new gaming htpc parts and specs help

[mascott]

Hi, am thinking that its about time i replaced my 6 year old htpc and was want to try and build my own this time (have never built a pc before).Have no idea realy what parts i would need as i like to play games online and need a decent graphic card to do this, the game i play most is called entropia universe and has the following specs to play at high to very high ( i currantly play at medium settings)
Below are the system requirements for each Graphics Quality option.

Very High Settings
Internet Connection: ADSL or better

Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista

Computer Processor: Intel I7 / AMD Phenom II

Computer Memory: 4096 MB RAM or more

Graphics Card (with latest drivers): NVIDIA GeForce 285 / ATI Radeon 4870 or better

DirectX: Version 9.0c or later

Sound Device: Direct X compatible sound device

Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels

Hard Drive Space: 10 GB of free space


High Settings
Internet Connection: ADSL or better

Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista

Computer Processor: Intel Core duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2 Series or better

Computer Memory: 2048 MB RAM or more

Graphics Card (with latest drivers): NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Series or better / ATI Radeon 2900 series or better.

DirectX: Version 9.0c or later

Sound Device: Direct X compatible sound device

Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels

Hard Drive Space: 10 GB of free space


Medium Settings
These requirements should be considered the minimum system requirements for Entropia Universe:

Internet Connection: ADSL or better

Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista

Computer Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8g hz or AMD Athlon 64 Series or better

Computer Memory: 2048 MB RAM or more

Graphics Card (with latest drivers): NVIDIA GeForce 7800 Series or better / ATI Radeon 1900 series or better.

DirectX: Version 9.0c or later

Sound Device: Direct X compatible sound device

Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels

Hard Drive Space: 10 GB of free space

I have a case i can use what i bought for my old htpc the antec fusion remote veris black matx media case and have a corsair vx450 psu that i would reuse as well as well as a keyboard and mouse. would also need a duel tuner freeview card or duel tuner HD freeview if possible, would need a 500GB hard drive as well and windows 7 os as well. have a grundig 26 inche lcd 1368x768 i would use as a moniter the rest of the spec i have no clue about and this is were i need you help, would like to play my games at high to very high settings if possible. have about £600 to spend on this build.... thank you for any help you can give this newbie to the pc building world

 

[mascott]

anybody reccommend any good cpu+motherboards to buy?

 

[Roark]

I did a mix of Aria and eBuyer because some parts were cheaper/not available from just 1 of them.

CPU: £87.59 AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE.
MB: £99.23 MSI 890GXM-G65.
RAM: £40.10 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600 CAS9.
HDD: £42.22 500GB WD Caviar Black 7200RPM.
GPU: £119.99 XFX HD 6850.
PSU: £66.91 Corsair TX650 V2.
OS: £75 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit OEM.

Total = £531.04 inc. VAT, not sure about shipping cost.

Couple thoughts I had while doing this:
1) Are you reusing the optical drive already in your case? I assumed so and left one out.
2) Couldn't find the internal dimensions on your case, check them against the ones for the TX650 I posted to make sure it will fit in your case.
2a) Check the dimensions of the GPU to make sure it will fit in your case.
3) May want to price compare with other shops to make sure you're getting the best deal, suggest these specific parts though.
4) Left room in the budget for a dual tuner card, not sure whats good/bad so its up to you to find it.

*Edit - Free time + boredom = looking at other online retailers for you.
Checked against: Scan, Dabs, Misco, Novatech, Microdirect, and Overclockers UK.

MB: -£10.56 MSI 890GXM-G65 AMD 890GX AM3 Motherboard - Scan.co.uk.
PSU: -£3.97 Corsair Enthusiast TX V2 CMPSU-650TXV2UK 650W Power Supply (PSU) - Scan.co.uk

Any other parts that were less expensive it was a negligible difference (<£1).

 

[mascott]

thanks roark for your time in looking for me, that looks a very nice set up and i think i will go with your reccomendation .........just out of intrest though would i be able to power this set up with my vx450 till i got my hands on tx650? or would i be better just trying to sell my old psu?

 

[Roark]

AMD recommends a minimum of a 500w power supply.

That number may be slightly inflated and a 450w may be able to run it for a short time.
However, I don't know that a 6 year old power supply would be able to even boot it up.

If price is a problem you can always drop the CPU down to an X4 955 BE and get one of these PSUs:
£59.99 OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W PSU - 80+ & SLI Certified.. | Ebuyer.com
£58.78 Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU - HCG-520 - Scan.co.uk

I would get the Corsair if you can swing it, but either of the above will do the trick as well.