First build for sub ₤1K – help needed.

GinZ

Hi all, noob here so bear with me. Need advice on everything.

Uses: Home Theatre to watch online shows in high quality and maybe with TV-tuner and PVR (already have LCDTV 37”, AV receiver Onkyo TX-SR606 and 5.1 quality surround sound), heavy Excel number crunching, strategy gaming (possibly more), all round usage and I like to have many windows and programs open at the same time.

Extra notes: I would like the PC to be quiet but doesn’t have to be completely silent. Would like the PC to be good value yet not have to upgrade everything in a couple of years. However I hope to have the PC building bug continuously and upgrading is fine.

I’ve put a list together of some items shown below.
Please help to choose a good build and lower my costs to ₤1K.
Best value for now is most important.


Case: Lian Li PC-B25F - ₤134, scan.co.uk

CPU: Athlon II X3 440- ₤67, ebuyer

GPU: HD 5850 - ₤235, microdirect
Are the double fans a good or bad idea (noise issues?) on a GPU?

RAM: Crucial 4Gb CL7 1333 - ₤90, ebuyer
Or
G-Skill 4Gb CL7 1600 - ₤102, ebuyer

PSU: Antec True Power New 750 - ₤93, scan.co.uk

HDD: 2 x Samsung F3 1TB - 2 x ₤55=₤110GBP, ebuyer
(I would like to learn about raid options – maybe to backup in case of HDD failure)

Optical Drive: Samsung Black 2X SH-S223 - ₤15, ebuyer

OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit - ₤112, ebuyer

Monitor: Seen this one, but it’s a bit too big and a bit expensive at 22” as I’ll sit quite close
Viewsonic VX2260WM Full HD - ₤148, ebuyer

Subtotal so far: ₤1126
Delivery so far: ₤11

Case fan: no idea.

Keyboard: wireless required (to use when using 37” LCDTV from a distance). No ideas so far.

Mouse: wireless (maybe trackball on wireless keyboard). No ideas so far.

TV-tuner: no idea.
Not sure whether this is a good idea since online shows becoming more available. Being able to record stuff from my 37” HDTV (has DVB tuner) would be great.

Any suggestions on alternatives are very welcome (e.g. would I be better off or not from going the Intel route). Everything I know is what I’ve read over the last few days (and I’ve got a headache from info overload!). Thanks.

RobTang

No motherboard listed ?

First thing id cut is the case, unless your hard set on a certain design / features, drop it for somthing dirt cheap, it normally goes under a desk anyway.

While the 5850 is probably the card to get, somthing like the the 5830 makes better value sense, its 20% cheaper for somthing which is only about 4%-6% slower

Do you really need Win 7 Professional ? unless you have a good reason for needing the extra features, Id drop it for Home Premium.

Raid setups id probably leave out just to pure cost saving.

Personally I think Intel core i5s is a better long term buy than amd atm and they are very quick for the price.

Example system (Prices sourced from novatech)

Amd X4 630 Barebones bundle case+psu+cpu+mobo+ram £235
ATI 5830 £186
1TB HDD £55
Win7 HP £82
LG 22" LED £155 (Id go cheaper personally but this is about the same pice as the one you listed)
Samsung blu-ray £67
== £780, leaving some room for a keyboard and mouse + odds and ends.

or theres a i5 bundle for £430, which totals out at £975

GinZ

Hi RobTang,

Thanks for your quick response.
Unfortunately, I have spent ages delivering on the costly case. The Lian Li PC-B25F is to sit with my current audio visual set up (I want to hook it up to all my other AV bits) and it’s the one I feel will fit in best. I am also in love with the blue ring of wonderment J.

Admittedly, I am still uncomfortable with the price but can’t see any case which is similarly sleek and understated but also has a little lighting.

Ah yes the mobo: I chose the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 890GX for ₤112 from ebuyer. It was included in the overall price, I just forgot to list it. Chose it as read the 890 chipset is supposed to be compatible with the new CPU coming in next year. I was hoping to future proof myself for the next CPU upgrade.



Should I get a cheaper mobo and wait to get USB3.0 and SATAIII?


