Monocle me a system !

crunchman

crunchman

crunchman

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Right I've been tasked to spec a system up for my brother as an early xmas/birthday present thing.

Budget is at the very most £580 or so.

He only needs the base system minus optical drive and hdd, as I ofc have spares :o

Win 7 also needs to be budgeted, he's a big gamer: CSS, COD .etc


From looking about I've put this together:

Code: 
Product Name	Qty	Price	Line Total
	OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game		£135.11
(£114.99) 	£135.11
(£114.99)
	AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail		£129.24
(£109.99) 	£129.24
(£109.99)
	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)		£82.24
(£69.99) 	£82.24
(£69.99)
	Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU)		£62.99
(£53.61) 	£62.99
(£53.61)
	Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)		£61.09
(£51.99) 	£61.09
(£51.99)
	Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard		£58.24
(£49.57) 	£58.24
(£49.57)
	Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366)		£18.99
(£16.16) 	£18.99
(£16.16)
 	 	Sub Total : 	£466.30
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout)	Shipping : 	£10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50%	VAT : 	£83.35
 	Total : 	£559.65

Free shipping though :cool:


Two things with that spec though, PSU at the bottom, is that a concern ?

And is the 1GB worth it over the standard GTX460 ?


Cheers for any help and guidance :)
 
PSU at the bottom shouldn't be a problem.

The 460 1GB is significantly better than the 768MB, especially for current prices.

What's his resolution? Are you overclocking? If not, you won't need the cooler.

Also, at £76.36, the X4 640 would provide very similar gaming performance for £53 less. I'd switch down to that, and up the graphics card to something badass like a 6870.
 
His monitor is 1680*1050 atm

Erm, I always bought after market coolers cause I was under the impression the stock coolers were crap, I guess that's changed !

But maybe I'd eventually oc a year or two down the line but meh no big deal
 
hybrid572 said:
PSU at the bottom shouldn't be a problem.

The 460 1GB is significantly better than the 768MB, especially for current prices.

What's his resolution? Are you overclocking? If not, you won't need the cooler.

Also, at £76.36, the X4 640 would provide very similar gaming performance for £53 less. I'd switch down to that, and up the graphics card to something badass like a 6870.
Click to expand...

Problem with the X4 640 is the lack of L3 cache - it doesn't perform too well in the more modern games because of it.

i5 might be in your budget at this price range, which would destroy a Phenom system every day of the week.

Also, LMAO at thread title, I like you.
 
Cookeh said:
Problem with the X4 640 is the lack of L3 cache - it doesn't perform too well in the more modern games because of it.

i5 might be in your budget at this price range, which would destroy a Phenom system every day of the week.

Also, LMAO at thread title, I like you.
Click to expand...

Agreed, the X4 640 might be a quad but it has less cache than even many dual cores, which can be a problem with more intense usage.

Another option might be the Phenom X2 and overclock it. An overclocked Phenom X2 would have a good amount of L3 Cache and decent clock speed. Can be had for £70.49 on this week only offer and some unlock too which would be a bonus if it was possible:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-265-AM&tool=3
 
Oh, does he need an after-market cooler right away?
i5 is within reach (okay, £10 - but much better than Phenom and will last longer) if you keep the stock cooler for a while and get an after market one at a later date.

Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156)
(£123.39) £144.98

OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game
(£114.99) £135.11

Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
(£85.10) £99.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
(£69.99) £82.24

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
(£51.99) £61.09

Corsair CX 430W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUK)
(£32.32) £37.98

Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case
(£24.67) £28.99

Sub Total : £502.45
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £89.99
Total : £592.44
 
Last edited:
So would a i5 system with the 1GB 460 be better then a possible Phenom 65O BE with a Radeon 6870 ?

I prefer the look of the i5 build I have to say
 
crunchman said:
So would a i5 system with the 1GB 460 be better then a possible Phenom 65O BE with a Radeon 6870 ?

I prefer the look of the i5 build I have to say
Click to expand...

Thats a good question.

A HD6870 is a fair bit faster than a GTX460 (although not much if you overclock it), but doesn't have PhysX and some games are better optimized for nVidia gpu's.

Also, to get a HD6870 you would need the get an Athlon II X4 640 or similar - which will hinder the performance and lower frame rates.

I would say that the i5 and GTX460 would be the best bet, especially if you overclock the gfx :)

Besides, i5 is a far more versatile chip and thoroughly trashes both Athlon II and Phenom II - meaning it will last longer before the need to upgrade again :D
 
Last edited:
cookeh, i wouldnt say i5 will last longer than the phenom, i mean can you drop a hex core in the 1156, no.
and by hindering perfomance, how much exactly do you mean?(ref. to athlon ii x4 640 + hd6870.
and how come your going with the gtx 460 in this thread whereas on another thread your arguing that 6850 is better than gtx 460?
 
How's this look ?

Code: 
Product Name 	Qty 	Price 	Line Total
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail	Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail		£144.98
(£123.39) 	£144.98
(£123.39)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card	HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card		£141.99
(£120.84) 	£141.99
(£120.84)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)		£82.24
(£69.99) 	£82.24
(£69.99)
Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard		£69.13
(£58.83) 	£69.13
(£58.83)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU)	Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU)		£62.99
(£53.61) 	£62.99
(£53.61)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)	Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)		£61.09
(£51.99) 	£61.09
(£51.99)
  		Sub Total : 	£478.65
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) 	Shipping : 	£10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% 	VAT : 	£85.51
  	Total : 	£574.16

Not sure about the PSU, is it powerful enough ?

Cheers :)
 
Jony27 said:
cookeh, i wouldnt say i5 will last longer than the phenom, i mean can you drop a hex core in the 1156, no.
and by hindering perfomance, how much exactly do you mean?(ref. to athlon ii x4 640 + hd6870.
and how come your going with the gtx 460 in this thread whereas on another thread your arguing that 6850 is better than gtx 460?
Click to expand...

I do have to wonder if you ever look at benchmarks :p
i7 860 (which can be dropped into a 1156 scoket motherboard) destroys an X6. Hell, an i5 760 beats an X6.

If you must post something, make it intelligent or quantify it :D

And re X4 640 + HD6870, it again comes from benchmarks or comparisons. I cannot give you a figure, however.

Im going with GTX460 here to fit in with a budget, besides, already explained it - if you would read posts . . . :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
crunchman said:
How's this look ?

Code: 
Product Name 	Qty 	Price 	Line Total
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail	Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail		£144.98
(£123.39) 	£144.98
(£123.39)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card	HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card		£141.99
(£120.84) 	£141.99
(£120.84)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)		£82.24
(£69.99) 	£82.24
(£69.99)
Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard		£69.13
(£58.83) 	£69.13
(£58.83)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU)	Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU)		£62.99
(£53.61) 	£62.99
(£53.61)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)	Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)		£61.09
(£51.99) 	£61.09
(£51.99)
  		Sub Total : 	£478.65
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) 	Shipping : 	£10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% 	VAT : 	£85.51
  	Total : 	£574.16

Not sure about the PSU, is it powerful enough ?

Cheers :)
Click to expand...

PSU is powerful enough, by are 100W :p

Only issue is the motherboard, whilst I've never read of any issues with OCing on it with an i5, rjkoneill told one chap that when they overclocked i5's with it they found it burned out quite often.
 
ehh..ok i stand corrected with i7 860 and x6 :D
but i still dont get why your choosing the gtx 460 even though its slower and wont clock as high as 6850. why does it "fit" op's budget and not the other op?
lol
 
Jony27 said:
ehh..ok i stand corrected with i7 860 and x6 :D
but i still dont get why your choosing the gtx 460 even though its slower and wont clock as high as 6850. why does it "fit" op's budget and not the other op?
lol
Click to expand...

Do check benchies before hand - I used to do things like that and assume that more cores = better :p

GTX460 is not slower than the 6850, and still beats its when overclocked.
It's also slightly cheaper, and as this OP was already over-budget I tried to keep prices down as much as possible.

However, now that the OP has the £6-7 spare, I would recommend a HD6850 as at a later date he can drop a second one in the juicy amazing crossfire performance :) Just as he specced!
 
Last edited:
no, i never assumed that more cores = better, its just that everyone seems to be uhmmm whats the word, disregarding? the i7 8xx therefore i never really payed attention to it and paid more attention to i5 7xx,i7 9xx lol
yeah read the 6 series scale brilliantly when crossfired.
 
Jony27 said:
no, i never assumed that more cores = better, its just that everyone seems to be uhmmm whats the word, disregarding? the i7 8xx therefore i never really payed attention to it and paid more attention to i5 7xx,i7 9xx lol
yeah read the 6 series scale brilliantly when crossfired.
Click to expand...

Indeed they do - better scaling than SLI for once!
 
Just ordered this:

Item Qty Price
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail 1 £123.39
OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game 1 £114.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) 1 £69.99
Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard 1 £58.83
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) 1 £53.61
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) 1 £51.99
Akasa 20/24-Pin 30cm PSU Extension Cable 1 £3.99
Sub Total: £476.79
FREE SHIPPING (DPD Next Day) Shipping: £0.00
Total Vat: £83.44
Total inc Vat: £560.23

Thought I'd dip under budget so my dads wallet wasn't hit too hard !!

Thanks very much for the help lads !
Fun day of building ahead of me on Tuesday :)
 
Cookeh said:
Problem with the X4 640 is the lack of L3 cache - it doesn't perform too well in the more modern games because of it.

i5 might be in your budget at this price range, which would destroy a Phenom system every day of the week.

Also, LMAO at thread title, I like you.
Click to expand...

So I was checking benchmarks and it turns out there's a difference- but I'm pretty sure the graphics card would hinder your FPS more than the X4 640 would. I still think you'd be better off spending that £53 on a better graphics card.

The i5 760 is the best bang-for-buck gaming CPU right now, but on a tight budget, you should downgrade your CPU before the graphics.

Oh, and the current state of cooling is that stock coolers are fine for stock speeds or even mild (100-200MHz) overclocks, but anything much spicier and they won't cut the mustard.
 
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