Best value 'future proof' build?

booey1 · 8 Oct 2009 at 20:15

I've not overclocked before but I'd like to make a build that that's really good value and will last for several years. Mainly for strategy games (something that can really deal with 1000s of units without crazy slow down - even good C2Ds fail at things like supcom).

I don't want something that's ultra fast now, but something that can expand, so I'm happy with 4gb RAM with space for 6gb later and same with gpu, something reasonable now with the ability to upgrade later.

My budget is £400-500, but again it's more about value than raw power.

Any thoughts/advice would be great.

RJC · 8 Oct 2009 at 20:29

How does this look:

XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99
(£99.12) £113.99
(£99.12)

AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 620 2.60GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £79.99
(£69.56) £79.99
(£69.56)

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AMD 770 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £76.99
(£66.95) £76.99
(£66.95)

Be Quiet! Straight Power 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant Power Supply £66.99
(£58.25) £66.99
(£58.25)

OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 Dual Channel (OCZ3OB1600LV4GK) £65.99
(£57.38) £65.99
(£57.38)

Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ) £34.99
(£30.43) £34.99
(£30.43)

Coolermaster Elite 334 Midi Case- Black (No PSU) £30.99
(£26.95) £30.99
(£26.95)

Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.99
(£16.51) £18.99
(£16.51) Sub Total : £425.15 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £65.54 Total : £502.44

95thrifles · 8 Oct 2009 at 20:29

Comes in just over, including delivery, but has a PSU that will allow for future upgrades

XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99 (£99.12)
AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £93.99 (£81.73)
Patriot G Series AMD 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-10666 1333MHz Dual Channel (PGS34G1333LLKA) £70.99 (£61.73)
Asus M4A77TD Pro AMD 770 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £68.99 (£59.99)
Be Quiet! Straight Power 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant Power Supply £66.99 (£58.25)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £36.00 (£31.30)
Coolermaster Elite 334 Midi Case- Black (No PSU) £30.99 (£26.95)
Sony Optiarc AD-5240S 24x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99 (£14.77)
Sub Total : £433.84
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £66.84
Total : £512.43

booey1 · 8 Oct 2009 at 20:37

What about something with a better processor and a smaller gpu as I'm planning to upgrade the gpu anyway?

95thrifles · 8 Oct 2009 at 20:39

you could save about 15 quid and get a 4850, but I wouldnt recomend anything below that really, youre not going to get a better processor than the one I included without spending another 50-60 quid

RJC · 8 Oct 2009 at 20:42

Something like this:

In my mind both cpu's are pretty good, 95thrifles is unlocked.

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £149.98
(£130.42) £149.98
(£130.42)

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AMD 770 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £76.99
(£66.95) £76.99
(£66.95)

Be Quiet! Straight Power 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant Power Supply £66.99
(£58.25) £66.99
(£58.25)

OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 Dual Channel (OCZ3OB1600LV4GK) £65.99
(£57.38) £65.99
(£57.38)

PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 4730 PCS 512MB PCI-Express Graphics Card £63.99
(£55.64) £63.99
(£55.64)

Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ) £34.99
(£30.43) £34.99
(£30.43)

Coolermaster Elite 334 Midi Case- Black (No PSU) £30.99
(£26.95) £30.99
(£26.95)

Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.99
(£16.51) £18.99
(£16.51) Sub Total : £442.53 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £68.14 Total : £522.42

booey1 · 8 Oct 2009 at 21:18

How does the:
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £149.98
compare with:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 6MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail + Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Game - £140.99
when they are OCed?

RJC · 8 Oct 2009 at 21:31

I believe the 955 will be quicker, and going down the AMD route should give better prospects for upgrades.

booey1 · 8 Oct 2009 at 21:53

Thanks very much. i'll ask around about that, but it definately gives me something to think about