New build £500-700

graym · 23 Mar 2009 at 18:47

Hi there,
I'm currently looking at purchasing all parts required for a new tower to be purchased in parts over the next month, used mostly for gaming and editing in photoshop, my only other requirement is it needs to have an optical audio output to connect to my external amplifier for music.
Ideally i need a tower that is no more than 10" wide with cooling front and back (due to where it will be placed) if this is possible, also quieter the better alternative arrangements can be made to compensate if necessary though.
Anything from £500-700 give or take as necessary for tower only and os, best power for money as overclocking is not my forte and i'm treading new waters building from scratch (help is at hand luckily though), also something that i can upgrade as and when necessary.
Any ideas, starting points for parts to buy etc greatly appreciated.

Hopefully i'm not asking for too much
Thanks guys

sketch145 · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:41

I'd go for something like this

I have that case, so I know it's less than 10" wide and I've included an extra fan which can be mounted on the front.

sketch145 · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:44

for OS go for vista home premium

graym · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:55

This sounds good. If i was to replace the drive with a bluray drive with dvd writer would this be ok? Also does this setup allow for an optical audio output?
Sorry for being naive but i am quiet new too this.
Thanks

sketch145 · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:31

ah I forgot about the optical output, need an external soundcard for that, something like this

graym · 23 Mar 2009 at 21:04

o.k that looks good too, do you know of a decent silver aluminum case or something, although again this isn't a necessity as the reviews in this 335 case seem pretty impressive.

sketch145 · 23 Mar 2009 at 21:09

lian-li is the obvious choice here, something like this.

graym · 23 Mar 2009 at 21:38

i'm liking that lian-li case, i'm very tempted to go ahead and order the setup you suggested, maybe substituting the case for the lian-li one, if so would the extra fan you put in still be needed?
Also would you suggest a cheaper mobo to compensate for the extra cost of the case or would it be better to pay the extra and go for the one you said?
Would the mentioned psu allow for future upgrading of gfx etc?
Bluray drive could be added at a later date?
Last questions before i start ordering i promise..thanks for all your help

sketch145 · 23 Mar 2009 at 21:58

the lian-li comes with dual 120mm fans so the extra one would not be needed.

if you want to go with a slightly cheaper mobo, I can recommend this one as I am currently using it in one of my PC's.

At peak that system is only going to be drawing 380w max, so the 520w gives you plenty of headroom for future upgrades.

and a blu-ray drive can be easily added, this one will also burn dvds and cds.

karl01 · 23 Mar 2009 at 22:08

graym have a look at this case

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

plenty of drives and hardrive drive spaces great cooling. You will need to get two extra fans for the front put i think its its one of the best cases available for the price in my opinion.

ian|Squared² · 24 Mar 2009 at 07:50

the antec 300 is a great case for the price.
If it was down to me bulding a rig on a budget i wouldnt skimp on PSU and case, its what makes the rig what it is and a quality psu is a must. No point having all your parts running off an unstable and un reliable PSU.

sketch145 · 24 Mar 2009 at 11:26

those coolermasters are great PSU's and both the coolermaster case and the lian li are good quality cases (with the lian li being higher quality obviously)