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Gaming Machine

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Revision as of 21:03, 28 February 2007

Contents

$750 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ EE 125
Foxconn TSAA805
Motherboard abit KN9 109
RAM 2x512MB Generic DDR2 78
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 99
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB nVidia GeForce 7600GT 149
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Foxconn TSAA805 49
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 49
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 697 + 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.

$1000 AM2

Part Model Price Case
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ EE 125
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Asus M2N-E 113
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 189
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 99
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB ATi Radeon X1950Pro 245
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-BB 72
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 49
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 930 + 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.

The graphics card selected may be a point of contention for some, since although most reviews state that the X1950Pro is slightly quicker stock, the GeForce 7900GS is a better overclocker. It's up to you.

$1000 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E4300 234
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Gigabyte 965P-S3 155
RAM 2x1GB Generic DDR2 667 165
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 99
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB nVidia GeForce 7600GT 149
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 430W Coolermaster Extreme Power 49
Cooling - -
Additional - -
Total Cost - 962 + 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 3800+ 155
iCute S901-4GA-SS
Motherboard Asus M2N-E 113
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 189
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 99
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 320MB nVidia 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 - 1186 + 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 189
Hard Drive 250GB Samsung SP2504C 99
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 256MB nVidia 7900GS 231
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 500W Super Flower Black Diamond 90
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 65
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1174 + 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 189
Hard Drive 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive 127
Optical Drive 16x Pioneer DVR-111D 39
Graphics Card 320MB Sparkle 8800GTS 429
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply SilverStone Element ST50EF 500W 113
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 65
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1448 + 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 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 55
Graphics Card 320MB GeForce 8800GTS 429
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W 121
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 65
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1679 + 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 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 55
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 799
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case iCute S901-4GA-SS 72
Power Supply 600W OCZ GameXStream 175
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 65
Additional - -
Total Cost - 1935 + 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 3.3 175
RAM 2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT 189
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 135
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 55
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 799
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Thermaltake Armor Jr. 165
Power Supply 600W OCZ GameXStream 174
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 65
Additional - -
Total Cost - 2196 + Postage

$2500 Core 2 Duo

Part Model Price Case
CPU Core 2 Duo E6600 439
Thermaltake Armor Jr.
Motherboard ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS 295
RAM 2GB F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK 312
Hard Drive 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 131
Optical Drive 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA 55
Graphics Card 768MB GeForce 8800GTX 799
Sound Card Onboard from motherboard -
Case Thermaltake Armor Jr. 165
Power Supply 700W OCZ GameXStream 212
Cooling Thermaltake BigTyp 120 65
Additional - -
Total Cost - 2473 + 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.

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