New to building custom pcs

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 09:31

Hi, I'm at uni at the moment and only have around 600-700 for the whole lot including monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, operating system (which I can get for around £30) etc. There is some leniency if this is unrealistic.Can anyone give me suggestions on a suitable set up at this price.

My requirements are basically something that will be quick, reliable and run fairly quietly. All it needs to do is be able to deal with a large number of open windows/tabs in terms of word, pdfs, and internet pages without lagging and also being able to play old games like half life 2 and counter strike would be nice. It'd be nice if the whole lot was easily upgradable for future use.

Sorry about the long post but I'm a complete novice at this and have no idea where to start.

Elfmeister. · 24 Jan 2010 at 09:46

Just a quick one,

macca672 · 24 Jan 2010 at 09:53

something like the titan pyro would fit your bill
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-192-OK&groupid=43&catid=1445&subcat=

would leave you more than enough for a 24" inch monitor such as the benq
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-032-BQ

and the mouse keyboard and speakers of your choice

EDIT beaten by elfmeister

but great minds think alike

chipps101 · 24 Jan 2010 at 09:55

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
"Primo Flare" AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 630 2.80GHz DDR2 System £350.00
(£297.87) £350.00
(£297.87)
Options applied to the above product:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99
(£34.03)
Options applied to the above product:
No Operating System £0.00
(£0.00) £0.00
(£0.00)
Iiyama E1908WS 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor £112.99
(£96.16) £112.99
(£96.16)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £55.89
(£47.57) £55.89
(£47.57)
Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616) £20.99
(£17.86) £20.99
(£17.86)
Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £17.99
(£15.31) £17.99
(£15.31)
Logitech Deluxe USB Keyboard (Black) - OEM (967738-0120) £7.14
(£6.08) £7.14
(£6.08)
Sub Total : £514.88
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £16.25
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £92.95
Total : £624.08

if your gonna have lots of windows open at the same time the 2 extra cores would be handy and the 4670 would be more than enough to cope with the games you have metioned at the 1680 x 1050 resolution of a 19 inch monitor and a good gaming mouse is always nice

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 09:58

macca672 said:
something like the titan pyro would fit your bill
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-192-OK&groupid=43&catid=1445&subcat=

would leave you more than enough for a 24" inch monitor such as the benq
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-032-BQ

and the mouse keyboard and speakers of your choice

EDIT beaten by elfmeister but great minds think alike

Ok so there seems to be a consensus about getting a pre built one rather than building from scratch. Is the spec on the titan pyro considered good then, I always thought pre built models were pretty rubbish with cheap parts. Also I heard that AMD was not very good compared to intel (is this just random intel fanboy propaganda? What would be the intel equivalent of this processor?)

macca672 · 24 Jan 2010 at 10:05

californiadream said:
Ok so there seems to be a consensus about getting a pre built one rather than building from scratch. Is the spec on the titan pyro considered good then, I always thought pre built models were pretty rubbish with cheap parts. Also I heard that AMD was not very good compared to intel (is this just random intel fanboy propaganda? What would be the intel equivalent of this processor?)

prebuilt usually do use poor components but OCuK tend to use better

in the pyro its good quality components, its a Corsair psu, gigabyte mobo, kingston memory etc

The amd vs intel debate will rage long and hard

, but the AMDs are fine and the one in that machine will be more than enough for what you are using it for. If you wanted you could go quad core as chips101 suggested and still come in under budget

Elfmeister. · 24 Jan 2010 at 10:21

The pre built from here are good for the money, if your confident of building yourself then maybe this?

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 10:50

Elfmeister. said:
The pre built from here are good for the money, if your confident of building yourself then maybe this?

Ok this is going to seem like an endless list of noob questions so please forgive my ineptness:

- Is it easy to self build- does it all just slot in or do I need to buy stuff i.e screws/ screwdrivers?
- Would you say that the self built one you're suggesting is better than the prebuilt in terms of performance and future upgradability?
- When upgrading is it possible to detach the processor from the motherboard and attach a new one or do I need to get new everything?
- When looking at motherboards and cases what features specifically should I look for to make sure it will still be useful in the future e.g whats ddr2 and ddr3 all about?

