Gaming PC, need your opinion

**DoomDude1**

Well Fearless, the situation is like this:
My current PC is several years old and it's configuration looks like this:

Processor: Intel Core2Duo E7200 @ 2.53 GHz on both
RAM: Kingston 4GB
Graphic card: Nvidia 9800GT and Nvidia 8800GT
Hard disk: 500 GB
Motherboard: Really not sure, but it was good some 3 years ago

Possible new configuration:

Processor: INTEL Core i3-3240 2-Core 3.4GHz Box
Board: GIGABYTE GA-Z77-DS3H
Memory: 8gb kingston 1600MHz blu
Hard drive: 1TB Hitachi SATA3
Tower: 450W
DVDRW DVDRW
Graphics: Gainward Nvidia GTX 560 SE

All of that for 500 euros

I was also thinking of keeping the old one as a server, or cannibalizing it
for the RAM and the hard drives.
So? Opinions?

Trevor Jackson

Looks good, but you might want to go to an i5 if you can.

**DoomDude1**

(10-15-2012, 06:41 PM)bruterules Wrote: Looks good, but you might want to go to an i5 if you can.

Well my techy friend told me that I can crank this one up to 4.2 with sufficient cooling (which I already have). I could go to i5 for some 77 euros added to the price.

*EDIT* Meant to say i5

Trevor Jackson

(10-15-2012, 06:55 PM)Doomdude1 Wrote:
(10-15-2012, 06:41 PM)bruterules Wrote: Looks good, but you might want to go to an i5 if you can.

Well my techy friend told me that I can crank this one up to 4.2 with sufficient cooling (which I already have). I could go to i5 for some 77 euros added to the price.

*EDIT* Meant to say i5

Only reason I say that is most games recommend a 4-core processor.

wweee2345

(10-15-2012, 04:51 PM)Doomdude1 Wrote: Well Fearless, the situation is like this:
My current PC is several years old and it's configuration looks like this:

Processor: Intel Core2Duo E7200 @ 2.53 GHz on both
RAM: Kingston 4GB
Graphic card: Nvidia 9800GT and Nvidia 8800GT
Hard disk: 500 GB
Motherboard: Really not sure, but it was good some 3 years ago

Possible new configuration:

Processor: INTEL Core i3-3240 2-Core 3.4GHz Box
Board: GIGABYTE GA-Z77-DS3H
Memory: 8gb kingston 1600MHz blu
Hard drive: 1TB Hitachi SATA3
Tower: 450W
DVDRW DVDRW
Graphics: Gainward Nvidia GTX 560 SE

All of that for 500 euros

I was also thinking of keeping the old one as a server, or cannibalizing it
for the RAM and the hard drives.
So? Opinions?

Switch out the Hitachi drive for a Western Digital drive, they have a much higher reliability rate than most Hitachi drives do.

Get a GTX 660 since they are fairly cheap still and better than the GTX 560.

No need to overclock it for more speed, the current CPU could easily run a GTX 670 without any bottleneck.

If anything a i5-2500K might be a good switch or to an i5-3570K.

**DoomDude1**

(10-15-2012, 08:26 PM)wweee2345 Wrote: [quote='Doomdude1' pid='157646' dateline='1350319872']

-snip-

Switch out the Hitachi drive for a Western Digital drive, they have a much higher reliability rate than most Hitachi drives do.

Get a GTX 660 since they are fairly cheap still and better than the GTX 560.

No need to overclock it for more speed, the current CPU could easily run a GTX 670 without any bottleneck.

If anything a i5-2500K might be a good switch or to an i5-3570K.

Yeah, but what will that cost me then? Target price is 500 euros or under, won't the alterations stack up at least some 60 euros on the price? Perhaps more.

wweee2345

(10-15-2012, 08:40 PM)Doomdude1 Wrote:
(10-15-2012, 08:26 PM)wweee2345 Wrote: [quote='Doomdude1' pid='157646' dateline='1350319872']

-snip-

Switch out the Hitachi drive for a Western Digital drive, they have a much higher reliability rate than most Hitachi drives do.

Get a GTX 660 since they are fairly cheap still and better than the GTX 560.

No need to overclock it for more speed, the current CPU could easily run a GTX 670 without any bottleneck.

If anything a i5-2500K might be a good switch or to an i5-3570K.

Yeah, but what will that cost me then? Target price is 500 euros or under, won't the alterations stack up at least some 60 euros on the price? Perhaps more.

Keeping the i3, you'd be about $80-$90 over the normal price of the GTX 560 SE:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814130826

But performing comparably better on some games:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/660?vs=543

So yes, around 60 Euros more in total.

You'd be just as well off with either the Intel i3-2100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819115078
Or the i3-3220:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819116775

Either way, the Sandy Bridge CPU's do clock higher, if you wish to overclock. Ivy Bridge can sometimes offer the same performance at a lower clock speed. In this case best to save a few euros or go for the i5-3570K/2500 or just an i5 in general. It's really up to how you'd want to fit it in your budget though.

**GeorgeTheBoy**

Good specs. As suggested upgrade to an i5 processor. But apart from that it's all good.

**DoomDude1**

I suppose I might be able to tighten my belt, and squeeze some 80 euros or up to a 100 if my parents chip in as well (the 500 euros are mine alone).
Perhaps I might acquire additional cash to get a better PC, but I will have to check the market out first. There is a chance of me getting a store-bought gaming PC for a much lower price than usual, which means there is a chance of getting a better configuration for the same price.