Cheap build for a friend

louder · 25 Feb 2012 at 21:36

Hey everyone I am just putting together a cheap build for my girlfriends brother he has £400 to spend and is this is £416 from OCUK so as close as!

Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge)
Asus P8H61 PLUS Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case
OcUK Battle 550W
Asus HD 6770 1024MB
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz
OcUK 22x DVD±RW

I already have a HDD he can use and his parents said they will pay for windows 7. He just wants to play games like TF2, G-Mod and a bit of UT as well as doing his school work. I would put a better GPU in but the price is an issue also his screen only has a VGA in and he cannot afford a new one as well.

Just looking for a yay or ney on the build really and that I have covered everything and it will all work well together. I haven't ever built a lower spec machine.

RJC · 25 Feb 2012 at 21:50

Welcome to the forum

Slightly better spec:

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
(£44.16) £52.99
(£44.16)
Gigabyte H61M-S2PV Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £46.99
(£39.16) £46.99
(£39.16)
OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £46.98
(£39.15) £46.98
(£39.15)
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £31.99
(£26.66) £31.99
(£26.66)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Sub Total : £314.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £65.32
Total : £391.92

louder · 25 Feb 2012 at 23:23

The is an issue with that GPU as the screen he currently has only supports VGA and he cannot afford to buy a new screen.

RJC · 25 Feb 2012 at 23:26

Pick up a DVI-VGA adapter like the one below:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-006-SR

Some cards to come with a adapter.

or a new cable:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-016-OK

Surveyor · 26 Feb 2012 at 01:08

RJC said:
Pick up a DVI-VGA adapter like the one below:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-006-SR

Some cards to come with a adapter.

or a new cable:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-016-OK

If you get either of those then remember they only work in one of the DVI connectors on the HD 6850 RJC listed.

If you don't get an image using one DVI connector then try the other.

Shadz · 26 Feb 2012 at 01:33

Here is another option for you mate.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus HD 6850 DirectCU V2 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £99.95
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard REV 1 £84.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £43.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £39.98
1 x OcUK Swift 650W V2 Silent Power Supply £26.99
Total : £406.40 (includes shipping : £17.10).

Surveyor · 26 Feb 2012 at 02:07

Shadz said:
Here is another option for you mate.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus HD 6850 DirectCU V2 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £99.95
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard REV 1 £84.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £43.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £39.98
1 x OcUK Swift 650W V2 Silent Power Supply £26.99
Total : £406.40 (includes shipping : £17.10).

You forgot the DVD ReWriter and a big no to the PSU.

I assume the OcUK HD 6850 is still the Asus card and it's currently £10 cheaper.

The Crucial Ballistix RAM is £12 cheaper.

cmndr_andi · 26 Feb 2012 at 02:16

+1 for RJC's spec, you will really struggle to do any better for that budget

Also just to emphasise - the "OCUK" brand PSUs are low quality units (Powercools afaik) only to be considered if you are running a low-end, low power usage computer. They are not suited for a gaming machine like this one, since the CPU and GPU will draw significant ammounts of power when under load playing games - you wouldn't want to trust such a PSU to that task.