Help a newbie with a build please :)

pearshaped

pearshaped

pearshaped

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15 Jan 2011
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27
Hello,
I am looking to build a new PC, for a main use of gaming. I have never built a pc before so I could use a hand when it somes to deciding the parts that i need to buy(I have people who can help me build).
I am going to be buying all my parts from Overclockers.co.uk
Here is a list of all the parts that (I think) i need to provide me with a good PC: http://imgkk.com/i/amgf.jpg
This list totals at around £615. I dont have much more than that (litteraly £10-15 more )
If you could advise me on anything else at all that I would need to buy( i have nothing at all in my house) or change. I have a monitor.
does the psu need any change?

I dont have the best of computer knowledge or supply of cash, but if you could give me any advice it would be apricated

Also the scout case has two side fan slots, would the cpu cooler I have selected obstruct either of the fans because it is a tower coolder (i think)
thanks again.
 
Hi welcome to these forums.

You want just a tower unit? do you need a copy of windows?

But to get you started, your spec does need some help, the case and ram is the only thing correct!!!

even the DVD-ROM is useless as all it does is read, it wont burn disks.
 
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.98
(£98.32) £117.98
(£98.32)
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99
(£94.99) £113.99
(£94.99)
MSI 880GMA-E45 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard £81.70
(£68.08) £81.70
(£68.08)
Coolermaster Storm Scout Gaming Case - Black £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £46.99
(£39.16) £46.99
(£39.16)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £12.98
(£10.82) £12.98
(£10.82)
Sub Total : £414.67
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £85.43
Total : £512.60

I can promise you, this would be as fast, look at the saving!!!
 
Drop back to the 955 if you're overclocking. Should be able to reach 3.6ghz no problem.

This motherboard is more future proof with it's SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-133-MS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1782

You can drop down to this PSU as well: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-034-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

You want this optical drive, this will allow you to burn on discs if you want to: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-060-SO&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

And you don't need those SATA cables, they come with the motherboard :).

Apart from that, everything looks good!
 
Change the CPU to the phenom x4 955, it just has a aslower clockspeed so that can be tweaked with ocing when it need to be. That 15 pounds saved.

Switch the RAM to 4gb of Geil, thats another 5 pound :)

Your motherboard comes with sata cables i think ( check that first) But thats another 8 xD

With that money you could upgrade your graphics card to something like a 6850->5850->6870->5870. Depending on how much you got left pick one of theese cards ( the end of the list being the better :) )
 
As well as the AMD spec i have done for you, if your sure you dont need a copy of windows, then this is possible.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Lost Planet 2 PC Game - Retail £191.99
(£159.99) £191.99
(£159.99)
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99
(£94.99) £113.99
(£94.99)
Foxconn P67A-S Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Coolermaster Storm Scout Gaming Case - Black £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £46.99
(£39.16) £46.99
(£39.16)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £12.98
(£10.82) £12.98
(£10.82)
Sub Total : £491.58
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £100.82
Total : £604.90

Enjoy!!!:D
 
thanks all for the fast responses :)
im just looking for a Pc that can run high requirement games at good framerates.. so if there any any builds that you think could do this in the <£600 range then that would be awsome if you could post the build!

Thanks for the build's stulid, i will definitaly look into them
 
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.98
(£98.32) £117.98 - Is it worth loosing the 0.2GHz from the AMD phenom II 3.40GHz, when the 3.4 is only £10 more expensive? also do i need a cooler for either of these?


MSI 880GMA-E45 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard £81.70
(£68.08) £81.70- what benifits does this offer over the current one that I had selected? (i dont realy know what im looking for in a mobo)


BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £46.99- will a 530W Psu be enough seeing as I am going to be using this PC for Gaming? (SC2, WoW, TF2 ect..)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27.98
, is this different from the one that I had selected? They both have the same amount of space just the one I selected is slightly cheaper? Did I miss something?

Will I need to buy Sata cable? if so how many 'sets' should I buy
Im realy confused as to whether I need a CPU cooler?

Here is my very slightly updated list: http://i.cubeupload.com/fj1ALg.png
As I said, I would like this to be a gaming PC, so is the graphics card/ cpu in your first build benefiting me in that way?


