Soldato
- Joined
- 24 Apr 2011
- Posts
- 5,455
UPDATE 6/2/2014
Jump to post #19 for a recent update please, although the information in the OP is still relevant.
EDIT: Mod, please edit title please. Suggestions for first build.
Original Post
Hi all. First of all, apologies for the lengthy thread. The main items will be listed in bold/underlined, so you don't have to go through a whole list of unnecessary text. I will also divide the OP into pieces, for easier reading. Here goes.
For going to University, my government gives me a grant to spend on 'educational items.' PC hardware is in the section of educational items, so basically, I am given the opportunity to buy a brand new PC, just for going to University. After buying a few items, I am left with around €950. Still, I am willing to extend this budget and spend more of my own money, but only if it is really worth it.
Here is what I have currently:
I want a PC that can play the latest games at 60 fps. Although I am not one who spend all of his day playing games (except FM, but that is another story), I do enjoy the occasional FPS, including Battlefield or Call of Duty. I will also play some adventure games too, but I feel that if it can play BF4, then it can take pretty much all the games.
I might also look at video rendering in the future, so if the jump from i5 to i7 isn't that large, then I may decide to take the plunge.
Apart from this, it will be used for general 'office' work. Here is a more details description of what I want.
Case:
I don't really care about the aesthetics of the machine, its the inside that counts. I don't like LEDs, or anything of the sort. If possible, I would keep my current case, (Cooler Master Elite 335U Case - Black). If the peripherals don't fit, then I prefer a simple, clean case. The BitFenix Shinobi and Ghost are two cases which i particularly like (although I haven't looked at a lot of cases).
Power Supply:
Each time I look at a spec me thread, I read people saying DON'T GIMP OUT ON THE POWER SUPPLY!!!!111!!11!111!!! So yeah, I'm expecting a decent PSU, which will allow headroom for some upgrades in the future.
Motherboard:
Once again, not something I can really explain. Just something that overclocks well, and holds all the rest of the peripherals. I think its obvious, but it must have USB 3.0
The more USBs the better. I also have a USB/Card Reader hub that I can attach to it.
CPU:
I would prefer to go Intel rather than AMD. If I'm not mistaken, Haswell is the name of the latest chips by Intel, so I would prefer if the CPU is Haswell.
GPU:
After owning an AMD graphics card, I want to try out Nvidia. Everyone says Nvidia is slightly better, so I would like to see for myself. Whilst I may consider an AMD GPU, it would be only if the price to performance ratio is significantly better.
Cooling:
Since I am relatively new to this, I would prefer to stay off water cooling for now. I feel that normal cooling will be somewhat cheaper, and require less maintenance, even though it may lower my temps down a bit. Not really bothered about what I get, as long as it is good, and doesn't sound like an aeroplane.
RAM:
I have no preference to any brand, although i see that Corsair are quite good have quite good RAM modules. I am debating weather I prefer 8GB or 16GB, as I feel 32GB is overkill (that can come later). I would prefer having 2 modules, rather than 4, so that upgrades will be less costly in the future.
Storage:
I am not one who needs a lot of storage space. I keep a lot of things on the cloud. My 500GB Hard Disk is only half full, and my 320GB external Hard Disk is also half full. I was thinking maybe I can keep my current hard disk (Western Digital Caviar GP 500GB HDD @7200RPM) as it is still good. Whilst I know that later hard disks might be faster, and contain more cache, I feel that the investment is not justified. What do you think?
I do want a Solid State drive though. I feel that 60GB will be enough just to hold the OS, and some of the more useful programs. I might think about getting a 120GB SSD, only if the price is right.
Optical Drive:
Surely I can keep the one I have? I don't need any Blu Ray crap. I have no idea what my current one is, but its just a normal, black, Optical Drive.
Sound Card:
I am no audio freak. As long as the motherboard has on board audio, I am happy. I have a USB sound card for my headset.
OS:
Dreamsparks provides me with a free OS, so no need for that.
Monitor:
I have a 24", full HD, 1920x1080 monitor. No need for a new one. I also have a small 20" 1080x768 monitor that I attach as a secondary monitor.
Peripherals:
I feel that my current peripherals are adequate. I need no upgrade in that department.
Hopefully I covered everything.
I am in no real rush to buy tbh, although i would like to have it all done before Christmas. I will wait for the best offer available, so if you think that there will be a sharp drop in some product, please do tell me.
If you have any other questions, I encourage you to tell me and I will answer.
Thanks.
Jump to post #19 for a recent update please, although the information in the OP is still relevant.
EDIT: Mod, please edit title please. Suggestions for first build.
Original Post
Hi all. First of all, apologies for the lengthy thread. The main items will be listed in bold/underlined, so you don't have to go through a whole list of unnecessary text. I will also divide the OP into pieces, for easier reading. Here goes.
For going to University, my government gives me a grant to spend on 'educational items.' PC hardware is in the section of educational items, so basically, I am given the opportunity to buy a brand new PC, just for going to University. After buying a few items, I am left with around €950. Still, I am willing to extend this budget and spend more of my own money, but only if it is really worth it.
