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Gaming Machine

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| [http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/midtower/armorjr/vc3000_index.asp Thermaltake Armor Jr.] || [http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=Thermaltake+Armor+Jr 166]
 
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Revision as of 18:26, 20 February 2007

Contents

$750 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 125
Foxconn TSAA805
Motherboard abit KN9 109
RAM 2x512MB Generic DDR2 667 84
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 99
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 256MB Point Of View 7600GT GDDR3 151
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Foxconn TSAA805 49
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 49
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 708 + 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 7600GT (capable of pulling reasonable frames for most of today's games I believe). You could also replace the 7600GT with a 7300GT DDR3 and go for 2GB of RAM if you please.

I've included a dual-core CPU in this system, although a faster single core system may be better for gaming, in which case a 3500+ is about 125.

$1000 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AM2 X2 3600+ EE 125
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard DFI Infinity NF4 Ultra II-M2 127
RAM 2x1GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR2 667 190
Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA HDD 95
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 256MB XpertVision 7900GS 231
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-BB 72
Power Supply 500W SilverStone Element ST50EF 113
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 995 + 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 234
ASUS TA 881
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 155
RAM 1GB ADATA DDR2 667 kit 105
Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA HDD 95
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 256MB Point of View 7600GT 151
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Super Flower SF-500P14 90
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 944 + 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 7600GT 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 4200+ 187
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard DFI Infinity NF4 Ultra II-M2 127
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 195
Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive 95
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 320MB Sparkle 8800GTS 429
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Super Flower Black Diamond 90
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1237 + Postage

This machine originally sported two 7600GTs in SLi, a 3600+ X2, and an aftermarket HSF. Whilst the aftermarket HSF is still able to fit in the budget (Thermaltake Big Typhoon 120), I've decided to focus this machine more on stock performance than overclocking, since the Core 2 Duo systems are typically the way to go for the overclockers.

Now 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 234
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 155
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 195
Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive 95
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 256MB Albatron 7950GT 309
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Super Flower Black Diamond 90
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 60
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1252 + 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 E6300 259
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 155
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 195
Hard Drive 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive 127
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 320MB Sparkle 8800GTS 429
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Antec Neo HE 500 135
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 60
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1474 + Postage

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

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6400 315
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 175
RAM 2GB F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK 312
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 320MB Sparkle 8800GTS 429
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 550W Neo HE 550 164
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 60
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1704 + Postage

$2000 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E4300 234
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 175
RAM 2GB A-DATA Vitesta DDR2 800 225
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 768MB Inno3D GeForce 8800GTX 823
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 650W Antec TruePower Trio TP3 650 185
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 60
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1951 + 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 E6400 439
Thermaltake Armor Jr.
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 3.3 175
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 195
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 768MB Inno3D GeForce 8800GTX 823
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Thermaltake Armor Jr. 166
Power Supply 600W OCZ GameXStream 174
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 60
Additional - -
Total Cost - 2208 + Postage

$2500 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6600 439
Thermaltake Armor Jr.
Motherboard ASUS P5B-E 205
RAM 2x 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 390
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 131
Optical Drive 16x LiteOn SHM-165P6S 42
Graphics Card 768MB Sparkle GeForce 8800GTX 835
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Thermaltake Armor Jr. 167
Power Supply 600W OCZ GameXStream 175
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 60
Additional - -
Total Cost - 2444 + Postage

After this stage, you get to the area of diminishing returns. There's the choice of going for 2GB of uber-fast-RAM, or 4GB of cheaper RAM (as done here). There's also the option of going for a higher end motherboard (an nVidia chipset board), and buying two 8800s in SLi. There's also the option of going to an E6700 CPU, or going crazy and spending big money on quad core. Some hardcore overclocker types will look at liquid cooling setups, as well.

However, after this stage, you will get to the stage of spending hundreds of dollars for a small improvement in performance. Even the 4GB of RAM is still a little excessive at the moment.

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