Advice for a first time builder please!! =)

Associate
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8 Dec 2011
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64
Told to bump closer to home date - i will be back in the Uk in 2 days and ill probably buy it on the 19th/20th

Hey guys so my name is jamie, new to the forum but not new to overclockers(Bought 2 previous systems from you guys and ive been more than happy with the results :cool: ) im currently living in Shanghai china teaching but im heading back to scotland and i really want to get a good system with some cash ill be bringing back

I'll be abel to save £2000 by the time i get back in january but £600 of it will be spent on a touring bike for cycling around scotland and probably france/spain and i ideally want to keep £600 for other needs so i dont have to go straight back to work. So that gives me a budget of about £600-900 but that includes tower/keyboard/mouse. i've got a 37" tv that i loaned to my brother i can steal back that i used for my old pc so im sorted with that

Uses for the PC will mainly be used for gaming (BF3 in the forefront of the list) but photoshop,flash will be used now and again.

i was looking at http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/gaming-desktop-computer.html which recommended builds for certain budgets but when i put it all together with a few changes it came out more than i expected and some of the prebuilt systems seemed to do better for less! i have no idea where i was going wrong lol

This is the list of stuff i looked at on the overclockers shop...

Original list

EVGA GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB (£215.99)
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (£151.99)
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P Intel Z68 (£129.98)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB ( £89.99)
Corsair Builder Series CX 600W ( £59.99)
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case ( £46.98)
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) ( £44.99)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWrite ( £19.99)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 ( £18.98)
Laser Wired Gaming Mouse - Black/Red ( £22.99)
Saitek Cyborg V5 Illuminated Gaming Keyboard ( £35.99)

TOTAL (£837.86)

Updated list (updated in bold)

EVGA GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB (£215.99)
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (£151.99)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) ( £84.98)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB ( £89.99)
Corsair Builder Series CX 600W ( £59.99)
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case ( £46.98)
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) ( £44.99)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWrite ( £19.99)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 ( £18.98)
Laser Wired Gaming Mouse - Black/Red ( £22.99)
Saitek Cyborg V5 Illuminated Gaming Keyboard ( £35.99)

i'm not too bothered about overclocking the pc so i dont need the K version

-----------------------



But then i would still need to get a copy of windows 7, keyboard and mouse so more like £900

I then looked at the system http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-190-OE&groupid=43&catid=2040&subcat= and it looked very similar to my build so why custom make my own when i can buy one premade with less hassle for a tiny bit more money.

What are your guys opinions on this?
 
Last edited:
Soldato
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telford, shropshire
go for the 2500K processor with the Z68 mobo, or go with a gigabyte/msi h61 mobo if you want to go with the 2400 processor.

the z68 mobo allows you to overclock the processors but only the "K" versions can be overclocked.

P67 allows overclocking as well so don't get one of them with a NON-"K" processor.

have a look at the Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 mobo (£85).

don't bother with the sound card, onboard should be good enough.
 
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Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
10 Aug 2010
Posts
5,508
Location
Somerset
What about:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £215.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £39.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Saitek Cyborg V5 Illuminated Gaming Keyboard £35.99
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £26.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.98
Total : £907.85 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I kept the keyboard as that's a personal preference, but I think this mouse is better. Again up to you. Same GPU that you chose, with a good PSU and £20 off with this deal:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18347004

Nicer case, an a CPU you can overclock nicely (that cooler should get it to 4.4GHz+ easily)

For under £1000 you can still fit an SSD in there too:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-008-CR

Cheaper than the pre-built you suggested and that's including mouse and keyboard :)
 
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OP
Joined
8 Dec 2011
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64
Thanks for the suggested setup i like it too. Thankfully i wont have to make a decision until january the 19th/20th so i can maybe get some upgrades by then.

The only reason i choose the mouse was because it went nice with the keyboard =P
 
Associate
OP
Joined
8 Dec 2011
Posts
64
Yeah ill deffinetly be doing that =)

I was very tempted to buy an alienware but it was mainly for the aesthetic value, but i read so many bad review about the company it put me off and i think building my own pc will give me a lot more enjoyment out of my computer.

Do you guys know if overclockers have a new years sale on the site and if so how long until it ends? i wouldnt be able to buy it anyway until i got home on the 19th jan unless overclockers take bank of china union pay cards =P
 
Soldato
Joined
10 Aug 2010
Posts
5,508
Location
Somerset
Not sure about sales, can't remember that long ago :p someone will know. Regardless they have daily and weekly deals anyway :)

I'd always build your own if you can. I've built 4 or so now and I love it! Plus you will know exactly what is in there, and I think normally you get longer warranties with individual parts (not 100% on that)
 
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