I need: A mid range bang for buck system for WAR + Future games.

[Asinine]

Here is what I came up with from Aria, all round, seemingly the cheapest site for UK parts?

http://www.aria.co.uk

17" Hanns-G HW173 WideScreen £ 59.95
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz (Retail 775) £ 68.95
Asus ATi Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E2.0 £ 99.95
400Gb Hitachi SATAII 16MB £ 26.95
Asus P5K-VM Intel G33 Socket 775 Motherboard £ 50.97
Razer DiamondBack 3G Blue Mouse £ 22.84
Corsair 2GB PC2-6400 C5 XMS2 DHX (2x1GB) £ 29.95

Add VAT which is £ 62.92 = £422.48

I have my own Colors it 550w power suppy which I'm sure is enough?
And a Silver X-Case with 2 (or 3) fans.. I can't remember.

I need to know if my old PSU will connect to the motherboard... I would also like to know of any changes you recommend. I'm using windows xp home that I already own to save money.. and I won't be using more then 2gb of ram so vista is pointless?

I also need to know, as I'm not too tech savvy these days, will the motherboard be compatible with the sata2 hard drive as I saw it says 'sata 3' and will all needed cables and screws come with the mobo, or is that usually from the case?

My uncertainties were in the Ram, Hard drive and motherboard. My first choice was the Asus P5k-SE but it seems out of stock everywhere. I can't go over sixty pounds, and would like to when technology progresses, look into doing a bit of overclocking. As of now I'm useless / clueless about it but I plan to learn or get help when the time comes to go to vista and stick another 2 gig of ram in.

I know this will run WAR on max sets with no problems. Toms Hardware say the 4850 is the best buy card at the moment and I'm willing to trust that.

also any guidance on building would be great I havn't build for over 4 years so I'm concerned I'll mess up. Any kit I need would be helpful to know. Thanks guys, and sorry if there are multiple posts but I think each rig has individual needs. Need to order in the next few days to benefit from my WAR free trial ...oops!

 

[Asinine]

a little bump as I'm kind of in a hurry to order to take advantage of my WAR free trial. Wasn't aware my system would suck so bad. I read a WAR site that recommended gigabyte mobos. I forgot which, but wonder your opinions.

 

[megamanx00]

The system is fine. You should consider overclocking that CPU to get more value out of it as it seems to overclock well. Get a Xigmatec Rifle cooler and visit the overclocking forums. I prefer Gigabyte and MSI myself. Anyway I would recommend you get a P45 board if you're on a budget instead of a G33 board. If you get a good P45 board with two PCI-E slots then you can crossfire your 4850 with another one latter.

 

[Fwertz]

Go for a Seagate or Western digital HD over Hitachi. 400GB @ 16MB for that price is iffy. Spend a little more and look for a lower end P45 mobo that has at least one pcie/x16/2.0. If you have plans to bump to vista 3-4GB is a must to see really nice gameplay.

Hope this helps.

 

[Asinine]

Just a note, the compenent prices don't include VAT I was too lazy to work it out it was copy pasted. The hard drive costs 35-40 pounds which isn't.. THAT cheap is it? I was going for a 16 MB cache with sata 2 and that was one of the cheapest as I'm on a budget but I'm really not sure what else to get. I'll keep looking.

I can't get a p45 for under 60-70 pounds which is a bummer :/

Why is it so important if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Asinine]

Also if I'm getting a different cooler, Aria doesn't seem to do an OEM version of the processor, nor does it have the cooler you suggested.

Would someone point me in the direction of another good cooler and an idea as to if it's a waste of money to get the retail boxed processor and waste a fan / heatsink? thanks

 

[Asinine]

Gigabyte GA-EP45C-DS3R iP45 Express Socket 775 Motherboard

My price was just over 400 pounds or just under now its 450 with this mobo.

Also changed HD to a samsung 360GB: 320GB Samsung HD321KJ Spinpoint T166 16MB

I think I'm good to go? Overclocking can come later when I've got money... ah... I need paste to fit the cpu.. arctic silver right?

 

[Asinine]

Old mother board (p35 that people warn me off - no idea why)

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Socket+775+(Intel)/Gigabyte+GA-EP35-DS3L+iP35+Express+Socket+775+Motherboard+?productId=33637

One I could get for 26-27 pounds more (hurts my budget of around 400 pounds!) P45

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Socket+775+(Intel)/Gigabyte+GA-EP45C-DS3R+iP45+Express+Socket+775+Motherboard+?productId=33329

 

[rohair08]

I just built a system and tried it this morning on WAR and can tell you what I have.

First off I ran it 1680x1050 on high settings and it looked beautiful and ran smooth.

I have an e8400 @ 3gighz, ATI HD4850, Asus P5Q Pro, 4gig Mushkin among other things. I ended up spending under $1,100 with monitor and OS. If you want me to go in more detail just let me know.