Need help building a cheap gaming PC recycling an old prebuild

jbgraver

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Feb 12, 2012
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Hey Guys!

As the title states I need help putting together a gaming rig that will bring me back up to an acceptable speed.
My trusty old Medion 8800 prebuild pc from '03, sadly just don't cut it anymore - Hence I need to upgrade and for that I've realized I need your help.

Here is my idea in its most organized form:

Approximate Purchase Date
Within this month

Budget Range
$600/£380 (recycling a few things I hope to stay on the cheap side)

System Usage (from Most to Least Important)
Gaming, watching movies, surfing the internet

Parts Not Required
Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, HDD, DVD-drive, case, maybe the PSU and cooler!?

- case: The case I'm reusing is just called medion 8800... but it is very similar to an Apex TX-381 Computer Case:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4627626&CatId=3428

It has a huge heatsink (9x9x7 cm) with fan getting fresh air (from outside the cabinet) to cool the CPU.

- PSU: My old case has a FSP400-60MDN PSU, which according to the sticker has a max output of 400W.
I'd love to provide a link to a detail sheet, but I have not been able to find anything about the specific model. There has been no problems so far, but should I be concerned about the age? (from '03)

Preferred Website for Parts
amazon.co.uk
(although newegg.com links are fine as I plan on doing a thorough search of local webstores before having parts shipped)

Country: Denmark

Parts Preferences
Intel processor (maybe the i5 2500K?)
It may just be me but I seem to see more builds with Intel than AMD - so I guess I'm kind of leaning towards Intel - due to better OC ability, as far as I have understood.

and maybe Mini-ITX

Overclocking
Yes

SLI or Crossfire
Maybe - if possible it would be great, but it is not of paramount importance.

Monitor Resolution
1920x1080

Additional Comments:

My plan is to build a gaming rig that will keep me well entertained for 4-5 years. I'd like to be able to play current games (hopefully Skyrim, Witcher 2, BF3, Shogun 2, (Diablo III)) on high settings - but I really don't need to impress anybody with my new setup;-) I guess what I'm saying is that I'd want it to look good and run smooth, but I don't need to be able to turn on all the extra features in the video settings.

Over the years I would definitely accept going to medium settings before investing more money.
When need arises I imagine buying a sufficient cooler and overclocking the PC squeezing a last year out of the rig, before letting it retire as movie/"nostalgic games" center.

Mini-ITX and SFF
When the right case presents itself I'd love to loose the old tower like case and buy a more transportable and living room/girlfriend friendly case :) Hence SFF cases and mini-ITX mobo's are of great interest to me!
But I'm not sure if Mini-ITX is a good economic solution in the long run - I would loose the possibility of SLI and/or Crossfire right? But could a single graphic card bought now, within my financial limits, keep me going on at least medium setting for 5 years without the need for an upgrade? (I know I can't expect you guys to predict the need of the games 5 years ahead - but I recon your intuition/knowledge in that regard is better than mine)

Sorry for the long post, I'm chronically unable to write anything but novels. But I would sincerely appreciate any thoughts on/help with my project!
Also if the build you have in mind don't fit the budget completely or it uses AMD instead of Intel please don't hold back - I could definitely use the inspiration!
Many thanks in advance
 

jbgraver

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Feb 12, 2012
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18,510
Yes, I think it's an OEM disk, but I have a windows 7 license so I was planning on installing that instead.
No I think it is a SATA (the red thin cable) - hopefully that is not outdated?