To build or not to build?...£1000 budget

munkeenuts

munkeenuts

munkeenuts

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Joined
30 Jan 2005
Posts
29
Hi All,

Have always built my own systems in the past, but not sure whether to make things easier and order a pre-built system. Dont need a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. Plus got a 256Gb Samsung 830 SSD to install also. Not a massive gamer. Will be outputting to a 27" Iiyama Prolite and a 55" Sony LED tv

Anybody give me advice on these two options below? Is one better than the other, or is there something I should change?

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £181.99
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £155.99
CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £119.99
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020040-UK) £99.98
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) £89.99
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp £25.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £7.44

Sub Total : £829.45
Shipping : £14.75
VAT : £168.84
Total : £1,013.04

Or.....

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Z77 Ivybridge 10100i Configurator - Gaming PC £1025.87
- Corsair TX750V2 Bronze CP-9020042-UK for S.I.
- Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD
- Sapphire HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI316G160C9K)
- Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
- Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM
- CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black

Sub Total : £854.89
Shipping : £15.50
VAT : £174.08
Total : £1,044.47
 
Build.

Spec can be improved though..

I dont rate CM storm cases.. Too Brash and not great cooling wise..

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Akasa Venom 750w Modular '80 Plus' Power Supply £79.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX16C10B1BK2/16X) £71.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £49.99
Total : £893.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).



This is a good £100-£150 saved and gives you better performance. :)
 
What are the main uses of the pc if you don't game much ? I can't see the point in spending nearly a grand if your just gonna be browsing the net :D
 
Doomedspeed said:
Build.

Spec can be improved though..

I dont rate CM storm cases.. Too Brash and not great cooling wise..

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Akasa Venom 750w Modular '80 Plus' Power Supply £79.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX16C10B1BK2/16X) £71.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £49.99
Total : £893.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).



This is a good £100-£150 saved and gives you better performance. :)
Click to expand...

Heard that bitfenix airflow isnt great either
 
Does everyone on this forum rate the Radeon cards over the GTX cards? Honest question, I was looking at a GTX660 but everyone on here always seems to put Radeon cards on the build lists that they quote for others?
 
Canary Wundaboy said:
Does everyone on this forum rate the Radeon cards over the GTX cards? Honest question, I was looking at a GTX660 but everyone on here always seems to put Radeon cards on the build lists that they quote for others?
Click to expand...

I would say it's more of a value for money thing. AMD equivalents are usually cheaper to buy.
 
lee32uk said:
I would say it's more of a value for money thing. AMD equivalents are usually cheaper to buy.
Click to expand...

This explains why people buy AMD over Intel..oh wait they don't..

It's based on performance and a certain degree of value as well due to AMD giving free games
 
dacads said:
This explains why people buy AMD over Intel..oh wait they don't..

It's based on performance and a certain degree of value as well due to AMD giving free games
Click to expand...

AMD Chips and graphics card are different in what they bring to the table. They used to be branded ATI before AMD partnered up with them and rebranded.

7950 > GTX Selection
 
lee32uk said:
I would say it's more of a value for money thing. AMD equivalents are usually cheaper to buy.
Click to expand...

Thanks, looking at a price comparison there isn't much between the GT660 and the 7950...although the radeon cards seem better looking (the GTX690 is gorgeous but would cost more than the rest of the rig....).
 
Thanks all for your replies. Main uses will be video/photo editing, work stuff (SQL and commercial modelling software), ripping/converting my DVD's and Blurays, watching films and the odd game.

Happy to spend £1k as I only tend to upgrade once every 4-5 years so would lke something that will last.

Have reviewed specs and how does this look (P.S. How do i do the the official spec list with the links and pictures?)

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Tota
Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £173.99
CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £119.99
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020042-UK) £99.98
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) £89.99
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp £25.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £7.44
Sub Total : £892.78
Shipping : £14.75
VAT : £181.51
Total : £1,089.04
 
You could fit an i7 in if you tweak it a bit. You haven't put a dvd/blu ray drive in your spec so not sure if you need one.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x XFX Pro Series 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £84.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX16C10B1BK2/16X) £71.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp £25.99
1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £7.44
Total : £1,075.04 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
Again thanks for all replies and comments - lots to think about! I think i've finalised my spec and am ready to start ordering the bits. As a final check does the below look good? Anything I've missed - don't need Optical Drives or SSD.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £173.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £119.99
1 x XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £96.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) £89.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
Total : £1,142.57 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
munkeenuts said:
Again thanks for all replies and comments - lots to think about! I think i've finalised my spec and am ready to start ordering the bits. As a final check does the below look good? Anything I've missed - don't need Optical Drives or SSD.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £173.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £119.99
1 x XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £96.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) £89.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
Total : £1,142.57 (includes shipping : £14.75).

Click to expand...

Looks good, will be a nice rig to use. Look the Storm Trooper case, grab the side window for it also, even better aesthetics!
 
 
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