Gaming Machine

Revision as of 08:03, 1 May 2007

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+	100
Motherboard	ASUS M2N-MX	80
RAM	2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT	134
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GT	179
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Elite RC-331/RC-330 (No PSU)	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	723 + Postage

This system, despite its low price is a viable ticket to entry level gaming. It features a reasonable sized hard drive (250GB) sufficient for most users, and a GeForce 8600GT, which will be plenty quick enough for most games. It's a little more expensive than the budget allows, but I am of the belief that having 2GB of RAM is well worth it, especially if you plan to run Windows Vista.

$1000 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+	155
Motherboard	ABIT KN9S	112
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	179
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB GeForce 8600GTS	268
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Elite RC-331/RC-330 (No PSU)	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	946 + Postage

$1000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6320	219
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	154
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	137
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GT	179
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	941 + Postage

At a touch under $1000 the Core 2 Duo system is quite impressive. For $1000, this system would be very quick and well suited for demanding office applications and some decent gaming.

$1250 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+	168
Motherboard	ABIT KN9S	112
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	179
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1177 + Postage

This machine is designed to focus this more on stock performance than overclocking, since the Core 2 Duo systems are typically the way to go for the overclockers. However, with a 4800+, Geforce 8800GTS and 2GB of RAM, for the money, this system is a bargain beast!

$1250 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6420	253
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	154
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	137
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1190 + Postage

I'd say that this machine is probably the sweet spot. It has a quick CPU, plenty of RAM, and a very quick video card. :)

$1500 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+	308
Motherboard	ABIT KN9 SLI	165
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	179
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	112
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1394 + Postage

I'd say at this point, the Intel system is better value, but many dedicated AMD fans will not be disappointed by this system.

$1500 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	154
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	137
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	112
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	640MB nVidia 8800GTS	539
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1466 + Postage

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	154
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	137
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	112
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	768MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTX	759
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1686 + Postage

Probably as far as the average user needs to go to have a very decent gaming experience - top of the range graphics card with a decent CPU.

$2000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6700	405
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3Pro V3.3	180
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	146
Hard Drive	500GB Samsung HD501LJ	162
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	600W OCZ GameXStream	165
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1936 + Postage

@@ Line 352: / Line 352: @@
 |- bgcolor="#efefef"
 ! RAM
-| [http://www.adata.com.tw/adata_en/product_detail.php?ProductNo=AD2667EU 2GB A-DATA DDR2 667] || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=A-DATA+667 146]
+| [http://www.adata.com.tw/adata_en/product_detail.php?ProductNo=AD2667EU 2GB A-DATA DDR2 667] || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=A-DATA+667 137]
 |- bgcolor="#efefef"
 ! Hard Drive
@@ Line 361: / Line 361: @@
 |- bgcolor="#efefef"
 ! Graphics Card
-| 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTX || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=8800GTX+768MB 765]
+| 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTX || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=8800GTX+768MB 759]
 |- bgcolor="#efefef"
 ! Sound Card
@@ Line 379: / Line 379: @@
 |- bgcolor="#cccccc"
 ! Total Cost
-| - || 1701 + Postage
+| - || 1686 + Postage
 |-
 |}