Hardware Revolution

Hi and welcome back for the 3rd post of the gaming computer series. Today, I’ll be discussing the parts that I suggest to you if you are planning on building a gaming computer system, with a budget of $800.

At first, I was sticking to a $750 budget, until I realized how much this computer could be improved with only $50 additional dollars.

If you take a look at the previous build, the “Want to play? Bring it on! The Gaming Computer for 750$ is waiting for you!” , you’ll see that it’s mainly made of an E7200 processor and a Radeon HD 4870 video card. Nearly 3 months ago, this was an excellent system. However, with the releases of Intel’s and AMD’s new cpus and the price cuts by Intel, AMD, ATI and Nvidia, things have changed quite a lot during those 3 months.

So, while I decided to keep the previous system in my mind, as a guideline, I also decided to start from scratch and thought about what would be the best combination of parts. Let’s get to it:

The computer parts:

While the E7200 is a good cpu, I find it somewhat expensive at $120. After writing and doing research for yesterday’s post, “A gaming computer for $500?! You bet! v3.0″ I knew that there was a great alternative to it.

You may have guessed, I’m talking about the E5200 here. At 2.5GHz, it’s only 30MHz slower than the E7200 and while the cache is 2MB instead of 3MB, it won’t affect performance that much. What’s the main reason that I’m picking it for then?

The price. See yourself, the E5200 is $35 cheaper than the E7200 . Okay, so what you say. Well, keep in mind that my goal with the computer systems is to offer you the best bang for the buck, or in more simple terms, the best performance for a given price. I’ve got a surprise in reserve for you, keep reading and I’m sure you’ll slowly understand my choices.

Also keep in mind that the E5200 at stock runs on a 200MHz front side bus, with a 12.5X multiplier and is manufactured on a 45nm process. That means that this chip will overclock very easily, even on stock cooling, also that means that the motherboard that doesn’t need to reach very high FSB. Same goes for the RAM.

Talking about the RAM, that’s the next part on your list. RAM is plain and pretty simple, as you’re looking at two things, performance wise: The amount and the speed. Obviously, the price matters too, as I try to stick to a budget of $800 for this computer.

When I found this dual channel, 2 sticks kit of 4GB of RAM, rated at DDR2 800 for only $54.99, I knew that I found what I wanted for you, because they are fast, inexpensive and offer plenty of space for all your games and applications needs.

Next up on your list is the motherboard. Let’s start with the features that you want from this motherboard:

• Wolfdale 45nm core support
• DDR2 800MHz dual-channel support
• On-board sound
• Two PCI-Express 16X slots
• A low price tag

Wait a second. Why two PCI-Express 16X slots? Keep reading, you’ll see . The most inexpensive motherboard that answers our requirements is the ECS P45T-A , it also comes with 6 USB 2.0 ports and a E-Sata connection, which are nice bonuses. While ECS is not known as much as ASUS for example, it remains a solid and reliable motherboard manufacturer that I have no problem recommending.

I won’t keep you on the edge any longer and I’ll explain why I went for that motherboard and the two PCI-Express 16X slots. The best part of this system are the 2 Radeon HD 4850 Video Card in Crossfire! Yes, that’s right, a Crossfire setup in an $800 gaming system. How’s that for a nice surprise?

Of course, to handle these two cards and the rest of the system, you’ll need a solid power supply that can provide a lot of reliable power, especially on the 12V line. With 52A available on its 12V line and the reputation of being one of the, if not the best power supply lineup currently available, the CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W Power Supply is my recommendation to properly handle this system and have some overhead if you plan to overclock.

You’ll need a case to secure all those parts in and to ensure that everything stays cool. The  COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 comes with two 120mm fans, the drive bays are tool-less for easy installation. The expansion slots have individual flip down levers to lock your cards in place. The convenience doesn’t stop there, the front panel has USB, FireWire and audio ports so you don’t have to reach around to the back of your case.

Of course, you’ll need storage space, for the OS, games and other applications. In order to keep costs down, I went with a Western Digital 500GB Hard Drive here. Plenty of space, SATA and coming from a reliable hard drive manufacturer.

For the optical drive, I wanted something reliable, fast and inexpensive and the SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner is my choice here.

