Suggestions!!

[johnpaul182]

I am considering a budget gaming PC, but would like your opinions on what you think of the system.

Cooler Master Elite 430, Window.
AMD Phenom II X4 840 (4 x 3.2 GHz) AM3 2MB
AMD Heatsink & Fan
Corsair 4GB XMS3 PC3-10666 1333MHz (1x4GB)
Asus M4A78LT-M (AMD 760G)
450W PSU
500GB Seagate Barracuda, 7200.12, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache
Samsung (SH-D162D) 16x DVD-ROM - Black (SATA)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 BIT

I have left out the GPU as i cant decide what one to get, and would like you guys to suggest some that can run games like COD4, MW2 and Left4Dead etc, preferably for under £100.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

get the sapphire 5850 it is the best bang for your buck and will get you good framerates on those games- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102932&Tpk=sapphire%205850 i kknow it is out of stock

 

[jbl91]

Welome to the forum.
Where is that card available for anywhere near that value? Also general advice... Don't get a 840, get dual channel ram (2x2GB) not 1x4, get a Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX PSU (not sure which one you're getting since it's not specified above), and get a more modern chipset for whatever CPU you choose. Maybe fill out the build advice sticky so we can help you the most.

 

[ethel]

This 5830 is good vfm and is under £100:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-258-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

 

[nd_hunter]

Instead of the Phenom II and AM3 board, get an Intel i3-2100 and MSI H61M-E33 board. It will cost slightly more, but will game much better and give you a bit of an upgrade path for future changes. Btw, that Phenom II 840 is an Athlon II 645 in sheep's clothing (with a 100MHz freq increase). Instead of naming it the Athlon II 650, they called it a Phenom in hopes of boosting sales. Check the specs, and check this bench below. The AMD is a bit better in the multimedia apps (true quad core vs. dual w/ HT), but falls waaay behind in gaming (like 33% less fps).
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=188

 

[johnpaul182]

Thanks for the reply, i want to try an stick to AMD, will the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, be a better option than the CPU above? plus is the, NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 1GB be good enough for moderate gaming?

 

[nd_hunter]

i3-2100 is about the same as the 965 for gaming, but if you must stick with AMD, get the 955 an OC it. AMD is not a solid choice for a CPU right now, but it's your money, so do with it what you want. I don't know what your budget is....Fill this out, it will help a lot.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[johnpaul182]

Ok so i've been looking round and i can get this rig for just under £370.

Intel Core i3 2100 (2 x 3.10Ghz)
Asus P8H61-M LX2 (Rev. 3)
4.0GB Corsair DDR3 1600mhz XMS3 (2x 2GB)
500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 1GB
400W Xigmatek PSU

I'm guessing this is a much better gaming rig? if you dont think the GPU is good enough for moderate gaming, please let me know.

 

[nd_hunter]

You still need a case. And what do you mean by "moderate" gaming? What titles? What resolution? I'm not so sure about the quality on that PSU...

 

[johnpaul182]

im going to get the Zalaman Z7 Plus case, and games like COD4, Left4Dead games of that nature, for resolution probably 1280 x 1024.

 

[nd_hunter]

Good case, but you could find one as good for less. Cooler Master offers a lot of them for less and you'd be better off with an HD 5670. It offers better performance and DX11 at slightly higher cost (money that's tied up in that Z7 Plus case).

 

[johnpaul182]

thanks for the replies hunter, i will look into getting a cooler mater case, but would you say that this was a decent pc for £375? that includes a 19" AOC monitor!

 

[nd_hunter]

what is that...about $600 US? It's pretty solid for that price point.

 

[johnpaul182]

yeah $605! would you buy that system for that price?

 

[nd_hunter]

I would if it had a different PSU and at least an HD 5670. I'd even pay $20 or so more for that.

 

[ethel]

Ok so i've been looking round and i can get this rig for just under £370.

Intel Core i3 2100 (2 x 3.10Ghz)
Asus P8H61-M LX2 (Rev. 3)
4.0GB Corsair DDR3 1600mhz XMS3 (2x 2GB)
500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 1GB
400W Xigmatek PSU

I'm guessing this is a much better gaming rig? if you dont think the GPU is good enough for moderate gaming, please let me know.

That graphics card is weak. Go with my original suggestion of a 4830 (or 5670 as nd_hunter suggest) if you want a gaming rig.

 

[johnpaul182]

That graphics card is weak. Go with my original suggestion of a 4830 (or 5670 as nd_hunter suggest) if you want a gaming rig.

How about the Nvidia GeForce GT 440?

 

[ethel]

Still weak. If you're going to play games, you should spend a good part of your budget on your graphics card

 

[Proximon]

Sometimes people need a bit extra convincing so I'll chime in

Adjust your parts so that you are spending a bit more on GPU and PSU. Your graphics card will determine the performance you get in games far more than your CPU. The i3-2100 is a great choice, but if you end up needing to spend less there look to AMD Athlon IIs.

See the PSU guide linked in my sig. The links to the database are currently dead, but you can still learn why your PSU choice is so important and how to avoid a bad one.

 

[johnpaul182]

so this GPU wouldn't be good enough for Minecraft? as this is the only game i'll probably be playing?

 

[Proximon]

im going to get the Zalaman Z7 Plus case, and games like COD4, Left4Dead games of that nature, for resolution probably 1280 x 1024.

:lol:

 

[johnpaul182]

:lol:

At first thats what i wanted the system to be able to play, Minecraft will be the game i spend the most time on.

 

[Proximon]

OK, well if that's all you are going to do the rule still applies. You don't need a powerful CPU to play Minecraft. If you want to get a stronger processor now and upgrade the GPU later, that's OK. Just make sure you get a PSU that will handle the upgrade.

 

[johnpaul182]

OK, well if that's all you are going to do the rule still applies. You don't need a powerful CPU to play Minecraft. If you want to get a stronger processor now and upgrade the GPU later, that's OK. Just make sure you get a PSU that will handle the upgrade.

YOu seem to know your stuff, what's our opinion on this CPU, Intel Pentium Dual Core E5700 .

 

[Proximon]

That was a fine little CPU to overclock for the LGA 775 platform. A good air cooler and decent P45 board could make it shine... but that's old tech now. You would be stuck with a motherboard that is three generations old. No USB 3, no SATA 6GB/s. No good upgrade options.

You should be able to get a decent Athlon II X3
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/238326

And a nice new Gigabyte 870 board, with all the bells and whistles so you can upgrade the CPU later as needed
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/262269

While I was at Dabs I checked power supplies. This is a nice one for the money, and will cover your future upgrades:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/264380