Build suggestions?

heatherleahy · 2 Feb 2010 at 20:57

I've only got about £500-600 for the whole shabang i.e monitor, peripherals, hardware etc so I know this is going to be a challenge.

I have no experience whatsoever doing builds; I'm hoping t'internet can help me out on that front but I need help picking the components.

Anyway here's what I need- something that runs quiet, has fast start up and shut down times, a large enough screen to view multiple documents/windows easily (obviously not cinema size!! don't go crazy

), basic gaming like battlefield 2 (if possible but not essential) and most importantly has to be quick when doing work on it and multitasking.

It's a long list and probably not achievable but please have a go I'm clueless.

PS no need to overclock that stuff just confuses me

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 2 Feb 2010 at 21:09

heatherleahy · 2 Feb 2010 at 21:16

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
This is what I would get:

AMD Athlon II X4 620 ~ £78

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-258-AM

Asus M4A77D ~ £60

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-376-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1482

4GB 1066MHZ DDR2 ~ £68

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-192-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB GDDR3 ~ £56

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-184-SP

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £41

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-081-SA

Corsair CX 400W ~ £39

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-017-CS

Coolermaster Elite 334 ~ £28

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-184-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £16

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-099-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

Windows 7 Retail ~ £100

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-124-MS

The OEM version is tied to your motherboard

ViewSonic VA2013wm 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor ~ £97

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-079-VS&groupid=17&catid=948&subcat=

The total comes to around £583 excluding postage

You may need to get an aftermarket CPU cooler but I would assemble the computer first and see how things go with the stock cooler.

How do I know if I need another cooler once I set it up and what do you mean by OEM? Can I use that retail windows version on more than one pc?

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 2 Feb 2010 at 21:52

heatherleahy said:
How do I know if I need another cooler once I set it up and what do you mean by OEM? Can I use that retail windows version on more than one pc?

If the stock cooler is too noisy you can always take it out and replace it. However noise is a very subjective thing so it could be that once you have put the case on the floor you won't notice it.

An OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) copy of Windows is one which is meant for shops when they build systems and is tied to that system or to be more accurate the motherboard in that system.

A retail version can be installed again if your motherboard were to go kaput or you updated your system fully in a few years. All your need to do is register the OS again with Microsoft. It can only be installed one system at a time though.

heatherleahy · 2 Feb 2010 at 21:58

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
If the stock cooler is too noisy you can always take it out and replace it. However noise is a very subjective thing so it could be that once you have put the case on the floor you won't notice it.

An OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) copy of Windows is one which is meant for shops when they build systems and is tied to that system or to be more accurate the motherboard in that system.

A retail version can be installed again if your motherboard were to go kaput or you updated your system fully in a few years. All your need to do is register the OS again with Microsoft. It can only be installed one system at a time though.

Thanks and how do you uninstall it from the old system so that microsoft can tell you are reinstalling when scrapping old parts and just adding all new hardware to the case. Do you have register online how would I go about putting it on a new machine in the future?

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 2 Feb 2010 at 22:08

heatherleahy said:
Thanks and how do you uninstall it from the old system so that microsoft can tell you are reinstalling when scrapping old parts and just adding all new hardware to the case. Do you have register online how would I go about putting it on a new machine in the future?

This is the FAQ for Windows Vista:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/quick-start/activation-faq.aspx

It should be the same as for Windows 7 AFAIK.