Low budget rig

The time has come that I have to upgrade my rig (every 2 years), I've decided to spend 1000 euros for it, here's the specs what I've made up. Comments, suggestions? It'll be mainly for gaming.

• Motherboard: KN9-S AM2 NF550 DDR2 SATA2 GBL 8CH HDA
• Processor: Athlon 64 X2 Boxed 5200+ Dual Core, AM2, 2.6GHz, 1MB, 2000MHz HyperTransport
• Memory: 2x 1GB HyperX 750MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL4
• Graphics: GeForce NX8800 GTS 320MB/320Bit DDR3, PCI-E Overclocked

Of course in addition to these there will come case, drives, power (500W?) and cooler.

Whaddya say, will this be enough for gaming for the next 2 years?

PS. I'm not looking to put games on extreme resolutions, 1024 is fine for me, with details usually on medium or high.

The time has come that I have to upgrade my rig (every 2 years), I've decided to spend 1000 euros for it, here's the specs what I've made up. Comments, suggestions? It'll be mainly for gaming.

• Motherboard: KN9-S AM2 NF550 DDR2 SATA2 GBL 8CH HDA
• Processor: Athlon 64 X2 Boxed 5200+ Dual Core, AM2, 2.6GHz, 1MB, 2000MHz HyperTransport
• Memory: 2x 1GB HyperX 750MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL4
• Graphics: GeForce NX8800 GTS 320MB/320Bit DDR3, PCI-E Overclocked

Of course in addition to these there will come case, drives, power (500W?) and cooler.

Whaddya say, will this be enough for gaming for the next 2 years?

PS. I'm not looking to put games on extreme resolutions, 1024 is fine for me, with details usually on medium or high.

Sp33chM4n

I'd say a 520W psu would do fine. CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail

Will 500W be enough? I was thinking about Antec Sonata III silent case with 500W psu.

The time has come that I have to upgrade my rig (every 2 years), I've decided to spend 1000 euros for it, here's the specs what I've made up. Comments, suggestions? It'll be mainly for gaming.

• Motherboard: KN9-S AM2 NF550 DDR2 SATA2 GBL 8CH HDA
• Processor: Athlon 64 X2 Boxed 5200+ Dual Core, AM2, 2.6GHz, 1MB, 2000MHz HyperTransport
• Memory: 2x 1GB HyperX 750MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL4
• Graphics: GeForce NX8800 GTS 320MB/320Bit DDR3, PCI-E Overclocked

Of course in addition to these there will come case, drives, power (500W?) and cooler.

Whaddya say, will this be enough for gaming for the next 2 years?

PS. I'm not looking to put games on extreme resolutions, 1024 is fine for me, with details usually on medium or high.

Sp33chM4n

You call that low budget??!?

I bought my pc in 2001 for $500

Pentium 4

256 Ram

Geforce mx4000

Low budet???:evil:

Well considering that some people put 1000e for a graphics card, then I'll say it's a low budget. Last comp I made 2 years ago cost 800e, but it included only mobo, graphics, processor and memory.

About that Q6600, what is the current US price for it? just to help me figure what will be the new price in europe. Also has there been any rumours about AMD dropping their prices too_

Well, it seems I'm not gonna afford Q6600, so the choice is between AMD Athlon X2 5200+ and Intel Core 2 Duo E6550.

I'm a bit of a AMD fan, but is that Intel better?

Well, it seems I'm not gonna afford Q6600, so the choice is between AMD Athlon X2 5200+ and Intel Core 2 Duo E6550.

I'm a bit of a AMD fan, but is that Intel better?

