Computer Build help

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Kryten
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Computer Build help

Post by Kryten »

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is keeping well.

I have decided to try and put together my first computer build as a treat to myself since I just finished my last exam at medical school last week (hopefully).

I've been looking around and put this together on scan

Image

Currently I'd like to keep my total budget to about £800-850 at max. I don't need speakers, OS, keyboard or mouse but I do need a monitor and a case which I haven't included in the build yet as i don't really now very much about either. Mainly I just want a computer which is fast can play current games at fairly high settings (but don't need crysis 3 on max or anything) and is reasonably future proofed as I can't see me changing anything unless it's cheap for good while. I don't really think I want a SSD or need much internal storage hence the 500gb HD. For a monitor I think I'd be happy with a 22inch monitor as it's much bigger than anything I've had before (innuendo included) but as I've said I don't really know what to buy.

I'd really appreciate a bit of advice about the build please and really have no idea about a case or monitor if anyone has any good ideas.

Thanks
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Septih
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Septih »

Kryten wrote:I don't really think I want a SSD
You think wrong. SSDs are awesome, and you only really need 100GB or so for a system drive.
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Kryten »

Kryten wrote:You think wrong. SSDs are awesome, and you only really need 100GB or so for a system drive.
Yea I know you would but that's just adding more money to the build that I should probably be sensible and try and save :<
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by ash »

its only about £50 for one ssd drive...
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by FragZero »

Drop the soundcard add some £££ and get a SSD now!
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Roper »

I feel the need to chip in with the SSD vote as well. One of the best purchases I've ever made, the prices are dropping and you really don't need a very large one. I realise its difficult though as its so easy to get carried away and go over budget.
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Heeuge »

An SSD drive should be high on the list these days - videos etc can be stored on physical HDD since the GB/£ is still far superior but for performance you want your OS and games on SSD. A 120/128 GB drive will be fine for your needs and you should be able to find one for under £70. Something like the Samsung 840 120GB is a good starting point - keep an eye on prices at the usual places (you can set a price point notification via CamelCamelCamel for Amazon products).

Next up - you can get a 660Ti from Amazon for under £200 to save £20. According to TomsHardware's regular 'best VGA card for $xxx' report, you might want to consider the newly release 7870 LE. The LE denotes it's actually based on a detuned 7950 part and seems pretty decent for under £185 ( or £180 at ebuyer). That's £35+ saved over the one in your Scan basket.

The 3570k CPU can be had via Amazon for £168, saving another £10

Swapping the RAM you've chosen for this Corsair 8GB set saves you another £8.

Cases are a personal choice - personally I'm a big fan of the Fractal Design Core 1000 - it's compact, well designed, takes fullsize PSUs and is cheap but will only fit a MicroATX motherboard. All you lose by going down that route is a few extra expansion slots but if you're not looking to upgrade / add things down the line you'll never notice.

If you do go MicroATX you can swap out the Gigabyte board in your basket for this one for a fiver more.

Though the PSU you've picked is certainly a good one, you could save nearly a tenner by going for this Cooler Master one instead.


By my reckoning those bits (along with the DVD drive and including both an SSD and 1TB HDD) totals around £720 or so. That gives you up to £130 to get a monitor. They aren't my area of expertise these days but a quick look shows a 23" IPS LED 1080p ASUS for £133. It has both DVI and HDMI inputs, 178° viewing angles and decent colour reproduction. £150ish on ebuyer & Amazon, bargain!


I think I've rambled on enough for now - chances are you bought your PC on Tuesday and have it built already... :mrgreen:

Hope this makes sense!
Last edited by Heeuge on Sat Feb 23, 2013 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kryten
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Kryten »

Thanks for all the information there. Sorry hadn't been checking the forums for a while there and I thought it would email me if there had been more replies.

I had done a bit more research over the weekend there and got my max basket up to

http://imageshack.us/f/22/finalpcbuild2.jpg

I added a 64gb SSD for a system drive and then I swapped out the 660ti as for an HD7950 as it comes with crysis 3 which I was going to buy and was cheaper. The case and monitor I found are fairly standard but had plenty of feedback so I'm fairly happy with them. For the PSU the websites I used to calculate hinted that 600W would be enough so I saved some there. Is that enough though?

I agree with you Roper about it getting easy to get carried away as all I can seem to do is make it more expensive :P

Going to look at your options now Heeuge and I'll post up another build if I change it

Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it

P.S On a lighter note I entered a competition for a free GTX Titan on the HEXUS forums but somehow I doubt I'll win it lol
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Kryten »

Well I had a look there and added in the cheaper ram. I joined the Hexus forums and over the last few days have been posting enough to get free delivery so that's £20 off the total.

Image

EDIT: Also realised the monitor Heeuge linked is better due to size and for some reason the 21.5inch doesn't have HDMI input

As I said in my last post I've changed my mind about the 660ti as 7950 was the same price and came with crysis 3 and bioshock which I would be very happy with and save me money in the long run. Again for the 7870 adding on crysis 3 makes them similar pice.

