Mid Range Gaming PC Build

G

Gaz{M}

Executive Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2005
Messages
8,427
Reaction score
3,949
I want to buy components to make up a mid-range gaming PC that will play all the latest games at 40fps+ @ 1280x1024 with High settings at least. I don't need 1920x1200 at this stage as I still have a 19" CRT.

The idea is to buy a 'slower' CPU now (maybe overclock a bit) and have the ability to pop in a Quad Core at a later stage and then a better gfx card without changing anything else.

Are the components below going to meet my needs?

Force3D HD4850 1GB DDR3, 256Bit - Dual Slot Cooler R1365.75 (inc VAT)
ASUS P5KPL/1600 intel Motherboard R822.65 (inc VAT)
Intel pentium E6300 - dual core 2.8ghz box cpu, R818.49 (inc VAT)
Transcend® JetRam™ HP 2x2GB DDR2-800 240-Pin R543.24 (inc VAT)
Coolermaster RC-310-SKN1 , Elite 310 , black w Silver R343.09 (inc VAT)
GIGABYTE ODIN 470W 24-Pin Power Supply R427.57 (inc VAT)

TOTAL R4320.79

My budget is limited to < R4 500.

Should I get a cheaper Motherboard and instead get an E7400 CPU?
Is Crossfire worth having or should i get a Motherboard with 1 PCIx16 slot and rather spend the extra cash on another component?

Thanks
 
That gigabyte power supply is only a 390Watt. 470watts is the peak rating which it can only do for 1min.

From prophecy:

Amd socket AM3 Tripple-core 720 Phenom 2 x3 Black edition R 1792.15

BIOSTAR A770 A2G+ Motherboard (AM2+) R 708.28

Force3D HD4830 512mb R974.70

Western Digital CAViAR AV-GP WD3200AVVS 320gb, S-ata2 R504.24

Transcend® JetRam™ High-Performance 2GB DDR2-800 R 271.62

Transcend® JetRam™ High-Performance 2GB DDR2-800 R 271.62

Coolermaster RS-460-PCAR eXtreme power plus 460w R 510.74

Total: R5033.35

Without the hard drive it falls into budget.
 
Gaz{M} said:
Force3D HD4850 1GB DDR3, 256Bit - Dual Slot Cooler R1365.75 (inc VAT)
ASUS P5KPL/1600 intel Motherboard R822.65 (inc VAT)
Intel pentium E6300 - dual core 2.8ghz box cpu, R818.49 (inc VAT)
Transcend® JetRam™ HP 2x2GB DDR2-800 240-Pin R543.24 (inc VAT)
Coolermaster RC-310-SKN1 , Elite 310 , black w Silver R343.09 (inc VAT)
GIGABYTE ODIN 470W 24-Pin Power Supply R427.57 (inc VAT)

TOTAL R4320.79

My budget is limited to < R4 500.

Should I get a cheaper Motherboard and instead get an E7400 CPU?
Is Crossfire worth having or should i get a Motherboard with 1 PCIx16 slot and rather spend the extra cash on another component?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Well, it looks good though if you are planning to upgrade cpu later on then get a E5200 rather if there's a big price diff. Since it has the same cache and can be OCed to 3.6ghz+ easy on stock volts. (~R200 less)

Then try better your psu with something like a Coolermaster 550w/Vantec ion2 500w or the Gigabyte Odin 585w. (~R200 more)

I was gonna suggest a "true" X-fire enabled motherboard but the prices are so high in SA its unbelievable...coz then u just need to add another HD4850 later on...Maybe someone can suggest a x-fire board around the 1k mark...though the closest one I found was this http://www.landmarkpc.co.za/store/biostar-tpower-intel-motherboard-p-1906.html

EDIT: if you can, try get more cash for the Biostar P45, the 16X + 4X configuration for corssfire on the Asus you chose is pretty pointless, so either that or get a cheapest mobo.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice guys!

I have now changed to a Gigabyte MB (cheaper) and instead opted for the Coolermaster 550w PSU.

I will also try the E5200 and see where that get's me.
 
PostmanPot said:
Why would anyone go for this when a Q8200 is cheaper and faster and has 4 cores? :confused:
Click to expand...

So they dont conform?

Or maybe hoping they can unlock the fourth core and feel good about it?

Or so they can upgrade to an AM3 cpu later on hoping its faster and cheaper than the socket 775 counterparts?

I dunno :p
 
Well, it is a gaming rig, so 4 cores won't matter against an easily overclocked tri-core.
 
rwenzori said:
Beware. The E5200 is not an Intel VT processor - the E6300 is though. I'm not sure if this still applies, but check:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-xp-mode-virtualization-intel,7709.html
Click to expand...

