My First Build Check - £900 Desktop

treaderwolf

treaderwolf

treaderwolf

Associate
Joined
19 Aug 2014
Posts
20
Hi guys, I have just attempted to make a build in the region of £900. If anyone has any advice, recommendations, or alternative components all suggestions are appreciated. I'd like to double check that all the components are compatible. WOuld it be worth getting a bundle?

1) Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor
2) Kingston HyperX 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX24C11BRK2/16-OC)
3) Asus Maximus VII Ranger Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
4) Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750Ti WindForce OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
5) Aerocool XPredator X3 Avenger Midi-Tower - Red / Gold
6) Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614)
7) Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G)
8) Corsair Builder Series CX 600W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020048-UK)
9) Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD
10) Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24F1ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail)
 
Last edited:
Take this for example - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-006-GI&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=2858

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle **£14 Saving** £254.58
Total : £264.18 (includes shipping : £8.00).




Its £14 less when compared to buying separate.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £98.99
Total : £278.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).




But you still get a further £17.50 with the cashback deal with either option.
 
Based on your advice, this is what i'm thinking atm as my setup:

1) Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor
2) Kingston HyperX 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX24C11BRK2/16-OC)
3) Gigabyte Z97X-SLI Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
4) Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750Ti WindForce OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
5) Aerocool XPredator X3 Avenger Midi-Tower - Red / Gold
6) Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G)
7) SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
8) Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD

Extras:
1) Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614)
2) Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24F1ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail)
3) Asus PCE-N15 300Mbps 802.11B/G/N Wireless PCI-E Network Adapter
4) Gigabyte K7100 Stylish Keyboard

Monitor:
Dell UltraSharp U2414H 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor

I have changed the PSU to the one you recommended and added the Gigabyte bundle for mobo and cpu
 
I've been busy thinking about components that I've forgotten about the case tbh. I like the H440 and Phanteks cases. Am I right in thinking that the H440 doesn't have optical drive slots?
 
Did you forget to check your other 2 advice threads?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18619255&highlight=username_treaderwolf

As I wrote already, you don't need a Z97 motherboard or unlocked (K) CPU. These are for people who want to go for maximum overclocks and/or use crossfire/SLI. You haven't mentioned overclocking or multi-gpu gaming so this is just throwing money out the window. The locked version and motherboard I recommended already will be ample.

As I also wrote, what connectors do you need for your monitors? That 750 Ti you've picked has 1x DVI dual-link, 1x DVI single-link, and 2x HDMI. The distinction of single link is important because the max resolution over that one is 1920x1200, so if you've got a monitor bigger than that it will have to be connected to one of the other sockets.

DVI has been superseded by displayport, so for compatibility you may want to go for one of the cards Doomedspeed or me recommended, the 260X or 265. Both swap one of the HDMI for DP, which gives you more options with modern monitors since you can connect up to 3 monitors from just this one socket. The latter is better than the 750 Ti in games.

Also as I wrote before, 16 GB of memory is more than you need, money out the window.

And 600 W is ridiculous for a low-power machine like this one. You want at the very most a 450 W supply.

Take it or leave it. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=26793473&postcount=13
 
Last edited:
I will be using 8GB RAM and the PSU will be downgraded.

I'm using the Dell Ultrasharp U2414H monitors. From what I gather, you would recommend dual-link connectors (ideally displayport) for resolution higher than 1920x1200? The Dell Ultrasharp is 1920x1080.

If I go with the 265 or 260x graphics card, would you still recommend the H81M-K motherboard? In total, it would provide 1x HDMI, 1x Displayport, 3x DVI slots.
 
Can you check exactly which model number of card it is?

This one,

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4948#ov

Says it has dual link DVI-D and DVI-I and two HDMI.


Actually I don't even think Gigabyte do a 750ti with a single link DVI so no idea where that wrong info came from.


I think you should stick to Z97 as you can afford it and it will support Broadwell CPU's when they are released too.
 
Sorry about the tone in the above post, didn't realise I was so grumpy this morning :)

treaderwolf said:
I'm using the Dell Ultrasharp U2414H monitors. From what I gather, you would recommend dual-link connectors (ideally displayport) for resolution higher than 1920x1200? The Dell Ultrasharp is 1920x1080.

