did i make the right purchases?

[delsaber]

Hi all

Im fed up of gaming on my laptop. I think its fed fed up with it too!

A friend of mine is going to upgrade my pc so i just wanted to get opinions on the items i have ordered.

are there any tips regarding these products? any help appreciated. is it worth overclocking? can it be done with this set up?

objective: play cod4 and WoW at a reasonable/decent fps. Low budget.

items ive ordered are;

Mobo:Gigabyte S775 Intel P35 ATX Audio Lan DDRII FSB1333
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4Q0K&

processor:Intel E5200 Pentium Dual Core S775 2MB 2.5GHz 800FSB
https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=57Y4

GPU:XFX GeForce 9500GT 512MB DDR2 PCIE DVI
https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=58BF

PSUabs Value 650W TITAN SILENT NEON PSU SATA 12CM FAN
https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=53DT

Memory: Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB) 800MHZ NON ECC CL5
https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=4PDN

opinions please? what would you change?

thanks in advance

 

[delsaber]

I forgot to add;

Ive got quite basic computer knowledge. Im from UK but shouldnt effect things and all of the other components/peripherals e.g monitor, hard drive etc are a few years old. The hard drives only 80gb but I dont need any more as i have external. basic 19" flatscreen monitor. dvd rewriter drive (not sure on speeds) and the base unit is pretty simple too. (logitech g3 gaming mouse is most expensive item so far )

 

[col-p-todd]

not a bad build, although i,m not to sure about the psu:s but since your system does not require that much power you should be ok.

I don,t know to much about overclocking butfor a good oc you want a psu that is able to give stable voltages, not sure if the psu can deliver that.

Maybe somebody else can give more info on this!

 

[jstnkim]

that abs psu is alright, I mean for your current build it's actually good enough for a few more upgrades in the futur, I had one my self. had it for about 5 months then replaced it due to upgrading my video card. How ever for psu now I'll strictly stay within corsair or pc powercooler psu's mainly for the price they come pretty much future proof. May I ask what was your total price budget? I'm always upgrading my pc. I mean always, 2-3 times a year, So Maybe I can help out on some opinion if you'd like. I've gone through almost every known brands out there. Also is your pc strictly for gaming? or do you use it for work and such? how's your cooling btw?

 

[delsaber]

thanks for quick replies.

im glad its not a total mess. extra glad as its all been delivered since i posted! lol

my budget was around £200 (think this lot totalled about £230 in the end)

the low budget is because these pieces are the pieces i believe HAVE to be replaced to place games at a decent fps. the basics like monitor, hard drive etc dont bother me too much.

i generally game and surf the net, listen to music and watch films.

im really unsure about the cooling because my mate just said to get a psu and this one seemed to have some decent reviews at a fair price. the gpu seems to have a built in fan.

I get paid friday so might get a new monitor or something.

 

[jitpublisher]

Personally, I would have spent a little more on the video card if you are gaming and picked up at least a 9600Gt. The 9500 would good enough for the games you mentioned, but I would still like to have a little better just in case you do decide to play something a little more demanding.
Have a look here....
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2064.html

The 9500 does not make anyone's list as gaming card. It may be advertised as a "gaming" card, but it is pretty weak.

 

[jstnkim]

or if you could squeeze alittle bit of money, the cheapiest hd4850 is not bad either? or the one lower than the 4850 the 4600 series, Well here is something I tell my self everytime I purchase something buddy, "you get what you pay for" so obviously the more you spend the better, but if You're trying to keep min budget but yet be able to play most games, Your setup is actually fine. How ever you want be able to get crazy fps or play games at high settings, but again "you get what you pay for"

I used to game on my laptop also, not sure whose notebook was better, Mine was average.
But with the setup you have, You'll be noticing a huge difference.
And if you're worried about the bang for buck .
Just look around online, or even "www.ebay.com" for used. if this is going to be your temp pc, meaning in the future you're going to upgrade again (like me, i'm always upgrading) just buy a used for now, used parts to keep budget, and save up to build your self a dream pc one day.

www.pricewatch.com also has sites that gives combos on RAM + CPU + MOBO for really cheap price.
On your budget I'd try to stick with AMD CPU, they're cheaper, run cooler , and speed is about the same as intel.

Hope some of that advice helps alittle.

 

[delsaber]

I was very close to going for the 9600gt and really should have done in heinsight.

The new warcraft is arriving tomorrow however and being as impatient as i am id happily swap my left arm for any graphics card. although it would halter my gameplaying abilities somewhat.

I am going to upgrade again in the new year and i think the card will be one of the first to get a revamp but cod4 and wow really will be the most graphically advance games ill play for the time being. Ive seen the crysis like games requiring massive power to get decent fps but i dont plan on playing those anytime soon so sounds like this set up will suffice until then.

My laptop is the accer w9813 which is a behemoth of a laptop. 20.1" screen, upgraded to 4gb ram, but with a 1.66ghz dual core and geforce go 7600 256mb graphics card it doesnt look great. It plays cod4 and wow on pretty much lowest settings and even then it struggles on cod4.

I may be setting up my system tonight so if you know any good guides for this it would help alot. otherwise ill have a trawl through the www later to find some.

 

[delsaber]

i meant to add;

i couldnt afford the extra £60 for the 9600gt but i am regretting not waiting slightly. Ill definately know once i see my system working wether i should have waited or not

 

[delsaber]

also, this might sound like a stupid question but do many people from the UK order from USA? the prices are so much cheaper and im assuming its just a power change thats needed or something?

 

[delsaber]

Just a quick thanks and update.

Got my computer back from my mates last night and im well impressed!

WoW at 60fps with max settings and cod4 runs smoothly at max settings! (unsure on fps as was getting pretty late)

Anyone with a small budget would love this set up if your looking for mid level gaming

 

[aevm]

also, this might sound like a stupid question but do many people from the UK order from USA? the prices are so much cheaper and im assuming its just a power change thats needed or something?

You have to pay customs and shipping, and that makes the prices less attractive. Also, sites like Amazon.com or Newegg won't ship hardware outside the USA at all.

AFAIK only PSUs need to be bought locally because you guys use 220V and North America uses 110V. Stuff like CPU/GPU/RAM should work fine.