Need Help Please =)

max76249

max76249

max76249

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OK, I'm new to the computer scene although I do know a bit about it. I've got £750 to spend. Could somebody please help me 'spec' a computer for that price including everything (thats means a mouse and keyboard) apart from a monitor. No comprimises, I want the best that my £750 can get!

Please Help =)
 
OK!:D

Somebody will be along soon to spec you i'm sure.........

Might be a good idea to explain a bit about what you mainly use your pc for? what monitor size you use, how much drive space you need etc etc.........
 
Fair enough. Going to be using it for gaming, not on the highest settings, but definately better than my PS3 (not hard trust me). Ill be using a 32" HD 1080p TV with a resolution of 1920X1080. I want to avoid an i7 processor as I don't need that much power, and it will allow me to focus more on other aspects of the PC. I was looking at an AMD Phenom II tri-core 720, don't really know that much, but I've heard they're great. You know what, let me stay out of it and let the experts do their thing. =)
 
Nah mate, more you tell us the better. My perfect computer would be wildly different to yours.
I recommend
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There is a remarkably similar thread here, which I think you will find helpful
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18010309

I am pleased to see that you have found an extra 50 quid. I recommend spending part of this on a mouse and keyboard, and put the rest towards a prettier case. These are all personal preference, so are difficult to advise on.
I personally would get the cheapest logitech keyboard and mouse, which presently cost 18 quid combined, and includes a laser mouse. That leaves 32, which added to the 54 quid recommended case gives 86.
You are fortunate to be able to purchase this one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-LL&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=187 and have 5.50 remaining for four cans of Guinness to celebrate the build.
 
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That's it really to be honest, if anyone needs anymore information I'll be happy to try and answer, but I can't really think of anything else other than...IT MUST BE BETTER THAN MY PS3!!!(Those things really are awful compared to computers.)
 
Hehe. The only reason I reposted was because I lost the other thread, and didn't right down the specs. To be completely honest, I was kind of hoping you would repost the same spec (hence posting at a similar time) because I was very fond of it. As you can most undoubtedly tell, I am new to these forums, so I'm sorry for any inconvenience.
 
Not at all, I'm quite amused. I recognised your name, and if you click on someone's name at the left the option to find more posts by them comes up. I've recommended exactly the same build to at least two other people so far, I'm astonished by how good it is for the money. Would have been interesting to see if someone else chose the same components.

The extra 50 quid is fortunate though, especially if you put it all towards a better case. 50 quid cases are nasty, 100 is where they start to become quite nice. I spent 125 on mine I believe, so ran off to spec that. Sadly, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-028-AK is now up to 150. Curse supply and demand, it's such a beautiful case.

Aside from case, the only thing worth considering changing is that hard drive. Sadly, the Samsung drives I like so much are largely out of stock. You can get this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-069-SA for the same price, and I would do. It's half the capacity of the WD though, so depends if the difference between 320 and 640 is significant for you.
 
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I was thinking of getting the Antec 300 case, a Razer Diamondback mouse and an OCZ Alchemy Series (currently sold out) which comes to about £730 with shipping. What do you think? Also, may I ask what's wrong with the HDD?
 
OK, a question about the case, I don't suppose it would be worth even considering the Coolermaster RC-1000 Cosmos for this build. I mean, I've genuinely fallen in love with it, but realistically, is it worth it?
 
Nothing at all wrong with it, it's a very good one. I just happen to like Samsung very much. A single platter 320gb is quicker than a double platter 640gb one, but barely even measurably. By far the sensible choice is the WD one :)

Antec 300 is the standard recommendation for cheap cases with good reason, my best mate has one and is quite happy with it. Cheaper cases tend to have worse internal layout, thinner side panels, and fewer removable panels. They're generally not as nice to work with, things like removable motherboard trays are lovely. Thicker panels and better joining leads to fewer vibrations and a quieter system. The case is one of few things that survives many builds, so I reasoned buy a damned good one and it'll last for years. The Akasa ones certainly feel like they'll survive anything.