Sp33chM4n

Well i have two PC's in my house one is a Pentium 4HT machine and one is a Athlon 64x2 and they both give similar performance though the Pentium 4 runs hotter and can sometimes act up when under heavy load but its not a dual core so its really a fair comparison. But the latest Intel CPUs i hear are better

As for you choice in parts i can say that its a fast machine than mine but i plan to do some upgrading soon when i get the money but a 500W+ PSU would be best if aiming for a 8800

Intel does have the better processors now. - I am (hmmm... actually, was and may be again in the future) an AMD fan. If you are not planning to go SLI, then I would suggest a P35 motherboard with a core 2 duo/quad depending on your budget and what the prices are like when you are ready to buy. The quads are suppost to drop to half their current price in Canada/US July 22. Not sure when that cut will be seen in Europe. AMD just cut prices again a bit this week here in Canada, (I can get a AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ / 2.6 GHz - Socket AM2 - L2 2 MB ( 2 x 1 MB ) - Box (65W) for $146.95CDN), but again, not sure when you will see that drop.

The Antec Sonata III with 500W PSU should do fine on a dual core with a single 8800GTS and it is a veryefficient PSU (uses less power and generates less heat). That is what I used to build a system for a friend... nice case/PSU for $125CDN.

Wow, Europeans must be rediculously overpaid if they think that $2000 or 1000 Euros is a "budget" system. I bought my computer for $500 and that was budget. You, well, you are spending a lot on a computer. So maybe next time write, holy nuts I have a butt load of cash to spend and need help spending it
seabiscuit8686

1000 Euros is only about $1370 US. Which is inthe price range for a budget gaming system... especially when you consider that most computer equipment costs more there.

[QUOTE="seabiscuit8686"]Wow, Europeans must be rediculously overpaid if they think that $2000 or 1000 Euros is a "budget" system. I bought my computer for $500 and that was budget. You, well, you are spending a lot on a computer. So maybe next time write, holy nuts I have a butt load of cash to spend and need help spending it
IAM-CA

1000 Euros is only about $1370 US. Which is inthe price range for a budget gaming system... especially when you consider that most computer equipment costs more there.

Also considering that it's possible to put over 1000$ to a graphics card, I'll say putting that on a whole computer is a budget system. Also my last system on whole (including monitor, keyb and mouse) was only 800e so it's possible to go cheap in europe.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ / 2.6 GHz - Socket AM2 - L2 2 MB ( 2 x 1 MB ) - Box (65W) this is 167 euros (227$) in Finland, so the prices are a steep here, but ordering from outside EU is even more expensive.

Ok, change of plans once again, it seems after all that I'm gonna afford that Q6600, but it causes me to need to get other components as cheap as possible while still trying to maintain good quality.

So, here are two options for mobo, tell me which one is worth it? and if both suck please point me to other choices in the same price range: Asus P5KC or DFI INFINITY 975X/G?

Memory will propably be 2gigs of Kingston ValueRAM 800Mhz, is that good enough for gaming?

Graphics card is a bit of a problem, it's gonna be 8800GTS, but is 640MB DDR3worth that extra 50e in comparison with Super Clocked 320MB DDR3?

And finally, how much power will this setting need? 550W should be enough, couse I'm not gonna SLI, right?

If you buy at the end of July or later, you might see some price drop(s) by then.

The Asus P5KC is a good board that supports the new higher speed FSB and RAM.

Kingston ValueRAM is OK, but check prices for lower latency RAM when you are ready to buy.

What resolutions are you planning to use for gaming? Probably the 320MB 8800GTS will be as good as the 640MB.

A good quality 500W (sustained, not peak) PSU will do if it has sufficient power on the 12V rails. There is an online calculator you can use to determine exactly what you need (add a bit to be safe):
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp - I calculated a scenario around 460W with 8800GTS, Q6600 including with a gererous overclock and allowing for 2 more sticks of RAM with one HD and one DVD drive. Add anything you might plan to put into your system in the future without wanting to replace the PSU. You can pay a couple bucks to get a detailed breakdown of the requirements for all the different rails.

Edit: stupid editor keeps eating my spaces :?

Is it that graphic card memory mainly affects resolution, or does it affectspeedalso?

I've been mostly using 1024x768 or 800x600 when I really have to (don't like it thou), but I'd like to use higher resolutions in some games (especially EVE online). Also it is possible I'll by changing my monitor at some point so that may also cause a resolution increase. I'm currently playing EVE online, TDU, Stalker and Tabula Rasa and in future I will get at least Bioshock and Crysis.