Current Best Value Gaming Systems [Updated 15-04-2010]

[Red Babs]

Whirlpool wiki ftw.

Nice list though.

[xr6_turbo]

Whirlpool wiki is fair hmmm old.

[vctm]

Even though I made a whole thread and did a ton of research, I'm starting again, got a bigger budget too =].

Any build suggestions for a price range of $1100-$1200? Would prefer a Crossfire enabled Mobo for upgrade purposes (2x5870's+ in a few months maybe =D).

[vctm]

Might go for this:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (~$220)
MBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (~$195)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$240)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$160)
RAM: Team Dark 4GB 1066MHz CL5 (~$90)
HDD: Western Digital 1TB (~$90)
DVD: Generic DVD Writer (~$40)
CSE: CoolerMaster Storm Scout (~$130)

That's around $1165 or something.

Thoughts?

[shredzy]

Might go for this:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (~$220)
MBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (~$195)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$240)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$160)
RAM: Team Dark 4GB 1066MHz CL5 (~$90)
HDD: Western Digital 1TB (~$90)
DVD: Generic DVD Writer (~$40)
CSE: CoolerMaster Storm Scout (~$130)

That's around $1165 or something.

Thoughts?

That's a decent setup (by the way that's not 2 cards for that price, thats only one :P)...if you wanna go for something else get your hands on a i5 setup, not much more expensive...its pretty cheap these days.

EDIT:

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (~$269)
MOBO: ASUS P7P55D Motherboard (~$199)
GPU: DUAL ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$238)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$180)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM (2x2GB) DDR3 (~$134)
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Blk (~$95)
DVD Writer (~$40)
Case: CoolerMaster Storm Scout (~$135)

$1289

(Might be slightly cheaper now) + These boards can either go Crossfire or SLi

[vctm]

That's a decent setup (by the way that's not 2 cards for that price, thats only one :P)...if you wanna go for something else get your hands on a i5 setup, not much more expensive...its pretty cheap these days.

EDIT:

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (~$269)
MOBO: ASUS P7P55D Motherboard (~$199)
GPU: DUAL ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$238)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$180)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM (2x2GB) DDR3 (~$134)
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Blk (~$95)
DVD Writer (~$40)
Case: CoolerMaster Storm Scout (~$135)

$1289

(Might be slightly cheaper now) + These boards can either go Crossfire or SLi

Cheers bro. What I get depends on how much money I have at the time ($800 + whatever I have in my account over the next month or two).

Also, I can add a second 4890 anytime I want as long as I have a Crossfire-Enabled Mobo right? I will just buy a single one to begin with and then add a second one when I have the money.

[gaMbLA]

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (~$269)
MOBO: ASUS P7P55D Motherboard (~$199)
GPU: DUAL ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$238)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$180)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM (2x2GB) DDR3 (~$134)
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Blk (~$95)
DVD Writer (~$40)
Case: CoolerMaster Storm Scout (~$135)

$1289

(Might be slightly cheaper now) + These boards can either go Crossfire or SLi

This, cpu is on the latest socket by intel which means you can upgrade to better ram and a newer cpu in the future. better to future proof yourself then get something thats outdated which your gonna want to upgrade again soon.

I got a GTX 295 and it runs like shit for css, and the latest drivers have fked the performance for source games and you get this flickering if you get flashed. I wouldn't be going nvidia for a while.

brothers got the 4890 1GB it decent for the price. if your only running standard 19" or 22" resolutions you wouldn't need to go Xfire unless 24" + res (1080p)

[shredzy]

Cheers bro. What I get depends on how much money I have at the time ($800 + whatever I have in my account over the next month or two).

Also, I can add a second 4890 anytime I want as long as I have a Crossfire-Enabled Mobo right? I will just buy a single one to begin with and then add a second one when I have the money.

