Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

In 3 weeks I'm starting college, so I'll be getting £20 a week. £18 of that a month is going towards the internet, and so the rest is for a new computer :D

I just need some good advise on a good computer. I was thinking of a dual system, just buying a new motherboard, and 2 Intel Xeons with 1GB memory. Or is there a system that performs better that is cheaper?

The PC I have now is:

AMD Duron 1800MHZ
512MB DDR PC2100 Memory
Syntax SV266A
Pine 3D Phantom XP-3800 SiS315-E 64MB 4X AGP
SeaGate Baracuda 40GB ATA-100 (ATA-133, board doesn't support it) 7200RPM 2mb Cache
SeaGate Medalist 3GB ATA-33 5400RPM 256mb Cache
LiteOn Combo Drive
CoolerMaster Musketeer 1 Silver
C-Media Sound Card (AC'97 compatible)

Need a new case aswell, this one is cr*p :)

Thanks to any one who answers!

Max I want to spend is £1000

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

No need for a dual system, it will actually perform worse than a single CPU system because games don't use dual CPUs and the memory they need is higher latency.
You're better off getting a modest Athlon 64 system such as:

Athlon 64 3400+
1GB PC3200 DDR RAM (2x512MB, the best you can afford)
An NForce 4 chipset mobo when they come out in a few months or maybe an NForce 3 250. (try Asus or Abit)
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, which is the best value for money right now.
Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB HD (IDE version, 8MB cache)
Antec 450-550W PSU
Audigy 2 ZS

That little lot would cost you around £600-700 if you bought it right now.
www.overclockers.co.uk and www.scan.co.uk are good suppliers, but avoid using Scan for anything like mobos or graphics cards.
You could also swap the Radeon for an NVidia 6800GT which are also very nice but cost about £150-£200 more.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Another general rule of thumb.. if you need all the software.. go with a pre-build. If you have it already then building your own is an option.

If you buy software and build from scratch.. you'll always spend more.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

What will be its prime use? No point in spending for new technology that you dont need

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Any ideas on a good case? Something that doesn't have cheap thin metal :)

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

I think the clue is in the thread title .....

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Didn't we do this for you already?

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Yeh, but I found they were rubbish PCI slots, so I got the Cooler Master Musketeer 1 Silver instead ;) (fan controller, with lovely blue analog dialogs)

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

If you use windows XP then there is no point buying an Athlon 64 as it will be no faster than AMD's fastest 32 bit processor.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Huh? You said to recommend you a good case, wtf has the musketeer (which is essentially an overblown fan controller) got to do with it?

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

If you want sturdy go with any of the globalwin non-aluminium range. If you want fancy/riceboy go with anything by Lian Li

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Cheers :)

I was just thinking of getting the fastest AMD 32-bit CPU that is out there, until XP 64 has a final release.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

The Athlon 64 3400 pretty much wipes the floor with the 3200 under XP (32 bit) for gaming, Admittedly there's a 200mhz speed jump for the 3400, but in most gaming test's up to even over 1/3rd faster.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Sorry but my CPU disagrees. :D
I also have a Barton 3200+ and as Bifta said, my FX really does wipe the floor with it.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

I think I'm going to go with Richards first computer spec, sounds like the best idea to me :p:

Thanks to all that posted :D

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

my only edit would be to get a smaller drive to boot off - as when ur hard drives cocks up (as they all do these days) you will just lose your install and not all ur work.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

I already have a barracuda 40gb as you see on my list, that's kinda new so i'll probably use that for system files, then the other one for all my games.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

i would of opted for a small sata 8meg buffer drive to boot off my self - have the 40 gig one for ur games and then a huge slow one for songs/movies etc

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

If you have case / monitor / dvd- drive etc


Asus P4P800 SE "Springdale" (Socket 478) Motherboard (MB-025-AS)
£62.95 £62.95
Intel Pentium 4 "Prescott" 3.2GHz (800FSB) with HT Technology - Retail (CP-047-IN)
£155.00 £155.00
Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200C2 Pro TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2 (MY-026-CS)
£165.00 £165.00
Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 250GB 2500JD SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-010-WD)
£112.95 £112.95
Asus V9999 Ultra Deluxe GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-040-AS)
£329.95 £329.95

Subtotal £825.85
VAT £144.53
Total £970.38

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

I'm not touching Intel, I hate them. AMD are better than Intel, it's been proven ;)

Thanks any way Ben :)

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Where has it been proven? I'd swap my Athlon XP 3200 for a 3.2ghz P4 anyday. (just can't afford it atm)

Here's a couple of gaming benchmarks, XP 3200 vs P4 3.0ghz

http://www.simhq.com/_technology/technology_002f.html

Oh look, the 3ghz P4 beats it in every test .....

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

It was in this magazine my mate told me about, can't remember it any more :erm:

But I prefer AMD, there cheaper, and always seem to be better performance for me.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Oh look, more benchmarks, with the P4 only losing out on 1 of them.

http://www.vr-zone.com/reviews/AMD/XP3200+/page6.htm, and that's just gaming performance, the P4 spanks AMD in almost every other test.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

OK Bifta, I'm not listening to you any more you seem to always disagree with EVERYTHING I say.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

You say something that's correct and I'll agree with you .. simple really .. You're off again backing up your view's with something "your mate" told you, where as I provide you with actual information to the contrary.

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

bifta is very passionate about cpu's and especially gfx cards he disagrees with most people because normally he knows what hes on about :)

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

looks good, but definately get a 6800gt and 1gb ram, itll last you a good couple of years if not longer

Re: Recommend me a good gaming PC
 

Forget what everyone else has suggested. You should buy my 1.2GHz Celery with 60GB HDD, 320MB RAM and ATI Radeon 7000 - I'll sell it for £995 and I'll even throw in an old copy of Win 98SE I have collecting dust. If you want XP instead, I can arrange that, but I'd have to charge you even more ;)