Looking to build a decent PC in a budget
 

OK looking to build a new PC budget is £500 to £600

Now I'm looking for advice and links to good places to buy would be great but I don't want to be bombarded with multiple different options.

Here is what I need.

New Case
New MOBO
New CPU
New HDD
New DVD/RW
New RAM of course
New Tx

I'll be reusing my nVIDIA GFX card which is PCI-e Maybe not the fastest card on the block now but it is the one thing I can forgo getting straight away since the only game I will be playing on it is IL-2 1946.

Although it is a family computer the aim is that I will be able to Play Battle of Britain : Storm of War at high options settings when it is released.

I have built a PC before so I can do that.

One other thing is Intel only...not keen on AMD and undecided whether to go Core 2 Duo or Quad core.

Cheers for your help. Purchasing will be done in stages, getting the bits as I can afford it. Though certain things I'll be buying together.

I'm sure I can build a decent PC good enough to go 6 or so years and still be able to play future flight sims coming out in that time.

My current PC is 5 to 6 years old and can still hack it like I said with IL-2 on fullish settings, but for BOB:SOW and Black Shark it will struggle.....

I myself use a e8400, its a good processor, or you could go to the 8500, but thats cause I use duel core, always have.

umm... ive had good experience with my antec 900... keeps my 8800 cool.

I use a asus MoBo have had no issues.

hi,

I know it's not building your own - but i saw this whilst browsing overclockers, and it's in your budget and is a stonking gaming rig for the money (but it is AMD)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=FS-180-OK

Kaleun

If you are ok with running IL2 as it is now, I would hold of and wait for the actual release of BOB:SOW. The closer to the release of the sim, the better hardware you will get for the money. And you will know a bit more of what it will take to run it in a good way.

If you want to run BS right now, and turn on full settings in IL2 I can see why you want to build a new PC pronto. But if BOB is the main event, I would hold my breath a bit longer. (although no one really knows for how long... :) )

cheers Porphy

yea, the 200 series cards prices should be dropping once the 3xx series cards come out.:yep: if they do.

OK looking at a Core 2 Duo E8400 or E8500

Quad core is out of the question.

Now what Mobo should I get. I'm going to get an Intel chipset mobo for maximum compatibility.

Why is a quad core out of the question? You can buy one for $150 easy.

-S

im currently useing a p5k deluxe... it has been good to me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131182

The CPU I use.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037

Bah! Old technology that is overpriced for being as under performing as it is. Not picking on your CPU since you probably bought it when it was hot, but why invest in 1 to 2 year old technology? It is so sacrilegious to me that I'd almost offer up the difference for an i7 920 just to feel good that he didn't buy into something that won't last! :nope: If I knew him personally, I probably would!

The games coming that are making use of heavy physics will dedicate a core on a quad to physics alone. People with dual cores will get reduced fun. :damn:

-S

TigerDirect has good deals cpu\mobo bundles.

Also case\psu deals.

Well I was on DABS.com and overclockers.co.uk and Core Quads are £250

OK I said I wanted to keep this simple. I am on a budget looking £500-600

I'm looking for clear realistic recommendations, not turning into a poo-pooing the other guys choice of CPU/mobo what ever.

I can't afford a quad core unless someone can get a good one to me for about £150

If TigerDirect isn't available to you I still say look for a cpu\mobo bundle deal.

Also a case\psu bundle deal.

I'd say get a P45 board (preferably PCI-e 2.0), throw in 2x2GB DDR2 (4-4-4-12 if possible) and a decent dual-core. If DDR3 is a must, you'd best go with i7, but that would likely ramp up the price, meaning you need to cut corners on other stuff, if it's doable on that budget at all.

GigaByte is always a good choice for boards, but they're expensive. Kingston offers good modules for a good price with maximum compatibility and a lifetime waranty, no strings attached.

Over here, a E8400 costs about the same as an Q8400 (!) (just under 150,- euros). For 10 to 15 more, you have a Q9400 (just under 165,- euros).

Get a case to your liking, make sure it has a decent (preferably good) PSU.

There, simple.



But...

You mentioned Black Shark. At the moment, single core speed is very important for it, since it doesn't support multi-cores. You can enable it through the OS (set affinity for the process to all cores), but it's less than ideal. With upcoming modules, there should be native support for multi-core and multi-threading. Since your primary focus is flight-sims, I'd say a quad is mandatory, especially with future releases. Since not all sims can use multi-cores effectively, especially older ones, you'll want a fast one at that for high speed per core.

(flight) sims are heavy on the CPU. You want a good one. :yep:

someone has made a program that allows you to run 2 cpus in dcs blackshark.

Like I said, less than ideal. It sets the affinity to all cores, just like you can do manually. ;)



DVD: http://www.sony-optiarc.com/products...rw/ad7240.html
Sony Optiarc AD7240s
Latest and greatest multi-DVD writer, no lightscribe or other labeling tech: 20,- euros

HD: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=394
Blue series, general desktop model. 640GB: 56,- euros

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=551
Black series, high performance. 640 GB: 63,- euros

Building a new computer right now is a bad move, especially if you're going the Intel route. By September Intel will present the new Lynnfields that will literally smoke any core 2 or quad core in single or multithreaded performance. Lynnfields are not top of line processors, they are mainstream (so the price will be low), but they will be a definite improvemente over core 2 duo and core 2 quad.

yepp, but remember you only will see benefits in Vista or Windows 7. XP will not give any better performance with more cores in Black Shark.

Still look more expensive than current CPUs

The thing is I can always wait for the newest shiny CPU to come out...result, will never have a new PC.

No, the secret is to buy at the right time to maximize performance and minimize the aumount of money you spend. And that time is september. For the same amount of money you'll spend on a core 2 duo or core 2 quad right now, you'll get a Lynnfield that not only will be better than the old c2d or c2d in multithread, but most importantly they will be better in single thread. Some classic games are not multithreaded, so they gain performance by using high clocked cpu's. The Lynnfields will have an automatic overclock that will enable in certain circumstances to increase its frequency by 40-50%. Thats nothing to sneer at, especially if you're a gamer.
Lynnfields are going to replace c2d and c2q at the same pricepoints if not less.