sub £450 build - mobo, cpu, gpu, ram

[sulphh]

I'm building a new system but cannot decide on a motherboard for my budget (Sub £450 for GPU, CPU, Mobo, RAM), does GA-P35-DS3R seem like a good mobo for the following:

PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2

Could anyone think of a better way to spread the money for more performance? My focus is on gaming and I have a good PSU / Case etc.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Maroc]

Hmm, thats a decent setup you've got there but there are improvements that can be made. Firstly, I recommend you change the processor to an E8200, It would no doubt perform better and even overclock better seeing as it's made on the 45nm process. To my knowledge the E6750 and E8200 cost basically the same price so it's a win win.

Could you edit your first post to include prices as that would help a lot, seeing as i'm from the UK aswell.

Edit: Overclockers.co.uk are currently selling the E8200 for £117 which is just £6 more than the E6750 at £111.

 

[sulphh]

For some reason I can't edit but:

PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512MB - £115
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz - £47
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - £111
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 - £74

 

[Maroc]

You can swap out that 2GB of OCZ ram for a pair of Crucial Ballistix running at the same frequency for cheaper. Only £43 for IMO better quality ram.

And unless you need the minor features that the DS3R gives above the DS3L, I recommend you just go for the DS3L as it's a great board and a cheaper option.

Maroc.

 

[two bit hit]

Looks like you've got it sorted, but make sure that you get the G0 stepping on the E6750 if you go for it. It's better for overclocking.

And for a motherboard, if you get it this week;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-266-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

I don't think the Gigabyte one allows RAID.

 

[sulphh]

Thanks for all your replies, no one has mentioned the graphics card, guessing the 8800 GT is a good choice then?

As mentioned earlier in the thread, would the CPU upgrade (from 6750 to E8200) be sufficient? Or should I splash a bit more cash on it? (I'm around £80 under budget atm)

 

[Maroc]

Yes, no one can fault the 8800GT in terms of price/performance ratio so it's a good choice in my books.

The upgrade from the 6750 to E8200 is definitely sufficient but if you are ok with splashing out a bit more, I would recommend the Q6600. Quad-Core should be anyones initial choice if they want something future proof. Before you even ask, I never recommended the E8400 because of A, Its price, and B, the difference in gaming is minimal. Remember games are starting to utilize more than 2 cores so in the long run, you will have a better experience with the quad. Not to mention all the benefits such as increased multi-tasking etc...

 

[Mousemonkey]

I would recommend the Q6600. Quad-Core should be anyones initial choice if they want something future proof.

The Q9300 would be better as it's about the same price as a Q6600. http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/product_i...10300&osCsid=ce29af19d3031d74cfbd5d6c221cee33 but I think an E8400 still may prove to be faster in the gaming arena.

 

[crompers]

personally right now i'd go for dual core, quads are only going to come down in price and in terms of acheivable clock speeds you'll do better with dual.

8800GT FTW! just make sure it is one of the newer revisions with the better stock cooler.

my mate got a BFGtech 8800GT t'other day and the cooler was exactly the same as on the new 9600GT. odd.

check any prices against scan.co.uk as they can be quite a bit cheaper i find

 

[sulphh]

Thank's for all your helpful replies,

In regards to dual compared to quad core there is barely any difference in gaming from what I can gather from benchmarks, I do a bit of editting in my spare time for a film school so they'd be welcome there I guess!

Any idea's what sort of FPS I could expect in a game like Crysis with this setup?

 

[Maroc]

It depends on what settings you plan on playing it on. I think you'd be able to play it decently with a mixture of medium and high settings, mostly high. It also depends on the resolution you want to play it on, the lower the resolution the higher the FPS you get, so you need to make a balance you're happy with. As for an actual figure, I doubt anyone would be able to give one because every computers different. What I can tell you though is with that setup, i'm sure your computer will play any game moderately well.

Maroc.

 

[sulphh]

Thanks for all your help Maroc.

 

[Maroc]

No problem.

Be sure to post how it all comes along.

 

[roadrunner197069]

If your on a budget and you want to squeeze $100 get a e2160 or e2180 and overclock it to 3.0. Heres a screen shot of a e2180 benched against a the above mentioned e8200 and some othe popular CPUs.


If you do that you could drop a $100 more on a video card or pocket the savings.