Hello! Please help with budget PC build.

Yevgeny · 23 Jun 2009 at 02:59

Hi guys.
Can you please help me with a PC build? I didn't have PC for couple of years and have no clue what to look for.

My budget is 350-400 quid. Need only PC components. Dont need case, will use SilverStone Lascala LC13E case (will fit normal size motherboards). Will use Windows 7 64-bit for now.
Would like to be able to play games like World of Conflict, Dawn of War II and will do a little bit of Photoshop. 500gb of storage will be enough for now.
Also, am I correct thinking that 48XX cards can play audio via HDMI? I planning to use this PC with 26" 760p tv and don't wan to run into troubles with sound.

Thank you

PS - English is my second language, please excuse bad grammar

morrisp123 · 23 Jun 2009 at 03:21

This will set you back about £430 but a decent mid range AMD build that will play games well
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£109.99 inc VAT
Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 AMD 770 (Socket AM3/AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
This Week Only Offer
£57.99 inc VAT
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 7850+ Black Edition 2.80GHz (Socket AM2+) - Retail
This Week Only Offer
was £52.99 inc VAT
£48.99 inc VAT
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
£38.98 inc VAT
Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX Dual Channel (TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX)
£37.98 inc VAT
Sony Optiarc DRU-860S 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black/Silver) - Retail
£25.99 inc VAT
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply
£54.99 inc VAT

hp7909 · 23 Jun 2009 at 04:47

Over budget, but could keep above (AM3/DDR3) for a 'couple' of years

Yevgeny · 23 Jun 2009 at 09:05

Thank you guys. Much appreciated.

What is the difference between processors?

Yevgeny · 23 Jun 2009 at 13:18

Anybody? And can somebody please confirm about sound via HDMI on Radeon cards?
Thank you

icey_haj · 23 Jun 2009 at 13:19

Yevgeny said:
Anybody? And can somebody please confirm about sound via HDMI on Radeon cards?
Thank you

I can confirm that you can get sound via HDMI on Radeon cards.

Ross1234 · 23 Jun 2009 at 13:20

Yevgeny said:
Anybody? And can somebody please confirm about sound via HDMI on Radeon cards?
Thank you

Yeah I have sound over hdmi on my 4890. It works great.

Yevgeny · 23 Jun 2009 at 13:21

Thank you guys.

Yevgeny · 24 Jun 2009 at 01:52

Decided to stretch my budget a little bit. 500£ max.
Anything to improve here or save money on?
Thank you.

Dauthi · 24 Jun 2009 at 03:05

You could change motherboard to the Asus M4A78T and put the extra money towards a CPU like the AMD Tri-Core x3 720 @ £105 or a different PSU only things i'd consider.

The stealthxstreams are always chosen b4 the modxstream but unfortunately the 600w is out of stock atm.

hp7909 · 24 Jun 2009 at 04:42

Agree with above, the 3rd core on the 720 gives it a good boost

Get the OCZ Platinum AM3 RAM which runs at lower voltages

EDIT: Just seen above is out of stock. Maybe the OCZ Reaper (tighter timings)

Yevgeny · 24 Jun 2009 at 09:18

Thank you guys.
What about OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel? Will it be better with 550 or 720? Worth it?
My wife will kill me.

Yevgeny · 24 Jun 2009 at 10:41

Sorry to bump. Guys I would like to order it today if possible. Please advise(advice?).

JoeH · 24 Jun 2009 at 11:41

It would improve performance, but not by a huge margin I think. Just keep to the spec as it is otherwise you end up spending wayyyy over what you planned

hp7909 · 24 Jun 2009 at 11:43

Would some benchmarks help (here)?

Phenom II X3 720 BE

Yevgeny · 24 Jun 2009 at 13:41

Thank you very much guys.
Went over the budget, but hey, not a first time