YOU can improve my low budget gaming comp. choice

[karupõll565]

Hello, building an overclockABLE computer around price range 640€ and this is how my current choice looks like.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L s.775 / Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R - 85€/125€

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 2.5 GHz/800FSB/2MB box - 70€

GPU: Gigabyte nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB Zalman Fansink - 120€

PSU: Chieftec CFT-650A-12B, 650W, Active PFC, 12cm Fan, 4xS-ATA, 2xPCI-e (6Pin),6-ATA,SLI - 87€

Cooling: Arctic cooling Freezer 7 PRO PWM CPU cooler socket 775 P4 quiet HeatPipe technology 300-2500rpm, up to 4,4GHz - 22€

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA-II 300MB/s 7200rpm 16MB cache - 46€

RAM: DDR2 2x2GB XMS2-6400C4 Corsair - 76€

OS - Vista Home Basic 64bit OEM ENG - 86€

Total = 641€
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Now I am not certain about the motherboard, cooling and PSU choice, so I hope you can enlighten me if all would fit together.

[kegger99]

Hi...

If I could make a 2 suggestions for your system.

#1, In lieu of the Seagate hard drive, look at the Western Digital "Black" series if the cost is comparable with the Seagate. Several have noted some issues with recent Seagate hard drives that could cause you problems to resolve.

#2, If you are open to ATI video cards...there are positive reviews on the ATI Radeon HD4770. There are several different manufacturers using this chip...and all have very good price versus performance.

#3, You might wish to consider Windows 7 in lieu of Windows Vista. Even Windows 7 basic seems to have more features than Vista Basic.

Also, You can download a legal RC from Microsoft of Windows 7 64 bit ....good until this time next year....so you can save money on the OS and put it on hardware.
Windows 7 Release Candidate Customer Preview Program

Good luck and best wishes with your new PC.

[Aguiluz]

Scrap Vista and go for XP.

[PrairieDawg]

Just why would he want to go with an old operating system?? Vista has issues with systems that are too weak/old to handle it but this isn't the case here.

[BaldMan]

Scrap XP for sure and go get the Windows 7 RC, ive been using it since the beta, and it beats vista Hands Down, and its free for nearly a year.

[kegger99]

Checking back...

Oh I 100% agree with BaldMan's opinion! (scrap XP for Windows 7). With the OS being free for almost a year, it will save you $$ for this purchase and delay the OS cost. And you can put that $$ into other aspects of your hardware purchase.

BTW, recently there have been advertisements for low cost upgrades to Windows 7. A local store in my area was offering the "home premium" upgrade version of Windows 7 for $40....and the "professional" upgrade version (similar to Vista Business...and the older XP Pro) for $90. The only negative was that you have to go into the store to obtain a coupon. When Windows 7 is finally released, you will go back into the store (with your coupon) and then purchase the software.
Micro Center offering Windows 7 coupons for $39 and $89

One other note....
From the advise of others, I've recently purchased the Freezer 7 CPU fan you are looking at. Here in the US, it was recently onsale for $27 with free shipping.
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

There are a LOT of positive reviews on for that product and I think you are making an excellent choice with the Freezer 7 for your CPU fan! Great Job!

Lastly about your RAM decision.
I spent almost 2 weeks trying to decide on which RAM was best for the GA-EP45-UD3R. I narrowed it down to 2 options:

G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Desktop Memory

Kingston KHX8500D2K2/4G
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2K2/4G - Desktop Memory

The Kingston RAM is on Gigabyte's Recommended Memory list...the G.Skill is not. However, the G.Skill memory is widely used and has a very high positive approval.

Ultimately I went with the advise of others here and purchased the G.Skill. I'm not sure if its available with you reside, but here in the US, it is a good price in comparison to others.

Let us know which components you purchase and how your build goes! Best wishes on your build.