New Build Help

alexnimmo

alexnimmo

alexnimmo

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3 Jan 2010
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Hi - I have been directed here by my friend who essentially said if i want to build a computer and have not much of a clue what to buy/do, then here's the place to ask.

I currently have a 13" macbook which i now actually hate, and need a desktop again so i can be doing my university work and playing games on (like L4D2 and Dragon Age).

My cousin suggested looking into Striped Solid state drives for improving the operating system start up, but i don't much on that.

one thing i would like is a screen of approximately 24" and would need to get a TV tuner as well.

I don't need speakers for it, and would be running Windows 7 on it

As for budget, i guess around £1000 give or take.

Would anyone be able to suggest what i should do?

Thanks,
Alex
 
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Have you considered building a PC yourself? If so, we can happily come up with a parts list that will suit your needs. Here is my idea:


973i5.png


I left out the OS as I'm not sure what you want to use. Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit is my recommendation, it costs £82 for an OEM license, but if you are a student you can get it for £30 (or free if you are on certain courses).

Also, OSX is an option, albeit tricky.

Edit: changed spec - added TV card, replaced 5850 for 4890 due to budget

Edit2: As for a solid state drive, they are very nice. They speed up boot times and make the operating system feel more snappy- however, they are very expensive. Because of this, I would not suggest getting one for a full system with this budget - you have to compromise on more crucial components to fit a decent £170 64GB drive in your system.
 
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That sounds good, thanks for the help.

I could probably stretch to £1250 money wise, and i am a student so would be getting the £30 windows 7 package

what company is it you would order this through?
 
alexnimmo said:
That sounds good, thanks for the help.

I could probably stretch to £1250 money wise, and i am a student so would be getting the £30 windows 7 package

what company is it you would order this through?
Click to expand...

No worries :)

If you have a bit more money to spend I would suggest two main upgrades to the above spec:

- Get the 5850 graphics card instead of the 4890. It is a good chunk faster and is DX11 capable.

- Get a bigger HDD like this one, so you can save loads of TV. If you want, you can get a nice SSD like this as your boot drive (keep a mechanical hard drive for storage). At this budget, an SSD is doable.

- Personal choice, but you could get a better case than the Antec 300 I specified. The 300 is a great case for the money, but it isn't the biggest/most fully featured case around. I would suggest looking at the Fractal Design Define R2 - but there are many good cases you should have a look at - and see which you like the most.

As for student windows, I just googled it - It seems that microsoft have recently stopped it. However, if you google "Windows 7 student" you will be able to find some deals for cheaper windows.
 
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