The main reason I am building is to learn as much as possible along the way. The budget has become larger as I realise I find all the reading very interesting :j and hope to learn as much as possible by exposing myself to new (not the newest and certainly value-based) technology (new for me but not necessarily for you)

Win7 Pro 64 bit: I read that the 64 bit will use all the ram and the pro cos I want to learn as much as poss with the extra bits included. I learnt a lot more from MS Office upgraded version than I did the basic version – in fact I learnt how to do some Excel programming and really enjoyed the challenge!

But what are the main differences between Home and Pro? Is my intention misplaced?

Raid: I don’t know how good it is but I’d like to learn about the tech. a friend (she’s an ex-pc builder geek – I’d like to become one) said the tech is very useful to know. Am even interested in getting a small SSD for my OS too but will prob wait for prices to drop for that option. Or is it that good to be worth it now?

i5 750? Yeah, I had decided on the AMD (due to their history of being better value over the longer term and more for the budget buyer. Plus I read that the 1156 board might become obsolete soon as well as other issues) but last night read so many recommendations on i5 potentially being better that I no longer have any idea what to get!

Budget is at ₤1K as I started off wanting to purely learn how to build and spend ₤600. Since then I’ve read non-stop for several days now and loved it so much that I’d rather spend more to learn more. Am I going over the top?

However I am not rich but I do have some savings (got rid of debt and now have savings, in part thanks :T to MSE!!!) that I’m willing to spend to replace (or add to) my ageing laptop and in order to learn the new skills. E.g. I think I’d like to learn about overclocking (a little) too.

Do the barebones come pre-setup? I’d prefer to install as much myself as possible to aid the learning experience. However they do seem good value.

The monitor I’d prefer to get a decent value on but yes cheaper. I haven’t found many reviews on cheap monitors so know nothing. The one I listed is purely there as that the cheapest link (all others are for ones costing at least I found by somebody recommending it. I think I’d prefer one that is 1080 but I don’t know enough about monitors to know what is good to get.

I have a PS3 to watch blue ray. Will I therefore benefit from getting a BD player?

HD5830- I noticed that the HD5850 was 210 when I started looking a few days ago but now they’ve gone up in price. So maybe I should get the HD 5830. From other peeps’ build recommendations I’ve read that the HD 5850 should last longer, be more future proof for longer, and hence better value for the extra money invested. Also will comfortably handle 1080p whereas below may struggle (am worried these are purely the hard-core gamers' recommendations!). Is this true in your opinion?

Hmm, have written quite a lot . Let me know if this is too long a post. I’m new to forum posting

Thanks for all the input. It is needed as I'm only going on few days' worth of information, GinZ

tr3mor

Why such a crap processor? I'd go for a Phenom II X4, which is much faster.

You should be able to cut out costs on your case, motherboard and PSU and an OEM copy of Windows 7 should cost you about £70. If you're not planning on heavy gaming then I'd only spend £100 on the graphics too.

DVardysShadow

Actually, as this looks like an on going project, being under continuous upgrade and tinkering, I think that the case is a place where I would spend some money - it looks like it could easily be the most long lived part of the machine.

ddoris

I have had some cases that have turned out to be the most long-lived components -I skipped them - they were beige.

RobTang

Win 7 Pro - 64bit isnt the issue, the extras things in Pro really needs a windows server structure to actually use them, there are 1 or 2 usefulthings without but nothing massive. Id save the money personally.

5830 - again it only benchmarks 4-6% slower than then 5850, if you think its going to struggle then 5850 is also going to struggle.
From a pure value pov it is the way to go. Dont think that 1080p is high resultion for pc its not, those Radeons have support to run 6 monitors at once.
(Slight disclaimer, I opted for a 5870 in my machine)

AMD hasn't been competitive for years, cheap yes, but performace per pound Intel has been top since the core 2 series, nothing amd has can match the i5/i7s either (yet)
I have an overclocked i7 which ive had for 11months, core design is 18months old and nothing has been released in that time that is faster (except the crazy 6-core i7)

Having said that im not sure about AMDs new lines.

Cases, dont think too long term, just wether you like the design and features or not.
Future proof buys tend to mean and major upgrades = new motherboards and cpus, which usually means a new case as few people would leave working mobo + cpu pairs lying around (eg re-purposed, sold, given away etc)

Really dont worry about future-proofing (performance wise) most mid-range and above PCs are so powerful these days, its more of case of the components not blowing up.
My current PC doesn't really do much more than my prev pc, ok it benchmarks 30ish% faster but actual benifits were quite a lot smaller, not to mention it cost a fair chunk.

Hammyman

Windows Home Premium will do all you want regarding the OS including Windows Media Center taking care of the PVR side. No need to waste money on Windows 7 Professional.

No need to buy a graphics card. I have an Athlon Quad Core running on an Asus EVOII-MA summat or other motherboard with an ATI chipset. It is more than capable of all video needs and also has a HDMI connector. Unless you're gaming, there's no advantage in getting a seperate graphics card. One point I'll make in this respect is the motherboard solution is far quieter as it has no fan unlike the graphics card.

PSU is overrated. You only need a 400W or so if its a decent brand name.

The slower memory from Crucial is just fine and it has a lifetime guarantee and will "just work".

TV Tuner - Hauppauge WinTV range. Can't go wrong with them.

Change the optical drive for a Blu-Ray one or add a Blu-Ray reader.

poppy10_2

Yep. Save money on the OS, Home Premium is fine, and spend a bit more on upgrading that crappy processor.

turbobob

GinZ wrote: »

Unfortunately, I have spent ages delivering on the costly case. The Lian Li PC-B25F is to sit with my current audio visual set up (I want to hook it up to all my other AV bits) and it’s the one I feel will fit in best. I am also in love with the blue ring of wonderment J.

Admittedly, I am still uncomfortable with the price but can’t see any case which is similarly sleek and understated but also has a little lighting.

If you're happy to spend the money because you like the look of it then that's fine. Lian Li make excellent cases with nice design touches. You don't have to spend that much on a case though.

The main reason I am building is to learn as much as possible along the way. The budget has become larger as I realise I find all the reading very interesting :j and hope to learn as much as possible by exposing myself to new (not the newest and certainly value-based) technology (new for me but not necessarily for you)

I'd stop reading then :rotfl: Seriously focus on what you want the system to do, and build the system around that. You can learn about stuff without emptying your bank account! http://en.wikipedia.org is helpful, or books, e.g. http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Certification-All-One-Dummies/dp/0470487380/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276430568&sr=8-6

Win7 Pro 64 bit: I read that the 64 bit will use all the ram and the pro cos I want to learn as much as poss with the extra bits included. I learnt a lot more from MS Office upgraded version than I did the basic version – in fact I learnt how to do some Excel programming and really enjoyed the challenge!

But what are the main differences between Home and Pro? Is my intention misplaced?

Probably it is. Yes you should get a 64bit version. Comparison of the features of different versions here. If the idea is "to learn stuff" then might I suggest an install of Linux (in addition to Windows), which will give you a lot to learn.

Raid: I don’t know how good it is but I’d like to learn about the tech. a friend (she’s an ex-pc builder geek – I’d like to become one) said the tech is very useful to know. Am even interested in getting a small SSD for my OS too but will prob wait for prices to drop for that option. Or is it that good to be worth it now?

You can learn about the technology without having to buy it for yourself when there's no real need. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID They are IMO unnecessary in virtually any desktop system.

HD5830- I noticed that the HD5850 was 210 when I started looking a few days ago but now they’ve gone up in price. So maybe I should get the HD 5830. From other peeps’ build recommendations I’ve read that the HD 5850 should last longer, be more future proof for longer, and hence better value for the extra money invested. Also will comfortably handle 1080p whereas below may struggle (am worried these are purely the hard-core gamers' recommendations!). Is this true in your opinion?

A Radeon HD5450 will handle 1080p without issue, as will many newer IGP's. The main reason for buying a card like the HD5850 would be that you need it to run demanding games at high resolutions.

bengalknights

PSU- Corsair 500w £47
Ram - Corsair 4GB £89
Optical Drive - Samsung £11

all price at overclockers but you might be able to get it cheaper elsewhere to save you cost