First time builder - help/opinions please

Archer

Archer

Archer

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Joined
15 Jul 2005
Posts
46
Hi,

Sorry know there are loads of these types of threads, but wondered if someone could help me out. Basically need a new pc as mine is ancient (see sig!!), so have been looking at at various options and this what I have come up with:

AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
(£124.99) £146.86

G.Skill RipJaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
(£69.99) £82.24

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £77.54
(£65.99) £77.54

Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99

OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W Power Supply
(£42.54) £49.98

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black
£46.99
(£39.99)

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)
(£38.29) £44.99

Edimax EW-7727In nMax 300Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter
(£17.01) £19.99

Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(£13.61) £15.99

Total : £562.26 inc vat & shipping

I haven't built a pc before so not sure whether it is something I can do or not. Would I be better going for the pre-built "Decimator" that is basically the same but has an overclock, but would cost me about £40 more.

Also I haven't included a graphics card as I won't be gaming much straight away, so will add one later when I need it. The main aim of this pc would be to be buy something that would last a long time and is semi future proof for a casual user.

I would probably play more pc games with a capable pc, and I do some video editing / encoding, and the mrs wants to use photoshop as well.

Any thoughts/suggestions/incompatibility comments would be welcome.

Thanks for taking the time to read.
 
looks ok, but bearing in mind the addition of a graphics card later on you may want to consider a slightly more powerful psu 600/650w.
 
I'm not sure the average user would need a hex core but I guess thay one is only a little more expensive than tje 955/965, build it urself u will learn a lot, the rig looks good tho, if u were planning on adding a powerful gfx card I would have suggested a more powerful PSU but for ur needs that seems kool
 
psu with bigger wattage if you decide to get a GTX480?

retail copy of windows which you can reuse in other future builds or motherboard change.
 
thanks for the replies. Will think of getting a more powerful PSU for future graphics card addition. This one maybe Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK) (£51.05) £59.98 ??


I only went for the hex-core as it was only a bit more than quad and thought that over the years I own the pc more cores might be useful, even though currently I won't get much benefit. I did look at an i5 760 based setup as well but thought as I am not hardcore gamer and won't want to do a major upgrade for a while that I would opt for more cores instead.

Stulid - prob won't change mobo for a while (will likely be on Windows 9 by then!) so will the OEM version of Windows 7 be ok in that case? Or is it worth getting the retail version anyway?

Seems to be a lot of help on here for people looking to build for the first time so perhaps I will give it a go. Will order tomorrow so once it's done I will let you know what I went with.

Also one quick question: do i need to get any SATA/power leads/other cables etc or should all the ones required come with what I will ordered?

Cheers again.
 
good psu that corsair, and will power any single card easily.

get the OEM copy then.

all the cables needed are supplied.
 
Stulid - Thanks for the quick response dude.

Looking forward to ordering now, bit scared as well! Sure it will be fun though, and have wanted to learn to build from scratch for a while so need to get on it.

Two more quickies for anyone who is about still please:

- What tools will I need to put it all together as I have screwdrivers, allen keys etc. Anything specialist I won't have?

- Any need for thermal paste when using the stock cooler on the chip?

Thanks.
 
Personally I would advise anyone against buying any current Sony/Optiarc DVD re-writers... I've done many builds over the years and never had a problem with DVD drives (including Optiarc ones) until a few years ago when Sony took over Optiarc...

Since then i've had a total of 3 that i've had to bin, I know they aren't much money but it's more annoying than anything else. All 3 went the same way, stopped reading certain discs and just gradually got worse until only about 50% of dvd's or cd's you put in the drive are recognised and sometimes even that was only possible on about the 3rd or 4th try.

It's not just me either, I have had many friends that have experienced the same issues but again only with the current Optiarc drives.

Edit: after reading some of the reviews in the shop I would also avoid the Samsung drives as well as they seem to have the same problems. Go for the LG, LiteOn or Pioneer ;)
 
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Mosntermunch - thanks for the heads up. Any recommendations for a better one, or just not a Sony/Optiarc?

Stulid - cheers again dude. no more silly questions for now!
 
Archer said:
Mosntermunch - thanks for the heads up. Any recommendations for a better one, or just not a Sony/Optiarc?
Click to expand...

Edited my previous post ^

Personally I have gone back to where I started which is Pioneer as the original dvd writer I had from them when the first came out went on for years. There were some other very good makes but most seem to have disappeared unfortunately like NEC & Plextor.
 
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