building a budget gaming system

i am needing some help with building a gaming PC in preparation for the unreal engine 3 and cryteks new engine. im not looking for a “ZOMGZOR L33T 2 t3H MaX” rig, just something thats gonna last me at least a few years in this new gaming arena on medium settings.

i have read some things about building PCs (just now i read this: http://www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/build_gaming.htm which seems to be a little outdated) and i know my stuff, but i dont know enough about things like CPU performance, or which type of bus (PCI-e, all the AGP types) will allow me the most flexibility videocard-choice-wise.

i have my heart set on an AMD cpu, but there are too many options, i cant sort it out.

if anyone can make suggestions or point me in the right direction, i would be much appreciative.

Intel 805 D processor ~£100 sterling (180USD) will overclock to 4GHz on air, and will provide you the cheapest processing power you can buy. Not AMD I know, but your best option…

Asus cheap motherboard so you can overclock ~£40

Graphics Nvidia 7600GT ~£100 (PCI-E = more advanced and faster technology with greater range of cards)

If you want to spend more upgrade the video card to a 7800 or 7900.

I’ll let you choose mem, hdd (80GB should suffice), dvd drive, psu, case, peripherals for yourself.

Alex

dunno what budget you had? but i just nicked this off the overclockers uk forum :smiley:

  • Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 “LGA775 Allendale” 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM (CP-135-IN) £112.95
  • Asrock ConroeXFire-eSATA2 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-003-AK) £53.95
  • G.Skill 2GB DDR2 NR PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400PHU2-2GBNR) (MY-014-GS) £106.95
  • Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) £126.95
  • NEC ND3550 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-035-NE) £19.95
  • Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR) £14.95
  • Antec SLK3000B Midi Tower Case - No PSU (CA-027-AN) £29.95
  • Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-018-SA) £42.50
  • Subtotal £508.15
  • VAT £88.93
  • Total £597.08and this should be upgradeable to a better cpu as your budget allows

Personally I wouldn’t get the budget Asus (Asrock mobo, and get a less featured full Asus.

Oh, and an Nvidia card instead of the ATI.

The case is good, but they have forgotten the PSU so add £50 for a good one

Alex