550 computer

luke12345

luke12345

luke12345

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5 Jun 2012
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5
hi i am looking for computer for music production ive been told a good ram (8gb) is needed and decent processor but i also want it to game/ and edit video blogs etc. Ive been recommended amd fx maybe a quadcore or six could you please help
 
Do you need any of the following:

1) Monitor
2) Keyboard / Mouse
3) Operating system
4) Case

As for quad vs hex core. How many applications do you typically use at a single time? From what I gather more cores = better for multitasking basically as a different core can be assigned to each task. Could save yourself some money on quad instead of hex if you don't use too many at once.

*Also is the 550 in the title referring to your budget in pounds?
 
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yes 550 is the budget sorry about that and i do need a case but i can get an operating system so theres no worry there and got keyboard and monitor, well music production would say has a lot of things going on so i said a hex but thats just me guessing ive been told a quadcore is good just need a decent about of ram
 
I genuinely enjoy this haha. Anyway, as usual i'm rubbish so anyone else changing bits here and there / making sure i've got it right this time (fingers crossed) would be welcome.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £101.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX) £94.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard REV 1 £84.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-500CXUKV2) £49.99
1 x EVGA GeForce GT 520 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £34.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B3ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £20.99
Total : £593.52 (includes shipping : £10.50).



If you have a bit more budget you may want a small SSD for your primary applications and the OS.

Is 1TB enough for you by the way in HDD space?
Also second edit. I might try after dinner to fit an i7 in for hyperthreading if you use many applications simultaneously.

*
Second build using i7 processor. Lesser quality/quantity of RAM and a HDD quality decrease too in order to fit it in.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £227.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard REV 1 £84.98
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache WD10EALX - OEM £74.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Single Channel Module (CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10) £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-500CXUKV2) £49.99
1 x EVGA GeForce GT 520 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £34.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B3ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £20.99
Total : £589.51 (includes shipping : £10.50).

 
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Not overclockable but is a quad core and still decent. It comes with a case :D
*Notes: Better Motherboard and graphics

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £155.99
1 x MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX RED Limited Edition 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3B1RK2/8GX) £43.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £31.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £592.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



The £600+ version:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £31.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 High Performance CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/1366/939/AM2/AM2+) £22.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £639.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).




The AMD version:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £31.99
1 x Alpenföhn Groß Clockner Rev. B CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £29.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £567.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
By the way if the INTEL processors HAVEN'T got a K in the name, for example 2500K then there multiplier is fixed and cannot be overclocked.

This is a dual core i3 sandbridge version:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £31.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM £22.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £536.95 (includes shipping : £11.75).



The main difference between this and the AMD is the AMD will do multiple tasks betters because its a quad core while the intel will perform marginally better at gaming.
Plus the AMD can be overclocked while the i3 cannot.
 
Also if you are wondering why my builds are more expensive than Katsumoto's ones it because:

- I include a case :D
- The CPU might be better / overclockable
- I put a CPU fan on for the overclocking
- The GPU is better, capable of playing modern games on a single screen.

If you don't plan on overclocking then it will reduce the price but also the performance.
 
For your budget and needs intel would be best and it consumes less power. The i3 2120 is your best bet so you can afford a half decent gaming GPU. The i3 is a dual core but it's hyperthreading effectively makes it a quad core basically.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=102

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.38
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x Sandisk Ultra SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA II Solid State Hard Drive - (SDSSDH-120G-G25) £64.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £40.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £584.26 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Case is a bargain, 4 120mm fans, fan controller and cable management. PSU is overkill but is modular which means fewer cables in the case impeding airflow. It's also a bargain on this jubilee offer!

You can't OC the i3 2120 even though the Z77 mobo supports overclocking. You can OC the 6850 though to close to 6870 (£120 GPU) performance. The Z77 mobo has lucid MVP which helps boost the GPUs performance by using the IGP. You also have quicsync which uses the IGP to help boost video encoding tasks with certain software.

I have gone slightly over but that is because i added that sataII SSD. It's not the fastest SSD but an improvement over a mechanical drive. It is slower than say a crucial M4 SSD but for the same price you would only get 60GB of storage. 120GB is a good round number for the OS your apps and a few games. If you want to omit it, to get back into budget and add a sataIII SSD later that would make sense too.

Hope this helps, any questions or problems come build day you know where to find us :)

p.s make sure you have a 64bit OS if you want to be using 8GB of RAM or more
 
hey guys this is great the main purpose for the machine is mainly music production which as i said needs a good cpu and ram so i think for the budget i want to try and stay around the 500 mark(with os included because take time in effort to find all drives etc) to be honest so i think 8gig of ram would be perfect, and i will be fitting my own sound card so any chance you could rack another system up for me if possible :) cheers guys and do you overclock if asked ?
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £47.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £31.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £544.96 (includes shipping : £11.75).



We don't work for OCuk, we are just forum members here to give advice fella
 
I personally prefer Gigabyte motherboards and if he has the money to put on the mobo then it would help future proof the PC.
 
Bacon? said:
I personally prefer Gigabyte motherboards and if he has the money to put on the mobo then it would help future proof the PC.
Click to expand...

I've already spec'd a Z77 mobo system. He now wants the OS and tower for £500. The H61 mobo i have used still has USBIII and sataIII and will take ivybridge CPUs no problem, that's as futureproof as he will get for the money.

And there are a number of threads with people having problems with that GB mobo you spec'd an ivybridge CPUs.....i'd avoid it
 
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Bacon? said:
I personally prefer Gigabyte motherboards and if he has the money to put on the mobo then it would help future proof the PC.
Click to expand...

But the OP has said he wants to keep his budget closer to £500. That is the reason hono has specced the H61 mobo.
There`s not much else you can save on, besides a smaller hdd, without compromising the build.
 
 
You've forgotten a power supply?
I would suggest keeping an eye on the clearance section when you've got a low budget, quite often some great components and really low prices :D
 
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