Budget box build......spec check?

scoop · 30 Dec 2012 at 12:08

Old Core 2 box is now dying and needs a replacement........ Suggested spec is:

Will be used mostly for photo editing, office stuff and web. No heavy gaming. Planned to use the on-board graphics as I'm no doing anything graphics-heavy.

Questions:

- what have I forgotten?
- any better 120GB SSD for the same money?
- recommendations for a cheap, reasonable black case? Needs a front 3.5" panel for the Akasa card reader
- Have an Enermax Green 380W PSU I planned to re-use. On-line calcs suggest this should be enough {reckons 220W for the overclock and 3 internal drives, recommends 270W}. (Will also add one more SATA HDD, but the 3TB one may end up in a NAS box)

Comments welcome.

MrAnthony · 30 Dec 2012 at 12:35

The Samsung 830 is usually recommended over the 840 Basic, I do believe.

For the case, how about this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
Total : £29.99 (includes shipping : FREE).

Basic, good size and (I think?) has the front bay you require.

scoop · 30 Dec 2012 at 13:47

Thanks for the heds up on the basic vs pro on the Samsung; hadn't clocked that one.... The 830 is out of stock, so might be the Crucial M4 instead, unless the Force GT or the 840 Pro are really worth the extra.....

Case looks like it fits the bill.......

honosuseri · 30 Dec 2012 at 15:59

I'm not a fan of the Merc beta, I have used it. Antony is right the 830 is better as it writes faster and has a bit more storage than the standard 840

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x Akasa USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Memory Card Reader - (AK-ICR-13) £13.99
Total : £507.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).

I prefer the Z9 U3 but it's not stocked here sadly. Case is more than the Merc beta but it has plenty of fans, a fan controller, digital temp display, a P4/8 extension cable for cable management and you can fit SSDs behind the mobo tray if the 3.5 inch bay is being used

LukieBoy007 · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:14

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Toshiba (7K3000.D) 3TB SATA 6GB/s 64MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA300) £98.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
1 x Akasa USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Memory Card Reader - (AK-ICR-13) £13.99
Total : £555.91 (includes shipping : FREE).

The case is currently out of stock, but is great for the price. As hono said, a Z9 U3 would be a good choice if willing to spend more on the case. If you are going to go for a Samsung 840 I'd suggest getting the pro version, or wait for the 830 to come in stock again.