[Main Page] Main Page | Recent changes | View source | Page history

Printable version | Disclaimers | Privacy policy | Latest revision

 Not logged in
Log in | Help
 

Gaming Machine

(Difference between revisions)

(→‎$1500 Core 2 Duo)
(→‎$1500 Core 2 Duo)
Line 252: Line 252:
 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
 
! CPU
 
! CPU
−
| [http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2duo/index.htm Core 2 Duo E6300] || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=E6300 258]
+
| [http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2duo/index.htm Core 2 Duo E6400] || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=E6400 305]
 
| rowspan="12" | [[Image:iCute.jpg|right|iCute S901-4GA-SS]]
 
| rowspan="12" | [[Image:iCute.jpg|right|iCute S901-4GA-SS]]
 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
Line 286: Line 286:
 
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
 
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
 
! Total Cost
 
! Total Cost
−
| - || 1398 + Postage
+
| - || 1445 + Postage
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}

Revision as of 16:19, 1 April 2007

Contents

$750 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ EE 99
Foxconn TSAA805
Motherboard Asus M2N 89
RAM 2x512MB Generic DDR2 70
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 92
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900GS 199
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Foxconn TSAA805 49
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 48
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 685 + 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 7900GS (capable of pulling reasonable frames for most of today's games I believe). You could also replace the 7900GS with a 7600GS DDR3 and go for 2GB of RAM if you please.

$1000 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane Core 159
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Asus M2N 89
RAM 2GB ADATA DDR2-667 165
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 92
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB GeForce 7950GT 288
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-BB 72
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 48
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 951 + Postage

I believe this system is the sweet spot for bang for buck computing. It features a decent CPU, plenty of RAM, a large hard drive, and a decent graphics card. The case is pretty good looking too. This system would be appropriate for moderate to frequent gaming.

$1000 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E4300 233
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 149
RAM 2x1GB Generic DDR2 667 138
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 92
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900GS 199
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 48
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 970 + Postage

At a touch under $1000 the Core 2 Duo system is quite impressive. The RAM, CPU and Board will allow for some nice overclocking, whilst the 7900GS is not too bad either. For $1000, this system would be very quick and well suited for demanding office applications.

$1250 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 242
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Asus M2N 89
RAM 2GB ADATA DDR2-667 165
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 92
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 320MB nVidia 8800GTS 406
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Super Flower Black Diamond 95
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1200 + 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. With an 8800GTS, this machine will be little short of damn fast at gaming!

$1250 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E4300 233
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 149
RAM 2GB ADATA DDR2-667 165
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 92
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB nVidia 7950GT 288
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Super Flower Black Diamond 95
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 63
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1196 + Postage

This machine is similarly specced to the AM2 system, however with the aftermarket HSF and the E4300 CPU, probably better suited to overclocking.

$1500 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6400 305
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 149
RAM 2GB ADATA DDR2-667 165
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 125
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 320MB Sparkle 8800GTS 406
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W 121
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 63
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1445 + Postage

Sub $1500 Core 2 system with 8800GTS in the house!

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6400 305
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 169
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 189
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 52
Graphics Card 640MB GeForce 8800GTS 550
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W 121
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 63
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1659 + Postage

$2000 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6600 439
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 169
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 189
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 52
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 792
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W 121
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1969 + Postage

This is a $2000 system with an emphasis on stock performance (for those who do not plan to overclock), so it eschews the aftermarket HSF and high-end RAM in favour of a quicker CPU. It is still a hell of a machine, though!

$2000 Core 2 Duo (overclocking)

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E4300 234
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 169
RAM 2GB A-DATA Vitesta DDR2 800 215
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 52
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 792
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 600W OCZ GameXStream 159
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 63
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1891 + Postage

2K system designed for overclocking, hence the E4300 but DDR2 800 RAM and the trusty 1333 FSB of the 965P-S3 V3.3

$2250 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6600 439
Thermaltake Armor Jr.
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 169
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 189
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 52
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 792
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Thermaltake Armor Jr. 165
Power Supply 600W OCZ GameXStream 159
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 63
Additional - -
Total Cost - 2163 + Postage

$2500 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6600 439
Thermaltake Armor Jr.
Motherboard ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS 289
RAM 2GB F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ 410
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 131
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 52
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 792
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Thermaltake Armor Jr. 165
Power Supply 700W OCZ GameXStream 199
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 63
Additional - -
Total Cost - 2540 + Postage

After this stage, you get to the area of diminishing returns. This machine is not so much faster than the $2250 system, more a better platform for going crazy with even more high end upgrades, such as two 8800s in SLi or quad core CPUs. However, after this stage, you will get to the stage of spending hundreds of dollars for a small improvement in performance. This machine does currently go over-budget, but if money's a problem, the cheaper (about $305) G.Skill PK RAM is an alternative.

Retrieved from "http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/index.php?title=Gaming_Machine&oldid=3166"