Megas3300

Ok guys, my brother is currently at college, and his laptop has bad thermal problems. He has asked for me to build him an inexpensive game rig. I've decided that I'm going to tear down one of my folding rigs to help with this.
Folding rig in question is in the sig.

He isn't big into the latest DX10/11 titles, he more often plays the graphic RTS games that stress the processor. despite this I think If I were to give him the e5200 and OC it to 3.0 Ghz or higher. This would however require a better motherboard, because the P6N is bollocks at overclocking.

I would just give him one of the GX2s, the other one is half dead, and cannot be used standalone.

As far as memory, It is a bit slow being DDR2 800, but I think it shall be adaquate.

basically I need to find a good 775 mobo w/ DDR2. What is my best option?

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xxbassplayerxx

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R/L/P

Amazing board and very cheap. Also, 800MHz DDR2 memory is fine.

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MrLinky

My vote would be to stick with the MSI mobo. A 2.5ghz dual-core with a 9800GX2 should be more than enough to run older RTS games. If you HAD to buy a new motherboard id recomend the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, but thats over $100 just to squeeze 500mhz out of the cpu. The ddr2 800 is good enough to run modern games. If you wanted to buy a new part i'd say get a cheap sata hdd... the better transfer rates will make the most difference in and out of gaming.

Hope this helps!

tNok85

EP45 is a nice bet, the P35 and G31 series are VERY cheap and come with every feature you should need. You wait for a sale and you can get him a decent board w/ sound/LAN for ~$40 shipped. (Unless you need extra features, like multiple PCI-e slots)

Hickeydog

I realize this is the Intel subforum, but I'd say go with a Phenom II build. They are very cheap and perform very similar to the Core 2's. They don't overclock like the Core 2's, but for the price, you can't beat them.

tNok85

Is he interested in playing something like Supreme Commander? That can stress even high end processors if you go nuts with the number of units.

Might want to invest in a Tri/Quad if he's interested in that game in particular.

Megas3300

He plays Europa and empire total war, World in conflict, Red alert 3, as well as L4D and soon L4D2.

New HDD is a given, I forgot to mention that though.

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tNok85

Empire will definitely benefit from a quad.

Rule of thumb (not perfectly) is for the Total War series - better CPU for more units and massive battles, better GPU for increasing pretty effects. Meh CPU + Good GFX = few units but very pretty. Good CPU + Meh GFX = lots of units but less special effects (shadows, detail, etc).

I would definitely prefer a solid quad core over a high end graphics card for an RTS build.

GX2 should be fine. I'd consider a Q9550 from Microcenter if you have one nearby (very cheap!) and save the money on a budget 775 board, since you're only using DDR2 800 anyway. Make sure it's a reliable brand though - I've had great luck with budget Gigabyte, and pretty good with Foxconn.

xxbassplayerxx

Yeah, it wouldn't be any fun to actually have the game run really choppy because of the processor. A quad sounds like a pretty good idea. Might look into AMD so you can get a really cheap quad. The 9800GX2 is a great card also. I wouldn't worry about graphics at all with that.

tNok, have you seen Boondock Saints? Just watched it the other day. The rule of thumb thing reminded me of that.

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tNok85

Yes, and going to see 2 this weekend. Can't wait!