Self build system - can anyone spot any flaws?

tripled

Hi all,

I'm looking to build a new system, the idea being to build it fairly cheaply but with enough grunt to last me for the next year or so. My target budget is around £300. It's only the computer itself, no monitor/keyboard/mouse/dvd/needed.

Anyway, I've got something roughly in my head, but wondered if anyone has any suggestions to make it better/cheaper, or can spot any major !!!!-up I've made? (Ebuyer quick code in brackets).

New spec:
CPU: Intel Dual Core E5200 Retail :: ~ £58 (148715)
PSU: Extra Value 650W Modular :: ~ £33 (128675)
Motherboard: ASUS P5KPL-CM iG31 Socket 775 onboard graphics 8 channel audio mATX :: ~ £41 (150280)
Graphics Card: ASUS HD 4670 512MB GDDR3 :: ~£57 (152940)
Memory: Kingston Value 2GB 800MHz (x2) :: ~ £38 (148853)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 250GB (SATA/300) :: ~£36 (159691)
Case: Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case :: ~£28 (127584)
Wireless network card: D-Link AirPlus-G DWL-G510 Wireless PCI Adapter :: ~£17 (#103208)

The computer will need to cope with a variety of tasks, including light gaming, work use (website development - some Adobe CS4 apps, Microsoft Visual Studio, some video encoding), and then general domestic use. It wil probably have another hard drive added in a few months and the processor overclocked to ~3GHz, which by all accounts should be achievable even with stock cooling. There will be two monitors attached. I do have some concern about the budget power supply, but I've picked one rated above what I need so it shouldn't struggle.

I won't necessarily go through ebuyer - I've seen some of the components cheaper elsewhere, but the difference will be a few pounds at best.

Any thoughts anyone?

faevilangel

os ? your gonna need more ram ..... 2GB won't be enough to run cs4 or vs at full potential .....

best bet is get the maximum 4GB (unless you get a 64 bit os)

also may be more worthwhile getting a 1TB hd .... fro about £65 for the space and also means you won't need to get a new one for a while

weegie.geek

I'd get a lower wattage decent brand psu rather than that "650W" value one.

Why the D-Link card? I'd get something with an atheros chipset, or Ralink RT73 or something. Solid chipsets with good driver support.

I'd also get a board without onboard graphics if you're getting the 4670.

You'll get a 500GB drive for not much more than that 250GB.

CPU is a good choice, those things overclock like hell.

For a few quid more you'll get corsair ram.

Keep an eye on scan's today only page, and hotukdeals.com.

faevilangel wrote: »

your gonna need more ram ..... 2GB won't be enough to run cs4 or vs at full potential .....

He says 2x 2GB. You think that's £38 for 2GB?

spakkker

You would be better getting a m/b without onboard graphics eg p5ql , as already mentioned.
A larger h/d wouldn't cost much more, as mentioned.
I have that cpu and that graphics card - both great value. Intel have screwed their cpu coolers into the ground lately so I would suggest Arctic freezer 7 pro or even cheaper tr2 cooler. My cheapo mem. runs at over 1000mhz , currently 934.
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9921/12563.png
This is not my usual settings - keep the volts under 1.4
Stable - http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/7624/37stable.png

All the best!

pealy

Agree with weegie about the PSU. An important component which is often overlooked.. Even throwing another £10 at it could get you something with some kind of rep and not necessarily sacrifice 'power'. A quick look shows Ebuyer have the Arctic Power 700W for £45 and it seems to get great reviews.

[Deleted User]

Three points.

1). Don't bother with the Value Memory. This is faster and cheaper even when you take p&p into account.

2). The PSU in the set up is concerning. You're risking your entire set up to save some money. Buying a good, quality branded PSU will protect your components in the event of a failure and surges in power. Cheap ones tend to damage everything connected to them when something major happens. I'd look to spend at least £60 from Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Corsair as they're all well regarded brands.

3). Not a great fan of Seagate drives, they're quite noisy and have been plagued with reliability problems. 250GB is small by today's standards. For just over a tenner more you can have this and double the space. The WD5000AAKS is the best drive of it's class.