Need a new pc, in the £400-500 range ( UK )

[Marku]

Hi guys i need a new PC to replace an older pc thats dying.

It needs to be the following(preferibly)
£400-500 range(maximum)
Upgradable later on(ram, additional g-card perhaps? etc)
Can handle modern games on medium and maybe high settings with games like Half life 2, medieval 2, EU3, battlefield 2, call of juarez, world in conflict, maybe Crysis?(lol)

another Q, better to buy this pc before or after christmas? and should i use XP 32bit or get vista?

 

[ethel]

Well, you've picked a good time to buy as there are some decently priced graphics cards just out.

As you are aiming for a gaming machine, pick your graphics card first and then work from that.

If you can afford one, get a nVidia 8800GT. If not, get an ATI HD 3870.

 

[Marku]

what graphic card can handle crysis on medium/high settings? is SLI/crossfire worth it?

 

[LkS]

512MB EVGA 8800GT £176.11

Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3R £69.29

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 £102.65

CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Silver Case £35.00

Zalman CNPS7500-CU LED 110mm Super Flower Cooler £23.49

Antec NeoHE 550W £62.63

Geil Ultra DDR2 2.0GB PC6400 Dual Channel memory kit (2 x 1GB) 800MHz (4-4-4-12) £35.24

TOTAL = £504.41

If you keep your old drives and monitor etc.

I have a very similar set up and I can run crysis on high settings (DX9), 1024x768 at a steady 30 FPS but I have an 8800 GTS and the GT is faster (and cheaper :-( ).

You can overclock the CPU to at least 3Ghz with that cooler and motherboard and it will perform identically to the £200 E6850. It will run very quiet. The motherboard also supports future DDR3 memory and 45nm CPUs so its good for the future. It doesnt have SLI but buying two cards will be very expensive (especially on your electricity bill).

You could save money by getting a cheaper motherboard without DDR3 and maybe a cheaper PSU if there are good ones.

(Prices from scan.co.uk and microdirect.co.uk)

 

[Marku]

can i ask if you know any sites that build the pc's for you, i should of specifed that in the first post ^_^

ive been looking at www.pcspecialist.co.uk & http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/

 

[ethel]

If you are not going to build it yourself you will get less for your money. And you're not spending much anyway, so that will limit you pretty badly.

To be honest you might be better off going to Dell as they are cheap when it comes to pre-built PCs.

 

[Grunge]

512MB EVGA 8800GT £176.11

Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3R £69.29

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 £102.65

CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Silver Case £35.00

Zalman CNPS7500-CU LED 110mm Super Flower Cooler £23.49

Antec NeoHE 550W £62.63

Geil Ultra DDR2 2.0GB PC6400 Dual Channel memory kit (2 x 1GB) 800MHz (4-4-4-12) £35.24

TOTAL = £504.41

If you keep your old drives and monitor etc.

I have a very similar set up and I can run crysis on high settings (DX9), 1024x768 at a steady 30 FPS but I have an 8800 GTS and the GT is faster (and cheaper :-( ).

You can overclock the CPU to at least 3Ghz with that cooler and motherboard and it will perform identically to the £200 E6850. It will run very quiet. The motherboard also supports future DDR3 memory and 45nm CPUs so its good for the future. It doesnt have SLI but buying two cards will be very expensive (especially on your electricity bill).

You could save money by getting a cheaper motherboard without DDR3 and maybe a cheaper PSU if there are good ones.

(Prices from scan.co.uk and microdirect.co.uk)

I was going to say check out the $500 gaming machine that Toms hardware put up, but I like this setup better

 

[nachowarrior]

-amd black 5000. will oc 130
-2 gigs of any given name brand ddr2 800 50
-gigabyte has a mobo with a 570 chipset for 90 that's nice
-250 gig hd or bigger? that starts at 60 depending
-raidmax smillidon case is nice 70 bucks 50 if you find it on sale
-any given psu, i'd hit 550 or more and at least 18amp 12v rails 60 from rosewill
if you need a monitor acer has a 22inch that's nice for 220 bones.
-ati 3850 is sitting at 180 right now and will get done what you asked to do... and that machine should play crysis just dandy based on reported rigs/settings/fps.

and i believe that sits right in your price range. 860... yeah that's right up your alley considering the us dollar is worth about as much as the toilet paper i wipe my ass with. hahah. man my economy sucks... you got a room for rent?

 

[LkS]

I think scan.co.uk do actually build systems http://3xs.scan.co.uk/

But you really should consider building your own otherwise for less than £500 your going to be playing games at bare minimum setting or not at all. It really isnt as hard as it sounds. It basically involves reading the manual that came with your motherboard, screwing in screws and plugging some cables in. It's the only way to play PC games properly without being rich.

Have a look at http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/