# Building a gaming computer. Specs, good/bad???



## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

Right before i begin i have never built a computer, i have updated and changed my current computer around a bit but nothing major. 
So i have selected, not at random but with some logic what i think would make a good computer...
Ok i want a good gaming computer with a budget around £650/$1300

What do you think:
Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5 Ghz 6Mb Cach £168.37

MotherBoard:
QC - ASUS P5N-ESLI 1333fsb-DDR800x4 SLI motherboard (Dual graphics) £123.36

Memory: 
4Gb Corsair Memory DDR2 800 2 x 2gb single modules £58.33

Graphics Card:
512Mb 8800GT PCI express £123.25

OR!!! (what difference will they make)
512Mb 8800GTS Nvidia DDR DVI £146.75

Storage:
500GB SATA Hard Drive £56.95 

Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic SP1 – English £53.76

Optical Drive
ASUS DRW-2014S1 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD + RW x8/-RW x6, x14 DVD-RAM, PATA, Black OEM £16.44

Case: 
Gigabyte 3D Aurora GZ-FSCA1-AT Black Aluminum Tower Case - Hi End w/o PSU £77.54

Cooling Unit:

***Havnt got a clue

Power Supply:
600W Enermax Noisetaker SLi EG701AX-VE(W)-SFMA (20+4) SLi PCI-E READY aPFC Quiet £81.06

Monitor:
21.6" Hanns G HG216DP, Silver/Black, Widescreen, 5ms, VGA & HDMI, £136.88



This came to a total of 895.94.
which is way more than i expected (thought building your own was cheap hehe)
Any ideas on improving this but at the same time making it cheaper

Thanks
Jack


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## toka (Jul 11, 2006)

The system looks alright but the prices for the components are way too high. If you bought them from www.ebuyer.com you would find yourself closer to budget. They have an 8800gt 512mb for £95 free delivery.


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

-get vista 64 home premium. 32 bit OS's can only support 3 gigs of ram and vista basic from what I've heard can only support 1 gig of ram
-get a higher PSU 750 watt (has easier time handling SLI configuration if you upgrade later)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=501972 
this case is 5$ cheaper (antec 900)

tell me if this was helpful at all


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## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

yeh thats what i thought, i just looked at a site that i wasn't familiar with so probably explains the high prices. 
so you say ebuyer? i will have a look and see what i can get

and in regards to Mcninjaguy's post i will get the vista 64 home premium but i thought 600w would be sufficient, but im sure there wont be that much of a difference in price.

thanks for the help so far


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## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache OEM Processor £160.98

MotherBoard:
Asus P5N-E SLI 650i Socket 775 PCI-E Onboard Audio ATX Motherboard £54.25

Memory:
4Gb Corsair Memory DDR2 800 2 x 2gb single modules £58.33

Graphics Card:
Zotac 8800GT 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £94.96

Storage:
Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM £49.91

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium -SP1- Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 32-bit - English 59.00

Optical Drive
ASUS DRW-2014S1 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD + RW x8/-RW x6, x14 DVD-RAM, PATA, Black OEM £16.44

Case:
Gigabyte 3D Aurora GZ-FSCA1-AT Black Aluminum Tower Case - Hi End w/o PSU £77.54

Cooling Unit:

***Havnt got a clue

Power Supply:
Arctic Power 700W PSU - With PCI-E, 4x SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors - Retail Boxed £40.99

Monitor:
Digimate L2041W 20" TFT Monitor 1680x1050 8ms Multimedia VGA 3 years Warranty £108.004

Right got it down to 720.40, still wish i could get it down another 100 because iv'e seen exactly the same spec computer ready built (like hp or dell) for relatively the same price.


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## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

spose if i took the monitor off the list it would be a relatively cheap computer. but i have broken my current one as i have lines blocking half the screen haha
any ideas on a cheap monitor?


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## toka (Jul 11, 2006)

I will advice you on how to drop another £100 but you might not like it. You could get the Q6600 CPU(it's a cheaper quad CPU). It's about 30 pounds cheaper then the Q9300 to get the retail boxed one and 40 pounds cheaper to get the OEM energy efficient version. You could probably also get the RAM about £10 cheaper on eBay. That's £50 and another £50 could be saved if you got a budget case. Other options would be a 600w PSU, 9600GT Graphics Card, 250GB Hard Drive, etc.


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## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

erm like the sound of a cheaper case but dont really want a weak and flimsy one.
and would there be a big difference between the q6600 and the q9300 if not, thats another good idea. 

also does the optical drive need to be a good one. would it affect gaming or general running? cause iv'e seen some for like 14. every couple of quid counts haha (im a student  )


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## patriothntr (May 29, 2008)

Go for a cheap optical...I've never had a problem with them...I pick up the ones for $25 US. 

The Q6600 retail would work fine, or if you're mainly gaming/light user go for the e8400...cheaper and plenty fast. The difference between the retail and OEM is warranty length...and you get a HSF (cooler) with the retail.

Stick with the nicer case...it will last you forever...you'll be hating the cheap one down the road. 

If you are not going to upgrade your video, you could go with a cheaper PSU. I haven't heard of that brand...I personally like seasonic, corsair, PC power and cooling, OCZ, and Antec.


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## jumbo1990ny (Jun 18, 2008)

for cooling unit try artic cooling 7 its good and good for your budget...if you want something a little more fancy with led lights try a thermaltake maxorb or v1...or zalman 9500 or 9700 

dont get a cheap psu try corsair or thermaltake toughpower...


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## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

i just went with that PSU cause it was cheap, but will look at the brands you suggested

any ideas on a cooling unit for the processor??


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## patriothntr (May 29, 2008)

The arctic cooling freezer 7 is a nice unit, and cheap...it's what I run...


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

If your fine with a 19" monitor should be a little cheaper and 9600 usually around 170 US

The PSU's get pretty pricey as you go up the wattage but I usually see 700w PSu's for around 120 -160$ US

and for that optical drives a 6x DVD drive can run call of duty 4. When you look at the higher end optical drives like 20X they're meant for people who like to backup a lot of media quickly onto DVD's

and I still don't know why your getting 32 bit OS???
It can only run 3 gigs of ram
check this out for differences in games comparing 32 to 64 bit
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2411&p=3


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## jumbo1990ny (Jun 18, 2008)

yea they do you pay for what you get... thermaltake and corsair can be about 50-90 dollars higher than the cheap brand...

i mentioned a cooling unit in my last post...


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## motorbikes89 (Feb 8, 2007)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache £130.00

MotherBoard:
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 iP35 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £101.75

Memory:
Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5300 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5 £51.27

Graphics Card:
Zotac 8800GT 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £94.96

Storage:
Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM £49.91

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64- £59.82


Case:
Thermaltake Soprano VB1000BWS Black Mid-Tower Case with Side Window - No PSU £49.04

Cooling Unit:

Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler £15.62

Power Supply:
Antec EarthWatts 650W PSU - 80Plus Certified 12cm Fan 3x 12V Rails £61.99

Total:
614.37

So thats it!!!
Got rid of optical drive cause I realized I can take it out of the computer I got now
Don’t really want to keep the casing though because it tends to keep heat instead of release it, all the other stuff is not worth keeping (am i right?)

Anyway thanks for all your help, will start buying it all soon


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

yea looks like pretty good.
you're right about the dvd drives unless the start using blu ray tomorrow you're all good

if you ever wanted to upgrade just buy another of same graphics card and you'd have a really really fast comp. 

all the parts look like good quality stuff 
P.S. good luck on the build hope everything goes to plan


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## jumbo1990ny (Jun 18, 2008)

yea dude post some pictures of how it looks!...im ordering my self a computer as well


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

hopefully your comp which will be faster than mine is awesome and does what you tell it to do (scowls at comp, then hugs it)


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## patriothntr (May 29, 2008)

wow...tame that wiring!

Looks good tho...nice n solid.


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

yea i don't really care for the wires being messy. its all good.

its pretty fast but... I wanna GTX260 or sumthing cheaper 

I bow to its speediness ray:


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## jumbo1990ny (Jun 18, 2008)

thats the case im getting antec 900...but i wanted it more lighted up with the fans im guessing the led case fans arent going to light the whole box up?...and that wiring boy its like a jungle in there =P


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

well I've seen people customize it like this but I don't feel like doing this
http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-work-logs/253347-project-fusion-antec-900-mod-56k.html


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