Help cutting costs

Hi,
I'm building a budget gaming pc for my partner, but what we want is about 10% more that what we'd like to pay, can anyone suggest the best places to cut corners in this setup? (or anything you think I might have gotten wrong in the spec)

Prices are in australian dollars.

Case $175.84
Thermaltake Armor+ MX Black Steel Mid Tower Case with 23cm fan on Window Side Panel

Mobo $189.00
Asus Motherboard P5QC - LGA775,Intel P45+ICH10R,FSB-1600MHz,Dual-Ch,DDR3-1333 or DDR2-1066,EPU-6 Engine,Drive Xpert,Express Gate,8-Phase Power,All Japanese made Conductive Polymer Capacitor

CPU $286.00
Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo Processor - LGA775, 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache 1333Mhz FSB 45nm

GPU $219.00
Asus GF9600GT GDDR3 PCIE2.0 HDTV 2xDVI-I HDMI HDCP

RAM $265.65
Corsair 4GB (2x XMS3 2GB) PC-10600 (1333MHz) XMP DDR3 RAM, 2x240-pin DIMMs, Non ECC Unbuffered, 9-9-9-24

PSU $189.00
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 650 Watt Active PFC Cable Management

Sound $78.00
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Retail, for PCI-Express Card slot (is this going to make a big difference? I "felt" like I got a lot less stutter in warhammer after putting one in mine last year, but we generally play with sound low or even muted to hear TS better).

HDD $97.00
Sony AD7200AOB 20X IDE DVD Burner Drive

Monitor $299.00
22" Samsung T220 LCD Monitor - Wide, 2ms (GTG) , 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+), 300cd/m2, DC 20,000:1 (1,000:1) (Typ.)

OS $219
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 32-Bit OEM SP2C-3 English CD (we'll go 7 next year)

Total $2049.49

i'd cut the case, use ddr2 800 ram instead of ddr2 1066, and cut the sound card entirely. alternatively, you can also use cheaper motherboards, like P35 chipset instead of the P45, as well as use a cheaper PSU. trust me, you don't need 650W. you can probably power what you have right now easily with 450W, as long as it is a quality model.

you should put some of that money spared into the graphic card. a geforce 9600GT is quite long in the tooth now. something like a 9800GTX+ would be a much better choice.

Something like:
Gigabyte GZ-Triton 180 Black Mid Tower Case, Aluminum Bezel, 10 Drive Bays, 2x 120mm Fans, USB 2.0, 1394, Audio, No PSU, ATX/Micro ATX.
and
Cooler Master Extreme Power V2.3 Regular 460W(12CM Fan) PSU
?
I'm a bit wary because every pc I've ever had ended up dying because of psu or heat problems. Just bad luck on my part?

If I put ddr2 in now, then the any extra ram I add when the OS gets upgraded next year will also need to be ddr2, yes?

ddr3 on anything other than a core i7 build is a waste of money so far. for a core 2 system, just use ddr2. you can save quite a bit of money that way. and yes, you'll need the same ram sticks if you ever want to add more later on.

i'm using an antec 300 case and antec earthwatt 500 (500W) PSU. both are good for me so far. i have no idea what the prices are like in australia for those two though.

another thing: if gaming is all you're worried about, you can even bump down the processor to something like a E7200, then overclock it easily to 3.2ghz. bound to save some money there also.

Overclocking is too scary for an old geezer like me

With ddr2, I'm now $110 under budget. Ta for your help.

I would basically agree with Moriz.
- You could get a case that's a lot cheaper - depends upon your personal choice of course.
- DDR2 instead of DDR3
- You could probably save a few bucks by getting a mobo that only supports DDR2.
- Sound Card is a not a must-have.

The Shop with the items is really expensive

CPU $286.00 AD = 182USD
Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo Processor - LGA775, 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache 1333Mhz FSB 45nm

CPU $164.99 USD
Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo Processor - LGA775, 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache 1333Mhz FSB 45nm


p5q $183 AD = 116 USD
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList...C/Default.aspx

p5q $119 USD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131295

and dont pay 450AD just for the Ram and the PSU you can get them alot cheaper

This confuses me alot since im european i use the euro wich is 2Australian dollar -_-

the OP's prices are in AUS$.

btw, NOT overclocking a 45nm core 2 duo is sacrilegious. DO IT.

When you overclock you lower the lifetime of a processor don't do it unless you have better then standard cooling on your CPU
Do not encourage people to overclock please

only insane voltage increases will reduce the lifespan of silicon chips. fortunately, the 45nm core 2 duos are so overclock friendly that you can achieve some nice boosts without any increases in voltage. my E7200 can do 3.2ghz without a bump in voltage, and can even do 3.8ghz at 1.250V (default is around 1.180).

even if the overclock will decrease lifespan, you'll often find the processor obsolete long before it bites the dust. even if the lifespan is halved, are you really going to complain that it now lasts 5 years, instead of 10?

now, if the OP is using AMD phenom, then overclocking might not be a good idea. core 2 duos overclock so easily that he probably should overclock.

I got a E8400 you think i can just overclock it without much risks?

The E8400 is probably the most popular CPU to overclock, there are many people doing so. I myself got an E8500, which is basically an E8400 with a higher multiplier (9.5 instead of 9). I got it running steady at 3.8Ghz atm (400x9.5) with stock voltage (1.25V). Just make sure you use a good CPU cooler, and not the stock cooler.

Just try to google "E8400 + <your mobo> overclock" and you'll probably find a discussion about it somewhere.

Being in Perth you have more limited options (no MSY), however you do have 2 decent computer stores.

I am going to suggest one build that uses Intel's latest, top of the line, enthusiast CPU, memory and motherboard technology. However, it is over your budget but I feel it would be fair for you to know what is availble at the higher price bracket.

The other build will be based on Intels Core 2 Duo and easily fit into the budget.

Just wondering, do you need a HDD or optical drive, or both? That is a DVD drive rather than a HDD.


The GTX260+ would be pointless for just Guild Wars. You could easily change it to a 4850/9600GT etc.


This has Core i7 and 6GB of DDR3. Absolute highend CPU, motherboard and RAM - just a slower GPU than the Core 2 system. A 9600GT would eat Guild Wars.

Or have a look:

http://www.ple.com.au/?p=home
http://www.netplus.com.au/

I would suggest the following parts:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400-E8500
Gigabye P45 UD3P (newer design with more copper than standard P45 motherboards)
4GB of 800Mhz RAM
Pioneer 216 Optical drive
CM 690 case (unless you really like the look of another case)
Corsair HX 520 PSU
Benq or equivelent monitor with 1920 by 1080 resolution (22inch monitors now come with this resolution)

A last, but not least, GPU should be 4850 for around $225, or GTX 260 for $350-$420. 9600GT for $219 is not good value.

Consider ordering single parts in from eastern states through online stores (e.g Itestate) or ebay if that particular part is overpriced in Perth.