thankfully a little under my budget, meaning I can get some of the upgrades that I want (like a new cooler) that much sooner. I thought about spending a little extra on a HD4850 for the video, but I'm not going to be playing the newest stuff at the highest settings (at least not right now) so I figured I'd save a bit and I can upgrade later if I need to.

Any recommendations or comments would be greatly appreciated.

*Edit* I forgot to mention. I am going to use a harddrive that I already have, at least for now (like 250Gb) I imagine that its not the quickest in the world, but like I said I already have it. And i'm going to be running XP Pro (at least for now).

 

[cmashwin]

when u r getting such good components and a quad, ATLEAST go with a P35 mobo like this one..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

Its just a little bit more expensive, but you will be very happy with it.. And it also overclocks well!!
Also, if u plan to OC, get a REALLY good cooler since the q6600's get really hot!! Dont get those sissy little ones!!! Check out TRUE, zigmatek htd etc, zalman cnp9700?? The one thats top at THG also is good..
But u probably want to look at upgrading ur mobo first..

 

[guanyu210379]

1. Yup! Q6600 can be very easy to be overclocked, at least 3.0GHz, it can go higher but I am sticking with 3.0Ghz (Don't have the guts to go higher).
2. Hmmm....550W? You can only go with 1 GPU.
Hmm...is HD4850 still on your budget?
3. You'll need a good HSF for your Q6600. Hmmm..Zalman CNPS9700, Xigmatej HDT-S1283+bracket, or Scythe Orrochi is good.
4. Honestly I don't care very much for lightscribe. The main things are cheap, read, and write very good and durable.
5. As for thermalpaste...hmmmm....my zalman came together with zalman thermalpaste...you should check just incase if your chosen HSF already came with one. But if if you need one then AS5 is good.
6. I recommend any of those Gigabyte P35, let say at least P35DS3L? or better.

 

[zenmaster]

Don't Get the Q6600.
Swap in the E7200 and upgrade the GPU.

GPU is far more important than CPU in Gaming Builds.

 

[KyleSTL]

I agree with zenmaster, a E7200 is the way to go on a budget.

Why are you guys suggesting $60-70 CPU coolers when the OP states multiple times he on a budget?!?!?
Good, cheap coolers that perform almost at the same level as the best-of-the-best:
Xigmatek S963 - $25 ($15 after MIR)
Coolermaster Hyper TX2 - $30
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 - $32

 

[Craxbax]

+1 on the E7200, GPU upgrade, and Arctic 7 Pro or Xigmatek coolers.

 

[Ditane731]

How does the E7200 do with overclocking? On the Q6600 I had read that it did really well with it, especially if you had the G0 stepping. Is there anything like that to look for on the 7200? With what I save on that I probably will jump to the HD4850 (probably ASUS? thoughts on that?) I'm almost def. not going to do more than one graphics card so I'm not too concerned about the power supply. Plus I already have it so.... And I might go with that P35 mobo cmashwin recommended. As far as coolers, should the one that comes stock with the E7200 be ok if I don't overclock right now. In a few months I can probably afford a more expensive one (I like the look of that Zalman). If I go for one sooner I'd probably get the Xigmatex S963.

 

[KyleSTL]

Zalman is noisier and doesn't cool as well as the following coolers:
Thermalright Ultra 120
TR Ultra 120 Extreme
Xigmatek S1283

I believe Zalman is overpriced, noisy and dated in its designs (a fair number of other experienced forum members agree with me on that one).

To answer your question: Yes, the E7200's stock cooler will do just fine in the interim.

The E7200 should overclock better than the Q6600 -
E7200 @ 3.9Ghz (1.4Vcore)
E7200 @ 3.6(stock) & 3.8('little extra voltage')

The P35-DS3L should be perfect for you. Enjoy!

 

[Ditane731]

Ok so here is what I have for my final build. Unless I hear someone say that's a bad idea or somehting I'll be ordering this within the next few days. I think I'm actually going to be ordering most of my stuff from mwave (I don't know much about them but have heard a bit; any thoughts on them?) mainly because if I order from newegg I get hit by sales tax, and going with someone else I can avoid an extra like $40 bucks (ish).
So here it is (some of it's a repeat from above, but just for clairty it's all back again)
Newegg:
Black face plate DVD Burner with lightscribe (mainly because I've always wanted lightscribe just because it seems cool even if it really isn't) They seem to go in and out of stock all the time so whichever one is in really is probably what I'll go with.

Memory: 4Gb (2x2Gb) mushkin http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

FROM MWAVE:
Proc: C2D e7200 - https://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA24910&CartID=done&nextloc=

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L https://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA24882

Graphics Card: Asus HD4850 https://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=AA73488

ALREADY HAVE:
Case: Antec Nine Hundred
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021
PSU: Antec BP550 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371016

Later I'm going to add some stuff like a better cooling (as discussed) before I even try overclocking, but for now this is probably my build. (with a harddrive I'm already using and windows xp pro)

Any last comments?

*Edit* Thanks for all the help so far and for any last comments.

 

[KyleSTL]

Looks good. I've never ordered from mwave, so I cannot attest to their service. Enjoy!

 

[tomw85]

I'm new here... but if I'm not mistaken if you run XP Pro you won't get the full benefit of the 4GB of RAM you plan on using.

 

[Ditane731]

Yeah, from what I had read I was expecting that. I think what I saw was that a 32bit OS can address at max 4GB, including the video card. So that would leave me with .5 GB on the video card and 3.5(ish) on the actual system memory. My reason for going to the full 4GB even with that is for two reasons. At times I actually plan on running a 64bit version of linux (probably the 64bit Kubuntu) and also (and really the main reason) is that I am planning on upgrading once I can spend more on it and will probably put a 64bit Vista on there as well.

 

[KyleSTL]

Good call.