Mouse and keyboard is a very personal choice. I have really cheap ones, but have come very close to buying a 50 quid keyboard a few times. They just don't seem like a very sensible place to allocate funds.

Laughing hard at the cosmos question. Yes, I think its worth it. That's not the one I'd choose though. It's important to love your computer, it means you treat it better. Find a review of it and read through it, see what you make of the internals. If you're willing to drop 150 on a case, that opens up a whole world of goodness. Find a review on the akasa omega, it's a work of art.
Here's a 2041 post thread about how awesome the Akasa cases are: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17671494
They all use the same frame, the omega has a door, and 120mm fan mountings in the top and side. It's nicely laid out for watercooling as a result.
 
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Not so quiet. Not my thing at all to be honest, but a few people like it very much. That said, the aluminium handles on the coolermaster put me off too.
My preference goes to lian li I think, particularly like the look of the A05N. Really sensible design. Only thing that puts me off lian li is a vague sense that they're too pretty, I'd rather a computer look purposeful than artful. So mine is big, black, and solid. It's also difficult to pick up. Working on making it quieter at the moment.

Depends a fair bit on what you want from a case. Any out there which don't have matx written on them will fit your hardware, so it's largely appearance. Depending on how well you get on with building your computer, good odds you'll end up overclocking it. That, like addictions in general, has a tendency to progress towards pumping water around your computer. That can be easy or very difficult depending on which case you choose, so I'd suggest getting one that will allow that option in the future if you choose to go down that road. I still recommend the Omega, had it for ages now and just can't fault it. The Eclipse at 120 quid is an absolute steal. Simple airflow, very solid construction. If you want to watercool it later, you can either cut holes into it (the case is massive) or buy the side/top panel for the omega which will fit quite happily. If you're so inclined, you can buy a transparent side window for them.
 
To be honest, not too interested in these flashy side windows with flashing lights and 'super-cool' fans. I like the simple yet creative designs, which is what enticed me straight towards the RC-1000. I'm really considering it to be honest.
 
The cosmos is massive - I mean seriously massive.

Take a standard box from the purple place, an antec 300 makes that look small... a cosmos makes a antec 300 look positively portable.

The antec 300 doesn't have flashing lights and flashy side windows either - just a couple of "low-med-high" fans you an adjust for the best cooling for the noise.

Don't get me wrong, the cosmos is great - if someone offered me a straight swap for my 300 I'd take it, but it does have its down sides. Requiring 8 burly men to move it being one.

Nice and roomy though :-)
 
Beautiful thing to assembling your own computer is the choice. Most things you might want have been made and marketed. I'm just getting to the point of wanting specific enough items that I'll have to make them from scratch.

I'm fairly impressed. Air intake on the bottom and outlet on the top is a good thing. Airflow looks a little odd with the two streams fighting each other, might need to undervolt the bottom intake for optimum temperatures. I'd still go with Akasa, but that one looks like it'll do you well. I approve of the hard drive mounting system in principle, though feel it should be rotated 90 degrees. Reading through an astonishingly glowing review of it at present.

I also dislike side windows, and dislike LEDs, but am very fond of cool fans. Still, it's good to take pride in your work, which will probably lead to me braiding everything. I'm also obsessive about cable management, even though no one except me ever sees the inside of the box.

Question is whether you increase your budget to 800, or cut back on things I suppose. Don't see anywhere you can save 50 quid except graphics card sadly.

Heavy cases for the win :) I'll have to weigh my omega at some point

edit: Airflow is going to be a tricky one to sort out for the case. Based on looking at it, I think you're going to want to block off the rear 120mm fan and run the top two at a lower speed than the base one. I'll put some more thought into that if/when you get the case. Airflow is a tricky bugger, and the case having three exhaust + one intake isn't such a good thing. Hopefully my opinion should be worth something after I've thought about it for a bit, I'm doing a thermofluids exam tomorrow :)
 
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I am going to say coolermaster 690 then. Its nice an discreet, fairly cheap and looks the nuts I think! Definitely a good case.
Also that spec posted above, I would change the cd drive to a pioneer or LG ;) That one is noisy.
 
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