Help a beginner out ?

SonnyDaze · 6 Mar 2013 at 18:10

Hi there guys , let me just start by saying I'm not only new to Overclockers forums, but forums in general! So if this thread has ended up in the wrong place please forgive me.

I'm looking for some advice. I'm abit of a beginner when it comes to building PC's and was looking to start a long running project for myself. I'm going to build a gaming machine over maybe 6 months. Again , please excuse me if any of these questions sound noobish!

I thought the best place to start would be the case, then I was flooded with choices! Which one would house my motherboard, what type of motherboard would I want, do I want water cooling etc etc !

My budget is around £100 (I know that's not a great deal) , but at the moment thats ideally what I want to spend. Give or take a few quid.

I've seen this but I don't know if its any good?
DO NOT POST LINKS TO COMPETITORS, read the FAQ - Rilot

Also I thought its worth mentioning that I was wanting to use some bits and pieces like the processor from my current machine as I thought it could save me some money and its not actually bad. The processor is an i3 Quadcore.

So , what cases would you recommend ?
Is it worth me using any bits from my old PC ? (Specs of this are below)

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @ 2.50GHz
Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
Gaming graphics 2815 MB Total available graphics memory
Primary hard disk 235GB Free (687GB Total)

Any help or advice on this subject or even project would be massively appreciated.

Thankyou in advance ,
Sonny :cool:

dacads · 6 Mar 2013 at 19:46

You'll want a new cpu+mobo+ram otherwise it won't be much of an upgrade. Only part worth using again is the HDD

Case is good another good one for similar price is Corsair Obsidian 550D. Some cheaper options are the Bitfenix Shinobi, Zalman Z9, Fractal Design R4

shadowscotland · 7 Mar 2013 at 09:37

The Q8300 is fine - many people still have Q6600 based gaming rigs.
A mobo upgrade may help if your current one has no overclocking options.
This quad core cpu will not be a bottle neck unless you have a large high res screen

The screen size you have (are going to get) will help spec a graphics card.
As you may find a second hand 5770 / 460gtx for £40 is all you need for max setting on a 22" screen

nick.lidgett · 7 Mar 2013 at 10:10

so the £100 budget is just for the case right? i can vouch for the Fractal R4 as i just got it after a year with the R3, unfortunately OcUK wont stock Fractal as they say they have poor "quaility control", i dont believe this, i think its more to do with Fractal not being bent over a barrel and giving OcUK daft prices.
Anyway back on topic,

R4 is good so is 550D they can house ATX and MATX motherboards,

If you post in the General Hardware section the guys there can help you with an overall spec, dont worry if youre a bit vague just answer their questions and you will get all the help you need.

EDIT: look at this one too NZXT Phantom Midi

monkeys · 9 Mar 2013 at 18:07

You may be able to overclock your cpu for free.
If stock fan you have to upgrade it.

bennhiggs · 11 Mar 2013 at 00:39

you could keep the CPU for the min and upgrade graphics and psu and house it in a new case, then eventually upgrade more as you go

and you can pick up some incredible cases for under 100, a phantom 410 is around 80, a zalman z11 is about 40

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SonnyDaze · 23 Mar 2013 at 11:56

What about a Corsair Carbide ?
Some guy near me is selling one for £50 and its brand new.

Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid-Tower Gaming PC Case in White

doyll · 24 Mar 2013 at 09:34

Sounds like a good deal. The cooler clearance is just big enough for about 70% of big air coolers.

CPU cooler clearance 165mm

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2012/02/20/corsair-graphite-500r-review/1

Like said above, get a good case. Than a good PSU if you don't have one. Than cooler and overclock and/or GPU and you will golden.

I consdier a good case, PSU and cooler as long term investments. They can be used on different builds. Depending on what motherboard/CPU you get it many last for years and it may not. All depends on what industry does. GPUs have been making dramatic changes. Hopefully they will plateau now for awhile.