Hi all
So it's been a few years since I built my last machine and i've spent the last week looking at many reviews of different components.
I have put together a couple of machines in the past, generally from parts I had lying around but haven't done any overclocking - and this is something I wanted to look into this time around, to save a bit of cash and well just for the fun of it
I have a budget of around £800-1000, cheaper is better as I could spend more money on a Monitor or two.
I want a good gaming machine, unsure what games as the last thing I spent time playing was L4D2 & TF2, very old but I generally play FPS games and I will get some of the new ones once i'm up and running
I also do a bit of Video Editing and I want a machine I can use to learn some animation in the future.
The computer is going to be in the lounge, so noise is also an issue, but if it ends up costing too much to keep quiet then I will just deal with the sound.
What I've selected so far
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Processor - Intel i5 2500k - from what I have read this is probably the best option to save a bit of cash rather than going for the 2600k
Motherboard - I was looking at the Asus P8P67 Pro but was reading that people are having issues with it currently, I was reading the MSI P67A-C45-B3 could be another cheaper option but I heard that overclocking on them was a little harder.
Memory (RAM) - G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB - I have heard great reviews about this Ram and thought I'd add it to my list - but there are cheaper options out there and am open to changing this
Hard drive - I already own 2x WD10EAVS and a WD500AAKS.I was thinking about getting a small SSD for the operating system - but is that worth doing?
Graphics card - HD 6950 - I read that this could be unlocked to a 6970, which would make it well worth the money, but then I wonder if i'm putting enough of my budget towards graphics?
Power supply (PSU) - I have a Enermax EIN650AWT PSU that was given to me, will this provide enough power, or should I be looking at getting something more?
Case - I haven't a clue what to get here, I've never worried about cases in the past, and have always just got a cheap one - any recommendations would be appreciated.
CPU cooler - I was looking at the Corsair Hydro H50-1 so overclocking wouldn't be a problem, however I really don't know if I would need it or if I'm just wasting money I could spend elsewhere.
Case fans - how many should I get?? I'm guessing this depends on the case??
CD/DVDRW drive(s) - Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE - basically cheap cheap cheap, I think this will only ever get used to Install Win7....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a copy of Win7 but it's not 64bit - but I can always sort the operating system out another time - I don't need to include that in my budget.
So it's been a few years since I built my last machine and i've spent the last week looking at many reviews of different components.
I have put together a couple of machines in the past, generally from parts I had lying around but haven't done any overclocking - and this is something I wanted to look into this time around, to save a bit of cash and well just for the fun of it
I have a budget of around £800-1000, cheaper is better as I could spend more money on a Monitor or two.
I want a good gaming machine, unsure what games as the last thing I spent time playing was L4D2 & TF2, very old but I generally play FPS games and I will get some of the new ones once i'm up and running
I also do a bit of Video Editing and I want a machine I can use to learn some animation in the future.
The computer is going to be in the lounge, so noise is also an issue, but if it ends up costing too much to keep quiet then I will just deal with the sound.
What I've selected so far
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processor - Intel i5 2500k - from what I have read this is probably the best option to save a bit of cash rather than going for the 2600k
Motherboard - I was looking at the Asus P8P67 Pro but was reading that people are having issues with it currently, I was reading the MSI P67A-C45-B3 could be another cheaper option but I heard that overclocking on them was a little harder.
Memory (RAM) - G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB - I have heard great reviews about this Ram and thought I'd add it to my list - but there are cheaper options out there and am open to changing this
Hard drive - I already own 2x WD10EAVS and a WD500AAKS.I was thinking about getting a small SSD for the operating system - but is that worth doing?
Graphics card - HD 6950 - I read that this could be unlocked to a 6970, which would make it well worth the money, but then I wonder if i'm putting enough of my budget towards graphics?
Power supply (PSU) - I have a Enermax EIN650AWT PSU that was given to me, will this provide enough power, or should I be looking at getting something more?
Case - I haven't a clue what to get here, I've never worried about cases in the past, and have always just got a cheap one - any recommendations would be appreciated.
CPU cooler - I was looking at the Corsair Hydro H50-1 so overclocking wouldn't be a problem, however I really don't know if I would need it or if I'm just wasting money I could spend elsewhere.
Case fans - how many should I get?? I'm guessing this depends on the case??
CD/DVDRW drive(s) - Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE - basically cheap cheap cheap, I think this will only ever get used to Install Win7....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a copy of Win7 but it's not 64bit - but I can always sort the operating system out another time - I don't need to include that in my budget.
