New Build

It is unlikely to come with an adapter - B grade usually means card-only. Though you could contact OCUK before you buy and ask them specifically what comes with the card.
 
Can I run this set up without a GPU at first?

If so I may get it all built and then add the GPU in a month or so once I have it all set up.

Unless anyone recommends against it?
 
Yes, the CPU has a half-decent graphics core on it and the motherboard allows you to access it with one of the following connectors:

1x D-Sub, 1x DVI-D (1920x1200 max res), 1x HDMI (1920x1200 max res)
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The onboard graphics (Intel HD 4000) isn't a patch on the performance on a proper GPU like the HD 6850 or GTX 460 - but it will allow you to run windows, applications, HD videos, older games and new games at low settings perfectly fine.
 
Bomster said:
If so I may get it all built and then add the GPU in a month or so once I have it all set up.

Unless anyone recommends against it?
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Makes good sense. If you could save up a bit more in the meantime, this would be a good card to aim at.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-154-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

or the 7850 in general. Also nvidia have some new mid range cards due out soon, something like like a 660ti, depending on price of course.
 
Yeah, I think I will wait a while on the GPU front then. Not desperate to game as soon as I finish building. Any idea if HD4000 will run a bit of CoD4 Promod?
 
Bomster said:
Yeah, I think I will wait a while on the GPU front then. Not desperate to game as soon as I finish building. Any idea if HD4000 will run a bit of CoD4 Promod?
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Give it a go and see. You'd have to set the detail to low though, see how it goes and tinker from there. You'll find a much better use for the IGP with quick sync. Decent video encoders make use of it, it seriously speeds up the process of ripping your dvd movies.

It comes down to how much you are willing to spend. The 6850 and 460 are the default £100ish options. Spend any more and you want 2GB of VRAM a 6950 or 7850 would be around the same price (£160ish). In that price bracket I would favour the 7850 till we see the mid range nvidia cards released as mentioned before.
 
Cheers hono.

With the impending release of new GPU's I think it would be silly not to wait, because even if nothing jumps out when the new ones are out, surely it will drive the price of current cards down.

On a side note, you have all recommended the Z77-D3H. I was just wondering why? And if it is the best choice considering I will be using an SSD with it?

Thanks as always!
 
Being a Gigabyte board it has a 3year UK based warranty.

It has SATAIII so a SSD will be fine with it.
 
Bomster said:
Cheers hono.

With the impending release of new GPU's I think it would be silly not to wait, because even if nothing jumps out when the new ones are out, surely it will drive the price of current cards down.

On a side note, you have all recommended the Z77-D3H. I was just wondering why? And if it is the best choice considering I will be using an SSD with it?

Thanks as always!
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For your budget that motherboard is the best choice. It's cheap, and Z77. This means it'll support a quad core 1155 CPU if you ever upgrade, and if its a "K" series CPU, you can overclock it too.

It'll be ideal for your SSD since it has SATAIII ports to get the most out of it.

Gigabyte also have a UK RMA base.
 
Got an SSD related question.

Been taking a look around online, and it seems for my budget it is between the 128GB Crucial M4, and the Corsair 120GB Force Series 3. They are similarly priced, and spec'd apart from the Corsair has a write speed of 510MB/s whilst the M4 is only 175MB/s?

Any reason to choose the Crucial disk?
 
Bomster said:
Got an SSD related question.

Been taking a look around online, and it seems for my budget it is between the 128GB Crucial M4, and the Corsair 120GB Force Series 3. They are similarly priced, and spec'd apart from the Corsair has a write speed of 510MB/s whilst the M4 is only 175MB/s?

Any reason to choose the Crucial disk?
Click to expand...

Sequential write speeds don't matter so much, unless you do a lot of writes (video captures and the likes). The M4 has better IOPs (small file transfer), which matters for windows boots and program loading.

The Force 3 uses asynchronous NANDs, the M4 and the vertex series synchronous NANDs. Basically, better quality, more consistent performance and durability, better with incompressible data.

The Force3 is basically junk, while the M4 battles with the big boys.
 
It's also a decent card - though it is more expensive than the ASUS HD 6850, clocked a bit lower and has 1 year less warranty.

Therefore, I would go for the ASUS HD 6850 or the EVGA GTX 460 1GB over it.
 
AMD make the graphics chips (ie the HD 6850 GPU) and come up with a standard (reference) design - however they don't actually make the graphics cards. Instead, Add-in-board (AIB) manufactures (like ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte, sapphire etc.) take the GPUs and construct either :

- the reference board design with reference cooler (and a different sticker)
- the reference board design with a custom cooler
- a non-reference board with custom cooler

and then sell them to enthusiasts and PC companies.

Therefore, you will see quite a few different cards called "HD 6850" made by different companies, with different coolers, different stock settings and board designs.
 
Remember that the offers change tomorrow!

There is an excellent today only offer on the crucial M4 SSD and the CM PSU we have spec'd will most likely come off offer.

We will have to respec if you don't order tonight
 
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