Choosing best memory for this budget gaming build

[zealotz]

budget gaming build so cheaper is better but depending on the price to performance ratio if it boost a lot of performance i will spend couple of dollars for that.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming , Surfing the net.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Brand availlable in my country is only kingston, giel and cosair.

OVERCLOCKING: No Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900


AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300 [/url]

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379 [/url]

SAPPHIRE 100277L Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102835]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102835 [/url]



First question 4GB (2 x 2GB) or 2GB ( 2 x 1GB )? and pc 667, 800 or 1066?

2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 - 667
2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 - 800
2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 - 1066

4GB (2 x 2GB)
4GB (2 x 2GB)
4GB ( 2 x 2GB)

Second what brand is better?
Kingston
Cosair
Giel


any help would be much appritiated

 

[MaDMagik]

I would suggest Intels e5200. Only slightly more expensive, put it will pay itself off in lower electricity bills, and if you want it to it will overclock to levels unreachable for that 7750.

Memory: if running xp than 2gb is enough. If vista or win7 - 4gb no question.
Brand - never used Geil, always been happy with Corsair and Kingston.
Speed - ddr800, not much difference between those speeds in a first place, but i reject 1066 due to voltage required by most of modules, while 667 will pretty much limit your future cpu upgrade to those running fsb 333. I sugest some nice 800 modules running 1.8-1.9v CL5.

 

[zealotz]

Thanks a lot MadMagik

By the way this build is intended for a 150 unit's internet gaming café.

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900 I will only use Acer X193Wb Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824009151 ] Acer X193Wb Black 19" [/url]

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Key thing's to look up to:
1. Price conscious due to the no. of unit's the cheaper the better but don’t sacrifice the performance and quality.
2. Good stable pc that would last long especially the motherboard.
3. Electricity efficiency ( pc components that is low in electricity consumption is one of the criteria in this build

The reason why didn’t go with e5200 is I can’t overclock
1. 150 overclocked PCs in the same room would be a tremendous power bill. Not only for powering the PCs, but for air conditioning.
2. It’s hard to find a good cheap mother board.
3. 7750 be is alittle bit faster than e5200 on stock the advantage of e5200 is less electricity bill.


( But if e5200 is sufficient enough to run games smoothly in low or medium settings at this resolution 1440x900, I think I’ll go with e5200 gaming build ). what do you think?

And please suggest a gaming board for intel build thanks

 

[MaDMagik]

Medium or low settings in 1440x900??? Im not sure what are you worried about. I have a radeon hd 4850(pretty much the same as 4770 performance-wise) and with that card i can play Crysis in 1440x900 maxed out(no AA of course) having my e5200 at stock and 2gb ram. COD4 doesnt even make it break a sweat.

e5200 - 65W
7750 - 95W

That pretty much does it for me. In most cases you can push e5200 to 3ghz and beyond on stock voltage.

But youre probably right about the mobo being an advantage for AMD in this case, but if 4gb ram limit isnt an issue than G31-based boards at 55-60 bucks a pop will work like a charm. Have a look at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357

P.S. Im not trying to make you go with Intel, its just a suggestion

 

[zealotz]

Medium or low settings in 1440x900??? Im not sure what are you worried about. I have a radeon hd 4850(pretty much the same as 4770 performance-wise) and with that card i can play Crysis in 1440x900 maxed out(no AA of course) having my e5200 at stock and 2gb ram. COD4 doesnt even make it break a sweat.

e5200 - 65W
7750 - 95W

That pretty much does it for me. In most cases you can push e5200 to 3ghz and beyond on stock voltage.

But youre probably right about the mobo being an advantage for AMD in this case, but if 4gb ram limit isnt an issue than G31-based boards at 55-60 bucks a pop will work like a charm. Have a look at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357

P.S. Im not trying to make you go with Intel, its just a suggestion

it's ok if intel build will go to my advantage why not.

thanks for the quick replly actually i can save a lot with this motherboard but my question is if this chipset g31 a good for gaming. i'v read reviews before that this chipset is only good for office use and surfing the net. and not for gaming but i forgot the site, and this mobo has only PCI-E 1.0 slot instead of 2.0. any coments on this one? and by the way what motherboard are you using? with your e5200 and hd4850.

