Hi guys; i'm building a gaming rig and wanted some input. I want the best price-performance ratios possible.

So far:

Found a really cheap second hand Q6660 (already ordered):

Q6660 2.40 GHz Intel Quad Core 8 MB L2 Cache 1066 MHz FSB (114 pounds)

I'm split between the following 2 graphics cards:

ATI HD 4850 512 MB
and
nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX+ with integrated PhysX

They have very similar prices (~120 pounds). Any help would be greatly appreciated

I want to get an Intel motherboard but can't decide which one to get out of the Media Series:

Intel® Desktop Boards Product List

I'm not going for a PCIe 2.0 moob cos they're too expensive, plus I really want an Intel board for reliability.

So moob help is required too, please.

Another point of clarification: If I buy a power supply like this:

Amazon.co.uk: 600W eXtreme PSU V2.01 Passive PFC: Electronics & Photo

which has a fan on top; does that mean my casing will have to have a grill on top for the air to escape? (My current casing doesn't)
And which power supply is best for me. (on a budget here) I heard the Cooler Master 600 W ones are good. Some direction here would be great. URL's too. I live in the UK.

4 GB Crucial DDR2-800 2 GB kit RAM (44 pounds)

I already have a 500 GB SATA drive; a SATA DVD writer


The things I'm REALLY stumped about is the motherboard and power supply and casing.

Please help me out! Cheers!

Hello preyingrazor,
I've built a few gaming systems recently.

Firstly your processor is one of the best out at the moment and that's a cheap price if it's in good condition.

pcie 2.0 boards aren't really that much more expensive generally depending on which boards you're looking at?

Have a look at ASUS P5QL iP43 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer for a budget board maybe?

I'd take the 9800gtx over the ati but there's not that much in it. Don't forget the nvidia 8 series still offers great price/performance. I'm currently running a year old EVGA 8800gts that'll still take most things on high settings.

Don't skimp on the PSU whatever you do, if you get a cheap one and it explodes you'll know about it. Coolermaster is a good brand to go for, as are antec or hiper. The fans on top are intake fans that take air into the PSU and then it gets exhausted out the back, they point into the case (ie downwards if the PSU is at the top) so it doesn't matter if you have a grill or not.

4gb of RAM is plenty, you could go for 2gb if you're running XP 32-bit.

As for the case, it matters little unless you want to overclock it, in which case invest in a case with good air flow such as the antec 900 as well as a decent processor fan.

I get most of my stuff from ebuyer.com it's really easy to find what you're looking for on there.

Thanks for that reply Wr3tched. I built my system 6 days ago.

Here are the specs of the final build. You will notice that I backtracked considerably from the initial build I was thinking of. But I'm glad I did because this configuration has been giving me beastie performance. The corssfireX scales very well in games. For games in which it doesn't, a single card does the job quite satisfactorily. But with new Catalyst drivers coming out each month, ATI is really improving crossfireX performance. 8.12 is a case in point.

CPU: Q6600 SLARC 1066 MHz FSB 8 MB L2 Cache 2.40 GHz
Motherboard: Intel Desktop Board DP45SG
GPU: 2x Palit Radeon HD 4850 512 MB (crossfireX)
RAM: KVR1066D3N7K2/4G 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL7 DIMM (Kit of 2)
PSU: CoolerMaster eXtreme power 650W
Casing: Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case
HDD: WD VelociRaptor 300 GB, 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 10,000 RPM
DVD RW: Optiarc AD-7200S-0B 20x Internal DVDRWRAM Black Bare SATA
CPU HS: ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme Heat Sink with 2x Noctua NF-S12 1200RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan - 3 Pin

I think Id go with the ati 4850 personally, but either way I think Id invest in something more then a 600 watt psu. or at the very least, make sure its a high quality 600 watt that can handle the wattage. Coolermaster does make good PSUs, im running a coolermaster 750 watt right now and love it. the reason I say make sure ur PSU can run it, Is i have a ati 3870 x2, and I love it, but it fried my first echo star 600 watt psu. my friends antec 600 watt ran it, but just barely. now, the 4850 does have lower power ratings, and the 9800 does as well but mainly only cuz its a single GPU card. just thoroughy research your PSU, dont skimp on it, no matter what system your building.

Originally Posted by the_patriot2008

I think Id go with the ati 4850 personally, but either way I think Id invest in something more then a 600 watt psu. or at the very least, make sure its a high quality 600 watt that can handle the wattage. Coolermaster does make good PSUs, im running a coolermaster 750 watt right now and love it. the reason I say make sure ur PSU can run it, Is i have a ati 3870 x2, and I love it, but it fried my first echo star 600 watt psu. my friends antec 600 watt ran it, but just barely. now, the 4850 does have lower power ratings, and the 9800 does as well but mainly only cuz its a single GPU card. just thoroughy research your PSU, dont skimp on it, no matter what system your building.

true. So far I haven't had any PSU problems. The system averages 150 watts on idle and 250-300 watt max on overclocked crossfire, say while playing crysis. Let's hope all stays well.