Redgie · 24 Jan 2010 at 12:30

californiadream said:
- Is it easy to self build- does it all just slot in or do I need to buy stuff i.e screws/ screwdrivers?

You will need a screwdriver, all screws are (usually) included.

californiadream said:
- When upgrading is it possible to detach the processor from the motherboard and attach a new one or do I need to get new everything?

You can detach the old one, but the new one must be compatible with the board.

californiadream said:
- When looking at motherboards and cases what features specifically should I look for to make sure it will still be useful in the future e.g whats ddr2 and ddr3 all about?

DDR2 and DDR3 represent different types of RAM or Random Access Memory, which is used to hold short term data (On screen stuff). The faster the memory is the more it can proces each open window, DDR3 is newer and faster than DDR2.

wakayoda · 24 Jan 2010 at 12:40

Don't go wireless as a student why would you want to always have to buy new batteries ?

Elfmeister. · 24 Jan 2010 at 12:52

californiadream

- Is it easy to self build- does it all just slot in or do I need to buy stuff i.e screws/ screwdrivers?

I would say yes but once upon a time I wouldn't open the side of a case, If you havn't done one before or witnessed someone else build one I maybe wouldn't but we got to start somewhere and its not rocket science, :rolleyes:

most components only go in one certain space, you can't put your RAM where your GPU should go etc, although I'd say putting in a cpu can be quite daunting fist time. Only tool I use is a small possie screwdriver.

- Would you say that the self built one you're suggesting is better than the prebuilt in terms of performance and future upgradability?

Yes custom/self builds generally get more go for £, future upgrades are the same both routes.

- When upgrading is it possible to detach the processor from the motherboard and attach a new one or do I need to get new everything?

As long as the socket ie socket A, 939, 775, i5, i7, AM2, AM3 corresponds with one another then yes.

- When looking at motherboards and cases what features specifically should I look for to make sure it will still be useful in the future e.g whats ddr2 and ddr3 all about?

It depends, I generally go on budget first, then out the ones I can afford draw up pros and cons like amount of SATA port, if it has 2 GPU slots, built in Wi-fi etc.
As for the DDR question as google because it gets deep.

Hope these answer are correct, I'll stand corrected though!

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 19:44

Ok I've had a look around and my options are the custom one by elfmeister above or this:

Antec 300 Three Hundred Case- £43.99
BenQ G2420HDB 24" LCD Monitor 16:9 Widescreen Full HD 1920x1080 300cd/m2 40,000:1 (Dynamic) 5ms VGA / DVI-D 2yr Onsite SWAP Warranty - Gloss Black- £140.92
Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz HyperX Memory Kit CL7 1.7V-£90.00
AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz AM3 Retail Boxed Processor-£74.17
XFX HD 5670 512MB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card-£72.54
ASUS M4A77TD PRO/U3S6 AMD 770 Socket AM3 8 Channel Audio 8+1 Phase Power ATX Motherboard £77.83
OCZ Stealth Xtream 500W PSU - 1x PCI-E 6/8pin, 2x SATA 12cm Fan-£47.04
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue-£37.39
Logitech MK300 Wireless Desktop Keyboard and Mouse - USB-£25.87
Sony AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM Internal SATA Black Bare Drive - OEM-£16.65
Logitech X-140 Black 2.0 PC multimedia speakers - 5W RMS-£16.65

Total £642.22

Any opinions or tweaks to make either one better? What would you go for?

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 20:35

Bump- anyone at all?? I'm dying to get started and order something!

W_i_l_l · 24 Jan 2010 at 20:40

Hey,
That setup looks fine

That motherboard its £77 ! you can get the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-210-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481 for £74.98 or the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-355-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481 for £72.99 and they have a better northbridge.

Will

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 21:00

W_i_l_l said:
Hey,
That setup looks fine

That motherboard its £77 ! you can get the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-210-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481 for £74.98 or the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-355-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481 for £72.99 and they have a better northbridge.

