Budget expanded for my new build, advice needed

Leigno

Leigno

Leigno

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Joined
9 Oct 2012
Posts
150
Location
Solihull, Nr Birmingham
Hi guys, with it being so close to xmas a family member has offered to give me £200 towards my first gamging pc build which is a nice little touch.

I'm pretty sure of the sort of thing I want to get but not set in stone, depends whats on offer at the time when I order which I am hoping is in the next 2 weeks, STILL waiting on my compensation money which is into the 4th week of the 3 to 6 weeks wait they said until i get it :)

My budget for the system was/is £1100, not including the gift from my family towards it, so all in all I have £1300 to spend now.

My plan was to run the PC through my 32" Samsung 1080p TV until after new year and then buy a monitor then, I'm wondering if its worth me spending the £200 on extra hardware for the PC and sticking to the original plan of going through the TV for the time being or is it worth me buying the monitor at this time?

Any advice is greatly recieved, thanks a lot in advance :)
 
Yeah something along those lines for the build, see my other threads for my build plans based upon recomendations from other forum members, pretty much average £1100 build.

My query is whether or not to spend the extra £200 on the PC itself and wait for a monitor or spend the money on a monitor now?
 
Depends really, what you'd deem to be more important.

For example, my build could do with a graphics card, but I'm opting to use the onboard for a little while and get myself a monitor first. Then, a few weeks afterwards I'll add the GPU.

£1100 will get you a lot of computer no doubt, and personally (as stated just above) I'd rather get myself a monitor so the machine is out of the way in a different room, rather than hogging up a TV.

As for components, I honestly can't say since there's so many to choose from. But Oliviers' recommendations seem spot on to me ;)
 
Your not wrong 1100 will get me a decent system, and me and Olivier are on the same wave length as to what I already have in mind going for the i5 3570k, z77 mobo, 8gb ram, suitable HD and SSD, aswell as suitable cooler and PSU and was looking at the bitfenix prodigy case, windows 7, and cheap and cheerful mouse and keyboard combo and optical drive and headset etc etc..

But I have no clue whats what with PC's only just learning and my build is entirely based on what people recommend on the forum :)

I was just wondering if it will benefit me in the long run spending the extra £200 on components? Like going for a different MOBO over the Gigabyte Z77, or extra/more expensive ram? Also I dont want to just spend money where its not necessary :)

The machine will end up in the same room as the TV regardless as the room is limited in the house and the office is exactly that, my place of work, havent got the room in there for a gaming machine such as the one I'm building, plus I'm in there most of the day too :(

And I have no clue if I can get a worth while monitor for £200 or if I should just spend the extra after xmas?
 
I understand the situation you're in.

I've spent the past 6 weeks changing my mind over what to get myself, granted I have a smaller budget, but experience wise I'm just as clueless.

If it's going in the same room, then the TV might well be the best solution for you if it all connects up just fine.

If you're going for the Bitfenix Prodigy I assume you're going for a mITX build? (Would actually fit rather nicely in a living room due to it's small size, and the case is like a Tardis. SO much room on the inside!)

If so, might I recommend the Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe.

Has a great layout, allowing for plenty of space for wider/larger coolers, not blocking the PCI-e slot. Includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it's a lovely little board :)
 
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oopppssss shoot me in the face with a high calibre weapon, I meant the Bit Fenix Shinobi haha, god knows why Prodigy popped into my head, moment of madness...

I was toying with going mini-itx at first but I'd prefer the space to work with and for future upgrades as things get bigger.

I'm quite lucky in the aspect I have time now to deliberate and discuss on what I want as I'm waiting around for the funds for this PC although I am getting very impatient and want it now haha.

And it will connect up to the TV just fine via HDMI, I'm just unsure if I will get the best picture from my TV over that of a monitor??? Without question I will be getting a monitor after xmas regardless, just seeking advice on if its worth me putting the extra £200 into the machine it's self.
 
Well, I don't see much of a need above that. And that's with pretty fancy components.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R4 Midi Tower Case - Titanium Grey £99.98
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £81.98
1 x Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD20EARX) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £47.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £29.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £939.48 (includes shipping : £10.50).



Still, £1,100 gives you the 3770K option, maybe a 7970, better motherboard. You will still struggle to reach £1,300 so my advice would be, aim at £1,100 or below, and keep the extra cash handy (monitor, keyboard, mouse).

I'd say forget itx / m-atx. IMO, a waste of money or too much bother. Better off with a good ATX build with plenty of space for any components and upgrades you want.
 
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olivier renault said:
Still, £1,100 gives you the 3770K option, maybe a 7970, better motherboard. You will still struggle to reach £1,300 so my advice would be, aim at £1,100, and keep the extra cash handy (monitor, keyboard, mouse).
Click to expand...

I'll second this.

But, like I said it depends. If the components you've had suggested to you, and what you've decided on so far will do the job you need them to, then I wouldn't worry about spending any extra.

Of course, an option with that extra £200 could be a custom watercooling loop, which could be quite a fun project but it's down to whether or not you're up for it I guess.

Or you could perhaps go crossfire/SLI with your graphics cards, but it depends what you get and how much the individual cards cost.

My advice is terrible, haha ;)

Either way, you're going to end up with a pretty good machine regardless by just going with the 3570K and a Z77 motherboard. The Shinobi is a great case too, nicely built with lots of room inside. I don't know how Bitfenix do it!
 
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Yeah I think your right to be honest :) The build I have in mind will have a 7970 and stay within my original budget of £1100 by the time you add OS and keyboard, mouse and the headset I had my eye on and I guess I can invest in better quality ones of those.

Could you recommend a better MOBO for me to look at that will work with the 3570 and let me overclock still, I have no need for wi-fi or bluetooth as my internet will be wired.

Thanks a lot for your advice :)
 
I personally really like the MSI MPOWER which is supposedly built for and great for overclocking, but I also like the Asus Z77 Sabertooth which is just a little too expensive for me.

Sabertooth

Lots of great features, built like a tank, and the thermal armour is something quite unique :)
 
certainly looks very impressive, great reviews too... shame i dont have a clue what half of the technical specifications mean :(
 
Which bit(s) are you stuck with?

It's mainly just stuff the board has, different ports, materials, and what-not. For £150+, I like a board to be loaded with features, otherwise I'd go under £100. You'll want your money's worth :p
 
I just want something that can do its job and do it well and not break :)

Just had another read over the spec's and it does look like like a good board, just a case of if i'd notice the difference for £100 extra than a Gigabyte Z77 mobo.

Ahhh soo many options to choose from and I dont have the knowledge to make a decision :(
 
Go with your instinct, and you'll learn about all the parts as you go along. That's one of the best things about building a computer, it's a fun, learning experience.

If you like the looks of a board, be it colour, feature set, or whatever, ask in the motherboard section and see what people have to say in there. Or just google the hell out of a particular product, watch unboxings, reviews, either way you'll find what's best for you sooner or later :)
 
thats pretty much what i've done so far, im getting there slowly, learned a lot.

best thing for me to do now is once I can order is put together a list, pick up the phone and speak to the guys in the shop.

been doing some thinking and think i'll be best putting the money towards a better mobo, headset and keyboard and mouse, and hopefully there will be some good deals on for me to take advantage of.
 
Smart thinking there. With £1100-£1300 to spend, you're going to want and be able to get good quality gear.

I'm not buying anything until I've got Christmas out of the way, and like you say - should be some deals to take advantage of coming up around that time anyway.

The less I have to spend the better! Haha ;)

You'll have to post a build log when you get going!
 
Yeah I'm deffinately going to be doing a build log when I get underway, hopefully it'll be in the next week or so.

All that I'm waiting on is a cheque from an insurance company which should come within the next 2 weeks, they said 3-6 and its the 4th week now.

Just put together my 'final' build, about to present it to the masses in a new post, to see if it's good or not :)
 
New build confirmation and advice.

Hi again guys,

Put together my 'final' build, need some expert advice and opinions on my basket. I say final, some parts may change depending on whats on offer when I order it.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £311.99
1 x Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £181.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £81.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £71.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x Plantronics GameCom 780 7.1 Surround Sound USB Gaming Headset £41.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £32.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/RSMS 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black/Silver/Biege) - Retail £19.99
1 x Steelseries Ikari Optical Mouse (62000) £14.99
1 x OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU) £10.99
1 x OcUK Professional Cat6 RJ45 5m Network Cable - Grey (B6-505) £3.62
Total : £1,188.96 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Thats the best I can do with my VERY limited knowledge and along with the advice of forum members, can you check it works and let me know if there is anything you would change or I have missed, I am willing to go up to £1300 on this build so if you can reccomend anything better than I have spec'd then please do :)

Thanks in advance.
 
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