New project: Budget 'gaming' C2D

[HookeyStreet]

Ive just ordered these parts to build a 'budget' Core2Duo gaming system. I sold my old system for £400 (just the case and contents ;) ) and I promised myself I wouldnt go over this budget whilst putting together the new rig. What Im aiming for is an half decent system that I will be able to upgrade when the time is right (ie more money and Vista/DX10 is needed)

What do you think? :

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 - (£104.10 inc £10 discount & free P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=126906

RAM: OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800Mhz / ATi branded - (£65.73 inc £10 discount & free P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=118298

GFX: Sapphire X1950GT 256MB - (£69.71 inc £10 discount & free P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=125020

MoBo: ASUS P5LD2 SE R2.0 i945P - (£45.10 inc £10 discount & free P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=119045

HDD: Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 16MB - (see below)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=124735

ROM: LG GSA-H30NBAL 16x SATA DVD±RW/RAM - (purchased along with HDD, £69.96 inc £10 discount & £4.69 P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=125953

Case: Casecom Black Mid Tower - (see below)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=115479

PSU: 550W ATX Silent Neon - (purchased along with case, £33.36 inc £10 discount & £5.40 P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=0&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=102994

Grand total (after VAT & P+P) - £388.56 (all discount was by using Google Checkout ;) )

I will post some pics and run some tests etc once Ive built it :D

PS: I will obviously be overclocking this ;)

Update: I added this also -

Audio: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio - (£21.30 inc £10 discount & £2.58 P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121761

New grand total: £412.44 (after VAT & P+P) :D

And this:

Western Digital WD1600JS Caviar SE 160GB 7200RPM SATAII/300 8MB Cache - £33.36

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/94406

New total - £445.80 :)

[pt]

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/partspecs.aspx?imodule=BL2KIT12864AA663
are these out of budget?
and is that mobo overclockable (brown pcb....:/)

i would have bought your case :)

[keakar]

i don't know about overclocking posibilities but i was told that in july the quad core q6600 will be selling for $266US so wait and you can get one of those.

as for what you are wanting to do, it sounds good but in reality there is no such thing as an inexpensive gaming computer because to run the latest games you need a top notch video card and a fast CPU if you want to get the most from your games,

i recommend that you should raise your budget for CPU, GPU, and motherboard.

the PSU wattage is fine but dont get a cheap one, get a good medium high to high end PSU and expect to pay more for a good quality PSU.

[HookeyStreet]

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/partspecs.aspx?imodule=BL2KIT12864AA663
are these out of budget?
and is that mobo overclockable (brown pcb....:/)

i would have bought your case :)

From the reviews Ive read, it is overclockable (by a BIOS update) ;)

[pt]

nice then, what about the ram?
they also have the google checkout thing

[HookeyStreet]

nice then, what about the ram?
they also have the google checkout thing

Lo btw pt, I didnt realise it was you :) Hows things m8? :)

Ive actually already ordered the parts, so I cant really change anything :( but I think I will be ok with what I have ordered ;)

[pt]

i can't play bf2 :( (see your other thread)
everything else fine, how's yours? (things :p)

then i guess you will be happy with those parts
ps: i want pics!

[HookeyStreet]

i can't play bf2 :( (see your other thread)
everything else fine, how's yours? (things :p)

then i guess you will be happy with those parts
ps: i want pics!

TBH I never did sort the BF2 problem out (but I still think it was down to RAM) I actually just stopped playing PC games :( But hopefully I will be abck on track now lol (btw, is your system overclocked, because sometimes overclocking can make BF2 unstable)

I will post some pics asap m8 ;) Probably next Friday when the bits arrive :)

[pt]

i put it stock and nada, and now i have 2gb of ram

[HookeyStreet]

i put it stock and nada, and now i have 2gb of ram

Thats strange then m8 :confused: Have you tried to find a solution on EA's forums?

[pt]

nop
will do later
ps: works fine on singleplayer

[HookeyStreet]

nop
will do later
ps: works fine on singleplayer

If its working fine on singleplayer, I would say its something to do with your internet connection or the server(s) you are trying to play on. Maybe you need a PunkBuster update ;)

What message are you getting when your disconnected m8?

