£600 budget.

[Number_25]

Hey guys,

I've been asked to build a computer for a friend, and he's got a £600 budget to play with.

This is what I've got down so far, but it would be awesome to get a second opinion on whether I've made the right decisions.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3550 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £164.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £44.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £39.95
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUKV2) £36.98
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.79
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £602.65 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 

[Doomedspeed]

Why not the 3570k? Your actually wasting money not getting the 3570k.

 

[Number_25]

I don't think he's going to overclock it.

 

[stulid]

Maybe a PSU which has two 6pin PCI-E connectors? (i.e CX500)

 

[LukieBoy007]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £179.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £39.95
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUKV2) £36.98
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £32.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £613.85 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I've put in a i5 3570k and swapped the cooler for something better but have had to drop the case.

 

[Number_25]

I think that the Gelid Tranquillo is a fine cooler for the price.

 

[Doomedspeed]

Maybe a PSU which has two 6pin PCI-E connectors? (i.e CX500)

Was just checking that. The CX 430 only has one pci-e connector, where as the 6870 needs two.

If he's not OCing it, what the need of the aftermarket cooler? At least the 3570k gives him the option. It will also have a high resale value.

 

[LukieBoy007]

I think that the Gelid Tranquillo is a fine cooler for the price.

It is, but the one in my build has more heat-pipes, and you can attach a second fan if needed to.

 

[honosuseri]

Why not come at it this way

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x OCZ ZT 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £69.98
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £56.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £600.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Xfire support, a much better GPU with 2GB of VRAM. The budget CPU is nigh on as good as the i3 for gaming but much cheaper. As it's cheap cheap (like the budgie) it's not such a loss to upgrade it to say a secondhand i5K much later on and overclock.

A modular PSU is handy in midi tower cases, saves having a mess of unused cables blocking airflow. The Shinobi is a nice case, I used the Z9 as it's my personal favourite for a budget gaming rig.....lots included for the price

 

[LukieBoy007]

Was just checking that. The CX 430 only has one pci-e connector, where as the 6870 needs two.

What about a molex to 6-pin adaptor?

 

[Number_25]

Was just checking that. The CX 430 only has one pci-e connector, where as the 6870 needs two.

If he's not OCing it, what the need of the aftermarket cooler? At least the 3570k gives him the option. It will also have a high resale value.

Didn't even think, I have a CX600W in my brothers PC and it came with two, so I just assumed.

 

[stulid]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £44.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £615.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).




• Modular PSU with two connectors.
• 3570K, its the retail one so includes a heatsink/fan+paste.

 

[Number_25]

I already have a DVD drive here he can have actually.

Gives us an extra £17 to play around with.

 

[Number_25]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £44.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
Total : £598.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Done?

 

[honosuseri]

I already have a DVD drive here he can have actually.

Gives us an extra £17 to play around with.

What are the main uses of the PC? It's hard to balance a build if we dont know the uses.

If it's just for gaming i've made my case for the cheaper CPU and much better GPU.

6850 vs 7850 at stock speeds......remember the 7850s overclock well and have double the VRAM

 

[LukieBoy007]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £179.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £39.95
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £32.99
Total : £613.96 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Included a CPU cooler as well.

 

[stulid]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £44.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
Total : £598.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Done?

That done

 

[Number_25]

I would rather get a Gelid Tranquillo, but it looks like there'll be no overclock so the stock cooler is fine.

 

[honosuseri]

Well im clearly being ignored. I'll leave you to it

 

[LukieBoy007]

I would rather get a Gelid Tranquillo, but it looks like there'll be no overclock so the stock cooler is fine.

In that case, what you posted above will be fine. Could always upgrade to a 1TB HDD for an extra £10 or so.