Yeah about that...what benefit does VT have for gaming again?

And since the E5200 is a temporary cpu, does not having VT decrease his gaming experience when both cpus are clocked to...lets say....3.6ghz??

Though if he's gonna be using Win7 and only planning to upgrade his cpu in like 2 years then I guess the R200 for a E6300 is worth it.
 
Qwikslver said:
That gigabyte power supply is only a 390Watt. 470watts is the peak rating which it can only do for 1min.

From prophecy:

Amd socket AM3 Tripple-core 720 Phenom 2 x3 Black edition R 1792.15

BIOSTAR A770 A2G+ Motherboard (AM2+) R 708.28

Force3D HD4830 512mb R974.70

Western Digital CAViAR AV-GP WD3200AVVS 320gb, S-ata2 R504.24

Transcend® JetRam™ High-Performance 2GB DDR2-800 R 271.62

Transcend® JetRam™ High-Performance 2GB DDR2-800 R 271.62

Coolermaster RS-460-PCAR eXtreme power plus 460w R 510.74

Total: R5033.35

Without the hard drive it falls into budget.
Click to expand...

1,7k for a tri core? OMG as postman says the q8200/8300 has 4 cores and it is cheaper and faster.

Wow 1.7k for a tri core bwhahahahaha what a joke amd have become. Surely their tri core should be cheaper than an intel quadcore?
 
From what I've read online, the Xbox360 only has 3 cores so games are coded for that and when a game is ported over to the PC the developers normally don't do the extra work to allow for multicore (4+) support. So until the next range on consoles are out, the benefits of having 4 cores instead of 3 for gaming will be marginal. Toms did a comparison a few months ago to show the gains when adding more cores. Adding a 4th core showed almost no benefit for gaming. You could run an anti-virus scanner or some other programs in the background while gaming if you've got a 4th core but who really does that when we want our games to run as fast as possible?

Oh, and regarding dual core vs tri-core, the tri-core showed a benefit of around 16% over the dual core gamingwise. So you got to decide whether it's worth the price. These tests were done at a low resolution of 1024x768. As you move up to higher resolutions the real world difference will be almost insignificant unless you got a beast of a graphics card setup. Gaining 16% fps if you're only getting 25fps will only put you at 29fps. Rather spend R1000 more on a graphics card and get 40fps with a dual core than spending R1000 more for a tri-core and only get 29fps. But if you can afford both good GPU and CPU then go for it.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/cpu-cores-performance,review-31646-12.html
 
Lol @ AMD justifiers. :D

I don't have a problem with you guys, I just think it's kinda ironic how MyBb members are so quick to point others in the direction of finding the cheapest parts in town, then when making build recommendations you recommend inferior/less bang for buck parts.

:D:D
 
No what the AMD boys do is push AMD regardless, they care not about money vs value, they only care about pumping AMD regardless if it is the more expensive option :D

Sad in my opinion, i am all for bang vs buck and that would be the q8200/8300

Also who cares if it cannot overclock i have realized that overclocking is good for nothing but benchmarks, i spent endless amounts of money on water cooling to get my q9550 stable @ 3.7ghz so just as a test i put back at stock i cannot notice the different between 2.8 and 3.7ghz unless i run a benchmark. Should have taken my 2k water cooling plus the 3k i payed for my q9550 and just bought a better cpu running stock.

So OCing in my opinion is over rated.
 
killadoob said:
Also who cares if it cannot overclock i have realized that overclocking is good for nothing but benchmarks, i spent endless amounts of money on water cooling to get my q9550 stable @ 3.7ghz so just as a test i put back at stock i cannot notice the different between 2.8 and 3.7ghz unless i run a benchmark. Should have taken my 2k water cooling plus the 3k i payed for my q9550 and just bought a better cpu running stock.

So OCing in my opinion is over rated.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Killa on this one...once the CPU is fast enough to not be a bottleneck for a system (ie most C2D/C2Q 3ghz+) it doesnt really improve anymore unless its for benching.

OCing is overrated for high end CPUs in gaming...though its a definite must for us poorer ppl who can only afford the low end dual cores :D
 
OCing is FUN OKAY!

I agree with killa about these AMD fanbois, i mean it's ridiculous! They're just ignorant to the fact that Intel offers a better price performance index then AMD at the moment

Btw, you only ocd to 3.7, you could have just gotten a TRUE or V8 instead of spending money on WC :confused:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X