Thank you so much for the help :D I dont want to build a machine only to be disapointed with it.
 
pearshaped said:
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.98
(£98.32) £117.98 - Is it worth loosing the 0.2GHz from the AMD phenom II 3.40GHz, when the 3.4 is only £10 more expensive? also do i need a cooler for either of these?


MSI 880GMA-E45 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard £81.70
(£68.08) £81.70- what benifits does this offer over the current one that I had selected? (i dont realy know what im looking for in a mobo)


BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £46.99- will a 530W Psu be enough seeing as I am going to be using this PC for Gaming? (SC2, WoW, TF2 ect..)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27.98
, is this different from the one that I had selected? They both have the same amount of space just the one I selected is slightly cheaper? Did I miss something?

Will I need to buy Sata cable? if so how many 'sets' should I buy
Im realy confused as to whether I need a CPU cooler?

Here is my very slightly updated list: http://i.cubeupload.com/fj1ALg.png
As I said, I would like this to be a gaming PC, so is the graphics card/ cpu in your first build benefiting me in that way?


Thank you so much for the help :D I dont want to build a machine only to be disapointed with it.
Click to expand...

I don't want to rain on "Stulids" parade by answering questions on his build. However I will clear up a few things for you to put your mind at rest.

Q1: Do I need a CPU cooler? \\ A: Only if you want to overclock, if not there is one provided with the cpu provided you buy the retail version. An aftermarket cooler is essential if you want to overclock your cpu, if you don't then there is no need to buy one.

Q2. Do I need Sata cables and how many? \\ A: Yes, but you get them with your motherboard so there is no need to buy extra ones, you will only need two sata cables, one for your hard drive and the other for your dvd drive, you will need extra if you want to add more hdd's in the future. Your motherboard should come with at least two, so don't bother buying any.

Q3. will a 530W Psu be enough seeing as I am going to be using this PC for Gaming? \\ A: The 530W PSU suggested will be loads for your current system, you would only need a higher rated one if you were adding in a second graphics card, but you aren't. So the one suggested will be fine. BeQuiet is a very good make, don't be fooled by the cheap price.

Q4. is this different from the one that I had selected? They both have the same amount of space just the one I selected is slightly cheaper? Did I miss something? \\ A: The seek time on the drive suggested is slightly quicker, but the main reason I think is because you get a 3 year warranty on it compared to 1 year. For 2 quid it's a no brainer. Personally though I would be going for this. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-342-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940 It's backed by a 5 year guarantee, has a larger capacity and you should notice a difference in windows performance as the drive is quicker. That's a personal choice though.

Q5. Mobo question, what benefits over the one you chose. \\ A: Well personally I deteste MSI, as I think there customer support stinks, there drivers are crap, this of course is my opinion and should be taken with a pinch of salt. I will let someone else tell you why to choose an MSI over an Asus, it certainly wouldn't be me.

Q6. CPU 0.2Ghz question \\ A: Go for the cheaper one if you plan on overclocking, go for the more expensive one if you don't. The differences won't be huge. It's upto you if you think it's worth a tenner. Here's a comparison between the two. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=102
 
thanks for the help to everybody so far :)
A few more questions:
what is a CHEAP CPU cooler that I could get if I was planning to overclock, would the one in my basket be ok?
- I was initaly planning to use a 250GB HD as well, (already own) but Would getting a 1TB be better?, it would reduce cable mess + more space- also would prevent me from buying any sata cables.
(mainly at Buchanan) What Mobo would you sugest, as I think this is the thing that is causing me the most trouble at this point in time, on a nnother forum, sombody said
'The motherboard isn't any better for a 125W processor, you should go with something with a minimum 6+2/8+1/8+2 power phase (and mosfet heatsinks for heavy overclocking) such as ASUS M4A79XTD EVO, which I'm pretty sure can be found in the UK for the same or lower price '- I have no clue what any of that means, but if it is true, does it mean I should change to the one suggested or any other (insert sugestion here) :P

Also Do you think that once these changes are done, I will be ready to build?-got a Win64bit OS, keyboard, mouse. I would like to order my parts today, as the 'THIS WEEK ONLY SALE' will finish >:(
in brief: here is my list atm: http://i.cubeupload.com/x9sxGV.png
should I change the CPU cooler?-I will be Overclocking the 3.4GHz
The Mobo-HELP
The 1TB drive- yes or no? should I stick to the old one/ the 500GB 3year+ a 250GB for System??

