First build spec review before I hit checkout

allewellyn said:
well that's just silly.


I'll definitely get the Mobo tonight, I'm not sure about the processor. Obviously I want as good as I can get, that's going to be about a £20 jump though, and I'm still toying with the possibility of getting a GFX card now if I can find the money...

What's the benefit of the Black processor (also, I couldn't see on the listing, does it come with a fan?). Faster obviously, but is it going to be a bit more future-proof? Handle multi-tasking better? Clue me in
Click to expand...

I've just done my first build and my uses for this machine are perhaps pretty similar to yours.
I went for the 955 and it's at a really good price this week ( trust me to buy at the wrong time LOL). The benefit of the 955 is that it has L3 cache. It's really good and my new machine flies compared to my old one!

I went for this mobo as it also provided the legacy features I wanted...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-245-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1481
...and I'm very happy!

I had two computers to build...this one was to be my backup/second computer while the other I intend to build is an SB based system when the new boards are out.
Now to be honest, after getting it up and running properly, I'm not so sure the SB system would be much better for me than this one as it fulfils all my requirements. Even the mobo onboard gfx are not bad. I'll add a gfx card to the SB system for occasional gaming.

If you can push the boat out, go for the 955. It comes with a stock cooler which works very well.
 
Last edited:
Good advice, thanks.


On another note, how much am I likely to have to spend on a GFX card for it to be a worthwhile upgrade from the mobo's onboard gfx? Also, what limitations am I likely to find in my usage (adobe creative suite and light gaming most likely of the FIFA/Mafia variety) without a dedicated GFX card?
 
you will not be able to play Mafia or Fifa at all with onboard i would think. I would say that minimum for a good performance in those games would be a gtx 460, or even a 5770.

depends if you want to play on high settings though, and at what resolution
 
Ah, that changes things somewhat.

Any other gfx card recommendations? I need real bang for the buck where possible, I hadn't quite budgeted to have to shell out on GFX
 
allewellyn said:
Good advice, thanks.


On another note, how much am I likely to have to spend on a GFX card for it to be a worthwhile upgrade from the mobo's onboard gfx? Also, what limitations am I likely to find in my usage (adobe creative suite and light gaming most likely of the FIFA/Mafia variety) without a dedicated GFX card?
Click to expand...

I use CS2 quite heavily and this setup will easily handlle photo editing as it stands! I'm led to believe CS5 is somewhat more gfx orientated than earlier versions but to what extent I don't know, but I can find out quite easily from one of the photography forums I frequent!.

I don't know sufficient about gfx cards to give advice on how much you should spend to improve on the onboard gfx but, you could always try the system out with just the onboard gpu and if it works ok for you, then fine, otherwise you could add a card if needed when funds are available. Obviously, for serious gaming where there is a heavy demand on the gpu, the more you spend the better ( within reason and your pocket) but, for Photoshop, I wouldn't have thought a particularly expensive card would be needed.
 
this would handle highish settings for 'light gaming' i would say-

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-019-C3&groupid=595&catid=683&subcat=

Probably wouldn't get the highest settings but i'm not sure how gpu intensive Mafia is, i would think it was quite high though.

This card would be a good deal for a budget gaming PC, depends really on how much gaming you intend to do really, as to whether it would be worth it.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-068-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830
 
Last edited:
Alternatively, where can I save money on the current components?

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM 1yr Warranty

Obviously I could shave £20 off by going back to the AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 840 "95W Edition" 3.20GHz rather than the Black, are there any other places I can trim a little off? I don't know how much a servicable GFX card will set me back..
 
you would have no problem using the onboard gpu as a stop gap though, and then adding a card later. that is what i did with my build.
i built it and used the onboard for 2 weeks before adding a dedicated card and found the onboard fine for everything such as video, light photo-editing, bluray.
I was even able to play fallout on ok settings, however, i was unable to even load up breach, which should have lower graphics demands than fallout.
 
Yeah, I could get by with the onboard for some stuff, but if I'm going to need to get a card, I'd rather get it all done at the same time.

If I'm getting a dedicated card, is there a cheaper mobo I could go for? If I can keep the card under £100 and shave as much as possible off the other components, it's probably do-able.

Just when I'd decided to go for the Phenom Black....:D
 
allewellyn said:
Yeah, I could get by with the onboard for some stuff, but if I'm going to need to get a card, I'd rather get it all done at the same time.

If I'm getting a dedicated card, is there a cheaper mobo I could go for? If I can keep the card under £100 and shave as much as possible off the other components, it's probably do-able.

Just when I'd decided to go for the Phenom Black....:D
Click to expand...

The mobo I went for is I believe a tenner cheaper than the one you chose and I'm fine with that one!

You could always go for say an 840 instead of a 955 which is just over £20 cheaper) but I believe it doesn't have the L3 cache, which is a tradeoff!

At the end of the day, it's better to go for something that will last rather than leave you dissatisfied further down the line. It's cheaper in the end as you are less likely to want to upgrade later, which inevitably costs more money in the long run.
 
lttlejoe said:
At the end of the day, it's better to go for something that will last rather than leave you dissatisfied further down the line. It's cheaper in the end as you are less likely to want to upgrade later, which inevitably costs more money in the long run.
Click to expand...

this is true, get the basics right- mobo,cpu,psu, build it and then get a gpu when you can afford it mate imo;), if you can wait!!. Best to take your time and get the key components right:)
 
Pighardia said:
I can't really recommend a mobo, but gpu-wise it really depends on what settings you want to play on, something like a 5670 would play modern games on medium-highish settings on 1280x1024 or lower if you could handle it.
something like this for cheaper, but i'm not sure i'd go any lower imo.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-196-XF
Click to expand...

Thanks

Would the Club 3D 5770 you posted before be a better choice to justify the £15-20 more, or are they both much of a muchness?
 
Pighardia said:
I can't really recommend a mobo, but gpu-wise it really depends on what settings you want to play on, something like a 5670 would play modern games on medium-highish settings on 1280x1024 or lower if you could handle it.
something like this for cheaper, but i'm not sure i'd go any lower imo.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-196-XF
Click to expand...

That card is still far better than some of the junk passed off as a gaming card and fitted into some branded, high street PC's!
 
allewellyn said:
I hate to think what was in the Dell Dimension I'm upgrading from....:eek:
Click to expand...

I used to always use HP products but to be honest, after building my own, I would never go back to off the rack stuff. They don't fit very good PSU's and therefore fit very low grade dedicated gfx cards which they pass off as gaming cards so, it's an expensive job if you want to fit a decent card as you need to fit a decent PSU also.
Better to build your own and get the basic framework right and then expand as and when you can afford it! You'll be glad you did, further down the line - I know I will!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom