£600 Budget

tr1cky

tr1cky

tr1cky

Associate
Joined
7 Jun 2010
Posts
447
Location
Wales
Hey guys,

I recently made one of these threads asking for some advice on upgrading my mobo, CPU and memory. However I have recently decided to just go all out and buy a new systems.

I have been quite drawn to the pre built system's. I have built my own current system before but unsure If I really want to do it this time round. I haven't done an overclock before and my knowledge on most components is pretty limited.

I am looking to spend around £500-600 in VAT. This include's a new copy of windows 7 64 bit (I can get for £30). I already have TB external hard drive and a Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache so I don't really need that.

I will be using the computer for general use, simiulation's of networks, processing RAW file's with Photoshop etc and maybe a little bit of gaming (But this is not a priority as if I'll play a game it'll probably be on lowish settings to get a better response even if I can get 70 fps on full settings).

I also watch a lot of 1080p movie's on the computer and have a lot of data which I transfer from drive to drive quite often.

I am unfamiliar with the Solid state drives, I assume they are merely used for installing the O/S? What's the advantage of them and why are they so expensive?

I've been looking at;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-252-OK&tool=3
Because it's got the quad core, but its at the top end of my budget and I'd prefer to spend less than that as I don't see the point in spending so much.

Also this one which is more realistic;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-210-OK

Basically I am looking for some guidance, I could be willing to piece up my own system if I am going to save hundreds, but from what I worked out it only costs around 50-100 pound more to buy a pre built overclocked system.

I have monitor, keyboard, mouse etc so it's just the tower I need.

Many thanks for the help, bit of a long and boring post!

Edit: Current spec is as follows.

antec 900
560w silverstone st56f
intel core 2 duo e6320 1.86ghz
2gb corsair DDR2
asus p5b i965
optiarc ad-7170s-0b
2 hard drive mentioned above + 200gb seagate
radeon 1950xt GPU
Click to expand...

Edit: I have been looking at these 2 recently, could someone tell me the differences apart from AMD/Intel is there much performance difference? Do they both support USB3?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=1444&subcat=

With the GTX 460 upgrade ^

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=FS-237-OK
 
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For useful info on SSD then read this

In essence the read speeds are much quicker than an individual HDD. Thus you will find lots of ppl using them to install Windows and games on them to improve load times. They are still quite pricey so depends if you think the benefit will outweigh the cost. I did and have bought a 64gig one for Windows and current games. Only had it a couple of days but its certainly quick.
 
Brabbinho said:
For useful info on SSD then read this

In essence the read speeds are much quicker than an individual HDD. Thus you will find lots of ppl using them to install Windows and games on them to improve load times. They are still quite pricey so depends if you think the benefit will outweigh the cost. I did and have bought a 64gig one for Windows and current games. Only had it a couple of days but its certainly quick.
Click to expand...

Hmm thanks for that will have a good read. Might be a better idea for me to invest in that at a later date, instead of buying a 32gb one and then requiring more space 6 months down the line.

My main issue with building my own is the mess I leave behind inside the case, wires everywhere, touching components, case not closing properly and I even have a antec 900 at the moment.
 
If you where to build your own what could you use from your old build, Also it comes down to if you mind it being messy or not I'm sure there are many people on here who will help you with cable management I have seen a few threads asking for tips etc, Theres also some good videos on youtube.
 
Jayster said:
If you where to build your own what could you use from your old build, Also it comes down to if you mind it being messy or not I'm sure there are many people on here who will help you with cable management I have seen a few threads asking for tips etc, Theres also some good videos on youtube.
Click to expand...

Good shout, I will be missing out on the overclock tho probably, or maybe I could give it ago with some research. Ill post up my current spec's in the original post.
 
[Off Topic]

I was just looking at the specs from the "Titan Krypt" prebuilt system tr1cky was originally looking at and was wondering if the listed PSU is a typo?

- Power Supply: Corsair Extreme 600W
 
Having just done my own first build I thought cable management would be really tricky and a pain. Now my current result is by no means perfect, but with a little thought about where you want to run everything, a nice neat case is very achievable.
 
Brabbinho said:
Having just done my own first build I thought cable management would be really tricky and a pain. Now my current result is by no means perfect, but with a little thought about where you want to run everything, a nice neat case is very achievable.
Click to expand...

Any pictures mate? I think I will be weighed to a custom build if I can get some recommendations for the budget!
 
If I were you, I'd keep your Antec 900, the PSU, HDD and optical drive. (Will post a spec up soon - just realised you don't want it for gaming)

*hopes no one quoted him*

ETA:
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £234.99
(£199.99)
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £144.98
(£123.39)
Geil Black Dragon 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Triple Channel (GB36GB1600C8TC) £114.99
(£97.86)
OcUK Value GeForce GTX 260 "Core 216 55nm" 896MB GDDR3 Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - (Grade A OEM - 3 Months Warranty) £93.99
(£79.99)
Sub Total : £501.23
Shipping : £9.50
VAT : £89.38
Total : £600.11

CUDA GPU for photoshop, i7 for processing power. I doubt you'd need to OC so I haven't specced a CPU cooler. You;d be fine with the stock one @ stock speeds.

I'm sure people will gladly help you through any troubles you have mid/post build, and can help with cable management too.

P.S. Go and post 28 times before you place your order and get free delivery :p
 
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Hey burty, thanks for the feedback and spec.

Thing is I dont think I can justify buying that kit as I want an all round system that I can have a game on if I get hoooked to gaming (currently not but could easily be lol).

If im not gonna be buying every component I dont want to be spending 600 on it as I'd prefer to keep some money for beer! And maybe a set of those acoustic 2.1 speakers / an SSD

Im thinking maybe i5, 4gb ram and a gtx 460 1gb might be a better option?

Im still unsure If i wanna keep this antec 900, its pretty old and it is horrificly ugly IMO, also the usb ports on front panel are broken from when I was wasted, need to get onto antec for some replacements.
 
OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £166.84
(£141.99)
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £148.04
(£125.99)
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £104.99
(£89.35)
OCZ Reaper Low-Latency 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 12800C6 (1600MHz) Dual-Channel (OCZ3RPR1600C6LV4GK) £86.94
(£73.99)
Xigmatek Midgard Midi Tower - Black £52.99
(£45.10)
£476.42
£11.75
£85.43
£573.60

Right mobo has SATA 6Gb/s ready for SSD and the spec includes the 460 1GB you wanted, The case has got good reviews and is a fair price... However the Cooler Master 690 II is more proven and is about £10 more if you wanted less beer/ssd/2.1 money.

ETA, you could get the price down to <£550 if you sacraficed SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3 on the motherboard, and went for something like the GA-P55M-UD2.
 
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