Here is what I have currently:
Hardware:
Pentium(R) Dual-Core E5200 @2.5GHz
Asus P5KPL-AM Motherboard
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair RAM @800MHz DDR2
Stock Cooler
HIS Radeon 4850HD 1GB
Stock 500W Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar GP 500GB HDD @7200RPM
Intenso 6002510 320GB USB 2.0 External HDD
DVD±RW Drive
Cooler Master Elite 335U Case - Black
Peripherals:
ViewSonic VX2460h-LED 24" Monitor
LG 20LC1R 20" Monitor
Razer DeathAdder Respawn 3500dpi @3500dpi
DELL Keyboard
SteelSeries Siberia v2 Headset (Black)
SteelSeries Siberia USB Soundcard
Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System
Boogie Bug AimB.Pad XL Gaming Mouse Pad
Pentium(R) Dual-Core E5200 @2.5GHz
Asus P5KPL-AM Motherboard
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair RAM @800MHz DDR2
Stock Cooler
HIS Radeon 4850HD 1GB
Stock 500W Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar GP 500GB HDD @7200RPM
Intenso 6002510 320GB USB 2.0 External HDD
DVD±RW Drive
Cooler Master Elite 335U Case - Black
Peripherals:
ViewSonic VX2460h-LED 24" Monitor
LG 20LC1R 20" Monitor
Razer DeathAdder Respawn 3500dpi @3500dpi
DELL Keyboard
SteelSeries Siberia v2 Headset (Black)
SteelSeries Siberia USB Soundcard
Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System
Boogie Bug AimB.Pad XL Gaming Mouse Pad
I want a PC that can play the latest games at 60 fps. Although I am not one who spend all of his day playing games (except FM, but that is another story), I do enjoy the occasional FPS, including Battlefield or Call of Duty. I will also play some adventure games too, but I feel that if it can play BF4, then it can take pretty much all the games.
I might also look at video rendering in the future, so if the jump from i5 to i7 isn't that large, then I may decide to take the plunge.
Apart from this, it will be used for general 'office' work. Here is a more details description of what I want.
Case:
I don't really care about the aesthetics of the machine, its the inside that counts. I don't like LEDs, or anything of the sort. If possible, I would keep my current case, (Cooler Master Elite 335U Case - Black). If the peripherals don't fit, then I prefer a simple, clean case. The BitFenix Shinobi and Ghost are two cases which i particularly like (although I haven't looked at a lot of cases).
Power Supply:
Each time I look at a spec me thread, I read people saying DON'T GIMP OUT ON THE POWER SUPPLY!!!!111!!11!111!!! So yeah, I'm expecting a decent PSU, which will allow headroom for some upgrades in the future.
Motherboard:
Once again, not something I can really explain. Just something that overclocks well, and holds all the rest of the peripherals. I think its obvious, but it must have USB 3.0
The more USBs the better. I also have a USB/Card Reader hub that I can attach to it.CPU:
I would prefer to go Intel rather than AMD. If I'm not mistaken, Haswell is the name of the latest chips by Intel, so I would prefer if the CPU is Haswell.
GPU:
After owning an AMD graphics card, I want to try out Nvidia. Everyone says Nvidia is slightly better, so I would like to see for myself. Whilst I may consider an AMD GPU, it would be only if the price to performance ratio is significantly better.
Cooling:
Since I am relatively new to this, I would prefer to stay off water cooling for now. I feel that normal cooling will be somewhat cheaper, and require less maintenance, even though it may lower my temps down a bit. Not really bothered about what I get, as long as it is good, and doesn't sound like an aeroplane.
RAM:
I have no preference to any brand, although i see that Corsair are quite good have quite good RAM modules. I am debating weather I prefer 8GB or 16GB, as I feel 32GB is overkill (that can come later). I would prefer having 2 modules, rather than 4, so that upgrades will be less costly in the future.
Storage:
I am not one who needs a lot of storage space. I keep a lot of things on the cloud. My 500GB Hard Disk is only half full, and my 320GB external Hard Disk is also half full. I was thinking maybe I can keep my current hard disk (Western Digital Caviar GP 500GB HDD @7200RPM) as it is still good. Whilst I know that later hard disks might be faster, and contain more cache, I feel that the investment is not justified. What do you think?
I do want a Solid State drive though. I feel that 60GB will be enough just to hold the OS, and some of the more useful programs. I might think about getting a 120GB SSD, only if the price is right.
Optical Drive:
Surely I can keep the one I have? I don't need any Blu Ray crap. I have no idea what my current one is, but its just a normal, black, Optical Drive.
Sound Card:
I am no audio freak. As long as the motherboard has on board audio, I am happy. I have a USB sound card for my headset.
OS:
Dreamsparks provides me with a free OS, so no need for that.
Monitor:
I have a 24", full HD, 1920x1080 monitor. No need for a new one. I also have a small 20" 1080x768 monitor that I attach as a secondary monitor.
Peripherals:
I feel that my current peripherals are adequate. I need no upgrade in that department.
Hopefully I covered everything.
I am in no real rush to buy tbh, although i would like to have it all done before Christmas. I will wait for the best offer available, so if you think that there will be a sharp drop in some product, please do tell me.
If you have any other questions, I encourage you to tell me and I will answer.
Thanks.
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