Need help with a new £1000 budget build

PaoloUK

PaoloUK

PaoloUK

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Joined
15 Dec 2007
Posts
126
So it's been a bit since I built a PC, 6 years in fact (!), so I'm a little out of touch with what's new and what's best these days. My current rig has done amazingly well, it's had two GFX card changes but nothing else, now though it's getting old, slowing down and I finally have the money to replace it so it's time to do it.

I currently have:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz
Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400C5
Antec 900 Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case

As you can see, it's all a bit dated and past it's best days.

My main uses for the machine will be gaming, graphic design and video editing. Gaming wise I play the likes of BF4, Titanfall etc. I've never done overclocking and don't plan to any time soon really so not something to really think about.

I'd prefer to stick with an Intel CPU, haven't had a problem with them so don't see any reason to change now. I've had both AMD and NVIDIA GFX cards in the past so I'm open to either but do have a slight preference for AMD if push comes to shove.

I'll be keeping my current screen as it's fine and I'll sort a new mouse and keyboard out separately.

My budget is around £1000 (I can go a bit above if it's worth it but as close to as possible please) and I'm looking for:

CPU (and cooling)
Mobo
RAM
GFX Card
PSU
SSD
Case
DVD drive
Fans (if the case doesn't come with them or comes with weak ones)

I'm not sure if I need a separate soundcard, as I understand it onboard is good enough on most mobo's now? The SSD will be used for the OS and a few games, I have 3 HDD from my old machine to put in for storage etc so that's not a problem.

As for a case I've had my eye on the Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow, I like how it separates everything so the PSU, cables etc are hidden away. I'm open to suggestions if people have had problems with this or think there are better value for money cases available.

The only other thing I'll throw in is if there are options in colour of anything I'd like red. It's not a big thing if there isn't the option but I'm sure most have a preferred colour etc for this kind of thing and that's mine.

Thanks in advance, any questions fire away.
 
Hi Paolo,

Would you be interested in having the rig XFire/SLI ready, or not?

Do you like the black, white or grey Carbide Air 540? (I think the white one with black and red inside it would look ace but I appreciate not everyone is a fan of the white)
 
The SLI/XFire thing isn't something I've ever had before, never seen the point myself so no, probably not going to go that route this time either.

Probably the black version, more to match my other equipment than anything.
 
Thanks Paolo.


YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x MSI Z87-G43 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £92.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £89.99
2 x GeIL EVO Potenza 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (GPB38GB1866C9DC) £59.99 (£119.98)
1 x EVGA 600W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0600-KR) £49.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
Total : £998.92 (includes shipping : £11.75).





Notes:

1. For my ears, the Intel stock cooler is not a problem, even with i7's (non-K's, as you don't want overclocking). Aesthetically, the bit of blue on the fan hub may interfere a bit with the black/red theme. So you may want a matching aftermarket cooler anyway. No need to spend loads on one since there'll be no overclocking.

2. Went for 16GB of RAM straightaway, as it sounds like you'll benefit from it (graphics design, video editing). If you'd rather start off with 8GB, to spend more on other aspects, and add another 8GB later, the build can be tweaked accordingly.

3. For the same reason (as no. 2 above) a 240GB SSD instead of a 120GB, as the extra space will probably be of benefit for working on large files before storing them on your HDD's, as well as provide you room for several games as you requested. On a 120GB, after you install Windows and drivers etc, you'll only have about 70-75GB remaining. Now, the Crucial M500 is not the fastest SSD around (at writing), but I'd go for it as it'll still be considerably faster than a HDD and for the extra room. Up to you. If you want to stretch for a faster one, there's a Kingston K300 180GB for £109.99, and then the Kingston Hyper-X, Samsung Evo and a faster Crucial M550 (240/250/256 GB) for between £119.99 and £125.99.

4. PSU is budget but very good for the price. It allows for squeezing in other stuff. Some don't mind a decent budget one as long as it does the job for a few years, others prefer investing in a better quality one. It should run a 280X no problem, as it is able to run a 290. And it is quiet.

