First build spec check

ultrablue14

ultrablue14

ultrablue14

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15 Jul 2013
Posts
31
Location
Cheltenham, UK
Hi guys this is my first post to check the spec of my first build. Budget is tight and can't go over £580. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

CPU intel core i5 3470 3.2 ghz
mobo Asus P8Z77-V LX 85
GPU Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Nvidia
case zalman z11
ram Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Sport Memor
storage Western Digital 1TB internal Hard Drive
psu Coolermaster GX 650W PSU
optical drive Liteon Ihas124 24x Dvd±rw
os windows 7 professional

Total 574
 
Last edited:
Going to have to remove the reference and pricing to competitors.

Gaming PC: Gunna be a little tough on a £550 budget.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £149.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £568.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).



This will do nicely.
 
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If it's a gaming PC, don't get the 650. Get a 7770. You'd be better off aiming for Haswell on a new build rather than Ivy Bridge.

You can't get a legit copy of Win 7 Professional for £29 unless someone is selling the retail copy second hand and has no idea what it's worth.
 
Apologies, removed the prices now. Yes it will be a gaming pc with the odd bit of 3d CAD for uni. Okay thanks will probably go for Haswell if the price difference isn't too much
 
Many thanks for the advice, would you personally prefer this amd CPU and mobo or is this mainly due to the lower cost? I don't think I'll need to play games on ultra high settings.

ThaReaperGuy said:
Going to have to remove the reference and pricing to competitors.

Gaming PC: Gunna be a little tough on a £550 budget.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £149.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £568.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).



This will do nicely.
Click to expand...
 
The FX-8320 compares very well against a 3470 in most games - not as well in CPU-bound games like World of Warcraft or Starcraft 2, but you'd still be getting good performance. If you overclock it, it'll far outperform a 3470 for most games.

I'd pick this CPU over a 3470, if you cannot afford to get a 4670K.
 
teppic said:
The FX-8320 compares very well against a 3470 in most games - not as well in CPU-bound games like World of Warcraft or Starcraft 2, but you'd still be getting good performance. If you overclock it, it'll far outperform a 3470 for most games.

I'd pick this CPU over a 3470, if you cannot afford to get a 4670K.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, in terms of 3D CAD etc will this processor perform better than the 3470?
 
teppic said:
If it's a gaming PC, don't get the 650. Get a 7770. You'd be better off aiming for Haswell on a new build rather than Ivy Bridge.

You can't get a legit copy of Win 7 Professional for £29 unless someone is selling the retail copy second hand and has no idea what it's worth.
Click to expand...


Thanks,
The description for the copy of win7 pro is as follows:


· This item is an Original DELL Branded 'Reinstallation DVD' OEM Microsoft Operating System DVD containing the full install 64 bit version of Windows 7 Professional and includes Service Pack 1.

· The software is new and has not been installed on any computer.

· The software is supplied with a 100% Genuine Product Key.

· The software will install on any PC desktop or laptop/notebook that is capable of running the 64 bit version of Windows. (Please check your system is capable of running 64 bit software beforehand)

· It will install on any self/custom built, branded or non branded PC.

Would you recommend going elsewhere and buying a more official version?
 
ultrablue14 said:
Thanks for the advice, in terms of 3D CAD etc will this processor perform better than the 3470?
Click to expand...

I don't know that myself. If it's very CPU intensive, quite possibly not. However, it does vary. If you look at this link you can see how the 8320 performs compared to other CPUs, and how better it does overclocked (the 8350 and 8320 perform the same at the same clock).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6396/the-vishera-review-amd-fx8350-fx8320-fx6300-and-fx4300-tested/8

As for Windows, it sounds very suspicious.
 
teppic said:
I don't know that myself. If it's very CPU intensive, quite possibly not. However, it does vary. If you look at this link you can see how the 8320 performs compared to other CPUs, and how better it does overclocked (the 8350 and 8320 perform the same at the same clock).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6396/the-vishera-review-amd-fx8350-fx8320-fx6300-and-fx4300-tested/8

As for Windows, it sounds very suspicious.
Click to expand...

Ah thanks I'll check that out now.
Just realised I have an old mac running VMware fusion with windows 7 home premium on it and the disk for installation. Would it be better if I just uninstalled that windows and re-used the product key to install windows 7 home premium on this build?
 
Yes it's retail so I'll do that and save a bit. I'm leaning towards the build from thareaper guy but think I'll still go with the Zalman Z11 case. will the 500W psu definitely be enough?
 
I have the FX8350 which is sort of the same as the 8320 just clocked at higher speed, and im using the 7770 (will be getting 7950 this week) and so far i can play every game on ultra settings these are WoW, Grid 2, Black Ops 2, Need for Speed Most wanted, Dota 2, etc... Had no problems with it.
 
Something like this plus a case of your choice. It'd be a little over budget but you can sell the 8 included games to bring the price down by maybe £60-£80.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785Q2G2M) £161.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x Thermaltake Smart M550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £59.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £26.99
Total : £566.94 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 
teppic said:
Something like this plus a case of your choice. It'd be a little over budget but you can sell the 8 included games to bring the price down by maybe £60-£80.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785Q2G2M) £161.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x Thermaltake Smart M550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £59.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £26.99
Total : £566.94 (includes shipping : £10.00).

Click to expand...

Thanks Teppic!
If I were to add another 150 to the budget, what would you add or change? I think I will add another 150 tbh and just use a cheap monitor I already have.
 
With another £150 on top you could get a 4670K Haswell system instead. Both would be fine for gaming, the Intel CPU would be better for CPU intensive work.

If I were to use £150 more on this system, I'd get a 7950 graphics card instead (£240ish inc. the games), and a 120GB SSD (£80ish). I'd probably look for a HDD 2nd hand, as you can find 1TB drives for about £30-£35 that way.
 
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