Yup ;D

Also the board that I mentioned is only a Crossfire board. There is also cheaper boards then the one I mentioned as well :P

[vctm]

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (~$250)
MOBO: ASUS P7P55D Motherboard (~$160)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$240)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM (2x2GB) DDR3 (~$130)
HDD: WD10EADS 1GB (~$100)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$160)
DVD: Pioneer DVR-218L (~$45)
Case: Antec 300 (~$95)

TOTAL = $1185

Might do that. Time to save up $400 . $800 from my dad, and I'll pay the rest ($400), should only take a couple of weeks though.

[shredzy]

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (~$250)
MOBO: ASUS P7P55D Motherboard (~$160)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Crossfire (~$240)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM (2x2GB) DDR3 (~$130)
HDD: WD10EADS 1GB (~$100)
PSU: Silverstone ST75EF (~$160)
DVD: Pioneer DVR-218L (~$45)
Case: Antec 300 (~$95)

TOTAL = $1185

Might do that. Time to save up $400 . $800 from my dad, and I'll pay the rest ($400), should only take a couple of weeks though.

Sounds good ;D

Should also get a decent cooler on it and overclock it, you'll get a big performance boost. Just don't get fooled by the crossfire on the end...its only one card, duno who put that there lol.

[vctm]

Sounds good ;D

Should also get a decent cooler on it and overclock it, you'll get a big performance boost. Just don't get fooled by the crossfire on the end...its only one card, duno who put that there lol.

Yeah I plan to overclock it, but I'm pretty much a complete noob when it comes to decent cooling. I know the Antec 300 comes with 2 fans already, and has space for 2 more 120mm fans in the front panel. I don't really want to be shelling out more than a $100 on cooling though >_<. Also was meant to remove the Crossfire text at the end ahah, forgot to.

[shredzy]

Yeah I plan to overclock it, but I'm pretty much a complete noob when it comes to decent cooling. I know the Antec 300 comes with 2 fans already, and has space for 2 more 120mm fans in the front panel. I don't really want to be shelling out more than a $100 on cooling though >_<. Also was meant to remove the Crossfire text at the end ahah, forgot to.

Its not just the case fans, get a decent heatsink for the i5. Heres some that I recommend and pretty much dominate the air cooling market.

Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler - $89.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme Heatsink Rev. C - $95.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide

With these heatsinks you gotta buy fans for them as well (Scythe S-FLEX's or Ultra Kazes IMO). And may have to buy the bracket for 1156 socket.

Also don't go overclocking without any knowledge on it...i5/i7's are a little harder then 775 socket overclocking...more precautions.

[vctm]

Its not just the case fans, get a decent heatsink for the i5. Heres some that I recommend and pretty much dominate the air cooling market.

Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler - $89.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme Heatsink Rev. C - $95.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide

With these heatsinks you gotta buy fans for them as well (Scythe S-FLEX's or Ultra Kazes IMO). And may have to buy the bracket for 1156 socket.

Also don't go overclocking without any knowledge on it...i5/i7's are a little harder then 775 socket overclocking...more precautions.

Apparently you can't overclock an i5 because it's locked. Only thing I plan to overclock is the GPU (4890) and I won't be the one overclocking it . xcentriq said stock cooling should be fine. Thanks a lot though .

[shredzy]

Apparently you can't overclock an i5 because it's locked. Only thing I plan to overclock is the GPU (4890) and I won't be the one overclocking it . xcentriq said stock cooling should be fine. Thanks a lot though .

Nah you can overclock them. Stock cooling isn't fine.. the max you called go with stock cooling is maybe 3GHz? If you want something close to 4GHz get a decent cooler ;D

Also overclocking the graphics card but not the CPU as well you probably won't notice a performance difference in games that only use 1 core (e.g. CSS) because the CPU will be bottlenecking the graphics card.

[SASQUATCH]

Shredzy, what are the main differences between the socket 1366 i7's and the socket 1156 i7's?

[WallybR]

anyone got a good system for $700

Melbourne shops only

[Jam0864]

anyone got a good system for $700

Melbourne shops only

Refer to first post.

[shredzy]

Shredzy, what are the main differences between the socket 1366 i7's and the socket 1156 i7's?