Finally, in order to keep the system cool, with all those parts producing a lot of heat, especially the video cards, I suggest getting a third case fan, to put in the front, for air intake. The Scythe SY1225SL12M “Slipstream” Case Fan , at 68 CFM for only 24dBa, will take care of that, while remaining fairly silent.

Optional Components:

Time for other components that you may need or want for this computer system. Rest assured, these are optional and are not required if you already have your own similar parts or don’t need them.

Operation System: Every computer needs an OS and Linux is not an option for a gaming PC, at least not for now. Seeing as you’ll be using 4 Gb of RAM, I urge you to go with Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit here, to make sure that you can fully use your 4GB of RAM.

Monitor: As we are using two powerful video cards in Crossfire in this build, I’m suggesting a 24″ monitor, with a 1920×1200 resolution and a 2ms reaction time. I’m making two suggestions, one that is cheaper if you’re trying to fit your budget and one that is more expensive, if you’re looking for a high-contrast, quality monitor.
Here’s my low cost suggestion: SCEPTRE X24WG-1080P Black 24″ 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor

Here’s my higher quality suggestion, with a 10000:1 contrast ratio and a built-in Digital TV tuner: SAMSUNG ToC T240HD Rose-Black 24″ 5ms Widescreen HDTV Monitor

After-market CPU Cooler: If you decide to overclock your cpu, I highly recommend that you get an after-market heatsink/fan combo, along with some high-quality thermal paste. Why? They will help you reach much higher speeds than if you stick to the stock Intel cooler, which will do a correct job at cooling a stock cpu but isn’t designed to handle the extra heat output from overclocking and raising voltage.

The ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm CPU Cooler is my recommendation here, as it’s in the same league as the Tuniq Tower, but won’t break your motherboard due to excessive weight and it comes with a 120mm, which is nearly silent on the low settings and is powerful on the high setting.

Don’t forget high quality thermal, which will fill the miniscule gap between your cpu and your heatsink, to ensure maximum thermal transfer and lower cpu temperatures. Put all the odds on your side if you want a great overclock! Here’s my suggestion: The ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 , which is known as one of, if not the best thermal paste widely available on the market. Superior to Arctic Silver 5, while being not conductive!

Keyboard: While playing long gaming sessions, which can last several hours, comfort makes all the difference. A cheap keyboard will not cut it, as you’ll feel pain and won’t be comfortable and that will reduce your ability to dominate your enemies.

Wired for instant reaction time, ergonomic for a long utilization comfort, the Logitech Wave Keyboard is my suggestion here.

Mouse: The one device that can make a gaming session a pleasure or a disaster, as a gamer you can’t afford to skip on a good mouse. Wired for optimal reaction time, optical for quick and precise movements and with an excellent design for comfort of use, the Logitech MX518 Wired Optical Mouse is a mouse renown by gamers worldwide. Many of my gamers friends use it and love it.

Speakers: Quality sound will make all the difference when you play games, especially as you can hear where your enemy is coming from, which will help you react faster. Here are a few suggestions:

For simple and inexpensive speakers, that I can easily recommend, as I bought a pair for a friend of mine and found them so good for the price that I bought myself a pair as well, go for the Logitech X-140 2.0 Speakers.

If you’re looking for something that had more punch, along with a dedicated subwoofer, I suggest these: Logitech Z-4 2.1 Speakers.

Let me resume this computer for you, with every part and its price:

Components	Part model	$USD Price
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo E5200	$84.49
Motherboard	ECS P45T-A	$89.99
RAM	G.SKILL 2 x 2GB DDR2 800	$54.99
Video Card	Radeon HD 4850 Video Card	$319.98
Hard Drive	Western Digital 500GB Hard Drive	$64.99
Optical Drive	SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner	$22.99
Case	COOLER MASTER Centurion 534	$49.99
Case fan	Scythe SY1225SL12M “Slipstream” Fan	$8.99
Power supply	CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W	$109.99
Total price	Entire Computer System	$806.40

Conclusion: What’s your opinion on this computer system? I think that it will be a great gaming computer for those of you who want a great gaming computer to play video games with some eye candy on! I think that I did a fine job, but do you think you could do better? I challenge you to do so. If you think that you could improve this computer, while keeping the price around $800, let me know how you would do it in the comment section. After all, there’s a reason why this is called a custom computer.

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and it will be my entire pleasure to assist you!

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