Building my first PC

Scythian

Scythian

Scythian

Associate
Joined
5 May 2011
Posts
705
Hey all,

I've been reading around and I've decided to go ahead and build my first PC.
Only I was thinking I'd ask you guys for some advice first ^^
I'm starting college this year (doing a software, games and web development course). Also I'm likely going to start playing (some) PC games (naturally). Unfortunately I am on a budget (in a sense).
So I ask, what parts should I use?
I recently spotted a bundle on the oc website with motherboard, i5 processor and 4gb RAM which seems good. Would this be a good place to start?
No rush though, I probably wont be buying the parts till later this year (I just like planning in advance)

Note: Below is the link for the aforementioned bundle:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-023-OB
 
I would get a Sandybridge 2500K setup instead.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £23.99
(£19.99) £23.99
(£19.99)
Sub Total : £271.62
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £56.22
Total : £337.34

i5 760 vs i5 2500K - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=191


If you tell me the budget, I can come up with one of my epic specs for you:)
 
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Stulid, I have no knowledge (or confidence) on how to overclock what-so-ever (but I know a guy who should). If I went with your setup would there still be the option to overclock? furthermore to what scope? (I'm abit confused on much RAM and processing power I need, any related analogies would be helpful ^^)

As far as budget goes, I'd like to try and keep it as low as possible but trying to get a worthwhile spec.
@sk8jack, Yeah I will probably be needing everything.

I already have a HDTV which I was hoping to use as a monitor to start with, but I heard it would take extra 'power' etc

P.s. sorry about the time it takes for me to reply, typing through my PS3 web browser using my pad. Also sorry about the amount of questions etc. Just curious ^^
 
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Heres a £650 spec for you.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £107.99
(£89.99) £107.99
(£89.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
XFX Pro 550W Core Edition Power Supply £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(£28.32) £33.98
(£28.32)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £23.99
(£19.99) £23.99
(£19.99)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £527.73
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £107.80
Total : £646.78

Includes a copy of Win7.

just add keyboard, mouse and speakers.

Using your HDTV wont take any extra "power":) it has a maximum resolution which is pretty simple for a ATi 5850 card to push.

But I would come back when you are ready and get a spec then
 
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Heres a £600 spec.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £85.99
(£71.66) £85.99
(£71.66)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(£28.32) £33.98
(£28.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £482.74
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £98.80
Total : £592.79

using the heatsink supplied with the cpu instead of the aftermarket one above.

A slight decrease in PSU.

And a 5830 graphics card instead of the 5850, comparison here - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/171?vs=164
 
Thanks sulid! your a great help, I'll probably start work next month so all my funds will go to that target (£650, maybe a bit more) so in a few months I should have a definite budget.
Could you explain to me processors please? Thats where I'm confused about, I understand the makes (AMD and Intel) and versions (i3, i5, i7, etc) but I'm not sure about what a 2500k spec is, nor do I understand all this about 'Sandybridge'. Any information would help.
 
Scythian said:
Thanks sulid! your a great help, I'll probably start work next month so all my funds will go to that target (£650, maybe a bit more) so in a few months I should have a definite budget.
Could you explain to me processors please? Thats where I'm confused about, I understand the makes (AMD and Intel) and versions (i3, i5, i7, etc) but I'm not sure about what a 2500k spec is, nor do I understand all this about 'Sandybridge'. Any information would help.
Click to expand...

Sandybridge is Intels code word for the newer Socket 1155 CPU's (i5 2500K,2600K, i3 2120 etc)

These use a newer socket than the previous 1156 (i5 760, i3 540 etc)

So you are not buying into an older platform.

They are a new design of processor which do more work per clock cycle so just perform better.

See how a £240 i5 2600K nearly matches a £900+ i7 980X cpu - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=142
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the "K" in the name means they have an unlocked multiplier allowing overclocking, they also have a better onboard GPU which a H67/H61 and soon to be released Z68 chipset can pass through to the back of the motherboard so you can do without a graphics card if gaming etc isnt needed.

Also to overclock a K cpu, you need a P67 motherboard or the Z68
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So to overclock these new CPU's you need a K cpu and a P67 or Z68 chipset motherboard, basically.:)
 
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Thanks for the link, do you think I could overclock an i5 (sandybridge) to produce 4.0Ghz or are they too fragile? Any clues if any new processors will be released later this year?
 
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lol^ Well its a lot clearer now, thanks guys ^^
Any guesses as to how much of an improvement the ivybridge will be?
Also, don't suppose you could offer any advice on graphics cards? ^_^
 
Scythian said:
lol^ Well its a lot clearer now, thanks guys ^^
Any guesses as to how much of an improvement the ivybridge will be?
Also, don't suppose you could offer any advice on graphics cards? ^_^
Click to expand...

No idea on Ivybridge, its still a secret and about 6 months away, nothing much is known about AMD Bulldozer either, and thats due in 1-2 months.

And what do you want to know about graphic cards?
 
Well a rough summary on how to tell which ones are good/crap or new/old, can these be overclocked too? Are there any factors which limits them which ones can be used (compatible with motherboard maybe)

btw what does PSU stand for?
 
PSU stands for POWER SUPPLY UNIT, this is something you should never skimp on.

You can use the ANANDTECH gpu 2010 and 2011 benchs here - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2 to pick two cards and compare, thats a simple way of seeing whats hot and whats not.

Another thing to remember is that a model number doesnt really mean jack.

For example a GTX560ti is not faster than a GTX480 despite the numbers being higher, the GTX480 is the fastest single gpu from the last generation compared to the GTX560ti which is a midrange card of the current generation.
 
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oh, I've read about that, I was going to ask about that next xD - How do I work out how much I need? ^^

" it's expected for the CPUs to have upto 8 cores with 16 threads"
I take it thats good then? ;P
 
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