Looking for build £800-£1000

lauy · 13 Jul 2015 at 21:55

Looking for 2 builds for a friend: one for £800, one for £1000 - just to see the difference

Want to use either of these cases BitFenix Prodigy (either MATX or Mini-ITX):

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-141-BX&groupid=2362&catid=1850

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-073-BX&groupid=2362&catid=2279

Need:
- play WoW at high settings
- monitor (preferably 24 inch with speakers)
- OS
- cd drive
- preferably intel build
- SSD & HDD
- Liquid cooling so its quiet (like a Corsair H55 or something)

Do not need keyboard/mouse, and don't want to overclock.

Think thats it! Thanks in advance!

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 16:28

Not sure if I'm allowed to bump this, but could anyone help?

Thanks

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 19:16

£1000:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £199.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Asus SonicMaster MX239H 23" Widescreen Ultra Slim Bezel LED Monitor - Black with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower Speakers £139.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £79.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £54.95
1 x NZXT KRAKEN X31 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 120mm - Variable Speed Control £54.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TPKD38G1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm - Black £15.95
1 x Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM M disc compatible £10.00
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £1,029.91 (includes shipping : £19.10 Ex.VAT).

Note that an i3 would be fine for WoW. But i5 would be nicer for other games.

Can also go for a 2GB 960 but the 4GB would be helpful for games like GTA V so you can max draw distance. if you're not going to venture into other new demanding games then drop to 2GB.

I have that monitor and love it, and it's on very special offer till tomorrow noon, so even though you asked for a 24" that's my recommendation right now. I paid about £50 more for it a couple years ago.

The 230mm fan is for the front and it comes with its own 7v molex adapter. I included another molex adapter so you can plug in one of the 120mm case fans, because the X31 cooler will take up both fan headers on that motherboard. Also an extra Sata cable as the motherboard comes with only two I believe.

Will spec you an £800 after this.

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 19:33

£800-ish:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £167.99
1 x AOC E2470SWDA 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £104.99
1 x Intel Core i3-4170 3.70GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £104.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £79.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £38.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TPKD38G1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x Samsung SE-208GB/RSBD External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £814.16 (includes shipping : £24.45 Ex.VAT).

No liquid cooler (would be pointless for an i3 anyway), no big fan, etc. And external DVD as for the micro-ATX it's better (internal sort of interferes with GPU). If you go with the mini-ITX case/mobo then an internal DVD is fine. Still need that included molex adapter if you want to run both 120mm case fans.

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 21:07

Looks great mate, thanks!

With the £1000 build, would the fans make it any noisier? By that I mean, could we get away with not even having the front fan and only use the case one?

Also whats the difference between a mini itx and micro atx case? size differences?

Cheers!

dacads · 14 Jul 2015 at 21:34

Liquid cooling is pointless if you won't be overclocking plus air cooling is quieter.

Fallen god · 14 Jul 2015 at 21:34

mini is smaller the the m-atx case. Also the point of such a large fan is that it can move very slowly while pulling in a huge amount of air due to the much larger surface air.

My friend wanted silent PC recently and I built it with 5 fans at 700rpm, its almost silent even under load.

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 21:35

lauy said:
Looks great mate, thanks!

With the £1000 build, would the fans make it any noisier? By that I mean, could we get away with not even having the front fan and only use the case one?

At 7v that big fan is quite silent and still pushes loads of air. And yes you can get away with not having it if need be. It'll just be a bit hotter as the Spectres that come with the Prodigy are very weak and the front 120 is especially pointless there. The big fan would direct air across drives, all the motherboard and even a little to the GPU.

If temps become an issue I'd also recommend switching out the rear Spectre fan and replacing it with a better one, to help expel hot air quicker.

But yeah, no problem starting off with stock and seeing how it goes.

lauy said:
Also whats the difference between a mini itx and micro atx case? size differences?

Cheers!

Mini-ITX cases take ITX motherboards, M-ATX cases take micro-ATX (and ITX) motherboards. So the former cases tend to be smaller than the latter. It just so happens that in the Prodigy's case they are both the same size (but different layout inside).

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 21:49

dacads said:
Liquid cooling is pointless if you won't be overclocking plus air cooling is quieter.

