Need Help With My First Build!

Hessian

Hessian

Hessian

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Joined
6 Jul 2007
Posts
674
Location
Sussex, UK
Ok, I tried as much as I could to do this on my own, but I really need some help, this is my first build and I really don't know what I'm doing! I have a budget of £500, but if I can would prefer it to be about £400.

All I need is the insides of the computer, I already have two Western Digital Caviar SE16 250Gb 16Mb HDD and all peripherals, such as Monitor, Opticals, etc.

Currently, I'm embarrassed to say I just have a Pre-Built Dell PC, that is very much so past its sell-by date. I want to be able to play higher level games and perform video rendering at an acceptable speed.

This is the spec I've cobbled together from Ultra_Extreme's topic:

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC8500C5 1066MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB22GB8500C5DC) £84.99
(£99.86)

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU £52.99
(£62.26)

Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £84.99
(£99.86)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail £46.99
(£55.21)

Abit AN52 nForce 520 (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £41.99
(£49.34)

Sub Total : £311.95
Shipping : £9.95
VAT : £56.33
Total : £378.23


What do you guys think and can you make any suggestions? I was thinking about using Raid 0 to link the 2 HDD's I already have, will this be possible? Is the PSU that comes with the case going to be enough?

Thank you in advance,
Chris
 
Ah yes, sorry. Ermm ... I've never done it before and I don't even know where to start. But I would like the option if I decide to at a later point or once Ive read a few tuts.
 
You'd be better off with an Intel Core 2 Duo, if you're planning on doing any overclocking.

Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail
£54.04

Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard
£46.99

Most decent Intel motherboards are more expensive than AMD motherboards, and so you are unlikely to find a decent overclocker for such a low price.
 
Hessian said:
So will the Mobo and Processor Benjamin suggested go with the other things I had in my first post?
Click to expand...

Ooh, Eastbourne :) Distant relatives all live up there. Very nice place.

Good luck with the build.
 
Ok so this is what I have in my basket now, sound good? Will this deliver? One thing I was worried about is, have I spent the right money in the right places, because the RAM is the most expensive thing in the list, is that the best choice?

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC8500C5 1066MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB22GB8500C5DC) £84.99
(£99.86)
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU £62.99
(£74.01)
Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £84.99
(£99.86)
Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard £39.99
(£46.99)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £51.99
(£61.09)

This puts me at £390 including postage, is there anything that I can upgrade with an extra £10? :P


Edit: Eastbourne is a nice place :) It's got a bad reputation though, claimed to have a lot of old people, but its not true.
 
Last edited:
Erm, not too sure about anyone else's views, but the PC-8500 smells like overkill to me.

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit £74.99
(£88.11)

would save you £11, and you could then upgrade your graphics card to a

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1950 XT Extreme SILENT Heatpipe 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £94.99
(£111.61)

improving gaming performance.
 
Ok thank you very much for the help. If anyone else can confirm this is the best choice then I'll buy it this week sometime.
 
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