[HookeyStreet]

UPDATE: Ive added one of these aswell ;)

Sound: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121761

I managed to get it £10 cheaper before the offer ended :D

[Ripper3]

Did you order all of those parts individually?
I know that at least then you'll get a £10 discount on each part, but that'll take ya a while :P
I was going to suggest memory-configurator.com, recently bought 2GB of DDR from them, low pricing, good service, but you've already bought RAM, heh. I'm still shocked at the prices for DDR2 being so low, but at least you've gotten a good deal, eh?

Oh, and nice specs, I was thinking of doing the same, selling my rig and using profits for a new one, but I just upgraded, heh.
Like Keakar said, Intel is going to be dropping the prices soon, so you may have been better off waiting a littleand taking advantage of the price drop, and get a better PSU. I wouldn't trust Ebuyer Extra Value stuff with a kid's PC, let alone my gaming rig.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/104478
Wattage may be low, but it's a Seasonic, and getting a good PSU can usually make up for low watts through reliability, and the fact that you're getting true power.

Anyhu, good luck with the new rig, and report back soon!

[newtekie1]

If it was me, I would have gone with the E4300 and a more overclockable motherboard. The P5LD2 is ok for minor overclocks, but the voltage control is non-existant, so you are stuck with stock volts only.

But what you picked out is already very good, so you should be happy with it, congrats on the new machine.

[WarEagleAU]

Nice specs.

[HookeyStreet]

Did you order all of those parts individually?
I know that at least then you'll get a £10 discount on each part, but that'll take ya a while :P
I was going to suggest memory-configurator.com, recently bought 2GB of DDR from them, low pricing, good service, but you've already bought RAM, heh. I'm still shocked at the prices for DDR2 being so low, but at least you've gotten a good deal, eh?

Oh, and nice specs, I was thinking of doing the same, selling my rig and using profits for a new one, but I just upgraded, heh.
Like Keakar said, Intel is going to be dropping the prices soon, so you may have been better off waiting a littleand taking advantage of the price drop, and get a better PSU. I wouldn't trust Ebuyer Extra Value stuff with a kid's PC, let alone my gaming rig.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/104478
Wattage may be low, but it's a Seasonic, and getting a good PSU can usually make up for low watts through reliability, and the fact that you're getting true power.

Anyhu, good luck with the new rig, and report back soon!

Thanks m8. And yes I did order the parts in 7 seperate orders LOL, I got about £50-£60 off :)

[HookeyStreet]

If it was me, I would have gone with the E4300 and a more overclockable motherboard. The P5LD2 is ok for minor overclocks, but the voltage control is non-existant, so you are stuck with stock volts only.

But what you picked out is already very good, so you should be happy with it, congrats on the new machine.


Thanks m8, I was thinking about that coz I heard that the E4300 overclocks well.

[HookeyStreet]

Nice specs.

Thanks m8, I cant wait to get all the parts through and build it ;)

[technicks]

Nice to see you are getting a new gaming rig again.:toast:

[savillm]

looks good mate still it wont beet my new set up but its a start lol time for css abd bf2 again mate

[HookeyStreet]

looks good mate still it wont beet my new set up but its a start lol time for css abd bf2 again mate

LOL m8 :roll: Dont worry I will get a 8800 in this baby before long ;)

[HookeyStreet]

Nice to see you are getting a new gaming rig again.:toast:

lo Technicks m8, how r U? :)

[Ketxxx]

Mmm.. you should of really got at least a 965 mobo, and a 1950Pro 512MB. price diff between that and what you opted for is practically non-existent. Assuming you are willing to buy the VC from elsewhere, shopping around on google can turn up the X1950 Pro 512MB for around £100. Aside from those two points tho, the system looks relatively well balanced.

[bigboi86]

Looks good, especially for the price. I wish I could have spent 400 on my project.

[savillm]

what cpu cooler u getting mate?

[HookeyStreet]

what cpu cooler u getting mate?

Im just using the retail fan for now ;)

[HookeyStreet]

Heres the finished product - http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/883

[Gam'ster]

Nice rig :) and for £445 ......wow, nice set up all black peripherals looks good.

Cheers
Gam :rockout: