Building a PC - have I forgotten anything??

Hi everyone,

My terrible terrible terrible laptop conked out on me this morning and won't turn on! So it's time to bite the bullet and build a PC. I can't afford high spec atm so I'm limiting certain areas of the build. Can you tell me whether I've missed anything out? And also, do all the cables and such that you need come with the parts?

Radon AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 95W Edition 2.80GHz @ 3.80GHz Overclocked Bundle
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5450 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
OCUK EZCool NA-705 Case - Black (500w PSU)
**B Grade** Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM
Cooler Master Elite Power 500W Power Supply
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

I'm looking to play games on it and do 3d modelling for my uni course. Would this set up be suitable? Once I can afford it I think I'll upgrade the GPU, the case and get some more HD space.

Cheers in advance,

Jono

Not the best build as you've got 2 PSUs for starters + no ram

Whats your budget? A sandybridge setup would be much better and also do you need an OS?

There's only 1 PSU with 6 cores. The bundle includes ram, sorry I should have made that clearer.

My budget is about £450. I've got an OS already

Another question, is this at all futureproof or would I have to upgrade the PSU, Mb and Ram fairly soon?

PSU stands for Power Supply Unit, it is the part of the pc you plug your mains power into, you have 2 in that basket as a 500w one comes with the case, and then you also added another 500w cooler master elite.
As for parts you have missed, a motherboard would help,
I'll have a look now and get back to you ASAP

Oh sorry I misread it as CPU! The 500W psu in the case was reviewed as being terrible, apparently having blown up very swiftly so I'd rather get a reliable one.

If you're going for this, order today. The CPU, GPU and RAM will go up tomorrow as they're on This week only deals. Buying after today will mean you will have to pay around 15-20 pound more I think.

I apologise, did not realize it was a bundle

I agree with Mootheads build though, a lot more futureproof than the amd build. Although I would swap the motherboard to the MSI H67MA-E35 as the i5 2300 cant overclock and use the spare cash in upgrading the graphics card to the OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB. My opinion anyway

Have you built a system previously? Not meaning to be funny or anything...

@John101 That would be great if you wouldn't mind man!

@Moothead2 That looks good, what would be the advantages to that setup?

to be honest, that is a really bad build, unless the best game you plan to play is minesweeper. the graphics card you've chosen is barely better than onboard graphics.

however, the replacemnt PSU for the one that comes with the case is definitly needed, because i wouldnt trust the OcUK value PSU to power a fan, let alone a PC.

if you are heading to Uni, then dont bother buying windows 7 from OcUK. go somewhere you can get a student discount. my uni actually provided windows 7 professional for free

*edit*
misread OP. i thought it said phenom II X6 processor + OcUK barebones AM3 case
new build coming soon once i work out the price correctly

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/147?vs=363 - The CPU there is a slightly faster clocked 2300 i5. I also heard 6 core CPUs can be slower than Quad cores in games.

The graphics card you selected was dump (Blunt but true ).

Faster HDD and better quality PSU.

If you don't mind spending a bit more go for the GPU Reaper selected (ATI 5830).

There is always the option to go AMD and get a better GPU for a similar price.

You need to spend at least £500, for a half decent rig.

Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £134.39
(£111.99) £134.39
(£111.99)
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(£28.32) £33.98
(£28.32)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £381.92
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £78.48
Total : £470.90

Similar to Mootheads build but with a few changes! You could live without a P67 board as the cpu is not unlocked...

John101 said:

I apologise, did not realize it was a bundle

I agree with Mootheads build though, a lot more futureproof than the amd build. Although I would swap the motherboard to the MSI H67MA-E35 as the i5 2300 cant overclock and use the spare cash in upgrading the graphics card to the OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB. My opinion anyway

Click to expand...

To be honest I agree. I've had no experience/heard nothing about the cheaper sandybridge boards so I went for the failsafe C45 . The 460 would eat the 5770 for breakfast .

Edit: Go with John's build, that's probably the best you can get for your budget.

You guys are unbelievably helpful! Thanks a lot.

All these things look good, they don't necessarily mean that much to me.

One thing is that I am unwilling to spend anything more than the minimum possible on the case because I can't afford the case I want right now (Fractal F3 Pearl [I think]), so the Cooler Master is unnecessary unless it's thrown in there for the sake of getting it with a decent power supply.

I'd also definitely rather have a better graphics card than the one I stated at the beginning, as long as it's in budget.

Jono

You will unfourtently have to look around for a cheap but good case. The lowest price case on OCUK is £25 but i now of better cases for much cheaper...

since your budget is in that annoying area where AMD and intel builds are about even, here is the best i can do on each side

AMD:
YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £145.99
1 x AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £89.99
1 x Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 AMD 760G (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' Power Supply £44.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £460.50 (includes shipping : £10.50).

Intel:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £134.39
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' Power Supply £44.99
1 x MSI H61M-P23 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £43.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £457.91 (includes shipping : £10.50).
if your happy to spend the extra £15 or so, then definitly go for the motherboard recommended in the build a few posts above. however, i would recommend the bequiet PSU over the OCZ one


the AMD build has the edge on graphics, whereas the intel build has a far better processor.

i will be very surprised if the Phenom II X4 isnt man enough for the job of the 3D modelling software, so i would probably go for the AMD build

I disagree with reaper , a 460 + i5 2300 is a good balance and should be much better than an amd build. Even though the 460 is less powerful than a 560, it still a very capable card coupled with a sandy bridge i5. You could also overclock the 460 to make up loss ground...

Those are great, thanks man. I'll have a look at these benchmarks if anyone manages to find them and then make a better decision in that respect.

What I'm taking from what you've said though is that I need to be more careful about the cpu, mb and the gpu...right? The other parts I can get away with being strongly budget on.

I'm glad I came to you guys, I would have order that first set up without thinking otherwise

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
£134.39
(£111.99)
BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor
£107.99
(£89.99)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 Single Slot 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£77.99
(£64.99)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION**
£59.99
(£49.99)
Lepa W-Series 500W '80 Plus' Power Supply
£49.99
(£41.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ)
£31.99
(£26.66)
Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black
£29.99
(£24.99)
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1333LV4GK)
£28.79
(£23.99)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £448.42
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £17.85
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £93.25
Total : £559.52
_________ABOVE INCLUDES MONITOR___________

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
£134.39
(£111.99)
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£109.99
(£91.66)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION**
£59.99
(£49.99)
Lepa W-Series 500W '80 Plus' Power Supply
£49.99
(£41.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ)
£31.99
(£26.66)
Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1333LV4GK)
£28.79
(£23.99)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £385.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £79.37
Total : £476.22
_______ABOVE DOESNT INCLUDE MONITOR_______________

Thats the best I can do for you if you need a monitor mate.

Ofcourse the more you can throw at a Graphics card the better, that 5770 'was' a great card and I think it will serve you well until you can afford to upgrade. I included a better card in the build without a monitor.
i.e. Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive**
MSI GeForce GTX 460 HAWK "Super-OC" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
GL choosing mate