£500-£600 Build

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:23

Hi All,

This is my first post and i am looking for some advice on my first build.

Firstly i have been doing my research on various sites i.e tomshardware, anandtech and OcUK and a 50P bargin book from WHSmith.

I am looking to build a Gaming PC for the budget of £500-600.

I want to future proof this build so i feel either crossfire or SLI are required and i note the the new sandybridge is almost a must.

With that in mind i feel these two things are priority for my build?

I currently have 2006 Dell machine and it's very dated...

I do have windows 7 O/S and monitor, keyboard, etc!

The only thing i think would be useful from the old PC is the 500gb hard-drive and potentially the case - however this may cause cooling issues.

All advice is welcomed and required haha!

Many Thanks

Lukas

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:28

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £154.99
(£129.16) £154.99
(£129.16)
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £104.99
(£87.49) £104.99
(£87.49)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000528AS) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £31.19
(£25.99) £31.19
(£25.99)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £485.93
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 : £99.29
Total : £595.72

everything you need for a new base unit.

These performance graphs - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0 show how the 2400cpu is a little gem compared to AMD rivals.

This - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/164?vs=180 shows the 5850 gpu vs a equivalent price GTX460 1GB

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:33

Thinking ahead Stulid i would i require a larger PSU if i SLI'd the Radeon HD 5850?

Note i can use my existing 500gb SATA -II Hard-drive?

That response was rappppppid!!

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:36

Banjo Sandwich said:
Thinking ahead Stulid i would i require a larger PSU if i SLI'd the Radeon HD 5850?

Note i can use my existing 500gb SATA -II Hard-drive?

That response was rappppppid!!

The motherboard only supports a single graphics card, so thats also why the psu is just the right sort of power.

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:39

Ok, little re-think.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £154.99
(£129.16) £154.99
(£129.16)
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
Asus P8P67-M PRO Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard £129.98
(£108.32) £129.98
(£108.32)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply £68.99
(£57.49) £68.99
(£57.49)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £31.19
(£25.99) £31.19
(£25.99)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £492.60
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £100.77
Total : £604.62

This Motherboard will run both slots at 8X/8X speed, and the psu is more than enough for two 5850 in Crossfire, it even has 4 pci-e connectors(2 for each card)

just re use your HDD

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:42

Would you not suggest a motherboard that can support dual graphics card, i thought that this may become the standard in future years?

IGNORE!!!

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:43

Banjo Sandwich said:
Would you not suggest a motherboard that can support dual graphics card, i thought that this may become the standard in future years?

Check the build above, all sorted.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=iT2FJPCMOGBHClu4&templete=2

2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (Single@x16 or dual@x8/x8 mode or dual@x16/x1 mode)

And this is a review of the PSU - http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/XFX-PRO-650-W-Power-Supply-Review/1165

Shibbzy · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:48

I had no idea how many people ask for builds here!

Banjo, search further down, I literally got my new pc up and runing yesterday with the help of the experts from here. I spent £650 in total, runs like a dream, on win 7 ultimate, everything is at least 7.7 / 7.9 rating, except my cheapy HDD!

I run MW2 with the highest gfx and no lag at all, alt tab out in an instant. My web design/graphics work runs excellent too.

NOTE: Mine is not overclockable due to the cpu and mobo not the clocking model.

Hope this helps?

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:51

Thanks stulid!!!

Very helpful - MicroATX this means my motherboard is physically smaller and potential overheating?

Sorry to be a pain but i just want to make sure i get the best for money or is this where budgets start cranking up and up and up?

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:53

Banjo Sandwich said:
Thanks stulid!!!

Very helpful - MicroATX this means my motherboard is physically smaller and potential overheating?

Sorry to be a pain but i just want to make sure i get the best for money or is this where budgets start cranking up and up and up?

Yes its smaller, thats it.

i just found this for the same price - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-153-MS

still does the 8X/8X for dual cards, and is normal size. - http://us.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&prod_no=2071

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £154.99
(£129.16) £154.99
(£129.16)
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
MSI P67A-GD55 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £129.98
(£108.32) £129.98
(£108.32)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply £68.99
(£57.49) £68.99
(£57.49)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £31.19
(£25.99) £31.19
(£25.99)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
Sub Total : £492.60
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £100.77
Total : £604.62

One question, is your 500GB HDD a SATA or the older IDE style?

Shibbzy · 20 Feb 2011 at 11:54

I know Stulid knows a lot more than me, my mobo is micro, it's better as it means the cables aren't all hanging or resting on top of the rest of the mobo, instead they're tucked below it. I understand what you're saying, I was a bit worried about the size. Aren't we all?

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:08

Shibbzy just read your post and one thing is clear....

The inside of stulid's head is like th PC Build bible/pricerunner!!!

http://www.******.com/product/167819 - this was the hard-drive i bought.

Thanks Guys

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:14

that link won't work

Shibbzy · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:15

you don't know what *****.com is Stulid? Gosh you aren't as good as I thought!

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:18

Western Digital WD5000AADS 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache - OEM Cavia

RJC · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:32

Be careful linking to competitors

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:33

Banjo Sandwich said:
Western Digital WD5000AADS 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache - OEM Cavia

that good, its SATA interface, both the above motherboards didnt have the older IDE interface you see.

your spec is done then

Banjo Sandwich · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:40

I apologies i didnt realise they were competitors.

Thinking about a PC logically then the motherboard is then most essetial unit.

i.e. if you have a top-notch motherboard everything else can be updated with time.

Stulid if i was to add a cooler like Shibbzy what would you suggest?

stulid · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:41

Either,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-072-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-031-TT&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-010-TI&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

danewesley · 20 Feb 2011 at 12:59

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Asus GeForce GTX 480 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Far Cry 2 £199.99
(£166.66) £199.99
(£166.66)
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £154.99
(£129.16) £154.99
(£129.16)
Foxconn H67A-S Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
Coolermaster CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £61.26
(£51.05) £61.26
(£51.05)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £31.19
(£25.99) £31.19
(£25.99)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)
* Sub Total : £484.49
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 : £99.00
*