If I need a 650W PSU I'll def add the cool master one instead

Overall I'd like to order it quite soon and I have sort of accepted I'm going to have to spend a bit more than I wanted. As it's my first build although I think Fj is eager to help me do you think it's worth it for the 28-day Scansure? I would hope that we wouldn't have too many problems but I suppose we could break something
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Heeuge »

I'd spend the £25 you'd pay for Scansure towards the 23" monitor instead, keeping you on budget. If you're building with someone who's done it before you'll be fine - even if you're plugging things in solo things are pretty straightforward (you'd do well to fit your VGA card into your CPU socket)! :mrgreen:

You don't need to spend any more than you want to. With PC bits there's always a shinier model for 'only £10 more'. Add that difference up over 5/6 components and you're quite a bit over budget.

Give yourself a maximum price and get the best you can for that money. For a gaming PC the CPU, VGA card, HDD and monitor are the important factors - to an extent these days most RAM and motherboards are the same given a particular speed rating or chipset. You've picked the best bang-for-buck CPU, a VGA card that'll keep you running the latest games for a while and (if you go for the IPS Asus) a decent screen. With the HDD I'd possibly look at a better/bigger SSD (you'll lose 20GB to windows etc before you even think about apps/games) but that'd cost another £20 or so at least. I'd definitely consider spending the extra £7 on the 650W PSU though.

Having priced up your parts, have you compared the total costs against Dabs, OcUK and Ebuyer? As big a fan of Scan as I am I'm always open to the fact that you can get the same parts for cheaper if you shop around. Like I said, the CPU is £10 cheaper at Amazon for example.

That said, once you've made your mind up, don't panic when you see everything on sale 10% cheaper next month. That's how this game rolls - by the time it's delivered it's overpriced and out of date!

Enjoy whatever you buy.



[edit]
I've just noticed that there's a cheaper Gigabyte motherboard option. The only major differences between the D3H motherboard you've gone for and the £72 DS3H are a pair of USB 3 ports and an optical audio-out. Unless you desperately need 8 USB ports (or at least 3 USB 3.0 ones) or your speakers/amp take optical audio I'd save myself another tenner and/or put it towards a better SSD :naughty:
[/edit]
Kryten
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Kryten »

Put my order in there now. Thanks for the help everyone

Image

I got the processor off amazon to save £10 but I just left it in there so you can see it. Once carriage and scansure comes off in checkout it brings it down enough for me to stay just over budget. I never really wanted to spend much more than £800 in the first place so I just couldn't stretch for a larger SSD or monitor in the end. I can always change my mind later!

Again thanks for the help, it really helped

Now just have to cross my fingers and hope Fj and I don't break it putting it together. I might even ask Jesse to help, though I should probably keep him away from it :P
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Roper »

Congrats, enjoy, and good luck with the build :)

If it makes you feel better I'm coping fine with a 64GB SSD. Though I don't store any games on it, but I figure it isn't going to make a massive difference to them and everything else zips along nicely. Might upgrade it at some point with the prices continually dropping, but its all good for now. :)
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Heeuge »

I just noticed the VGA card you picked is on pre-order... That means you might get to play Scan Stock Bingo! (©Heeuge)

If I remember rightly, Scan won't send the order until all items are in stock. While you're waiting on the VGA, another component on the list may run out of stock as well. I spent a week watching 3 different parts fall in and out of stock a few years ago before they were all in the warehouse at once and could therefore be sent. It's strangely exciting (but mostly frustrating). :oops:

Fingers crossed it doesn't happen to you! If it does, you could always edit your order to replace the out-of-stock model for this XFX one for a £1.20 more.... It's in stock, has a 2 fan cooling system (they should both run slower = quieter than a single fan solution) and still comes with Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite.
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Kryten »

I read some reviews saying the XFX wasn't very good compared to the other cards. I'll give it to the middle of the week and then give them a ring. Had to make the order over the phone due to their stupid delivery system to NI so will have to do it over the phone
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Re: Computer Build help

Post by Heeuge »

Any luck with the 7950 stock yet? Worringly I can't find that card at all on the website anymore :oops:

If they're all out and not coming back, I'd seriously consider going for the 7870 LE models - they're brand new to market and use a slightly trimmed version of the 7950 Tahiti core. At 1080p resolution you'll not notice that you're 'only' on 2GB of VRAM rather than 3 and you'll save £40 in doing so.

A thorough comparison of the 7870 LE against it's closest rivals (7950 included): TomsHardware. The conclusion, as the following screenshot (at your resolution) shows, they're nigh-on neck & neck.

Image


That particular PowerColor model can be found at Ebuyer.com for £180 delivered. You get Bioshock & Tomb Raider (and if you must have Crysis 3 as well remember you've just saved £40 on the card :naughty: ).

You could go for the VTX3D version at Aria.co.uk for £185 delivered. In addition to Bioshock & Tomb Raider you also get Far Cry 3, Sleeping Dogs and Hitman: Absolution. And have enough money spare to buy Crysis 3 :P

If you must have that Sapphire 7950 Boost edition Ebuyer have it in stock, albeit at £235.
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