New PC build

I am building a new computer for a friend soon, i was wondering about whether what he wants is actually necessary for him.

This is the system ive got planned, based on what he has told me:

XFX 680I SLI edition Socket 775 ATX mobo - £50
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) RAM DDR2 800 - £40
OCZ Stealth PSU 600W - £55
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 - £92
Samsing 500GB HD - £40
Zotac GTX260 896MB - £117

Total = £394

Now, im wondering whether he needs all this high end stuff. He is a medium to heavy gamer.

Would it be worth down-grading the CPU slightly, as well as the GPU to save a bit of cash?

Comments and suggestions welcome =) (but please try to keep graphics card fanboy-ism out of this, thanks)

Downgrading? Lol, no. And the GPU is already quite ok ... unlike your CPU, what means the CPU will be a bottleneck. Get E8400/8500/8600 instead (I would go for 8400 and OC it a little with some decent heatsink). Oh, and ram needs an upgrade as well ... try getting 2x2gb 1333/1600 mhz. RAM is not expensive but it will make a difference.

High end? Lol man, it's low-mid end configuration (not counting the card which is med-high end ...).

High End is Phenom X4 955 black/Intel i7 920/940, paired up with nice 6/8 gb of ram in dual/triple channel (depending on CPU) 1600+ mhz and gtx 285/295 or ATI 4890 ... along with SLI/CROSSFIRE-READY mobo and double-tripled gfx.

It was mid-high end ... like, 1.5-1 year ago at the very best. If your friend is a med-heavy gamer then seriously, I doubt he is, otherwise he would have an idea what he really needs or wants and wouldn't think of old 800mhz ram or CPU which is way way worse than the GPU. If he thinks games are mainly based around graphic card, then cpu, then ram, then he is solely mistaken.

It needs to be on par ... you don't buy a very good cpu for average graphic card just like you don't buy cheapest ram avaible for a computer with moderately good card and fair cpu ...

If he wants something good, then I'm afraid he will have to spend those 100-150£ more, maybe less, depends on the deal, really.

Btw, 4gb of ram is nothing special atm. It was fine for 64 bit XP, but XP is at it's decline at best and since your friend is 'heavy gamer' I assume he will want to take advantage of things like DX10/11 over Windows 7 (since Vista is errr ... nevermind) ... and optimal memory is 6gb in that case (2x3 gb for Intel E8xxx, AMD Phenom ... 3x2gb for Intel i7).

Oh, just in case, don't think about triple-core CPU's, it's waste of money. Either get very decent duo, or average quad.

EDIT: Yes, I understand you/your friend IS ON BUDGET (that's what I assume anyway) but seriously, CPU and RAM needs an upgrade.

actually he's right, it really is GPU-->CPU-->RAM.

keep the CPU and RAM. for core 2 systems, RAM speed doesn't matter much. he should probably change to a more modern chipset though, like the P43 chipset from intel. the CPU is fine, as long as your friend overclock it to around 3.4 ghz, which is easily achievable.

however, do keep in mind that core 2 systems are a dead end. it might be worthwhile to look into an AMD based system, with AM3 motherboard and a phenom II x3 720.

Well, I'm 50/50 on that statement, new games come out and already utilise both duo and quad cores to their full potential. It was true some time ago, but it's changing. Plus, new gt300 chipsets will most propably end the era of overpriced SLI/CROSSFIRE computer builds. Well, we shall see. I could name a few upcoming titles being quite CPU-heavy but I believe you can find out on your own ...

While I do understand what you are saying, he cannot afford to get phenom processors and the £300 price range GPUs. not everyone has that kind of cash to blow on a gaming rig. he also prefers intel CPUs and nvidia GPUs.

i have had people telling me about systems similar to the one i posted managing stuff like crysis, CoD4/5, L4D very nicely.

and like moriz said, he will be o'cing the CPU to around 3.4/3.5, the only issue i have is the GPU and the mobo, as i am not sure about their power, but im not sure how much better i can get, bearing in mind £500 is pretty much the upper limit of the budget.

right. sorry for the double post, but could you post the system you would build for about £500, using whatever components you think are best.

Does he need to fit a case, fans, monitor etc. into that 500 pound budget?

I'd spend a little more on the mobo, get one with more future friendly features personally. The e7200 was a great series and overclocks like a banshee, so if gaming is the primary concern it should be just fine. RAM, GPU, PSU etc look just fine.

Do consider a Phenom II x3 Black Edition - they are a good bit cheaper than the quad's and are a nice value, very nice indeed - I don't have time to look up British prices, but I think you could do well with a setup like that.

thanks. he doesnt need fans or a case or a monitor, i have good quality, new, spare parts in my workshop that i am giving him. what mobo would you recommend for the e7400/gtx260 setup?

Well then he is already screwing himself over because AMD and ATI have the best price:performance ratio right now. If he wants a gaming system, and he doesn't want to spend a lot of money, he will need to drop the loyalty or fanboyism.

ok. what do you recommend then. i suggested the E7400 cos of its large overclocking ability, but am open to other ideas for GPUs and CPUs.

You can't stock OC that chip a lot can you? I don't have much experience with Intel stock coolers but I have heard they are trash and run hot as is, leaving no room for OC. If you are going to spend money on an after market cooler, you might as well just buy an AMD since they come with good stock coolers and OC very well for 'free'.

For the exact same price as that E7400 you can get a Triple-Core AMD 720:

$119 - E7400
2.8GHz Dual Core - DDR2
3MB L3 cache

$119 - AMD 720 Black Edition
2.8GHz Triple Core - DDR2/DDR3 (Supports Both)
6MB L3 cache
Unlocked Multipliers

Plus with select Gugabyte motherboards and special BIOS firmware, you can unlock AMD dual and triple cores into quad cores. So you spend very little money and could easily get a working Quad-Core with unlocked multi's.

For video, the $149 Saphire 4870 1gb is a superior card for it's price point, and will play all games very well. Another bonus of ATI's cards is their ability to play 4x and 8x FSAA/MSAA at high frame rates compared to equally priced nVidia cards.

thanks for the advice i dont have alot of experience with AMD, ive always been more of an intel man, but apparently they are much better now, so i may take your advice. any mobo you would recommend?

That's a low-end system, if it makes you feel any better. You are not anywhere close to the high end, not even with that GPU.

I'm not sure how the resellers price in Europe, but in this price range a pre-built machine actually isn't a bad idea in the US.

You can OC the Core 2s on stock cooling easily (actually, you can undervolt those suckers and still get a good 5~600 Mhz out of them), and the entire concept of "dead end" is worthless at the low end - if you put in an E7400 now, you can always pick up an E8x00 or quad in the future, which still leaves plenty of upgrade path. If you could actually afford high end, you'd be buying a totally different system anyway, so the fact that you'll be "stuck with Core 2" is irrelevant.

That said, the Phenom II 720BE is pretty much the best deal on the market right now.

Gigabyte is probably the most popular mobo maker right now, and for AMD's, I would say they are the best. Gigabyte has a very wide selection of mobo's as well, from dirt cheap to very high end.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...d/Default.aspx

You can pick one out that fits your needs on that page.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=3010