The best cost effective build, for gaming

[Dan_Grr]

Hi everyone, first post. Im thinking about getting a new PC, and I've asked help on a very helpful portuguese forum, along with others forums where I've posted this. I'd like to read everybody's feedback.

My budget is 1500 euros tops, although it woud be cool if it can be much less than that (it's around 2000 us dollars), and I favour the best cost effective computer parts out there, so I will ask your advice about them. The following is a list of items Im thinking in buying. There are people who also recommended me the E4300 and even the E4400.

Well, anyway, I guess you can come up with any part you think it's worth it and cost-effective, even if it's more expensive than my original budget. There was this guy who commented he'd rather spend some more money now and just need to upgrade 2 years from now, than having it cheaper and need to upgrade 1 year from now. This got me to think, also, so be my guest and give me some suggestions even if they can be more expensive than you'd think I'd like. :thumb:

Note1: I already have a CD/DVD player.

Note2: I need a box, those Nox boxes would be great, but the Tuniq Tower doesn't fit in, any recommendation you can give me?

Asus P5B Deluxe Chipset 965 Socket 775

• €165

Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 1.60GHZ FSB800 1MB CACHE BOX

• €79,90

Gskill 2GB DDR2 PC6400 HK

• €129,90

Xpertvision 8600 GT 256 MB DDR3 PCIe

• €125

Tuniq Tower

• €39,90

Nox ATX Urano 600W SLI

• €46,50

Western Digital 250GB SATA II "2500KS"

• €74,50

Total = €719,60 = 967,28 us dollars

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Dan_Grr Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 1.60GHZ FSB800 1MB CACHE BOX

I've never heard of this processor before...you sure of that model number?

Your list (other than the odd CPU model number) looks like a good start.

If you get a retail CPU it'll come with the appropriate heatsink unless you really want to use the Tuniq Tower.

Do you need all the features of the P5B Deluxe or could you get by with the plain P5B?

Be sure you get a good quality power supply...I've never heard of Nox or Urano so I'm not sure if that 600 watt is a good one or not.

And the "sweet spot" C2D processor right now is the E6420.

Cricket

[Alaron]

The E2140 is a new low-end chip from Intel based on the Core design. Mwave has it: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch...=done&nextloc=

Though I have to agree with Cricket, the E6x20s are the best bang for the buck right now.

Can you give us your home country and some computer store websites? That way we can find some great parts for you.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Alaron The E2140 is a new low-end chip from Intel based on the Core design. Mwave has it: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch...=done&nextloc=

It's weird how some processors aren't even mentioned on the Intel web site. And these aren't identified as Core 2 Duo processors, they're called Pentium Dual Core processors. And they're based on the Conroe core, not the Allendale core. So strange. As these are value processors I wonder if the Pentium name is going to replace the Celeron name in the value sector?

Cricket

[Dan_Grr]

The E2140 was out 1 or 2 weeks ago, according to a fellow portuguese in another forum. I have a site that does comparations and lists all prices from cheapest to highest on the major PC online (portuguese) shops:

Kuanto custa

On the top of the page there is the search input box, "Procurar" = Search. Click here for an example.

There a ship&handling cost associated with it, except from one of the stores (aqua PC), which is free for purchases above €200, but they're on hollydays until the 17th of this month. There is one store that it's close from my girlfriend's house which Im thinking in buying all or some of the parts, eXTreme Computers. But before all this comes into play, I need to decide on the parts first, and Im glad Im having some suggestions already

That E6420 has only one model? I've seen several different info descriptions for it on the sites so Im not sure. About that Tuniq Tower, I was told to buy it if I plan to overclock it, but then I also have to find a box.

Also, what would be a good quality power supply? Anyway, here are the specifications of the NOX ATX URANO 600W SLI, I have no idea if it's good but some people have commented that it was.

[minsonngo]

Not sure about the PSU you have there. I never heard of the brand. Seems a little on the cheap side compared to some of the other quality PSUs on the site. Remember... the PSU is not something you want to skimp on.


This Corsair PSU here is a really good one: http://www.extreme-computers.pt/loja...es.php?id=2765

[whubbard]

Man, those prices are so much more than from newegg!
and the PSU listed above is good one?

Can they get FSP over there?

[Dan_Grr]

One little question: this newegg, is there any european based store of it, or anything similar? Unfortunately most of the stuff ordered outside of the european union gets heavily taxed, so those great prices make me depressed.

[minsonngo]

Originally Posted by whubbard Man, those prices are so much more than from newegg! and the PSU listed above is good one? Can they get FSP over there?

Uhh... the Corsair PSU is one of the top brands... its been recommend many times for mid to high end builds.

And the prices are different... since the OP is in a different country.

[Mr.Ferrari]

I've heard good thing about www.overclockers.co.uk and www.ebuyer.co.uk is also decent. Can't really say out of the top of my head whether or not they'll ship to Portugal.

[Dan_Grr]

I heard on the 22nd July there will be price drops on most components and especially on the quad cores. Im very patient, do you think they'll be worth they price at $268?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Depends..if you have a use for them then sure, but most applications aren't even optimized for dual core, let alone quad core. Probably wouldn't suggest it myself..

If I had to decide between one of the higher end dual core proc's vs. the Quad, I would probably pick the quad. Future proofing never hurts.

Its your decision.