If I go with the 265 or 260x graphics card, would you still recommend the H81M-K motherboard? In total, it would provide 1x HDMI, 1x Displayport, 3x DVI slots.
Click to expand...

I think I see where the confusion is coming from. If you plug a GPU into the motherboard then the onboard graphics (provided by the CPU) are disabled. You can either use the connectors on the GPU, or the motherboard, but not both at the same time. This is why you need to choose a GPU that has all the connectivity you need and can drive all the monitors on its own.

The U2414H looks to take HDMI or Displayport, so actually the 750 Ti would be OK because you can get adaptors to turn either into DVI if you needed.

It's not about recommending dual-link, I was just making you aware that single-link is limited to 1920x1200, but as you say your screens are less than this so (for now) it won't be a problem if they're dual or single link DVI.

stulid said:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4948#ov

Says it has dual link DVI-D and DVI-I and two HDMI.

Actually I don't even think Gigabyte do a 750ti with a single link DVI so no idea where that wrong info came from.
Click to expand...

You're saying this OCUK page is wrong?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-138-GI

It probably doesn't matter because the largest screen is 1080p, and could always use HDMI for anything larger in future.
 
Last edited:
joeyjojo said:
You're saying this OCUK page is wrong?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-138-GI

It probably doesn't matter because the largest screen is 1080p, and could always use HDMI for anything larger in future.
Click to expand...

Yes, I would much rather trust a manufacturer home page than a shop site.

joeyjojo said:
I think I see where the confusion is coming from. If you plug a GPU into the motherboard then the onboard graphics (provided by the CPU) are disabled. You can either use the connectors on the GPU, or the motherboard, but not both at the same time. This is why you need to choose a GPU that has all the connectivity you need and can drive all the monitors on its own.
Click to expand...

This is wrong info too.

You can use a board+CPU display outputs alongside a GPU as long as its not multi screen gaming.


IMG_5567_zpsde1fa5b6.jpg~original


Just to show I have moved my DP cable from my GFX card and plugged it into the board.

The DVI is still connected to my 144HZ gaming screen.

The DP from the board is now running my ASUS 27" 1440p monitor,

IMG_5568_zpsfdbaacaa.jpg~original


I could connect another screen via HDMI to the board and have that doing something else or attach yet another monitor to the card again and have four screens all doing stuff.
 
The above posts have clarified a few things but also added confusion, haha.

I originally went with the 750ti because it was recommended on the forum and by a friend. I changed to the Gigabyte version since it had 2 HDMI ports, which I considered more beneficial.

If I was to add a graphics card and motherboard to support 3 Dell U2414H monitors and a 32" Screen (HDMI connectivity) with the following components, what would be a good pick?

Processor - Intel Core i5 4690 3.50GHz Haswell
SSD - Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB
RAM - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) 2400MHz
PSU - SuperFlower Golden Green 450W
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Case - NZXT H440

Also, how much memory would Windows 8 take up on the SSD? I will be running a few programmes off the SSD along with the OS (including large Excel databases). They won't be huge, but speed is quite important.
 
The Dell U2414H only has HDMI and DP inputs.

So to run three you would need atleast 3 HDMI connectors from a board+gpu combination.

Or you can use a DVI-HDMI cable/adapter and use 2 HDMI and one DVI from a board+GPU.

Or even from a single GFX card that has enough DVI+HDMI ports.

Then you just need to add your TV so you need enough outputs for four screens.

OR,

As mentioned daisy chain the three Dell screens from a Displayport cable and port that supports DP1.2

and run the TV of a HDMI.
 
So if I get the Radeon R7 265 for example, that would be sufficient to run all 4. 1x HDMI, 1x Displayport, and 2x DVI ports with HDMI adapters.

And just to double check..

"You can use a board+CPU display outputs alongside a GPU as long as its not multi screen gaming".

As long as I am not gaming across multiple screens, I can use both the graphics card and the mobo outputs?
 
treaderwolf said:
As long as I am not gaming across multiple screens, I can use both the graphics card and the mobo outputs?
Click to expand...

Seems so, sorry both! It never used to be possible and I did have a quick search around and most opinions were that it's not an option, but clearly times have changed.

I'll get my hat... :)
 
Don't suppose you guys know of any good desks for a decent price? I noticed Stulid just combined 2 small desks.

Thanks for the help btw. Hopefully will be ordering soon. Will keep you updated on the progress :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom