£450 to spend

cHk4

cHk4

cHk4

Soldato
Joined
21 Jun 2005
Posts
9,232
Hi all, my brothers laptop recently died so we have £450 to spend to either get him a new laptop of build him a new machine. I'm trying to say building a new machine will be much better.

So far he has a 21" monitor which we could use, possibly a hard drive also (only 64GB but to keep cost down and it's a raptor also) Maybe able to salvage a case, he got it about 5 years ago and was about £200 Cooler Masters thing which is huge!

He will literally be gaming and that is it, he will also need an operating system please. Would anyone mind helping me spec up something without hard drives and monitors and also possibly without a case.

Thanks :)
 
 
 
Socrates470BC said:
With only 64GB, I think you are going to need a hard drive.

How about this to start with:

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £95.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £69.98
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' Power Supply £39.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £17.99
Total : £505.91 (includes shipping : £10.00).

Click to expand...

If you did need an HDD, I'd stick with my spec (better PSU, more RAM) and get a second hand HDD.
 
beejjacobs said:
If you did need an HDD, I'd stick with my spec (better PSU, more RAM) and get a second hand HDD.
Click to expand...

what makes you say that the be quite is a better psu? I've read threads saying that the psu doesn't deliver the quoted power.

the motherboard you've got will not allow for putting in a k series cpu and overclocking it.

4gb ram is enough for gaming.

I would say something like

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £143.99
(£119.99) £143.99
(£119.99)
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £95.99
(£79.99) £95.99
(£79.99)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £58.99
(£49.16) £58.99
(£49.16)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £17.99
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Sub Total : £397.44
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 : £81.49
Total : £488.93

the 6870 is better for gaming compared to the 460 and 6850 speced thus far, tho newer cards are due out shortly and the 78xx series is ment to be priced at the 68xx price range but performance wise be similar to the 6950/6970 level.

you can knock of the £10 delivery charge as you get free delivery(if you're in mainland uk no northern ireland)
 
fowler002 said:
what makes you say that the be quite is a better psu? I've read threads saying that the psu doesn't deliver the quoted power.
Click to expand...

It was I who recommended the BeQuiet PSU and there is no evidence to suggest that the PSU doesn't deliver the quoted power. I read the OcUK thread that mentioned this not too long ago and it was along the lines of "I had heard...".

So according to this review from Technic 3D (viewed and translated in Google Chrome) the power supply is rated at 100% for performance; 100% for stability; and 100% for value for money. - See Conclusion Page 7.

Further research has revealed the source of the (mis)information, a review of the BeQuiet 350w SFX Power PSU on Overclock3D.net.

The 350w SFX is a Small Form Factor PSU with an 80mm fan. What is stated in the conclusion of the review is that the unit is able to hold a 420w load and certainly wont pose any problem to those looking to get a full 350w out of the unit. The only area where the SFX Power failed to deliver was in the noise output when the load exceeded 75% and that up until that point it was perfectly quiet.

You can read the full overclock3D.net review here.

You can aslo read the overclock3D.net review of the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 650w ATX PSU, here.
 
Last edited:
Gregfoster17 said:
If your going to be using an i3-2100, i would suggest down grading from the z68 mobo and go for h67 mobo as the i3 is locked and won't allow for overclocking anyway.
Click to expand...

you're not thinking about future upgrades making comments like that ;)

but as mentioned having a z68 board allows for future upgrade to a k series unlock cpu(be it sandy bridge 2500k/2600k/2700k or new ivybridge versions) and overclock, the h67 board will allow you to upgrade the cpu but not overclock it should you get the i2500k for example.
 
Just wondering will the above fit in a Cooler Master CM stacker, just want to make sure then I can order :)

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom