First DIY build. Need help.

Job4aCowboy

Job4aCowboy

Job4aCowboy

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1 Jun 2012
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2
Hi, I am new to the forums.

I have wanted to build a pc for a while and have decided to start saving up and buying the components. I have a small understanding of what I need and how to install it and I have a friend that is going to help me.

Only problem is I'm not sure what components are compatible with eachother and which are best to suit my needs.
I have a mouse/keyboard already and I will be playing on a 32inch HDTV so a HDMI port is required.
My budget is around £700, I don't want top specs or anything, just something for casual gaming that can play current pc games at medium to high settings.
I would like to be able to play Shogun 2 Total war on Max settings if possible.

System specs for Shogun 2:
Minimum Specs
2 GHz Intel Dual Core processor / 2.6 GHz Intel Single Core processor , or AMD equivalent (with SSE2)
1GB RAM (XP), 2GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)
256 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics card (Shader model 3); 256 MB DirectX 10/10.1/11 compatible graphics card (shader modesl 4, 4.1, 5)
1024×768 minimum screen resolution
20GB free hard disk space

Recommended Specs
Intel Core i5 processor (i5 680) (or greater), or AMD equivalent 2GB RAM (XP),
4GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)
AMD Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 or Nvidia GT 240 series graphics cards or equivalent
DirectX 11 compatible graphics card
1280×1024 minimum screen resolution
20GB free hard disk space

If you need any more info please ask.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks
 
 
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Olivier has done a pretty nice spec, I would be using an ivybridge CPU and cheaper mobo though if it was me. If the rig is solely to play shogun 2 that is way OTT though. I can run it on ultra on my HTPC (X2 555BE and a 460). The i3 2100 is a better CPU (effectively a quadcore) and the 6850 is on par roughly with the 460, if that helps as a comparison.

You can't overclock the i3 CPU but you can use MSI afterburner to OC the GPU to near 6870 performance (that's a £120 GPU). I'll do you a quick basket of goodies......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.38
1 x Sandisk Ultra SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA II Solid State Hard Drive - (SDSSDH-120G-G25) £64.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (Retail) £59.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £40.99
Total : £691.24 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Z77 mobo has lucid MVP which boosts GPU performance. Supports plenty of CPUs as upgrade options later aswell with the ability to overclock.

Z9 case has 4 120mm fans, digital temp display and fan controller with cable management. PSU has more than enough power for your needs and is modular.

As you are running through a TV I thought you might like a bluray player. Infact you could RIP blurays to the HDD, intels quicksync tech helps speed up the process. I also included a budget SSD, it's only sataII but it much cheaper than say the crucial M4 but will still boot the OS and load games faster than a mechanical drive.

I also added an OS. Obviously you can adjust this to suit your needs. Because I used the i3 and 6850 I had more "spare cash" to get these lil optional extras. Hope this helps
 
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Hi and welcome to the forum.
This, to give you some idea as to what you will need. Obviously prices and special offers change. The Psu in the spec is on special offer and is a bargain for the price. The mobo is good enough for single Gpu.

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Dirt3 PC Game £191.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £189.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.38
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £57.98
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £31.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £770.34 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
The i5K and 7850 is overkill for shogun2. I could understand you wanting a better CPU though so i'll do a quick basket with the ivybridge i5 and a cooler so you can OC it for more power.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £189.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.38
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £40.99
1 x Akasa AK-CC4007EP01 Nero 3 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/1366/2011/AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1) £23.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £698.23 (includes shipping : £12.50).



It's important that you have a 64bit OS so you can use more than 4GB of RAM. You could consider using the developers copy of windows 8 to stall your purchase of the OS if you like and have more money to put into the GPU maybe ;)

I prefer Idlemans spec to Oliviers, simply because as I stated there was a better CPU available and a cheaper Z77 mobo....oh and YES that PSU is very much a bargain seeing as it's lil bro the 600W is actually more £ :/
 
Thanks Guys for the quick replys, Sorry I should have mentioned what OS I wanted.

All great suggestions and within budget. I don't want to overclock and I would like to use Windows 7 so I'll use honosuseri's awnser.

Thanks again for taking the time, I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Job4aCowboy said:
Thanks Guys for the quick replys, Sorry I should have mentioned what OS I wanted.

All great suggestions and within budget. I don't want to overclock and I would like to use Windows 7 so I'll use honosuseri's awnser.

Thanks again for taking the time, I'll let you know how it goes.
Click to expand...

Post what you intend to buy before you do. Offers and prices change, that first spec just gave you an idea of what you could get for your cash. If you post back we can double check you are making the most of the offers at that time :)

Also you might not want to OC the CPU but OC'ing the GPU is very very easy. Seeing as you can get pretty much 6870 performance for £80 odd if you do, this makes it almost mandatory ;)
 
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