Computer build advice

pijeon

pijeon

pijeon

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Joined
26 Dec 2008
Posts
11
I've been wanting to make a much quieter computer which I'll be able to have on a desk next to me without irritating me while I'm doing work (I've still got an old Antec 900 with as many fans as possible from when I was in that kind of 'phase'). I want also want to be able carry on playing most modern games at with reasonable quality and performance (I don't mind bumping up the cooling and overclocking a bit for when I decide to play something).

I've come up with this build mostly from price/performance charts so I'm not too sure how they are doing in reality, I would appreciate some advice, thanks!

11vti61.jpg


I'd prefer to keep the price as low as possible too, £400 would be ideal but I've landed at £500~. I'll be reusing power supply, DVD drive, HD drive etc.
 
It's good, however, do yourself a big favour and change the 4x2GB RAM to 4x2GB. This is because if you ever want to upgrade to 16GB RAM you can do it by just buying and placing in the vacant DIMM slots. With 4x2 you are stuck with those and if you want to upgrade to 16GB you are going to have to sell them or something. 2x4GB will basically make your system future proof for much longer.

The motherboard is dual channel (LGA1155 only does dual), so even with 2 sticks at present your processor will utilise the RAM as effectively as it can.

6850 is definitely the one to go for under your budjet and is the best bang for buck at £100.
 
Thinking about it, is it a little too cpu heavy for a budget gaming computer? This could be closer ground to what I'm looking for, but then there wouldn't be much point in the water cooling kit. And would it be much of an upgrade from a Q6600?

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Oh I should probably mention I'm using a 28" monitor at 1920*1200, would the 6850 have enough texture memory or would that be a problem? Cheers
 
 
pijeon said:
Oh I should probably mention I'm using a 28" monitor at 1920*1200, would the 6850 have enough texture memory or would that be a problem? Cheers
Click to expand...

ide spend the extra and get a 560ti/570/7850


This would be very nice.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £189.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £99.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £41.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Total : £598.99 (includes shipping : £11.75).






OR

Just say sod it, and go for a great system that will last you long time, with a great mobo with good overclocking + a free awesome desk/mouse sheet mat and a better cooler.

This what i would do just save a little bit more.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £189.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £139.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £41.99
1 x Gelid GX7 High Performance Quiet PC Cooler (Socket Intel 775/1366/1155/6 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £39.98
Total : £661.81 (includes shipping : £19.10).

 
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Thanks guys, I think I'm narrowing it down a little. Are there any processors a little closer towards £100 that would still be a good choice?
 
 
pijeon said:
Thanks guys, I think I'm narrowing it down a little. Are there any processors a little closer towards £100 that would still be a good choice?
Click to expand...

The next step down is a i5 sandybridge. but thats still £162 for the overclockable version. but you wanted to go for the non OC version, that its 150, this would also mean you could get a cheaper mobo as you wouldn't need any overclocking features.

ill see what i can get with that.

This would play most games at that res smoothly at medium - high with AA low or off i think.


YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £149.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.38
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £41.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro Extreme Performance CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/1366/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £26.99
Total : £513.42 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
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Idleman said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x VTX3D HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Dirt3 PC Game £167.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Arctic White £79.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.38
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
Total : £556.33 (includes shipping : £12.50).



What cooler do you have on your Q6600?
What Psu do you have?
Click to expand...

Yes I was thinking the same thing but with possibly a more budget cpu. I've got a Tuniq tower 120 on my Q6600 atm, but it's probably one of the loudest parts of my computer. I wanted to try the water cooling kit just for the small pleasure of installing it, but it might be more reasonable to just use stock for now? Thanks!

(also how do you link baskets?)
 
wozzsta said:
The next step down is a i5 sandybridge. but thats still £162 for the overclockable version. but you wanted to go for the non OC version, that its 150, this would also mean you could get a cheaper mobo as you wouldn't need any overclocking features.

ill see what i can get with that.
Click to expand...

I think that would probably be great for the performance range I'm looking for, but I'd like the option of overclocking it a bit. I take it AMD aren't looking great still?
 
pijeon said:
I think that would probably be great for the performance range I'm looking for, but I'd like the option of overclocking it a bit. I take it AMD aren't looking great still?
Click to expand...

TBH i have never had much experience with AMD and dont really keep upto date with them. but from what i read they still fall short on gaming. and since we are skimping slightly on the CPU ide go for intel.
 
And I can't remember what wattage my PSU was without taking the side of my case off, I'll have a look tomorrow morning. But I think it was 600W? It's powering a 4870.
 
pijeon said:
Yes I was thinking the same thing but with possibly a more budget cpu. I've got a Tuniq tower 120 on my Q6600 atm, but it's probably one of the loudest parts of my computer. I wanted to try the water cooling kit just for the small pleasure of installing it, but it might be more reasonable to just use stock for now? Thanks!

(also how do you link baskets?)
Click to expand...

I think the 2500k is your best bet at the price and it OC`s very well.
You could reduce the cost by looking for a cheaper case.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-BX&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1850
Or use your existing case and upgrade it later, this way you can get a cooler. You would then have the benefit of a good gaming rig.

Use this for the basket.

http://ocuk-shopping-cart-to-forum-converter.googlecode.com/git/INSTALL.htm
 
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