 

[MaDMagik]

PCI-e 2.0 is backward compatible so it will work in a 1.0 slot, and card like the one you chose wont fully utilize 1.0`s bandwidth anyway so there wont be any bottleneck there. Its a budget board but i believe it would do the job just fine, although it was just a suggestion too. I personally would prefer p35/43 based board, but i believe much depend on your budget.

I have asus p5q-pro in my main PC, runs without a hitch 8 months straight. About a month ago I built a PC for my brother, used the gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L with e5200. Ive never used anything else but asus, my brother opted for gigabyte though because of a combo-deal. So far it works flawlessly too. And i must admit its a really nice board.

 

[zealotz]

PCI-e 2.0 is backward compatible so it will work in a 1.0 slot, and card like the one you chose wont fully utilize 1.0`s bandwidth anyway so there wont be any bottleneck there. Its a budget board but i believe it would do the job just fine, although it was just a suggestion too. I personally would prefer p35/43 based board, but i believe much depend on your budget.

I have asus p5q-pro in my main PC, runs without a hitch 8 months straight. About a month ago I built a PC for my brother, used the gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L with e5200. Ive never used anything else but asus, my brother opted for gigabyte though because of a combo-deal. So far it works flawlessly too. And i must admit its a really nice board.

thanks i will try g31 for testing purpose only if it works i'l save tons of cash but for best performance i'l go with GA-EP43-UD3L. The advantage of e5200 it saves me electricity bills so far this processor can run almost all games in low or medium setting. but i heard e5200 is a little bit bottleneck when playing crysis.


please fill in blanks this is your gaming build:

Processor: e5200

Motherboard: asus p5q-pro

Graphics: hd 4850 512 or 1 gb?

RAM:

OVERCLOCKING: yes or no

MONITOR BRAND, WIDESCREEN OR NOT & RESOLUTION:

what games it can run?


Your brothers build

Processor: e5200

Motherboard: GA-EP43-UD3L

Graphics:

RAM:

OVERCLOCKING: yes or no

MONITOR BRAND, WIDESCREEN OR NOT & RESOLUTION:

what games it can run?


and my last question is if you are in my place what motherboard is best for me? and why?

 

[cjl]

For RAM, I'd tend to lean towards 4GB of DDR2-800. That seems to give the best balance between stability, price, power, and capacity for DDR2. Try to get memory rated at 1.8V if possible - anything rated higher is not true DDR2-800, but is really slower RAM that is in essence guaranteed to overclock to its rated spec given the higher voltage.

Oh, and for graphics, the 512MB card will be more than adequate for what you're looking for. Actually, since you are fairly power and heat conscious, something to consider would be the HD4770 video card. You sacrifice 5-10% performance compared to the 4850 IIRC, but it's a LOT lower in power use (it uses 40nm instead of 55nm), and runs cooler too. It's an excellent choice for this kind of application.

 

[zealotz]

For RAM, I'd tend to lean towards 4GB of DDR2-800. That seems to give the best balance between stability, price, power, and capacity for DDR2. Try to get memory rated at 1.8V if possible - anything rated higher is not true DDR2-800, but is really slower RAM that is in essence guaranteed to overclock to its rated spec given the higher voltage.

Oh, and for graphics, the 512MB card will be more than adequate for what you're looking for. Actually, since you are fairly power and heat conscious, something to consider would be the HD4770 video card. You sacrifice 5-10% performance compared to the 4850 IIRC, but it's a LOT lower in power use (it uses 40nm instead of 55nm), and runs cooler too. It's an excellent choice for this kind of application.

thanks cjl

i'l be using win xp 64bit any suggestion on this one?

If i'l go with this gaming budget build do you think this is enough?


Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072 [/url]

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357 [/url]

SAPPHIRE 100277L Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102835]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102835 [/url]

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134641]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134641 [/url]


my only concern of this build is that e5200 would be sufficient enough to run new games like starcraft 2 etc. and the motherboard chipset g31 don't know if this is good for gaming. but i'l try one of this mobo maybe next week. and by the way thanks.

