need help building a gaming rig

[mockingjay]

1. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?
£500 with tax

2. Where do you live?
UK

3. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?
gaming

4. What parts will you need for the computer? Please list what parts specifically.
motherboard, cpu, PSU, ram, HDD, graphics card, wifi card (fast). also anything else that is important

5. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so please say what parts.
the case and optical drives from a sony vaio pcv-rz104

6. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?
i don't mind i have a hp pavilion f1703 but can get something better if hit is cheap

7. Do you have a legit OS? If so what OS and is it 32-bit or 64-bit?
i will get windows 7 in whatever bit is required

8. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.
no usb3, quite a few usb2, 8gb ram, VGA (unless it is in the graphics card) space for a wifi card

9. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?
probably not
10. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts? in the next few weeks

[Goku]

I'll do a build for you once Ivy Brdige (Intel's next CPU arch) is released. Should be right when you are looking to order.

[mockingjay]

i was looking at using an intel pentium 4 g620. it is good for my needs although something a bit beefier but cheap would be fine

edit
also lots of the original internals are custom to fit the case like the psi (mjpc-300a1) and i think the motherboard (p4s533-vl) hope you can still find good parts

[Goku]

You're not going to be reusing any of that. All of that is far too dated to be using for a modern computer. That motherboard doesn't support any of the current CPUs out. You have the budget in order to get everything brand new, so I recommend going that route.

[mockingjay]

i don't want to reuse any of the internals just the case and cd drive but the internals will have to be special sizes to fit in the case. also i am aiming for around £350 but £450-£500 is the very highest i can go

[Goku]

Sorry I thought you meant you wanted to reuse the PSU and mobo. You have room in your budget for everything including a new case. Just forget about that one and move onto a new one. I never recommend people using old OEM cases like from HP or Dell for new builds.

[mockingjay]

ok i would like to see what build you would recommend but if i was really set on using that case is there anything you can think of that would fit in it?

[Goku]

I don't know the form factor of the case so you would have to start from there.

[mockingjay]

how do i find out? is it simple measurements or something else?
thanx for all your help btw this is the first useful site I've been on all day

[Goku]

Lol you're welcome. First off of its Matx. Atx, or btx or even a custom
One. Not sure how you are going to do. I tried searching it but I got nothing.

[mockingjay]

ok i need to know how to find out.
also i think i have found a psi that will fit if i replace the cd drives with smaller ones
http://www.maplin.co.uk/450w-cit-atx...-supply-264429
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/dvd-drives/7388600/

do you think these would work? if not what would?

[Goku]

That case likely isn't going to be able to provide the proper cooling if your hardware. I highly recommend just forgetting about using it. Check out EZShot's thread for a reference build for 400 pounds. Adding a 6850 for the graphics will still let you stay under budget. If you plan on keeping this for awhile I recommend go for a quad core also. Games are increasingly becoming more reliant on them.

[mockingjay]

ok that build looks good but i was thinking 320gb hdd cos i don't need any more atm and could i use the optical drives from my old comp just to cut costs? also what about a Asus TA-8G1 Midi Tower Case? it is cheap and is recommended by a magazine i was reading about building a gaming rig for £350. i would just use those parts but i was planning on using this old case and wanted to know what other options there were for a similar price. also the optical drives i will probe change to blue ray or something at a later date i will just use the old ones for now

ps
can't i cut holes in the old case and add fans where there is space for better cooling? just an idea don't know if it would work or if it is possible

[Goku]

Whats the price difference on the 320GB vs 500GB?

I never heard of that case. Cooling is likely ok, but the quality is obviously going to be low. For me I tend to recommend people get a case with good cooling and that decent quality. A case can last multiple builds, so you will be saving money in the long run buying a better case at first then a crappy one.

With Ivy Bridge coming that article you were reading is going to be dated pretty quickly here. Lets just wait and see what the pricing is going to be like. I'll do up a lower budget and higher budget build, so you can make your choice.

[mockingjay]

ok thanx also if i am getting a new case i would like usb3 as well cos the old case didn't have it so i wouldn't be able to use it but with a new case i could