Final Build Spec - £450. System Only.

Soldato
Joined
12 Dec 2005
Posts
14,458
Ok, I have £450 to spend on getting a gaming PC.

Only system needed, I have everything else. Also no HDD or DVD Drive needed.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7850 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games £149.99
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £91.99
1 x ASRock B75M Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £39.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
Total : £418.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).

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Is this the one to go for? The only issues I have is the PSU and case. I've heard Corsairs are dodgy these days and I really don't like the look of the case. What can I swap these 2 over for?

I can stretch the budget up a tiny bit if needed. Also, how much extra would it be for a 2GB graphics card? Will be gaming at 1920x1080 so the extra RAM will be helpful?
Cheers
 
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Is this the one to go for? The only issues I have is the PSU and case. I've heard Corsairs are dodgy these days and I really don't like the look of the case. What can I swap these 2 over for?

I can stretch the budget up a tiny bit if needed. Also, how much extra would it be for a 2GB graphics card? Will be gaming at 1920x1080 so the extra RAM will be helpful?
Cheers

Yes the 2gb will help A LOT with 1080p gaming, in fact 1gb cards struggle with any decent graphics settings in most games.

You could go for a B grade card, then drop the savings towards a z77 mobo, this means you can drop an i5 at the end of the year if you want and be pretty much sorted for the next few years:

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showd (GX-100-GI) £129.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
Total : £231.34 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 
The case and the PSU look good. Thanks.

I really don't want B-Grade items, just to much hassle.

How much would I be spending on a new 2GB Card? Is it much of a difference?

Cheers

EDIT: I 100% WANT A BOARD that will support an i5 etc as I will want to upgrade at some point!! Wont the mobo in the OP take an i5?

Cheers
 
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The case and the PSU look good. Thanks.

I really don't want B-Grade items, just to much hassle.

How much would I be spending on a new 2GB Card? Is it much of a difference?

Cheers

EDIT: I 100% WANT A BOARD that will support an i5 etc as I will want to upgrade at some point!! Wont the mobo in the OP take an i5?

Cheers

It will take an i5 but to my knowledge it won't overclock as good as a Z77 chipest, however I am not 100% on that.

There is quite a difference between 1gb and 2gb cards, price wise not much, £15-30 depending on model. The HIS 2GB card is on offer atm @ £155 and is as good as the Gigabyte card., MSI one is like £5 cheaper but afaik HIS is a better brand:

EDIT: Just realised what you said, a new card vs b grade you are looking at £20 to £40 savings, with the specific one I linked it's about a £45 saving/

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games £155.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games £149.99
Total : £317.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 
I'm not much into overclocking mate so I'll stick with that board. :)

I'm a noob, bit of a price difference there... Would it really matter if I went with the MSI? Need to save as much as poss. :)

Thanks

EDIT - The PSU is out of stock. What other option do I have?
 
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I'm not much into overclocking mate so I'll stick with that board. :)

I'm a noob, bit of a price difference there... Would it really matter if I went with the MSI? Need to save as much as poss. :)

Thanks

Brand knowledge sort of comes from personal experience and gathered opinions, some OC better, some run more quiet and some run cooler.

From my experience the Gigabyte card is awesome, runs great. Have not seen anyone complain about the HIS model but I have never really seen anyone build a system with an MSI one, so...

tl;dr

Dont know lol

If it makes you feel any better my 7850 was B grade...zero problems so far.

Mind if I ask what has happened to the previous system? If you have a case + PSU that is decent, you can literally get an i5 with a z77 setup like right now lol.
 
Brand knowledge sort of comes from personal experience and gathered opinions, some OC better, some run more quiet and some run cooler.

From my experience the Gigabyte card is awesome, runs great. Have not seen anyone complain about the HIS model but I have never really seen anyone build a system with an MSI one, so...

tl;dr

Dont know lol

If it makes you feel any better my 7850 was B grade...zero problems so far.

Mind if I ask what has happened to the previous system? If you have a case + PSU that is decent, you can literally get an i5 with a z77 setup like right now lol.

Cheers mate - Anyt pointers on which PSU to go for as the xfx is OOS.

Cheers

EDIT - Current PC is about 6 years old. PSU is dodgy, the case is hammered, just really want new everything this time. :)
 
Cheers mate - Anyt pointers on which PSU to go for as the xfx is OOS.

Cheers

EDIT - Current PC is about 6 years old. PSU is dodgy, the case is hammered, just really want new everything this time. :)

haha fair enough dude:

YOUR BASKET
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 430W '80 Plus' Power Supply £39.95
Total : £45.92 (includes shipping : £4.98).




These PSU's are normally ok, people have been using them in budget builds due to the XFX taking FOREVER to get in stock. So far not seen anyone complain about them, well afaik.
 
The case and the PSU look good. Thanks.

I really don't want B-Grade items, just to much hassle.

How much would I be spending on a new 2GB Card? Is it much of a difference?

Cheers

EDIT: I 100% WANT A BOARD that will support an i5 etc as I will want to upgrade at some point!! Wont the mobo in the OP take an i5?

Cheers

it will do but z77's are preferred due to the overclocking abilities.

i believe b-grade items come with the same 1 year warranty.

the difference between the b grade 2gb and non b grade is £20
 
haha fair enough dude:

YOUR BASKET
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 430W '80 Plus' Power Supply £39.95
Total : £45.92 (includes shipping : £4.98).




These PSU's are normally ok, people have been using them in budget builds due to the XFX taking FOREVER to get in stock. So far not seen anyone complain about them, well afaik.

Hmm.. Never heard of that brand before. The XFX might be the one to go for.

Also is there a massive difference between the i3 and i5? From what I've read/seen/heard the i3 is more than capable for gaming at the moment.
 
Hmm.. Never heard of that brand before. The OCZ might be the one to go for.

Also is there a massive difference between the i3 and i5? From what I've read/seen/heard the i3 is more than capable for gaming at the moment.

The i3 3220 is more than capable atm, couple it with a 7850 and you are gold.

The reason to get an i5 is quad core, which hopefully due to the console specs games will start to be able to use more efficiently, the cores that is.

In terms of raw speed, the i5 is a ton better, gaming you won't notice a massive difference unless you are playing a CPU intensive game like PlanetSide or WoW/EVE. Oh and load times ofc, FPS wise not much, 10 tops, but what use is 10fps if you are already at 40-60 :p.
 
Thanks, I'll stick with the i3 for now.

Will be buying tomorrow and building Friday. :D

Thanks for your help! Greatly appreciated.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7850 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games £149.99
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x ASRock B75M Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 430W '80 Plus' Power Supply £39.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
Total : £433.90 (includes shipping : £10.00).



A decent Psu and a better case. But as Doom says prices will change. You could order the ram and Gpu now, whilst they are still at a decent price and get the rest later.
 
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