Budget Gaming Build

[Gray92]

Thinking of building my first PC which will be used mainly for gaming. (SWTOR, Skyrim, etc)
How do you think it's looking so far? Will it all be compatible and be good enough to play games at medium-high?


Windows 7 Home Premium
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Home-Premium-Version/dp/B002DUCMT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321592367&sr=8-1

Intel i3-2100
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-SandybridgeCore-Quad-Core-Processor-Warranty/dp/B004FA8NPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1321632665&sr=1-1

8GB RAM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1321633917&sr=1-1

ATI Radeon 6770
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/asus-eah6770-2di-1gd5-amd-radeon-hd-6770-pci-e-graphics-card-1gb-10938398-pdt.html

DVD-RW
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lite-on-ihds118-internal-dvd-drive-09949646-pdt.html

500GB HDD
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/3-5-inch-hard-drives/715_7052_70056_xx_BA00003046-BV00252000/xx-criteria.html

ASUS P8H61-M PRO Motherboard
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/motherboards/719_7062_70067_xx_BA00001695-BV00194120/xx-criteria.html

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H61M_PRO/#specifications

Anten TruePower 550W Modular Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-118-AN

Case
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/nov-prowle.html

 

[andyLP]

definetly good to play at med-high! I think you could drop some of RAM to buy a better GPU, that's my thought.

 

[g-unit1111]

I really like that case - the removable motherboard tray is always a bonus as it makes setting everything up that much easier.

One thing you have to keep in mind about the 6770 is that it's the exact same GPU as last year's 5770 model. Which in and of itself definitely isn't a bad GPU at all. The 6790 is a more improved model, but alternately I'd suggest looking at the GTX 550TI - it's only a few bucks more.

The i3-2100 is an excellent CPU - it's what I use in my workstation, but it's a dual core system (generally the bare minimum requirement for games these days) - not really made for high-end gaming. You want at least a quad core - if you can try an i5-2400 or of course the i5-2500K.

What's your overall budget? Maybe that can help me suggest a few things.

 

[Gray92]

What's your overall budget? Maybe that can help me suggest a few things.

I want spend as little as possible tbh. I'm mainly a console gamer and just wanted a nice little machine that can play games reasonably well. (Mainly SWTOR )

If there's a part that can improve my build by quite a bit for little bit extra money, I'd defiantly consider getting it.

 

[toneekay]

That's a VERY solid build... I've had a very similar build before (with a GTX 550 TI), and it played most of the games I threw at it at high/highest. I even played BF3 Beta on high without lag.

However... I would look into a stronger video card... Something along the lines of a GTX 560 or HD 6850/70.

 

[Onus]

That's a good build. You specifically mention Skyrim, which I understand runs much better on nVidia cards (article at HardOCP). You may wish to consider a GTX550Ti or GTX560 (I'd take the latter if you can afford it).

 

[g-unit1111]

I want spend as little as possible tbh. I'm mainly a console gamer and just wanted a nice little machine that can play games reasonably well. (Mainly SWTOR )

If there's a part that can improve my build by quite a bit for little bit extra money, I'd defiantly consider getting it.

Well mainly what I want to know is - are you planning to spend $800? $1000? $1200? Do you need monitor / keyboard / mouse / OS / etc? The more details I have the easier it will be to suggest parts better.

 

[Gray92]

I can get a 550 TI for an extra £15 over the 6770, is there much of a performance difference between the two?

Also would the OEM version of Windows 7 64bit be ok?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-OEM-software-intended-builders/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1322016476&sr=1-1

£40 cheaper than the full retail version.

 

[klinikal773]

OEM works just as well as the retail version...the only difference is the fact that by breaking the seal on the packaging it comes with, you agree to the terms of only using it to install windows on a brand new PC build, rather than upgrading your OS on an existing build. Also..my advise would be to spend the extra $30 and get Windows 7 Professional. Only because the Professional version has the capability to run programs in "Windows XP mode" and I've found that alot of the old games I like to play are non-compatible with windows 7.

As far as the hardware you have chosen, it looks pretty solid. I would have to agree that you should definitely drop some RAM and invest in a stronger CPU. And as for your GPU...if you insist on staying in the $100 range I would definitely suggest going with the GTX 260 rather than the Radeon 6770. The system I built for my brother years ago still has the 260 and it's honestly *still* running all the latest games he throws at it on the highest settings. Whereas I've hears Radeon cards are less "future proof". However if you can find the extra coin for the GTX 550 ti, or the GTX 560 I would definitely recommend it.

 

[toneekay]

A GTX 550 Ti is not much more different than the 5770/6770. You'll only notice a few FPS more; only if you get a 550Ti with a high clock. I've had the EVGA GTX 550 Ti FPB (951/1903/4356) and it netted at least 5-10+ FPS in more than one case than another card I had in the same setup, the ASUS CuCore 5770. To be honest, if you can find the 550ti at 10-15 bucks more than the competing 5770/6770, I'd say jump on it. Don't buy it if it's $140 however since you can find a better card with a few bucks more (GTX 460, HD 6850). Also, I find that most games run a lot smoother with Nvidia's line of cards (because some games may favor one architect over the other, and most of the games I play do this).

 

[g-unit1111]

I can get a 550 TI for an extra £15 over the 6770, is there much of a performance difference between the two?

Also would the OEM version of Windows 7 64bit be ok?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-OEM-software-intended-builders/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1322016476&sr=1-1

£40 cheaper than the full retail version.

The 550TI is not a bad choice at all. I'm actually running the 2GB 550TIs in SLI mode on my X58 setup - it's pretty sweet. I can run games like BF3, Portal 2, and Arkham City all maxed out and get a few extra FPS on top of the normal.

As far as OEM goes - it's all I ever have or ever will use. The full versions of Windows are ridiculously overpriced ($300 for Pro, nearly $450 for Ultimate) - you can get the OEM versions for super cheap, on my SB workstation I use 7 Pro and only paid $139 for the full version of it.