£400 to start (Gaming)

Moogzie

Moogzie

Moogzie

Associate
Joined
31 Jan 2011
Posts
13
Whats up guys! So, i'm looking to spend a little on a new build..having not built anything since 8800gtx was king. I have my OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse - wanting to play at 1920x1080 somewhat decently. Problem is i'm really out of the loop..anyway, im not REALLY looking to overclock and i've been eyeing up AMD considering the value; i'd love for there to be some room for the system to grow but if not thats not a massive deal either (also i dont mind hanging on for the new AMD cpus..but ive heard it'd be easy to swap everything over to a new AM3+ mobo once its out anyway?) it'd be awesome if it was fairly quite and the case didn't look horrible too (finding both of those on a budget is tricky!)

I don't mind stretching the budget a LITTLE, and i wouldn't mind dropping some extra more money on it in a few months time if the upgrade paths are available

I get this is probably a little vague with some mixed criteria but i'm not so sure myself..at least it makes it a bit interesting eh ;)
 
£400 for the whole build? You could get a good computer for that, but not an amazing one that can play loads of games max spec etc. What do you want to use the computer for?
 
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £124.99
(£104.16) £124.99
(£104.16)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.33
(£53.61) £64.33
(£53.61)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £31.19
(£25.99) £31.19
(£25.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £355.39
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 : £73.18
Total : £439.0

Nice build here hope you can stretch that much
 
Tried a SB setup but ends up a bit over cost:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £147.98
(£123.32) £147.98
(£123.32)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Foxconn H67A-S Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80
(£32.33) £38.80
(£32.33)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £369.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £75.95
Total : £455.71


AMD:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80
(£32.33) £38.80
(£32.33)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £348.09
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 : £71.72
Total : £430.31
 
Last edited:
RJC said:
Tried a SB setup but ends up a bit over cost:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £147.98
(£123.32) £147.98
(£123.32)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Foxconn H67A-S Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80
(£32.33) £38.80
(£32.33)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £369.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £75.95
Total : £455.71


AMD:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80
(£32.33) £38.80
(£32.33)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £313.10
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 : £64.72
Total : £388.32
Click to expand...


Can't see the psu
 
Cheers, thought the op had a PSU:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80
(£32.33) £38.80
(£32.33)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £348.09
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 : £71.72
Total : £430.31
 
Thanks for the replies guys, awesome stuff..yes, the whole computer - i have the peripherals (mouse keyboard etc) monitor and OS

Checking out some of the stuff now, lots of things i didn't even know about/think of :) the 460 looks like an awesome card.

Does anyone think i'd be better off going for a newer gen card then possibly sticking it into SLI/Crossfire when i need the additional power (a second card would be cheaper by then also) i'd prefer not to have to refresh the whole rig too often..i tend to fall out of the loop quickly after making a new rig :p
 
Slight re-design:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gainward GeForce GTX 460 GS 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £131.99
(£109.99) £131.99
(£109.99)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Asus M4A78LT-M 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80
(£32.33) £38.80
(£32.33)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £328.93
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 : £67.89
Total : £407.32

460 VS 5850:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/47?vs=100

Comparison on the cpu's

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=189
 
Cheers for the links, going to check everything out when im back from work - really appreciate it guys! Looks like im going to go with an AMD atm. I'm also seriously considering investing a little more perhaps on the cpu/gpu..how does that tricore hold up in most games?

£400 is a little more limiting than i'd imagined but you've done better than my quick scans through OCUK :)
 
problem you have is that if you have that much to spend on a computer, and you want to buy the whole thing, it will be hard to upgrade it as you will have to comprimise so much on the initial build parts that adding on extra bits will cause problems with sockets bottlenecks and compatability; I would save at least 600 then at least some of the stuff you originally buy can be very good and allow for upgrading around it. The psu is a massive one to invest in from the go, as is the case.

This is the full works for 400;

15237816.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yeh i was sorta coming to that conclusion too. I'm having a look at some more expensive builds now, with the aim to get a good "core" (ie the platform, case..psu..on your recommendation) then i can build from there when the need comes

Thanks for the help, feel free to shoot some stuff across that you think would be more future proofed if you're up for it, i'll check them when i'm back :) thanks again guys!
 
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