First build for sub ₤1K – help needed.

Alias_Omega

Probably not at the same level, but i have the Acer Revo R3610 connected via HMDI running XMBC which does pretty well for itself.

GinZ

Hi all. thanks for the comments they are much appreciated

Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Am convinced. Thanks.

Linux: need to read up about this – but would love to install it as have heard good things about it.

Case Lian Li – I can’t find anything better for me atm.

GPU: okay, am very happy to ditch the 5850 if it’s only for the best FPS games. I am unlikely to want to play FPSs on my PC as have consoles for that.
I want to at least play strategy games smoothly at decent detail. I want the option to come out of the game without closing it and not have my system slow down. This way I can do those things I suddenly remember to do without closing my game down.

I currently play a decent amount of CIV on my laptop but would love to play adventure/strategy games in general – Starcraft 2 sounds enticing. No online RPGs. I love RPGs too much and would lose my life to it!

Currently I use the PS3 and Xbox for other games. However, once upon a time I did join in in online PC gaming and found it to be fun. I’d like the option to explore that. Prob not FPS tho.

Will the HD 5450 be able to handle games such as starcraft 2 and the like. Should I get one that will help me to play games covering me for a couple of years (best value?) or go with the cheapest now and look to upgrade (learning potential) as I go – would be happy to do either.

PSU: Are the PSU and Case not the things that usually last longest? I would like to choose a PSU that will see me through to the next CPU/mobo/GPU upgrade. Will too much power mean a higher leccy bill or as I’ve understood it, the PSU will only use the power of the parts attached and how much load they’re under. Please let me know if I am mistaken.

Memory – Is crucial a poor ram? Which ram is best for value/performance. Please bear in mind I would very much be interested in OCing, but only at a beginner’s level. I was recommended to get (if chose AMD CPU) CL7 and 1333 or 1600.

CPU: I originally chose the Athlon II x3 - ₤66ish. I then thought much about the Phenom II X4 955 - ₤125ish. However according to the CPU report at Tom’s Hardware the Phenom II X4 is only a bit better than the x3 (admittedly this was based on gaming).

I also read that AMD should be bringing out a new CPU next year (is it called Bulldog or something?) and I thought it might be better value to spend ₤ 60ish now and see the CPU power to experience it.

Then in a year or two I could upgrade, the Phenom II should hopefully have reduced in price by then, spending maybe ₤ 100ish. Theory is I’d get to witness the joy of upgrading as well as cement my experience of installing items.

However am very tempted by the prospect of Intel but concerned regarding the mobo issues I’ve seen in other forums about it. Any pointers in terms of value when taking into account new performance of AMD?



Saw a good CPU comparison on Anandtech where the i5 was better but not by a lot (if i interpreted correctly), but again I’d like to consider the overall build and not just the CPU.

RAID: Okay, Will not waste money on something mainly for network support However I do eventually want to have a main computer with all other data and then have small computers (laptops or desktops) elsewhere. This training should, in theory, stand me in good stead for my business requirements too.

Thanks all for your input. Looks like my build is getting cheaper all the time

Hammyman

The onboard ATI graphics I mentioned will have no problem with Starcraft 2 and the like. They're not taxing. You could build what you need and have change out of £500 TBH.

GinZ

Thanks Hammyman - very encouraging. Will onboard graphics also be able to handle the ???*1080 on my LCDTV? and also play HD content on this TV?

RobTang

GinZ wrote: »

Thanks Hammyman - very encouraging. Will onboard graphics also be able to handle the ???*1080 on my LCDTV? and also play HD content on this TV?

er maybe, it depends which one you get but a lot thesxe days have dedicated decoders for video which allow them to play 1080p while still being comparitivly weak. Not all boards come with on board graphics btw.

Upgrading is pretty boring btw, you just unplug somthing and plug thr new part in, you just need an encyclopedic knowledge of what you can plug into what. or you can just google it these days.

oh regarding waiting for prices to drop, it never really works like that you may get lucky when a supplier is trying to shift old stock, but usually parts dont get reduced by a newer part entering the marketplace.

banger9365

if your not playing games (latest one's)a ATI 5770 will be perfect and get a better cpu with the difference ,
and bin the warrie of messing up fiting the cpu get one off these http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=34881&category_id=491&manufacturer_id=0&tid= 3year warranty and get longevity out off it

you can go for a ATI 5450 but thats a lowend card and the one i showed is mid range and only £124 http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=37816&category_id=1034&manufacturer_id=0&tid=hd5770

PSU is the heart of any pc and cheep one is no good ,search winpower on the net to find out why,
always buy a good quality psu ,coolermaster,tagan corsair,silverpower,antec ect and you will not go wrong but they cost more than the cheap ones £50 to £200+,
you do not need any thing above 500watts to ,with a good quality one ,because not many us more that 400watts unless your using SLI ,which your not ,

GinZ

am quite intrigued to see how I could reduce my costs down to ₤500.

So far my spec comes to over ₤1200!

ironically I also chose the 5770 after reading reviews at Tom's Hardware but don't know what the best option is to get when considering the long-term perspective.

Here's a (very) long list of what I've specced to compare the i5 750 with the Phenom II x4 955.