 

[MaDMagik]

Mine: p5qpro, e5200 OCd to 3.45ghz, 2x1gb corsair xms2 pc6400, sapphire 4850 512mb, LG flatron 22" 1680x1050 wide - im not a hardcore gamer but games like crysis, crysis warhead, COD4,5, Bioshock, Left 4 dead - i played them all in max res max detail(ok, for crysis i OCd the gfx card a bit). I run XP pro

My bros: EP43-UD3L, e5200 @3.6ghz, 2x2gb corsair xms2 pc6400, Asus 4830, Old Samsung syncmaster 19" 1440x900 wide - hes not a gamer at all, he only plays COD4 every now and then, but max res max detail no problems at all. He runs Vista Home premium

Your last question is a tricky one. Thing with motherboards is that you will always encounter some sort of problems, no matter what brand/model you go for, especially when you buy 150 units. I`ve never dealt with the GA-G31M-ES2L myself, but i judge by other peoples reviews/comments and it seems like a good budget board that does its job. The review you mentioned about it only being good for office and web surfing - thats true but only if we`re talking about its integrated video chip. Since youre gonna stick a "full fat" gfx card in it, its integrated video doesnt count anymore.

So my general opinion is: if you can negociate a good bulk price for the ep43-ud3l than go with it no question. P43 chipset, ud3 technology, 4 ram slots those i believe are main advantages. But if you think it stretches the budget too much, go with the g31 or p31 if they are available where you live.

 

[zealotz]

Mine: p5qpro, e5200 OCd to 3.45ghz, 2x1gb corsair xms2 pc6400, sapphire 4850 512mb, LG flatron 22" 1680x1050 wide - im not a hardcore gamer but games like crysis, crysis warhead, COD4,5, Bioshock, Left 4 dead - i played them all in max res max detail(ok, for crysis i OCd the gfx card a bit). I run XP pro

My bros: EP43-UD3L, e5200 @3.6ghz, 2x2gb corsair xms2 pc6400, Asus 4830, Old Samsung syncmaster 19" 1440x900 wide - hes not a gamer at all, he only plays COD4 every now and then, but max res max detail no problems at all. He runs Vista Home premium

Your last question is a tricky one. Thing with motherboards is that you will always encounter some sort of problems, no matter what brand/model you go for, especially when you buy 150 units. I`ve never dealt with the GA-G31M-ES2L myself, but i judge by other peoples reviews/comments and it seems like a good budget board that does its job. The review you mentioned about it only being good for office and web surfing - thats true but only if we`re talking about its integrated video chip. Since youre gonna stick a "full fat" gfx card in it, its integrated video doesnt count anymore.

So my general opinion is: if you can negociate a good bulk price for the ep43-ud3l than go with it no question. P43 chipset, ud3 technology, 4 ram slots those i believe are main advantages. But if you think it stretches the budget too much, go with the g31 or p31 if they are available where you live.

hmmm I think you answered all my questions, too excited to try this budget gaming build, i already ordered this mobo g31 yesterday. hope it works but if not going to upgrade this mobo to p43 board. by the way thanks a lot

 

[MaDMagik]

No problem. And to brush aside all your remaining doubts regarding e5200`s ability, i underclocked mine to 2.4ghz, underclocked my radeon 4850 by 5% and ran Crysis Benchmark cpu test, Crysis i believe still being one of the most demanding games out there. I tested in 1400x960 as it doesnt give the 1440x900 for some reason. Have a look http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/6141/e5200.jpg

 

[cjl]

Oh, and why use XP x64? Vista x64 is more stable and better supported, and there's really no reason not to go with the more modern OS now.

 

[MaDMagik]

+1^

Gotta agree on this one

 

[zealotz]

Oh, and why use XP x64? Vista x64 is more stable and better supported, and there's really no reason not to go with the more modern OS now.

Oh yeah thank you guys cjl & MadMagik yoh the men  gonna try this Vista x64 for this build.

 

[zealotz]

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3430&p=4

I found this review on annandtech i think G31 is a little bit risky when it comes to gaming compare to 780g but the price difference is to big. g31 is $23 less x 150unit's it hurts, plus going to e5200 i can save electricty bill hmmmm very sticky for now

my question is does mobo chipset really help the performance of gaming by how many percent.