Basically the i7 1156 don't have hyperthreading and use dual channel memory architecture.

The i7 1366 have hyperthreading and use triple channel memory architecture.

EDIT: As gambla also added that the i7 1366 are enthusiast and 1156 are mainstream (There should be 2 core versions coming real soon). The new i9 6 cores are gonna use the 1366 socket (x58 chipset) and has been confirmed by intel.

[vctm]

Nah you can overclock them. Stock cooling isn't fine.. the max you called go with stock cooling is maybe 3GHz? If you want something close to 4GHz get a decent cooler ;D

Also overclocking the graphics card but not the CPU as well you probably won't notice a performance difference in games that only use 1 core (e.g. CSS) because the CPU will be bottlenecking the graphics card.

Yeah you're right haha, turns out you can OC them pretty nicely. Alright may have to buy one then, wouldn't mind going at 4ghz+ ;D. What do you mean when you've got to buy a bracket and such - a bracket to fit the heatsink on? Shouldn't that come with it anyway haha?

[gaMbLA]

Shredzy, what are the main differences between the socket 1366 i7's and the socket 1156 i7's?

1366 are enthusiast boards, and 1156 are targeted to the mainstream market which are basically just taking over 775sockets (core 2 cpus) for the mass's.

both are very similar in performance, i7 will always have the edge as 1156 socket will always be limited. but if you want to know about the cpu's there exactly the same. comes down to memory controllers on the mobo, the crapper bios on the 1156 socket boards, but the 1156 has some turbo margin-liner or some shit that improves on performance slightly at 1-2 cores I think but otherwise no real difference.

I'd stick with 1366 socket as the i9 6 core / 12 thread (which I am gonna get to repalce my Q6600) cpus are onyl scheduled for this socket, I don't know a huge amount of it but obviously multi gpu support is much better on 1366, also socket 1366 has the pci-e controller on a seperate chip it has 36 PCI-E 2.0 lanes not like 16 on 1156. I think 1366 were only ment to take over the 771 sockets, not sure though.

[shredzy]

Yeah you're right haha, turns out you can OC them pretty nicely. Alright may have to buy one then, wouldn't mind going at 4ghz+ ;D. What do you mean when you've got to buy a bracket and such - a bracket to fit the heatsink on? Shouldn't that come with it anyway haha?

I'm not sure if it comes with a 1156 bracket, you may have to send them a email :P. They normally come with a 775 / 1366 bracket already, but because the 1156 is fairly new and they may have not added it yet! You should be able to buy the bracket separate.

[WallybR]

Refer to first post.

would that brand new be better than this 2nd hand system.

Antec Twelve Hundred
Watercooled
Q6600 GO Stepping
Asus Formula Extreme II
4GB Corsair DDR3 1066
GTX 275 256/512..i think 512
1000PSU
Vista Ultimiate 64bit
DVD drive

[mookz]

would that brand new be better than this 2nd hand system.

Antec Twelve Hundred
Watercooled
Q6600 GO Stepping
Asus Formula Extreme II
4GB Corsair DDR3 1066
GTX 275 256/512..i think 512
1000PSU
Vista Ultimiate 64bit
DVD drive

Looks better than the $700 build on first post. What w/c items?

[Jam0864]

would that brand new be better than this 2nd hand system.

Antec Twelve Hundred
Watercooled
Q6600 GO Stepping
Asus Formula Extreme II
4GB Corsair DDR3 1066
GTX 275 256/512..i think 512
1000PSU
Vista Ultimiate 64bit
DVD drive

Hell no, that's an awesome deal if it's actually running and not dead or something.

[gaMbLA]

jam0 we all know dual core is long gone, get rid of those E8400/500 cpus with quad.

or at least go to a mid range quad in another build.

[WallybR]

yeh for same price too. All works fine.

What does w/c mean bro?

[mookz]

If it's for the same price, definitely. WC = water cooling. Try to get more info what cpublock, radiator and etc on the 2nd hand box.

