£590 Gaming system

[aj4749]

Hello everyone, i am a newcomer here, this is my first post, so if i break any rules, or if i've done anything wrong please put me right

I plan on building a gaming pc, however my budget is limited to £590.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next 2 weeks

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, speakers, mouse, monitor

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Scan.co.uk

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have a 22" monitor, i'll need a graphics card that can run well at 1680x1050 resolution

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like a fairly quiet pc, I'd like it to be able to run Crysis and COD MW2 full graphics no lagg I can buy my own operating system for £37. (software4students.co.uk Windows 7 pro £37)

This is a build i built myself, sorry if this picture is way too big, but I'm sure you can do better ...

Thank you in advance

 

[Silvune]

For £3 more: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus £21 which as you can see from this review http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2419 is one of the best CPU heatsinks around.
For only a few pence more you can get one of two drives that has 500GB platters (which means they perform very well):
Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
500 GB Seagate ST3500418AS Barracuda 7200.12
Unfortunately I don't think your build can be improved in any other discernable way.

 

[ubernoobie]

It's good but for the bad part, if your ram isn't on your mobo's supported memory list, it may be stable because it has no options to make it into 2t. If you want, expand your budget a bit for more performance in crossfire and better overclocking http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A79XTD-EVO-AMD-790X-AM3-PCI-E-20%28x16%29-DDR3-1333-1600-1800-SATA-3Gb-s-ATX

 

[Silvune]

I like that mobo ubernoobie suggested as well, and you should still be under budget with it.

 

[aj4749]

Thank you guys i was talking to my friends at school today, and in my pc now i have an Intel Quad Q6600 @ 2.4ghz 8mb cache, appartently my processor now is better than the X2 550? Is this correct? Should i just keep my cpu now and get a new mobo and what not? Note, this pc is a brand bought pc

 

[aj4749]

Well, i made the improvements you guys suggested, what do you think?

 

[Silvune]

Well I'm don't know if a Q9900 is better than a 550, but your system is more easily upgradeable, especially considering that the AM3 socket is still being developed for by AMD, whereas 775 is dead; there'll be nothing new for it. Also the Phenom II X2 550 is almost as good as one of AMD best quad cores; the 955, depending on the game of course.
Have you considered getting a 5770? I ask because that power supply probably could crossfire them, and two 5770s will beat one 4890, (whereas I wouldn't recommend crossfiring 4890s without changing anything else). And a single 5770 is actually very close in performance terms to a 4890, and they are similiar prices atm. I know you said you wouldn't be crossfiring, but it could be beneficial for you and I wanted to make sure you are aware of it as an option.

 

[aj4749]

Thank you for the fast reply Silvune i agree with what your saying, the 775 is completely dead due to the 1156's and 1356's, however i dont plan to upgrade this pc for a while, it should do me for a long time, and i've been told the Q6600 is excellent for oc'ing, and my friend says i could easily oc it to 3.4ghz in my case. It also means i spend less, as i dont have to buy processor, therefore i buy a mobo which supports socket 775, ddr3 1333mhz ram and a pci-e 2.0 x16 slot, and i can afford a 5850, a huge leap from the 4890..

 

[Silvune]

Yea that is probably the best strategy; get the best GPU for possible for Crysis.

 

[aj4749]

Can you see any possibly issues with this set up silvune? I was thinking of getting the 650w corsair, maybe. Do you think its nessacary?

 

[Silvune]

No, a good 500/550 watt PSU will be plenty for that system, even when overclocked. The only reason to go up is if you want to potentially be able to use it in another build.
Get some pics up if you can/feel like it.

 

[aj4749]

Okay, thank you, i think this is the build im going to get for sure, I am getting my debit card within the next week, will order asap and put it all together on the date . Some pics of what mate?

 

[Silvune]

All the components setup inside the case. And a screenshot of CPU-Z to show your OC would be cool as well.

 

[lothdk]

To give you an idea of how the two CPUs fare, you can take a look at this comparison

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=97&p2=53

For gaming the X2 550 seem the better choice, for productivity the Q6600 is a clear winner due to being a quad core.

Of course, if keeping your Q6600 and using that in your new build will let you step up from a 4890 to a 5850, you should get a better gaming experience that way, just realize you are building a new system on parts about to be phased out.