cheap dual core build

[solidsteve]

hey everybody

with my computer getting built on friday i have decided to put a bit of money into a system i would build myself

now this is where i'm lost because i've been doing nothing but look at high end parts for my current build so i'm posting to see people's thoughts and views on cheaper low to mid end components

the thing the pc would be used for is heavy internet use, light game use and storing music and photos

i am not to bothered about if its a amd or a intel build as long as it can be overclocked, be fast, be reliable and be cheap

the 3 thing's that are not needed is the keyboard, mouse and monitor, everything else (including the os) needs getting

 

[NightSurge]

Sentences end with periods. Multiple sentences are your friend. Commas, punctuation, periods, are all your best buddies

Now, if you just want a cheap dual core, try to build it around either the Biostar 780G motherboard or the Biostar GF8200 motherboard. Those have about the best onboard graphics and will let you keep things really cheap. The Biostar 780G has onboard HD 3200 with hybrid crossfire, so you could add another ATI card and get even better performance on the cheap side. Or with the GF8200 it supports hybrid SLI, so you could get another lower level Geforce 8 series and get boosted performance that is very inexpensive. I'm not sure what kind of cards are compatible with the hybrid crossfire/sli, but it's the best value you will find. Either board will support any of the latest processors (GF8200 supports all Core 2 Duo's, Quads, etc. and 780G supports AM2, AM2+, Athlon 64 X2, Phenoms, etc.)

 

[solidsteve]

sorry i've just come off a 15 hour shift so still a bit slow

just had a look at the site i'm looking at buying the parts from and the only thing it came up with is the MSI K9A2GM-FIH AMD 780G AM2+ motherboard

not sure if this is the one you ment but theres nothing on the site for biostar or GF8200

the site i'm using is www.aria.co.uk

 

[NightSurge]

That MSI board would work for the 780G chipset. It still has the HD 3200 Onboard video and Hybrid Crossfire Support.

 

[solidsteve]

would it be powerful enough to play games like gears of war and half life

 

[NightSurge]

Hmmmm... Half Life probably very well. Gears of War may need to be played at lower settings, but if you're overly worried about graphics, you can add in a cheap 3850 or something and that should boost the performance quite well. Maybe even a lower card than that. I am not entirely sure on the performance of the Hybrid Crossfire. I think Gurusan or someone has used Hybrid Crossfire or something similar before, so perhaps someone else can help us out here.

I know Vernong has the 780G board, so perhaps he can tell you how well it games.

 

[solidsteve]

sounds good

how does this sound for a quick put up (mobo, cpu and gpu set-up)

mobo - gigabyte GA-P35-S3G (costs £51)
cpu - intel E2220 2.4ghz (costs £59, looking at a oc)
gpu - ATI 3450 (costs £25.50, good for cost)

put a TX power supply there with 2gb of ocz ram, you think it would be any good then

 

[NightSurge]

Sounds like it. I know Half Life 2 works on my Lappy pretty well and it's running a Geforce 6150 Go integrated graphics, so it should play much better with the HD 3200. You'll have to check with someone if those cards will work with Hybrid Crossfire as I do not know enough about it.