 

[MaDMagik]

To start with, in the review you linked they test INTEGRATED VIDEO, its not a suprise that 780g is superior to g35(i dont even see g31 there) but that is irrelevant when you use stand-alone gfx card.

Im no expert on the matter and I might be wrong(im sure someone will be quick to correct me if I am) but where gaming performance is concerned the difference between the same gear installed in g31/p35/p43 based mobo will be around few percent at best. Your only worry regarding g31 should be limited future upgrade options, not gaming performance.

I dont really understand your percentage estimate, sorry

 

[cjl]

The chipset won't make much of a difference, since you're going with a separate video card.

 

[zealotz]

To start with, in the review you linked they test INTEGRATED VIDEO, its not a suprise that 780g is superior to g35(i dont even see g31 there) but that is irrelevant when you use stand-alone gfx card.

Im no expert on the matter and I might be wrong(im sure someone will be quick to correct me if I am) but where gaming performance is concerned the difference between the same gear installed in g31/p35/p43 based mobo will be around few percent at best. Your only worry regarding g31 should be limited future upgrade options, not gaming performance.

I dont really understand your percentage estimate, sorry

In the site I link, I thought they are benchmarking the chipset of the motherboard not the built-in video that is on the mobo, hehehe noob me, and I was thinking even g35 compare to 780g is way to far in the benchmark how much more the g31….. but guys thanks a lot.

 

[zealotz]

The chipset won't make much of a difference, since you're going with a separate video card.

Cjl thanks

 

[zealotz]

Guys I have a problem HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 is not available this June.
They can only provide a very small quantity maybe around 10 to 30 units of HD 4770 512MB GDDR5. So I plan to find a substitute video card for my gaming build. Suggestions please here are some of the cards that’s on my budget.

http://www.techspot.com/review/163-radeon-hd-4770/page8.html

for me I think SAPPHIRE HD 4850 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E would be in a sweet spot, and another question do i really need to get 1GB or is there a site that benchmark HD 4850 512MB vs HD 4850 1GB.

SAPPHIRE HD 4830 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E

SAPPHIRE HD 4830 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E HDMI

SAPPHIRE HD 4830 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E

SAPPHIRE HD 4830 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E HDMI

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 1G GDDR3 PCI-E Dual Slot Fansink

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E HDMI

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual Slot Fansink

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E HDMI

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 DP 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E

SAPPHIRE HD 4850 X2 2G/1G GDDR3 PCI-E

SAPPHIRE TOXIC HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E

 

[zealotz]

I found a site reviews of HD 4850 1 GB

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-radeon-hd-4850-1gb-gvr485oc1gi-review/8

 

[MaDMagik]

Guess youre in a bit of a pickle now. 4770 seems like like a great card but with limited availability atm. 4850, a fair eplacement but what you need to consider is that its slightly more expensive, uses around 30% more power and runs pretty warm too. 4830 wont be enough for what you want it(imo). Geforce GTS 250 might be a solution, draws a bit less power while providing same sort of performance as 4850. As for 512mb vs 1gb, cmon man, google it.

And you might be better off starting a new thread in GFX card section.

 

[zealotz]

Guess youre in a bit of a pickle now. 4770 seems like like a great card but with limited availability atm. 4850, a fair eplacement but what you need to consider is that its slightly more expensive, uses around 30% more power and runs pretty warm too. 4830 wont be enough for what you want it(imo). Geforce GTS 250 might be a solution, draws a bit less power while providing same sort of performance as 4850. As for 512mb vs 1gb, cmon man, google it.

And you might be better off starting a new thread in GFX card section.

Actually your right HD 4850 slightly more expensive, uses around 30% more power and runs pretty warm too. This is a bad invesment on my part. but for now its about time to try GTS 250.... i'l try to search a review of this card. but thank's man most of your comment's are very good. direct to the point and very precise. hehe keep up the good work.

correct me if i'm wrong both of this cards are exactly thesame with just diffrent names?
GeForce 9800 GTX+/GeForce GTS 250

 

[MaDMagik]

correct me if i'm wrong both of this cards are exactly thesame with just diffrent names?
GeForce 9800 GTX+/GeForce GTS 250

Yeah, gts250 is just a renamed 9800gtx+.

Have a look here: http://techreport.com/articles.x/16504