First set-up advice / recommendations please.

JW1993 · 22 Dec 2009 at 01:25

This is my first build, I'm only 16 so i'm hoping for something fairly powerful to get me through 6th form but also some gaming. This is my first post on the forums! I'm pretty sure I know what i'm doing. I have yet to choose a case and a optical drive but i'm hoping for some advice and recommendations on the components I've chosen.

Processor:

AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) - Retail + Colin McRae Dirt 2 Full Game [HDZ550WFGIBOX]

Operating System:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit - OEM (GFC-00564) [GFC-00564]

Motherboard:

Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard [GA-MA785GT-UD3H]

Hard Drive:

Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AADS)

Memory:

G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL) [F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL]

Graphics Card:

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4670 1024MB DDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card []

Power Supply:

Corsair VX 450W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-450VXUK) [cmpsu-450vxuk]

I have around £500-600 to spend on it.

Thanks for any replies in advance!

bJN · 22 Dec 2009 at 02:51

If you're looking for a new computer and going to spend that amount of money on it then my advice would be to avoid dual cores if possible, it's old tech and going nowhere fast, might as well get something that can last for a year or two (hopefully more).
With that in mind I just came up with this, but some stuff like the graphics card could be toned down to a lower model.
Any extra money though is defiantely worth having; the i5 CPUs are quite literally the dog's gonads

JW1993 · 22 Dec 2009 at 11:57

Alright thanks for that

I'll take a look at it all.

Any other suggestions?

pcAnywhere · 22 Dec 2009 at 12:22

You'll need to add a CPU cooler or buy the retail version of the i5 CPU.

But that i5 spec is going to be tough to beat.

Vision · 22 Dec 2009 at 14:42

Yeah that i5 spec looks pretty good. Don't forget the CPU cooler if you go OEM and it's a good idea to go with 64bit rather than 32bit for the OS, it's the same price afterall?

JW1993 · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:25

Looks like i'll be going for something along the lines of that i5 spec then

maybe a cheaper graphics card and what about the PSU? Is it nessessary to be 650W or could I go with a lower wattage?

Thanks

MeMeMeMe · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:35

You'd be better off going AMD and keeping the graphic card if you want to save money - unless you know you'll have money to upgrade the graphic card back to something like this or better, later.

reygjabla · 22 Dec 2009 at 18:00

Here's another I5 specc without graphics card as the mobo comes with on board GPU.You can buy the graphics card later in time when the driver issue has settled down and more stable.

JW1993 · 22 Dec 2009 at 22:56

Thanks for all the help, looks like i'll probably going for an i5!