[Dan_Grr]

Hmm, I see, it's a tough decision, I don't know whether to buy now a 2 Core and have fun right away with it, or wait 1 month and a half for the Quad Core. Im not going heavy neither on video editing nor with 3D, just gaming and 2D illustration and design, so Im not sure. I plan on upgrading it all 2 or 3 years from now, or maybe upgrading at little bits.

Also, I've been searching some prices, and I was wondering what would be best to buy, the 8800 GTS or the 8800 GTX, do you think the price difference from one to another is worth it? What brand, XFX, BFG, EVGA?

And thanks, I appreciate all the help everyone has being giving me.

[Dan_Grr]

Ok, Im slowly coming up with new changes. What do you think of these? I don't know which memory is more valuable to its price, I don't mind giving extra for the Reaper if it's worth it.

[HarshWinter]

Originally Posted by Dan_Grr Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 1.60GHZ FSB800 1MB CACHE BOX €79,90

Don't get that processor it will have low gaming performance due to only having 1mb of chache. Get the E6320 or E6420 they both have 4mbs of chache and will get much better gaming performance.

[Alaron]

You definitely do not need the OCZ ram. For the Core 2 Duo, you really only need DDR2-667. But going with DDR2-800 is fine if you can handle the slight price premium.

[Dan_Grr]

After some advices I've been giving and a lot of browsing I came up with this build. I guess it isn't much cost effective now, and Im probably be eating grass for a couple of months, but these were the absolutest cheapest prices for the given parts I was able to find in my country, also taking in consideration its location. All the parts here are in 2 different shops in the same city.

There is one thing missing: the motherboard. I have no idea about it. Im not even sure the Antec is the case to get, or if the 8800 GTX is going to fit in all this stuff. Also, I've decided not to buy the Tuniq Tower 120, Im not sure whether it's really necessary or not.


Case

• Antec P180 Black > €127,00

Graphics Card

• XFX GeForce 8800 GTX 768 MB > €574,00

Processor

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 > €199

Hard Drive

• Western Digital 500 GB 5000 AAKS > €125,90

Power Supply Unit

• Corsair HX 620W > €151,90

Memory

• Gskill DDR2 PC6400 HK 2GB > €129,00

TOTAL = €1306,8 = £885,85 = $1758,95

[Alaron]

That is a great list. Your original motherboard choice was fine. You can even just use the Asus P5B without the 'Deluxe'. http://www.extreme-computers.pt/loja...es.php?id=1689

Everything will work together just fine.

If you want to trim the budget, check out the 880GTS. They are around 300Euro.

[Dan_Grr]

Hey Alaron, thanks, I've checked the price on the other shop, where Im getting most of the parts and it's cheaper: http://www.pcdiga.com/pcdiga/Produto...a=&Artigo=2813

Is there any real significance performance difference that justifies the transition between P5B and P5B Deluxe? Assume that I know little of overclocking although Im willing to learn.

[Alaron]

The performance will be the same. The major difference is that the P5B Deluxe has two PCI-Express slots that support ATI's Crossfire (2 ATI video cards). Note that it does not support SLI (2 Nvidia video cards).

The P5B 'plain' has only one PCI-Express slot. But with a nice video card like the 8800 you chose, one card is plenty of power, so don't worry about it.

[Dan_Grr]

So the P5B doesn't have SLI, which means only one board of nvidia can be there at one time, right? Im going for the 8800 GTX, so Im okay with that. I don't think I'll ever have money enough to get another GTX in the future, I think I'll just buy a better one (some new boards are coming in December or so?), and it's probably not very cost effective to do so.

How about in terms of the future? Do you think I can hold on to the P5B for some time?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes, you can.

The list looks fine to me.

I would however go for this drive if possible, only because it'll be a bit faster and give you a 5 year warranty:
Seagate 7200.10

The Powersupply is fine, but you could easily save some money here. The 520w would be more then enough. Although this is totally up to you.
Corsair 520w

[Dan_Grr]

Ok, I've replaced those in the list. I called the store to check if they had the components as Im going to visit them on Friday and they didn't have the XFX 8800 GTX. They have the BFG 8800 GTX OC version of it though, although instead of the 574 initial euros, it's now 599 (he told me he'd make it 590, let's see about that). Is the BFG board ok?

[minsonngo]

BFG is a decent brand for video cards too.

[whubbard]

...the water cooled one...or air cooled.

[Dan_Grr]

Ok, after some advice and some phone calls to a store Im planning on going, here is a revised build:

Case

• Antec P180 Black > €127,00

Motherboard

• Asus P5B > €102,85

Graphics Card

• BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC 768 MB > €590,00

Processor

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 > €199

Hard Drive

• Seagate 500 GB SATA II 7200.10 > €125,90

Power Supply Unit

• Corsair HX 520W > €120,00

Memory

• Gskill DDR2 PC6400 HK 2GB > €121,00

Air Cooling

• Tuniq Tower 120 > €48,90

TOTAL = €1434,7 = £972,55 = $1931,10


What do you think? The guy on the phone made me some minor discounts on a couple of things.

[whubbard]

looks great.
I'm assuming that you won't need firewire?

[Cricket]

Your parts selection looks fine to me.

Cricket

[Dan_Grr]

Firewire is the ability to have 2 ATI boards? If thats the case I don't think I'll need it.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Dan_Grr Firewire is the ability to have 2 ATI boards?

No, that's "Cross-Fire".

FireWire (IEEE1394) is another data transfer protocol used mostly for digital video transfer.

Cricket