£800 pre-built or self build?

bgbennyboy · 13 Dec 2009 at 11:58

I'm getting myself a new pc for Christmas and I've set a budget of £800 maximum. I don't need monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers/windows - just a base unit.

My current pc is:
Athlon64 3500
2GB RAM
Geforce 6800 GS
Asus AEN-E (Nforce 4)

It works perfectly well for most things however its now right at the bottom of the spectrum for gaming (L4D2 works but isn't exactly pretty), cant possibly run games in my monitors native res (1920x1080) and is likely to have the motherboard die at some point next year (I'm on my 3rd A8N-E board in 4 years).

I'm not bothered about overclocking, I'll be using it for occasional gaming and general use so I don't need a completely top-end machine. My main requirements are that it'll run current games well, will last reasonably well for 4 years (I usually get a new pc after that) and will be quiet in normal non-gaming use (noisy pc's drive me crazy).

I've built plenty pc's in my time but haven't been keeping up with the technology for the last few years so I dont know whether to go for Athlon, i5 or i7. I'm perfectly happy to build my own but was thinking that I might just get one of the ocuk pre-built systems this time unless I'd save a decent amount by self-building.

I was looking at the Titan Goliath i7, but the fact that its overclocked made me wonder about its noise levels. Given my rather ridiculous requirements would any of you kind souls be able to suggest something suitable?

bgbennyboy · 13 Dec 2009 at 13:19

Thanks very much for the spec

If you could answer another question I'd be grateful. Apart from the noise stopping that the P183 provides would this with the 5770 be any better/worse? I notice its got 6gb of ram and is only 15 quid more. Paying an extra 15 quid for another 2gb of ram and avoiding the faff of building it myself is an attractive proposition.

bgbennyboy · 13 Dec 2009 at 14:35

Thank you very much for the suggestions

bgbennyboy · 13 Dec 2009 at 16:09

500GB would be fine as I've got another 500GB drive that could be put in alongside it. My only concern with the Goliath is noise levels. I think I might try ringing tomorrow and see how much it would be with the 5770 vapour-x.

bgbennyboy · 15 Dec 2009 at 21:13

Thanks again for all the help and comments, I'm going to go for a self build using the spec 95thrifles posted but without the hd as I'll use my existing ones.
One last question though:

I'm now unsure about which psu to go for, I want it to be decent, but I also want it to be quiet. Modular is nice but I'd prefer a quieter psu over a modular one. Which (if any) would you reccommend? I was looking at the Corsair TX 650w the OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w and the Antec Signature Premium 650w. Any advice, or indeed alternative suggestions would be appreciated