Items common to both potential builds:

Case:
Lian Li PC-B25F - ₤134
or
very tempted by this, but extra ₤40 on top?!
Lian Li PC-B25F with window (which will feed my interest in the inner workings of a PC) – ₤171

GPU: options: which of these most suitable for achieving good quality HD viewing and strategy gaming whilst being the best value?
HD5850 -
HD-585X-ZAFV - 1GB XFX HD5850, PCI-E 2.1, 4000MHz GDDR5, GPU 725MHz, 1440Cores, DP/ DVI/ HDMI, Aliens vs Predator - ₤235
or
HD 5850 Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB OC PCI- E 2.1(16) GDDR5 – 235
are double fans a good thing for noise or not?
Or
Asus Radeon HD5850 1GB PCI-Express Graphics Card - ₤225

or
HD5830
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5830 "AVP Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card – ₤165

or
HD5770 - c. ₤123
SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGY Radeon HD 5770 - 1 GB GDDR5 - PCI-Express 2.0 (11163-02-20R)

RAM:
G-Skill 4GB 1600 CL7 – ₤102

OS:
Windows 7 Home Edition 64 bit – ₤78
(I am starting my own small business from home - is the Home Edition still sufficient?)

Optical drive:
Samsung Black 2X SH-S223B – ₤16

Would I benefit having a BD player or writer instead? Bear in mind I have a PS3 for BD already.

HDD:
Samsung Spinpoint F3 (HD103SJ) x 2 = ₤47 x 2 = ₤94

Case Fan(s): do I need more than one?
Nexus Real Silent 120mm Fan with PWM control – ₤10
and/or
Nexus Real Silent 120mm Case Fan – ₤10
or
Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler – ₤30
why is the Titan so much more expensive? Is it worth it?

Monitor: options
Viewsonic VX2260WM Full HD 22" TFT Monitor 1920x1080 20,000:1 (dynamic) 300cd/m2 2ms VGA/DVI-D/HDMI Black – ₤148
or
Samsung Lavendar P2250 22" LCD Monitor 16:9 Full HD 1920x1080 300cd/m2 50000:1 Dynamic 2ms VGA/DVI Rose Black 3 Year Onsite SWAP Warranty – ₤139
or
LG W2261VP 22' LCD Monitor 16:9 DVI HDMI Black – ₤133
or
Benq G2222HDL – ₤135

PSU: options
True Power New 750 - 750W Antec Truepower New PSU, Modular, 120mm PWM Fan, 80+ Bronze – ₤93

or, maybe I could get the blue fan led version if I buy the case with a window

Blue True Power New 750 - 750W Antec Truepower New PSU, Modular, 120mm PWM Fan, 80+ Bronze – ₤104

Common stuff subtotals: min ₤783 : max ₤978

And now the AMD CPU and Mobo:

AMD CPU:
Phenom II X4 955 – ₤120

AMD Mobo:
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 890GX – ₤112

AMD CPU+Mobo Subtotal: ₤232

Intel CPU and mobo:

Intel CPU:
Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail + Napoleon Total War [BX80605I5750] - ₤157

Intel Mobo:
Asus P7P55D-E, Intel P55 Express, S1156, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 2200(OC), SATA 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX – ₤129
or
ASUS P7H55D-M EVO Socket 1156 i5/i7 VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard – ₤102

What’s the difference between these Intel mobos? If none, why the ₤27 difference?

Intel CPU + Mobo subtotal: max ₤286 : min ₤259

AMD build total: max ₤1210

Intel build total: max ₤1264

So guys, which build would you go for and why?

Any other suggestions are also very welcome. Would these specs leave me with a quality build to last me several years?

How I could make this build cheaper? (when I began my idea to build my approx budget was ₤600!)
Or have I missed any important bits out?

still reading?! thanks for doing so.

GinZ

RobTang

GinZ wrote: »

Intel Mobo:
Asus P7P55D-E, Intel P55 Express, S1156, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 2200(OC), SATA 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX – ₤129
or
ASUS P7H55D-M EVO Socket 1156 i5/i7 VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard – ₤102

What’s the difference between these Intel mobos? If none, why the ₤27 difference?

One is a normal sized board, the other a mini board, it fits in smaller cases but has less expansion slots.

If I was in a cynical mood, id say the differences prices of mobos really come down the the extra bits and bobs you get with it.

Custom PCs are not about getting a cheap PC, in fact getting your own way with parts is much more expensive. like a bespoke suit.

The only to reduce costs is to drop anything that is under the "want" caetgory and dont focus on perticular parts and just buy whatever is good value at the time that fits your budget.
and dont be too concerned about future proofing, its a fools game that just makes you spend more money than you really need to.

Richie-from-the-Boro

I've built a few from scratch over the years, reading the posts above very little attention / price is being paid to the case. The case should be the starting point, putting 1200 quid into a noisy washing machine that drowns out the TV will make the end result a negative one. The starting point should be a remote controlled case, quiet [ish] and capable of both mATX and full ATX.

Only then can the dream / long wishlist of parts that will fit the case begin to make practical sense.

- have a look at quietpc for inspiration, and check out their cheepo's

Richie-from-the-Boro

Example : Lian Li PC-B25F - ₤134

You can get a HD501 / HTPC for £20 less