Again thank you for your time :D
 
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Change the cpu to the 955BE, it takes 5 seconds to increase the multiplier by +1 in the BIOS to create a 965be cpu.

The motherboard does crossfire, yet you have selected a Nvidia gpu, so get a cheaper motherboard - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-025-FC&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1481 or http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-403-AS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1782

Get a cheaper GTX460 768MB model, your paying about £15 more for a small overclock - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-238-AS

Or for maximum performance buy the Sandy bridge spec.
 
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Right, few little things with your current/latest build.

Why not get theAsus GTX460 for £113.99. Yes the one you have chosen is the overclocked version by EVGA but this is better value for money.

As for hard drive its upto you. Do you need the storage or will a 500GB and a 200GB be ok? If your existing drives are 5900rpm, it'll be worth getting something like a Samsung F3 1TB for your OS to give you faster boot/access times.

Motherboard. Are you likely to use USB 3.0 or SATA 6GPS or even add them in years to come. The motherboard you have chosen does not have these features. I would suggest you go for Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 AMD 790GX (no USB 3.0/SATA 3), or MSI 870A-G54 AMD 870 which does. Difference is £30, entirely upto you.

Cooler is fine for £20. If looking for better cooling go for Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler, £15 more expensive but better cooler and can add another 120mm fan. (Probably quieter also).

Don't buy a DVI cable for £15. Can be had MUCH cheaper elsewhere.

You DONT need that SATA-3 cable. This is for SATA 3 (OR 6GPS). Your motherboard will have SATA 2 cables (3GPS) for your optical drive and hard drives!!

GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel is cheaper.

THIS WEEK ONLY DEALS FINISH ON TUESDAYS. TODAY ONLY DEALS EXPIRE ON MONDAY MORNING AT 9AM (ie the Asus GTX 460 and Geil RAM which are bargains).

doh. beaten to it.
 
Ta again guys
the Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard [90-MIBAJ0-G0EAY00Z]
would be fine, its just a little over priced? or i could get a cheaper alternative?

I would buy the Sandy bridge spec, although It doesnt cover the costs of the sata + DVI cables, and that takes me upto around £620.. I realy cant afford it which is a massive shame, but goota do best with what you got :)

- If I were to overclock the 3.4 and overclock the 3.2, would the results be the same? also I dont have much knowledge of overclocking so would it be advised that I just buy the 3.4 and stick with it, or should i get the 3.2 and attempt to overclock to 3.4-3.6ish?

A friend told me the superclocked was worth it, although I guess it isnt? im not exactly the most computer litterate person in the world when it comes to hardware so sorry for the millions of questions :P
 
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ignore that last post.. didnt even make sense to me after reading it:
here is the new and updated list once again: http://i.cubeupload.com/8gYNgW.png
Won't I need the extra SATA cable because I am having 2 Hard drives (the 500gb and a 25gb I own)
I will stick with the current cooler untill I have the money to upgrade it to the Venom CPU cooler.
Is the Asus mobo actualy Ok as annother friend recomended that I get it? is it just that I could be getting something a bit cheaper but this one is actualy ok?
I want this PC to run games and having a 3.4GHz overclocked sounds (to me) better that having a 3.2GHz overclocked: is it?

ta again!
 
read the above posts, that ASUS board main feature, crossfire at 8X/8X is wasted with an Nvidia card.

So get a cheaper one.

motherboards come with more than one SATA cable, so its not needed.

And I will repeat it again, if you want MAXIMUM performance, and can afford £600, then the Sandy bridge will destroy the AMD system
 
stulid said:
READ the above posts, that ASUS board main feature, crossfire at 8X/8X is wasted with an Nvidia card.

So get a cheaper one.

motherboards come with more than one SATA cable, so its not needed.

And I will repeat it again, if you want MAXIMUM performance, and can afford £600, then the Sandy bridge will destroy the AMD system
Click to expand...

Seems like we're covering the same ground over and over...:confused:
 
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