Could anyone price up a computer?

Ambidou

Hi, i was wondering if anyone could take the time to basically build me a computer? Im looking to spend around £400 on a gaming computer made by parts from some website called scan ((dot co dot uk)new users cant post links ) id do it myself but its been years since ive made a new one myself, i already have a monitor and OS so i just need the parts.

Many thanks

Knarf44

Ok, usually a budget of £400 and a gaming machine don't go together but let me try to suggest a combination of components that should give you a decent enough PC but has had to make some compromises to fit within your budget.

Asus P7 H55-M Motherboard
Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale CPU
4GB Corsair (2x2GB Dual Channel RAM)
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue HDD
1GB Sapphire HD5570 Radeon GPU
Lite-On 24x DVD Dual layer Optical drive
Case with 450W PSU

Total Cost £405.49 + Del.

or

Asus P7 H55-M Motherboard
Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale CPU
4GB Corsair (2x2GB Dual Channel RAM)
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue HDD
1GB Ati Radeon HD4770 Radeon GPU
Lite-On 24x DVD Dual layer Optical drive
Case with 450W PSU

Total Cost £373.44 + Del.

The second option downgrades the CPU to an i3 but gives you a higher benchmarking GPU plus a bit left over to maybe pay a bit more for a better case and PSU.

Obviously, others on here will no doubt immediately try to persuade you to go for a pre-built system but like you seem to, I'd always prefer to build my own system. With both of the systems I've suggested above you can always upgrade to higher spec components as or when funds allow.

Ambidou

Many thanks, i find if you build them yourself you get MUCH more bang for your buck. I didnt mean a top of the line PC to play crysis, just something that will run most games on low with a decent fps. Cheers

Knarf44

No problem, both of the specs I listed will give you bang for your buck and will play most games you might want. If you'd prefer to use an AMD based system let me know.

jaydeeuk1

I'd go for an amd. Heres my suggestion

Cheapo case, can swap for anything you like really.
Arctic power 500w psu - ive used these a few times in my builds and for the price they're excellent. Much better than the generic crap you get bunndled with some cases
AMD Phenom X4 955 black edition - decent quad core CPU
Asus ati 5770 512mb - suitable for up to 1920x1080, but for £400 I doubt anything will be able to beyond that with all the bells and whistles
2gb DDR 3 kingston memory. Fine for most games like left 4 dead 2, crysis etc, Or can spend another £20-£30 and get another gb or 2
500gb western digi hd (7200rpm, not the inferior model)
dvd drive
asus 785g motherboard - cracking motherboard for the price. Or you can use an atx board which has cross fire support for a few quid more.

Total: £399.47 w/ free delivery at ebuyer, or £10 more for next day


item numbers
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with ebuyer


PCS are far far easier to put together nowadays than even 4 or 5 years ago. Theres usually no need to set jumpers or guess what plugs in where. I find amd cpus easier to install than the old core 2 duos, whose stock fans really annoy me!

The PSU is easy to plug in, the pins are shaped so everything only goes in one way, and with vista/7 its easy to get drivers etc. And if you do get stuck, theres plenty of people on here to help. Alternatively, if you're in the derby area drop by and I'll fit it together for you.

poppy10_2

jaydeeuk's suggestion is the best value for money

spakkker

I5-650 isn't worth it -just get an i3-530 and overclock it .
The Amd cpu is good value but how many games use 4 cores??
A 4850 is better value.