[WallybR]

might not be able to get it now..he has a mate that wants to buy it for 1.4k. But he said that might not happen and hell contact me if it dont

EDIT: ON the hunt for a GOOD gaming pc by nov 9. new/2nd hand

[gaMbLA]

you don't even need a water cooling system unless you have nothign else better to do but oc for the sake of it.

[WallybR]

yeh i know...it just comes with the system. I hope i end up getting it though, because i really need a PC!!!

[shredzy]

yeh i know...it just comes with the system. I hope i end up getting it though, because i really need a PC!!!

Keep in mind that you actually have to clean it out every 6-12months and replace the coolant etc :P

[WallybR]

Opinions?
Whats better?

NEW
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1GHz ($~140)
MOBO: Asus M3N78 (~$107)
GPU: 9800gt 512MB (~$125)
RAM: 4GB Kingston 800MHz CL6 DDR2 (~$62)
Hard Drive: 500GB HDD (~$70)
DVD Writer (~$40)
Case: Thermaltake Soprano w/ 430W PSU ($134)

OR

NEW
Q9400
ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS Motherboard
4GB 800MHz
500GB Hard Disk Drive
ECS nvidia 9500GT 1G
20X Dual Layer DVD Burner
Shitty case/PSU

[generiK]

^ I have no idea...
Whats the difference between the i7 and the Q9400

[Jam0864]

Opinions?
Whats better?

NEW
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1GHz ($~140)
MOBO: Asus M3N78 (~$107)
GPU: 9800gt 512MB (~$125)
RAM: 4GB Kingston 800MHz CL6 DDR2 (~$62)
Hard Drive: 500GB HDD (~$70)
DVD Writer (~$40)
Case: Thermaltake Soprano w/ 430W PSU ($134)

OR

NEW
Q9400
ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS Motherboard
4GB 800MHz
500GB Hard Disk Drive
ECS nvidia 9500GT 1G
20X Dual Layer DVD Burner
Shitty case/PSU

First for gaming second for everything else.


Btw, those prices are outdated.. I know the $700 build there is now only ~$600 for example.

[WallybR]

First for gaming second for everything else.


Btw, those prices are outdated.. I know the $700 build there is now only ~$600 for example.

ah cheers...would u suggest i stay away from ebay comps that are new?

also would u be able to whip me up a gaming/media pc (pref intel)? for 700-750MAX

[gaMbLA]

^

use it as a guide anyway, go to say PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide and add all the hardware together that you want and just take things off it to make it suit your budget till you get to something your satisfied with and then go to other sites for cheaper prices. You learn more about the prices and hardware if you trying configuring it your self.

[Jam0864]

Nothing wrong with ebay comps, just make sure it's pickup so you can have a play with it before buying, you don't want a dead machine to arrive on your doorstep. (the seller would blame the couriers I'm sure)




CPU: Intel C2D e8400
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
GPU: 9800gt 512MB
RAM: 4GB Kingston 800MHz CL6 DDR2
Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
DVD Writer
Case: Thermaltake Soprano w/ 430W PSU


I would want to upgrade that graphics card but you can't without getting a better psu. (which would pass your price rangE)

I don't know exact prices but shouldnt be more than 750.

[WallybR]

cheers jam...u indeed are a great asset to this community.

If i was getting a system that had a used Q6600, would it be better to put a used E8500 in?

Maybe Overclocking/maybe not

[Jam0864]

cheers jam...u indeed are a great asset to this community.

If i was getting a system that had a used Q6600, would it be better to put a used E8500 in?

Maybe Overclocking/maybe not

There's no real need unless you got the e8500 for free, in which case the q6600 is better for a lot of the newer games and video editing etc and the e8500 is better for the older ones.

[WallybR]

well, if i got the guy to take the Q6600 out and minus money...then spend that same amount on the e8500...

Despite how much it cost. If i had the same build as mentioned that had the antec and watercooling..would it be better to have a 6600 or an 8500 in it?

I game/watch movies..and occasionally convert .avi/mkv to DVD