Spec me a mini/small build.. £400

its only worth paying if you're gonna use it. ;p
if PS is a very minor part of your usage, and the majority will just be websurfing/documents/video playback, then an i3 would be more than sufficient
are you going to game on this machine?
 
Nah I doubt I will! Just trying to get the best bang for buck and something that will age gracefully!

Tell me, tamzzy's spec had 2400mhz RAM but the Gigabyte mobo only says it supports 1600/1333? Is 1600 the best I can have with that board?

Also, CPUs nowadays come with a stock heatsink and thermal paste pre-applied right? So I don't need either?
 
Scam said:
Nah I doubt I will! Just trying to get the best bang for buck and something that will age gracefully!
Click to expand...

its up to you, if you get the i3 or i5, both will be fine for day to day tasks.

Scam said:
Tell me, tamzzy's spec had 2400mhz RAM but the Gigabyte mobo only says it supports 1600/1333? Is 1600 the best I can have with that board?
Click to expand...

correct. the board only supports 1600mhz ram. but 2400mhz ram was the same price as the 1600mhz ram when i did the spec, currently there's a set of 1600mhz ram for a fiver less (£50). you can get that instead

Scam said:
Also, CPUs nowadays come with a stock heatsink and thermal paste pre-applied right? So I don't need either?
Click to expand...
correct
 
Great, thanks. When I have a moment I will tot up another basket. Just need to decide on a case, I like the look of the Cooler master Elite 120. Cube style is nice, just trying to see if there are any less deep. That would fit snugly on the shelf on my desk, but I wouldn't be able to open the disk tray :p
 
Hey thanks everyone for the help. I'm so tempted by the Lian-Li case below, but unfortunately it means I have to go for a slower slimline BD drive :( Not sure if the stock Haswell cooler fits ok in it? Infact, er, will everything in my basket fit in it?:p

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £82.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q03B Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black £59.99
1 x Samsung Slimline Blu-Ray 6x BDRW / 8x DVDRW - (SN-506-BB/BEBE) £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H81M-HD3 Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 350W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £39.95
Total : £503.38 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Thoughts? I'm nearly there! :p
 
Scam said:
Hey thanks everyone for the help. I'm so tempted by the Lian-Li case below, but unfortunately it means I have to go for a slower slimline BD drive :( Not sure if the stock Haswell cooler fits ok in it? Infact, er, will everything in my basket fit in it?:p

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £82.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q03B Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black £59.99
1 x Samsung Slimline Blu-Ray 6x BDRW / 8x DVDRW - (SN-506-BB/BEBE) £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H81M-HD3 Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 350W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £39.95
Total : £503.38 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Thoughts? I'm nearly there! :p
Click to expand...

That case is Mini-ITX but you have a Micro-ATX board
 
Ah damn. I knew the whole Mini ITX / Micro ATX would confuse me at some point! Does anyone know if the stock Haswell cooler will fit the Lian-Li? It's hard to find out the height of the thing..

Looking at the spec of the Lian-Li it only fits 2x 2.5" internal drives, so with one used for the SSD, it'd make getting a larger HDD for general storage a bit hard, no?
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung SpinPoint M8 2.5" 1TB 5400RPM SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HN-M101MBB) HDD £49.99
1 x Koolance QD3 no-spill quick male to 13/10mm - black £14.99
1 x Koolance QD3 Female Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling, Compression for 10mm x 13mm (3/8in x 1/2in) - Black £13.99
2 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - White £5.99 (£11.98)
3 x Koolance Nozzle Single, *Black* Compression for 10mm x 13mm (3/8in x 1/2in) £3.95 (£11.85)
Total : £111.49 (includes shipping : £7.25).



2.5" 1tb drive, they don't come much larger (capacity-wise that is) i'm afraid
(ignore the watercooling parts. they're my basket ;p)
 
Yeah. I could go for another SSD instead maybe, when I need to? As I said before though, my storage requirements aren't huge. I could probably survive with the 256gb boot drive for a good while anyway! Hmn.. that Lian Life case is sexy, would look nice on my desk. Anything else would have to go on the floor..

Edit: yep was eyeing up that CM case, but as above it'll be just too big to go on my desk nicely. The Lian Li is unbelievably small!
 
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I can't know what your desk looks like so I don't know if this would be a viable alternative but here you go - instead of a cube style case, a deep yet very slim width (100mm) case, to go on an edge of your desk, freeing up the rest of it. It can take micro-ATX mobos, and has a full-size optical bay for the BluRay you originally wanted. With the optical bay in use, it only allows for 1 x 2.5" and 1 x 3.5" drives. Don't know if that would be enough.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £82.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £40.99
1 x Silverstone Strider SST-ST30SF SFX Series - 300 Watt £37.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-101 Micro-ATX Case - Black £22.49
Total : £459.02 (includes shipping : £8.00).



If budget is £500, you could even get hold of a new SATA HDD:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.98




The black case is currently out of stock (I've noticed they re-stock pretty quickly). The white version is in stock:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Aerocool Qs-101 Micro-ATX Case - White £24.95



I'd include the bargain PSU Stu specced but the case only takes SFX.

Specced an Asus mobo with HDMI. The Gigabyte you wanted originally is out of stock with no ETA so I can't add it to the basket.
 
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stulid said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £25.99
Total : £35.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).




Much bargain, much low price, much WOW
Click to expand...
Thanks. Are you suggesting that because the Superflower won't fit the Lian-Li case? :confused: Or just for the cheapness and extra power?

This is my desk. Nothing special but it's not very deep. Measuring the CM120 case on it, that case being almost 40cm deep means it takes up the whole of the desk on one side. What I have at the moment is my case on the floor where I always end up kicking it (there's no room either side), I'd like to avoid that :p The Lian-Li is just so damn small and would look great on my desk! That Aerocool is nice for a tower though.

As far as the BD drive goes, I've read bad things about Pioneers and ripping BDs so I'm not too fussed if I have to get the Samsung. Paying more for slimline, but hey.

Decisions decisions..
 
Im suggesting it due to it being a bargain and being able to power all the specs listed even if you added a R9 270 etc later on for better gaming prowess.
 
stulid said:
Im suggesting it due to it being a bargain and being able to power all the specs listed even if you added a R9 270 etc later on for better gaming prowess.
Click to expand...
I really won't be doing any gaming but I can see the advantage (and cheapness!) of that PSU. Everybody does seem to rave about Superflower though. I wonder if there's any difference in loudness between the two.

I'm so close to proceeding to checkout. If I order today or tomorrow I'll have it on Monday which is great because I'm off work (well, working Monday night) :p

I'm just not 100% sold on that Asus mobo. A quick search revealed quite a few bad reviews and it doesn't have wifi. I wonder if the £35 difference upgrading to the Gigabyte H97N-WIFI Intel H97 might be worth it, as everyone seems to wholly recommend Gigabyte nowadays! Gigabyte feels a bit better in my gut..

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £82.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q03B Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black £59.99
1 x Samsung Slimline Blu-Ray 6x BDRW / 8x DVDRW - (SN-506-BB/BEBE) £59.99
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £28.99
Total : £509.42 (includes shipping : £11.25).

 
Still a good deal though! Hmn still dithering over the mobo. Any thoughts on that Asus versus the Gigabyte? :)

Edit: the Gigabyte is clearly too new. Doesn't have DVI, and my monitor doesn't have HDMI or DisplayPort. Woops!

Edit2: Turns out I don't even have a DVI cable anyway. Now swinging towards the Gigabyte board and getting a HDMI to dvi, seen as I'll need to buy a display cable anyway. I'll miss VGA :( :p

Edit3: On other sites the Gigabyte appears to have dvi out, but its not listed on ocuk? Can anyone confirm?
 
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Right, apologies for dragging this up again. I've had a slight rethink and think I want to push the budget up to £600, not necessarily for any performance advantages but just for a bit more future-proofing. Any recommendations on better cpu? I've plumped for the i5 4570 3.2GHz just because it fits nicely in the budget. Going to investigate the performance differences I'll see now..

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £149.99
1 x Gigabyte H97N-WIFI Intel H97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £94.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q03B Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black £59.99
1 x Samsung Slimline Blu-Ray 6x BDRW / 8x DVDRW - (SN-506-BB/BEBE) £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £28.99
Total : £612.42 (includes shipping : £11.25).



I'll add another drive when necessary, either mechanical 1TB, or see whether or not large-capacity SSDs come down in price.

Very close to thinking **** it, and hitting buy :D
 
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