1st Time Build, Advice Welcomed

Shawpe

Shawpe

Shawpe

Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2013
Posts
15
Location
Plymouth
1st Time Build, Advice Needed

Hi all,

Just lloking for some help and guidance.

This is the 1st time I have attempted a build, from reading through these forums and other sites, I feel quietly confident.

I am looking at a machine that can handle browsing, paperwork, light video/photo editing and some gaming (probably, Fallout series, Civilization 5 and Skyrim).

So after looking at other advice on the forum, i'm looking at buying this:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core (£152.56)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H ATX (£74.83)
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 (£59.90)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" SSD (£73.99)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB (£125.24)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid (£43.59)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W Supply (£56.00)

Total: £586.11

So my questions:

1) Have I forgotten anything obvious? (I have OS, spare 320GB HDD, Monitor (19" 1440 x 900), Optical Drive, Keyboard and Mouse)

2) I also have a CWT 355W PSU, can this be re-used instead of buying a new one?

3) £550 is really my budget, (apart from possibly the PSU) is there anything I could be replaced and not lose too much performance?

4) If I can reuse the PSU, are there any improvements that could be recommended, that would still keep under/around my budget?

Thanks in advance for any help and sorry for all the questions.
 
Last edited:
To be honest you may get more bang for your buck by going AMD. Is it a consideration, given your tight budget?

The components you've listed are all ok and should work well together, you could save a few quid by going for teamgroup RAM (lifetime warranty with OCUK, a UK supplier) and there are slightly cheaper Micro ATX cases available but other than that any saving will hit performance.

I wouldn't re-use the PSU either. The Antec is a solid, dependable unit and I'd stick with it

YOUR BASKET
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £53.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £100.08 (includes shipping : £9.25).

 
AMD is not ruled out by any means, but I kind of, slightly, know more about Intel and wouldnt have a clue regarding AMD.

If someone could spec me a AMD and explain why they chose that over Intel and how it relates I would definitely consider it.
 
With an AMD build, the low price on the parts would allow you to get a better graphics card, the 7870 for example. The fx6300 and a good 990 chipset would be the best option.
 
So something like this maybe?

I kept the Memory as it seems like a good deal for only a few extra £££'s and I like the case as well for the extra £££'s

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7870 GHz Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11199-16-20G) £146.99
1 x ASRock 990FX Extreme3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £86.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £82.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 520W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.95
Total : £570.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
 
5 free games is a good incentive.

Last question, will the stock cooler be adequate? (I don't plan to overclock).

If stock is fine, can somebody just give this a quick glance and make sure everything is okay?

Thanks in advance.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x ASRock 990FX Extreme3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £86.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £82.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 520W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £590.93 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
If you're not overclocking it should be fine, but it could get noisy under load.
Also, it's not as if you need to make a definite decision now. If down the line you want to overclock (recommended with 6300 for sure) or decide it's too noisy, it's really simple to replace the cooler.

Spec looks decent to me, assuming you have keyboard/mouse/OS etc. to re-use.
 
If you definitely don't want to overclock, you could drop the motherboard to the Gigabyte £60 one, and up the CPU to the 8320. This board probably won't manage anything more than a slight overclock, but the CPU would give better results with the 7950.
 
Okay, so after taking on board all of the advice and convincing the wife to up the budget.

I'm left with this and 1 last choice:

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £112.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x Xigmatek Tauro 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £523.94 (includes shipping : FREE).



Which Motherboard should I go for out of these 2?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
Total : £157.48 (includes shipping : £8.75).



After reading around, I think the Asus is better, but is it worth the £27 difference?

Also, I read the Gigabyte might need a bios update to run the FX8320, is this true? (I have never ran a bios update, so not sure of the difficulty).

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Shawpe said:
Okay, so after taking on board all of the advice and convincing the wife to up the budget.

I'm left with this and 1 last choice:

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £112.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x Xigmatek Tauro 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £523.94 (includes shipping : FREE).



Which Motherboard should I go for out of these 2?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
Total : £157.48 (includes shipping : £8.75).



After reading around, I think the Asus is better, but is it worth the £27 difference?

Also, I read the Gigabyte might need a bios update to run the FX8320, is this true? (I have never ran a bios update, so not sure of the difficulty).

Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...
i think the asus will handle that 8 core cpu much better as it has a strong vrm than the gigabyte. if you need to do a bios update then you will need a cpu that is supported already to do the update with i think. you could get something like a sempron 145 off a well known auction site to update the bios then sell it once your 8320 is working.
 
ahhhh the confusion :(

Is this PSU okay?

1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99



Then should I get this AMD set up or the intel below, does the Intel justify the £31 difference?

I'm leaning towards AMD as I don't want to annoy the wife any further with increasing costs, however if the Intel is that much better and easily justifies the cost, it may be worth it.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £112.99
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x Xigmatek Tauro 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £610.93 (includes shipping : FREE).





YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £149.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Gigabyte H87-HD3 Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £80.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x Xigmatek Tauro 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £641.93 (includes shipping : FREE).



Sorry for the long post, I just want to be sure i'm making the right decision and thank you for any help in advance.
 
Last edited:
Okay, so I have decided to go AMD and spend a few more £££'s on a modular PSU.

Can somebody just confirm that all cables I need will come with the PSU?

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £112.99
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 600w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020060-UK) £62.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
Total : £623.93 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
Would the stock cooler not be okay, if i don't have any intention of overclocking?

I cant afford to upgrade the PSU to that Seasonic and buy an after market cooler, unless I can bring other costs down. (I do like being married ;))
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom