spec me please ! good value for money

bobo696

bobo696

bobo696

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Joined
1 Dec 2009
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330
Location
London
Hello !

This is my first post here, so i'd like to say hi to everybody :)

After 3 years of laptop usage (professional and personal, but few games), I would like to go back to a desktop pc. Aims : good machine for recent games (dragon age, gta4, pes 2010, no FPS I don't like), and multitasking (websurfing, music, etc)

my previous spec was with amd athlon 3200 + A7N8X, so very old, I don't think I can salvage any components, so it will be a complete rebuilt (maybe I will save the case but not even sure)

I don't have a particular budget except the 1000 quids barrier, including a monitor and windows 7 (retail version)... My aim is to have good (best?) value for money components and upgradable. Though I never tried overclocking, I am interested in it so good components for overclocking will be of interest

I always had preferences for amd, but I am open to suggestions :)

After some time searching, I have a first version of my future pc :

processor: AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - OEM £117.99

cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 Dual Fan Quiet CPU Cooler (LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £59.98

motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £105.00

memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £82.98

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD5001AALS) £45.99

DVD drive: LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.99

video card: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB £119.98

Case: Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £42.99

PSU: Corsair HX 650W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650HXUK) £96.99

Wifi: Edimax EW-7128G 54Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter £13.98

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail (Full Version) £99.98

Monitor: Samsung P2370 23" £199.99

Total : £1,021.51


It's a little expensive, but I'm open to suggestions. Particularly the monitor, can I have a good quality for less ? same for PSU 96£ seems over the top...

Would you have any suggestions ?

Thanks !
 
Thanks for the replies :)

Apart from the video card, what else need PCI Express port ?

for the power supply unit, I don't know the quality of the OCZ brand. Is this as good as antec and corsair ?

Thanks !
 
I'd go for something along these lines

1000quid.jpg
 
+1 for the Samsung F3. I have the 1TB version and if that's anything to go by then it should be excellent.

The 1TB model is only about £20 more so you could maybe consider that if you're big into your music/pictures/tv recording etc.
 
Last edited:
thank you for your advice ! I think I will stay with an amd processor after all (cheaper and good value)

I will consider the 1 To HDD, as I have a lot of datas, but I'm afraid of losing all if it dies... New hard drives are reliable ?
 
bobo696 said:
thank you for your advice ! I think I will stay with an amd processor after all (cheaper and good value)

I will consider the 1 To HDD, as I have a lot of datas, but I'm afraid of losing all if it dies... New hard drives are reliable ?
Click to expand...

ohh yeh dont worry they are reliable :P
 
bobo696 said:
Apart from the video card, what else need PCI Express port ?
Click to expand...

Nothing else i know of.

I have the budget version of the GB mobo and you listed and it works fine.
Decide if you're going crossfire at a later date; if so a 650 should be good (for mid/high range cards in Xfire) otherwise a 500-550 will be fine for single card setups or budget (lower power drawing) cards in Xfire. I tend to read specific PSU reviews for each item as the PSU companies use a variety of manufacturers to supply to stick thier brand stickers on; even in the same product lines!

I would look at getting a cheaper cooler; Titan Fenrir (someone else mentioned on another thread), HDT1283 or Akasa Nero for less than half the price; check frostytech.com for best performance. I would then invest in a 965 C3 as it generates the same heat as the 955 but runs faster and overclocks better for about £15 more. The stock coolers on the retail PIIs X4 are not bad but a little noisy so you can invest in a 3rd party heatsink later if you want to overclock.

W7 can be had for a small saving too but prices are fluctuating.

The 4890 is a not a bad buy instead of the 5770; its not DX11 but in terms of raw power it is probably the better buy for the same price. If I couldn't afford a 5850 I would get the 4890.
 
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