Will

Would you say thats too expensive then? I was told that something around this price would ensure that it could be used with any future processor upgrades in case I wanted to replace the old processor later. Would it be better off sticking with this or your suggestions or just going for a really cheap board and replacing that and the processor when the time comes rather than keeping the board and just changing the processor?

Big.Wayne · 24 Jan 2010 at 21:13

californiadream said:
Also I heard that AMD was not very good compared to intel (is this just random intel fanboy propaganda? What would be the intel equivalent of this processor?)

Both companies produce some amazing products but IMO the Intel stuff is quite expensive ££ for what it is . . . (please read 4p for more info)

The Athlon II X620 you have selected is great value for money, pretty much overkill for the needs you have stated but could come in handy in the future? there is cheaper dual core options like the Athlon II x2 240 @ £45 which will easiily cover your requirments should you need to slash the budget a bit more . . .

Other than that the problem with keeping the price of your system low is the memory (RAM), since Windows 7 came out the prices have more than doubled!

There is scope to save you quite a bit of money if you are able to source a *used* branded set of memory, DDR2 or DDR3 . . . . the AMD platform can be built using either. If your penny pinching then I am wondering can you manage with 2GB or are you really needing the full 4GB?

From an investment point of view any money spent on DDR2 should hold its value while the DDR3 will most likely lose value over the next 12 months, apart from that I don't think you will notice the difference in use.

W_i_l_l · 24 Jan 2010 at 21:14

I was just saying that the £77 is expensive for what your getting as you could get one of the other 2 that are better and cheaper

californiadream said:
going for a really cheap board and replacing that and the processor when the time comes rather than keeping the board and just changing the processor?

That depends on how long you intend to keep the computer. You could always buy a good motherboard and then upgrade to a Phenom II but to be honest it wouldnt be much of an upgrade. If you buy a cheap motherboard you could change to intel if they offered a better deal or if a new AMD socket came out for an upgrade. If you were planning to have that computer until after 2011, AMD Bulldozer will be out and that will probably be on a new socket. Its your choice

Will

californiadream · 24 Jan 2010 at 21:49

Big.Wayne said:
Both companies produce some amazing products but IMO the Intel stuff is quite expensive ££ for what it is . . . (please read 4p for more info)

The Athlon II X620 you have selected is great value for money, pretty much overkill for the needs you have stated but could come in handy in the future? there is cheaper dual core options like the Athlon II x2 240 @ £45 which will easiily cover your requirments should you need to slash the budget a bit more . . .

Other than that the problem with keeping the price of your system low is the memory (RAM), since Windows 7 came out the prices have more than doubled!

There is scope to save you quite a bit of money if you are able to source a *used* branded set of memory, DDR2 or DDR3 . . . . the AMD platform can be built using either. If your penny pinching then I am wondering can you manage with 2GB or are you really needing the full 4GB?

From an investment point of view any money spent on DDR2 should hold its value while the DDR3 will most likely lose value over the next 12 months, apart from that I don't think you will notice the difference in use.

Ok but can I still use that processor with the motherboard I've chosen and is DDR2 ram compatible with it. The board says it holds DDR3 but does this just mean it can hold both and that I can replace the 2 with the newer 3 when prices fall? I don't need any extra fans either do I?

W_i_l_l · 24 Jan 2010 at 21:53

DDR2 is not compatible with the motherboard you have listed.

coupe69 · 24 Jan 2010 at 22:01

I'm just going to play devils advocate, and throw an Intel build into the mix.

The Core i3s are looking like cracking little chips, and are easily as good (if not better) than the AMDs that are being recommended here, especially when you consider your usage.

To quote from AnandTechs Clarkedale review found here,

If you're doing a lot of video encoding or 3D rendering AMD's cheap quad-cores are going to be a better option, but for nearly everything else (gaming included) you'll be better off with the Core i3.

If you fancy dabbling in a bit of overclocking you can quite easily get 4GHz+ (with appropriate air cooling) as proved in the core i3 thread.

The Samsung F3 is slightly faster with its single platter than the WD you had in mind.

I've also added a slightly better video card to make full use of that 1080p BenQ