Budget 2500K First Time Build

SMed · 30 Dec 2011 at 02:28

lol Just played 5 minutes of some flash game on my old dell laptop. CPU temp shot up to 90 degrees. I believe the thermal paste has been on a permanent vacation.

SMed · 30 Dec 2011 at 16:17

Motherboard has arrived. I technically have everything to build a complete PC now (except keyboard). But I'll wait for the SSD before I make it official.

I may set it up running Linux off the 2.5" 500GB HDD until I get the SSD. But for now, I simply don't have the time to build it. Too busy. May be a week or so.

But anyway, I am happy to be almost there.

SMed · 30 Dec 2011 at 20:48

Yeah I've pretty much decided to just get the 128GB M4 SSD. I'm going to make a partition to cache the 500GB HDD. I've got free overdraft on my student account, just going to stick it on there. -_-

SMed · 2 Jan 2012 at 10:14

Just a shot of the motherboard box. Hopefully try to get the SSD this week or next.

SMed · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:58

SGWills said:
i would have SSD for os and a few main apps and then the HDD as storage, you will get a better boot time and your main apps will open a lot quicker as well

I'm pretty much doing that, but slightly better. I decided to get the bigger 128GB SSD which will have the OS and all my apps (I don't have many). I'll make a small 20-30GB partition on the SSD which will cache the HDD which will hold all my storage stuff. This way, I'm getting the best of both worlds. Maximum performance where it counts (OS+apps) and fast storage access etc.

SMed · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:59

Got the bigger desk today (for free). Just deciding if I can be bothered to set it up.

SMed · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:12

TheYoungster said:
I have a spare dvd drive if you are after one mate

Sure. What is it and how much you want for it?

SMed · 2 Jan 2012 at 17:56

Yeah, need another month before I can use the MM.

Anyway, I was bothered enough to set up the new desk. It's big and grey, but very useful. Maybe I'll paint in the summer or something. Nice and sturdy though.

SMed · 3 Jan 2012 at 16:34

So I found the Crucial M4 128GB SSD for £135 (free delivery) new from that place where you ebuy things! Gonna buy it soon.

I'm really like this big desk, LOADS more useful space. Win.

SMed · 5 Jan 2012 at 16:29

Just ordered the SSD. 5 days for delivery, but it's free so can't complain too much.

Almost panicked when I compared the advertised read speeds from the site I bought the SSD claiming 415 MB/s and other sites claiming 550 MB/s, until I realised mine doesn't have the latest firmware. Phew!! I'll just have to update it when I get mine.

SMed · 5 Jan 2012 at 17:25

OK did some more thinking. My case doesn't have a cutout behind the CPU part of the motherboard. From what I've gathered, this means if I want to change/add a HSF I'll have to take the entire motherboard off. I don't know how annoying it's going to be to do that.

I may get an aftermarket HSF to put on before it's fully installed and running. Hmmm... more monies.

SMed · 6 Jan 2012 at 15:39

So I assembled the parts I have so far. All that's left is the SSD to arrive. I took some pics, and I'll post them up shortly.

SMed · 6 Jan 2012 at 16:43

Everything was pretty straight forward apart from one mishap. When positioning the motherboard into the case, I was holding the stock HSF as a grip. Well I guess the screw holds aren't very strong because the heat sink separated from the CPU. So I've ordered some Arctic Cooling thermal paste to re-do the cooler later.

I also ordered a mains cable as I realised the secondhand PSU I bought didn't come with one. And I got a HDMI-DVI cable because my monitor is DVI but the motherboard only has HDMI.

Only cost about £10 for all that stuff.

SMed · 6 Jan 2012 at 16:49

The fans were very dusty, but I took them out and cleaned them up before finishing. My anus got super tight when trying to close the CPU lever, I hope it's all right (the CPU).

IMG_8317 by SMed08, on Flickr

IMG_8320 by SMed08, on Flickr

IMG_8322 by SMed08, on Flickr

IMG_8324 by SMed08, on Flickr

IMG_8329 by SMed08, on Flickr

IMG_8331 by SMed08, on Flickr

Cabling is not toooo bad. The only thing crossing the motherboard are the USB and audio cables. I'll look for some extensions for those I guess.

IMG_8341 by SMed08, on Flickr

IMG_8343 by SMed08, on Flickr

SMed · 6 Jan 2012 at 17:53

Thanks.

I'm pretty much going to leave the build like this for a while. I'm not going to overclock as this will be light-years ahead of what I'm used to. I'm not going to bother painting the case and making cable-management cut-outs. When the time's right, I'm just going to get a better case. I'll stick with the integrated graphics for as long as needed, probably will pick up a secondhand 460 first. If the PSU can't handle that, I'll upgrade that. When the stock clock speed seems slow, I'll get a better HSF and overclock.

This should do me for a while.

SMed · 8 Jan 2012 at 16:41

Brief panic. I just wanted to test the PSU and see if I'd wired everything up correctly. Well it wouldn't switch on at all. Tried a few various things but nothing was working, wouldn't power up. I then found out how to test the PSU without the mobo connected and started to do this, but when I unplugged the 24 pin cable, I realised it wasn't pressed in fully. A missing mobo standoff was causing the board to flex and the pin wasn't clicked in. It's all good now.

No real progress really as it the PC wasn't connected to anything, just wanted to see if it would power up.

EDIT: there's not even a hole in the mobo tray on the case for a standoff by the 24 pin plug. Bit stupid.

SMed · 10 Jan 2012 at 17:30

phill9800 said:
What are you using for a GPU??

Nothing right now. I've never played games and I probably won't start right now. When funds permit, I'll probably pick up a secondhand bargain for around £100-120ish. But before that I'll need a better PSU too.

This rig is mainly for Photoshop and desktop work. I'd also like to get into light video editing (just family stuff) in the future. Might start playing games too, but I really don't need anymore distractions from my medical degree!

SMed · 10 Jan 2012 at 17:36

phill9800 said:
I'll see if I have something basic for you to use.. I know I have a 4870 X2 but I wont sell you that as it don't display a picture for some reason...

Its a nice rig mate, I think any GPU put in there will make a difference

What's that? One of your 580's for £100? Sure!

I'll get access to the Members Market in a few weeks. By then I should've paid off my 128GB SSD I put on my student overdraft.

SMed · 10 Jan 2012 at 17:44

Yeah, sure. I'll give you my expert hardware review.

Seems to be the consensus though that an SSD is one of the best upgrades you can make for general PC usage, after a big monitor I guess.

SMed · 10 Jan 2012 at 18:18

wazza300 said:
looks very smart and neat,but the font panel audio and usb cables need to be re routed or tucked behind mb tray imo would look a lot smarter

could tuck them under your 24pin psu cable? nice job though

Too short. There's already a bit of tension in it already. I'll order some extension cables and get it behind the 24 pin cable. Kinda hard to tell from the photo, but they won't go behind the 24 pin cable.

I've already decided this case is not worth hacking in the name of neatness. So long as they're not blocking airflow and going across the mobo, it's ok for now. Next case will be significantly better and have actual cable management.