5. I wouldn't replace the case fans right from the off till you tested them for yourself, and see how they are for noise. Apparently they are great cooling-wise. Noise is border-line it seems, fine for some, crosses the comfort zone for others.

6. External DVD drive is better for that case, as vertical mounting looks a bit odd. Swap to an internal if you prefer.


Optional:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Raijintek Zelos Low Profile CPU Cooler £15.95
1 x NZXT CB-LED10-WT 12x White LED Sleeve - 1m £9.98
1 x Silverstone SST-FF142B Magnetic Fan Filter - 320x155mm £5.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Molex to 3pin x3 Fan adaptor 7V 20cm - Red £4.99




Above is a suggestion for an aftermarket cooler. Small size and low profile, so it doesn't block the looks of the motherboard and RAM. No need for more, imo, especially with the good air cooling the case is capable of. If you don't like how the red/white fan looks, it can always be replaced with a black/red fan (or other) in future.

The black Carbide Air 540 doesn't come with LED fans, unlike the grey and white versions. And it's a case that cries out for a bit of lighting, so a suggestion for lighting has been included that includes 3 brightness levels. The controller can be attached to a PCI expansion slot, to allow for control from the outside of the case. But it doesn't need to be there if you don't like the looks of it and its cabling. It can just be tucked away in the back chamber of the case instead.

The case comes with two unsightly and dust-friendly holes on the bottom, beneath the two HDD hot-swap bays. The dust filter in the basket above fits under the case snugly.

A 7v fan adaptor, to give you the option of simply reducing RPM instead of buying new fans.

I haven't added any coloured extensions (24 pin etc), but can do if you wish.

Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
The air 540 seems a bit bulky for a rig that won't be using multiple GPUs and won't require an elaborate cooling setup. On the other hand it is a very cool case. But here's something more compact if you're open to suggestions:

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Geforce GTX 780 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV "Frost Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £82.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White/Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £67.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
Total : £1,015.87 (includes shipping : ).

 
R9 290, 250Gb SSD and under budget. Case is the compromise but it's a cracking little case having worked in one for a recent build. The cost allows some wiggle room if you want to get an AIO watercooler or install some extra fans.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £319.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £125.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £82.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova NEX 750W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (120-PB-0750-KR) £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master N200 NSE-200-KKN1 Midi-Tower - Black £36.95
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
1 x Pioneer 24x Internal DVR-221LBK DVD Rewriter - OEM £17.99
Total : £921.47 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
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Thanks all. Few questions and points.

First, I forgot to say but I'd prefer a modular PSU, just to keep things nice and tidy. I have a non modular one now and the spare cables are a right pain.

On the CPU's some have gone i7 and some i5, is there a big difference in them or is it not so noticeable? Especially if not overclocked. I take it from Danny75's post that the "K" versions are the best for overclocking?

Having read a few other spec threads before making mine I've seen that the TeamGroup RAM gets a lot of recommendations, what makes it most peoples choice over say Corsair stuff? This shows how long it's been since I built a PC! Never heard of TeamGroup.

I like the cases suggested, will keep them in mind, like that they are smaller than your usual ones since I'm planning on putting this on my desk this time around. Danny the extras you suggested for the Carbide 540 were great, I'd been worrying about the bottom holes, that dust guard looks perfect to fix that if I go with that case.

Again, thanks for all the help, it's very daunting doing this again after so long!
 
You won't notice the difference between an i5 and i7 in most gaming situations, but for video editing the i7's extra threads will help.

Only 'k' CPUs can be overclocked.

TeamGroup RAM gets recommendations because it is good value for money. Their kits don't necessarily have the best timings, but they're quick and cheap.
 
PaoloUK said:
First, I forgot to say but I'd prefer a modular PSU, just to keep things nice and tidy. I have a non modular one now and the spare cables are a right pain.
Click to expand...