The guy who wants me to build it said it wants liquid cooling 'because it looks cooler'.

I do realise liquid cooling really is pointless, but there we are, he asked that as part of his specs

Thanks anyway guys and Danny! Will get these specs to my mate and see what he thinks

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:20

lauy said:
The guy who wants me to build it said it wants liquid cooling 'because it looks cooler'.

if that's the reason, he won't see it inside the Prodigy. I'd suggest something like the Phanteks Evolv ITX windowed.

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:29

Just spoke to him, he says he's more keen on the £800 budget now and is okay with not having liquid cooling.

Do you think we could squeeze an i5 into the £800 budget without a liquid cooler?

Thanks!

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:48

lauy said:
Just spoke to him, he says he's more keen on the £800 budget now but would still like liquid cooling (no idea why)

Do you think we could squeeze an i5 into the £800 budget along with a liquid cooler?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus H81M-K Intel Core i5 DIY Micro ATX Motherboard, CPU & RAM Bundle £218.93
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £167.99
1 x AOC E2470SWDA 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £104.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £79.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 650 Liquid CPU Cooler £44.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £38.99
1 x Raijintek Arcadia Mid Tower USB 3.0 Case - Black £24.95
1 x Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM M disc compatible £10.00
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £847.57 (includes shipping : £25.45 Ex.VAT).

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:52

Danny75 said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus H81M-K Intel Core i5 DIY Micro ATX Motherboard, CPU & RAM Bundle £218.93
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £167.99
1 x AOC E2470SWDA 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £104.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £79.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 650 Liquid CPU Cooler £44.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £38.99
1 x Raijintek Arcadia Mid Tower USB 3.0 Case - Black £24.95
1 x Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM M disc compatible £10.00
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £847.57 (includes shipping : £25.45 Ex.VAT).

Haha thanks for that! He has changed his mind again! I literally just edited my post and you already posted! thanks for all the help!! He doesn't mind NOT having a liquid cooler, but wants that case for definate. So could you recommend a cooler or just go with the retail stock one? Especially as we aren't overclocking. If it isn't too much ask, if you could spec another £800 (max £850) without a liquid cooler but with an i5 and the BitFenix case!

Thanks a bunch!

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:54

I see he's changed his mind about liquid. Just take the cooler out to make it £800. Can go with stock Intel cooler for now and pay extra for a Prodigy M-ATX if he wants.

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:56

lauy said:
So could you recommend a cooler or just go with the retail stock one? Especially as we aren't overclocking

Try the stock first, and play about with the fan profile. I find the trick is to raise the minimum RPM to a level that's still comfy for my ears, and that smoothens out the gradient and you don't hear so much change in pitch as happens when the minimum RPM is too low.

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:59

Danny75 said:
I see he's changed his mind about liquid. Just take the cooler out to make it £800. Can go with stock Intel cooler for now and pay extra for a Prodigy M-ATX if he wants.

Will the Prodigy M-ATX fit the CD drive along with the graphics card?

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 23:00

Let me redo the spec with a Prodigy to avoid mistakes, as he'll need to switch back to external DVD now as well.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus H81M-K Intel Core i5 DIY Micro ATX Motherboard, CPU & RAM Bundle £218.93
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £167.99
1 x AOC E2470SWDA 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £104.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £79.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £38.99
1 x Samsung SE-208GB/RSBD External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £850.13 (includes shipping : £24.45 Ex.VAT).

There.

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 23:00

lauy said:
Will the Prodigy M-ATX fit the CD drive along with the graphics card?

Was on it already

lauy · 14 Jul 2015 at 23:03

Danny75 said:
Was on it already

Haha that is great! I really appreciate all your help mate!

One last thing, would it be possible to get a mini itx spec too so that the cd drive is inside the computer? Just incase he isn't keen on the idea with a cd drive on the outside. I guess same parts but with mini itx board, cd drive inside and mini itx case?

Danny75 · 14 Jul 2015 at 23:09

ITX:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £167.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4440 3.10GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £152.99
1 x AOC E2470SWDA 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £104.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £79.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £54.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £38.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TPKD38G1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM M disc compatible £10.00
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £858.92 (includes shipping : £23.20 Ex.VAT).