Building new gaming system from scratch.

[may1]

Hi guys, I want to build a new gaming system from scratch. I use my netbook as my workstation, so this desktop build will only be for gaming. For that reason, I believe that I'm not in a hurry to get a quad-CPU system since I will only be playing games on it (and no other big applications at the same time.)

so here they are:

CPU: PII x2 550
VRAM:1GB XFX HD 4890 XXX edition
Case: Coolermaster Elite 330
RAM:4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS3
HDD: 80 GB Western Digital WD800AAJS Caviar SE, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 8MB Cache, 9 ms
MOBO:Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P, AMD 770, AM3, PCI-E 2.0(x16), DDR3 1666(OC), SATA 3Gb/s, SATA RAID, AT
PSU: 550w Corsair VX Series PSU, ATX, PS/2
SCREEN:19" Acer V193Bbd, (Square) 4:3 Black LCD Monitor, 1280x1024, 5ms, 250cd/m², 10,000:1, VESA
KEYBOARD:Logitech Deluxe 250 Wired Keyboard, PS2, Black
MOUSE: ELECOM (forgot model, I'll be using my current one, USB)

Since my build is for gaming only, and I'm quite low on budget, I'm aiming to make the most bang-for-the buck system available. So I've got no intentions of switching to i5, i7 and PII x4 for now just to get 10-20 fps beyond playable (55 fps for me) .
My big concern for the build are whether the MOBO, PSU and RAM would be fine or not.

As I have said, I'm building a system from scratch. I've got no screens and stuffs so anything I will need other than these (these include cables that may not come with the parts), suggestions are more than welcome.

BTW, I live in the UK so any online retailers you recommend, would be great.

Cheers.

 

[build]

If you've decided on that monitor, you won't need a 4890. A 4850 would max out most games at that resolution, which begs the question, what games do you play?

What is the maximum you can spend on everything?

You didn't list an Optical drive, Operating System and I believe that monitor doesn't have speakers. I presume these must be included in the budget as well?

 

[Proximon]

Some games use multiple cores right now, and more will in the future. I play many games of all sorts and I get by just fine with an overclocked E8400, but if I were building a new system today it would use a quad.

 

[may1]

>Build,

I understand that a 4850 would be good enough for most games, but I'm a FPS gamer hence I need a good FPS constantly (40-50 FPS+)
(and with COD 6 coming out) I thought that 4890 would be a good future proof VRAM at that resolution.
Optical drive is LG DH16NS10.AUAA10B 16x Internal DVDROM, Black Bare Drive, SATA, OEM

And OS is WIN7. (32 or 64, which should I go for?)

I'll be using headphones instead, so I wont be using speakers.

>Proximon,

But only some use multi-core processes. And with AM3, I could upgrade them in the future ^^b when PIIx4 955 BE goes cheaper or an even better CPU. That way I could get the best out of bang-for buck for now.


BTW, any comments on MOBO, RAM and cables??

 

[may1]

Oh, and MAX spending is £700 for all, but obviously I would like suggestions that would make this sum lower- without sacrificing the performance of course.

 

[Proximon]

A 5850, with DX 11, would last you longer than a 4890. At that resolution, you won't see any VISIBLE differences between a 4850 and a 4890. You'll just see some different numbers in fraps.

The board is a good single PCI-E choice. I can't say about the RAM without a link... but as long as it's 1333 CL8 (or better) then it's likely fine. AMD is pretty easy on the voltage reqs.

 

[build]

If you really insist on a 4890, you should get a larger monitor to make use of it. You can get a 22" monitor on other sites for the same price as that 19" Acer you listed. A 4890 for a 1280 x 1024 monitor is just pointless

AMD Phenom II X2 550 AM3 3.1Gh - £74.70
http://www.dabs.com/products/amd-phenom-ii-x2-550-am3-3-1gh-7mb-5KQ7.html

XFX ATI Radeon 4890 - £138.00
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-ati-radeon-4890-hd-850mhz-1gb-ddr5-pci-express-dual-dvi-64TS.html

Kingston Hyper X 4Gb 1600Mhz - £66.45
http://www.dabs.com/products/kingston-hyper-x-4gb-1600mhz-ddr3-5FSR.html

Corsair Memory 550W VX PSU - £58.30
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-memory-550w-vx-psu-4Q0T.html

Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB - £26.45
http://www.dabs.com/products/western-digital-caviar-blue-160gb-3-5--sata-300-8mb-4HC5.html

HANNSG 22" HI221A 5ms LCD TFT - £107.52
http://www.dabs.com/products/hannsg-22--hi221a-5ms-lcd-tft-6797.html

Antec 200 Two Hundred Mid Tower Case - £34.06
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168615

MSI 770-C45 AMD 770 AM3 DDR3 - £50.00
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165438

LG GH22NS50 22x SATA DVD±RW - £15.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169683

Total = £571.47 (dabs and ebuyer both deliver for free)


You'll need a 64 bit OS if you want to use more than 3.5GB RAM. Where are you buying Windows 7 from? Amazon has it for £65.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002DUCMT2/ref=ox_ya_oh_product