Remember that if you go for the 540 Air, that wouldn't matter. Plenty of space in the back chamber for cables (just wind up the unused ones and use a twisty to keep them tidy). Otherwise any of these will do more than nicely, for any one GPU you decide on:

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £89.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £89.99
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £89.99
1 x Seasonic G series 650w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £89.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova NEX 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply (120-PG-0750-GR) £79.99
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova NEX 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99




Just make sure it'll fit in whatever case you go for. Some are big. The warranty on the Supernova G2 is 10 years.
 
Sorry I didn't reply to this sooner, didn't get chance before going on holiday.

Just put something together, would welcome peoples thoughts. Is there anything I'm going over the top with or anything that needs improving? Right at the limit of my budget so nothing ridiculous obviously.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £329.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £161.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £125.99
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2400HC11CDC01) £59.99
1 x Pioneer 24x Internal DVR-221LBK DVD Rewriter - OEM £16.99
1 x NZXT CB-LED10-RD 12x Red LED Sleeve - 1m £9.98
1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £8.99
1 x Silverstone SST-FF142B Magnetic Fan Filter - 320x155mm £5.99
Total : £1,135.92 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
You've chosen a lot of components I bought last week for my build.

The Corsair Air 540 is a great case and I also bought the same CPU, mobo, memory and graphics card.

As ExRayTed said the SDensonic M12II PSU is a good one to get, I bought it, and it'll save you a tenner.
 
ExRayTed said:
I'd swap out the power supply for the one below saving a tenner and drop the Arctic Silver altogether to afford a decent third party cooler. What's the point in getting that case with that CPU if you're not going to overclock?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £111.68 (includes shipping : £9.75).

Click to expand...
I may well overclock in the future, hence picking the i5k rather than an i5/i7 but it wont be right away. The case is a preference thing, the cube shape will fit the space it will live in better, looks nicer than a tower, and I really like how clean builds look in them thanks to the back compartment keeping all the spare cable etc hiddden.

lee32uk said:
I would get this over the MSI.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £319.99
Total : £329.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Click to expand...

Any specific reason? I went with the MSI one as it was recommended earlier in the thread and matched the MOBO I ended up going with.

Thanks for the help.
 
PaoloUK said:
Any specific reason? I went with the MSI one as it was recommended earlier in the thread and matched the MOBO I ended up going with.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

It offers the same warranty (3 years) and it has a great cooler. It is also £10 cheaper at the moment. It will still fit in with your red/black theme too.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-03-40G) £329.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £143.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £125.99
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2400HC11CDC01) £59.99
1 x Pioneer 24x Internal DVR-221LBK DVD Rewriter - OEM £16.99
1 x NZXT CB-LED10-RD 12x Red LED Sleeve - 1m £9.98
1 x Silverstone SST-FF142B Magnetic Fan Filter - 320x155mm £5.99
Total : £1,161.25 (includes shipping : £17.85).




The Sapphire Tri-X is probably the best out of all the 290's if you don't mind the slight 'Orange' colour around the fans. Your spec above didn't have a cooler, so you would need to add that into your price. The Gigabyte board above comes with a free cooler, and is a very good board.

***The Gigabyte board says free cooler in the listing, but not when you click on it. I would double check with OCUK if they are still supplying the free cooler*** If the offer has ended then you might as well revert back to the msi board, and get a cooler such as the raijintek above.
 
Last edited:
Finally ready to buy this either tomorrow or Friday.

This is where I'm at after the GFX card I'd had selected isn't on the site anymore.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-03-40G) £319.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £164.99
2 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £119.98 (£239.96)
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £105.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £88.00
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Pioneer 24x Internal DVR-221LBK DVD Rewriter - OEM £16.99
1 x NZXT CB-LED10-RD 12x Red LED Sleeve - 1m £9.98
1 x Silverstone SST-FF142B Magnetic Fan Filter - 320x155mm £5.99
Total : £1,301.22 (includes shipping : £17.85).



A few things:

The Mobo is currently out of stock so open to alternative suggestions.

I don't know much about the CPU water coolers so gone with the one I saw suggested most in other threads, if you'd change it let me know.

Open to any other suggestions people have too.

Cheers.
 
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