Newbie...Also first PC build

lukesow

lukesow

lukesow

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6 Dec 2012
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Hi, My name is Luke and I am new to the forum!
I have a BSc Hons in Computer Science and am currently training to become a Computing and ICT teacher.

I have never built a PC on my own before although I understand what it entails.

My friend (an older man) asked me to build him a PC for Christmas. He said it doesn't have to be for gaming or that, just as long as it is powerful, quick and has lots of memory for storing data.

He has a budget of £300. I am not looking to make profit by the way! Anyway, I came up with these two lists. Could you run your eye over them and offer me advice. I will need to order these Thurs morning in order to have the parts delivered in time to build this weekend.

If you can come up with better a spec or a better deal then feel free to say so. If you think any of these would meet his requirements then please give me feedback!

Thanks in advance and I look forward to contributing to this forum!

PS: He doesn't need a monitor, mouse, keyboard etc.....you get the picture!

I would really appreciate some help. I have came up with this. What do you think although I am over budget.

Overclockers
Use code 'GSLXFREESHIP' for free DPD next day delivery

Motherboard - £80
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-555-AS

Processor - £89.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-366-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=

Case - £27.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-056-XG&groupid=2362&catid=2277&subcat=

Power Supply - £18.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-146-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Hard Drive 1TB - £54.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-024-TS

CD-DVD Drive - £18.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-090-LG&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

RAM – 8GB (2x4GB) - £31.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Total = £322.90

Granted I may have to come up with a cheaper case with a power supply thrown in but what do you think of this.
 
ConnorJoshua said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
Total : £89.89 (includes shipping : £8.25).


Get this motherboard instead its made by gigabyte so you shouldn't have no troubles if you have to RMA

Edit: Or seeing as he is an older person he won't be looking to overclock, so you could get a B or H chipset instead as it is a locked processor
Click to expand...

Thank you for the quick response.

Would this motherboard be suitable to my other components. Can you offer me any advice as to how I can cut this down to £300 including delivery to Northern Ireland?
 
You could go down the route of AMD Apu if he doesn't need as much CPU power. Or you could drop it down to an Intel Pentium. They are just a tad slower than an i3
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5700 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD5700OKHJBOX) £91.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A85X-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £61.99
Total : £164.78 (includes shipping : £9.00).


Here's what you could get for an APU, only £10 cheaper though

And here's what to expect for a Pentium build, you could go cheaper on both if he doesn't mind Micro-atx
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z77-DS3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £75.98
1 x Intel Pentium G2120 3.10GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £73.99
Total : £161.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).



Minus £9.50 for shipping as that will be included when your order all the parts
 
ConnorJoshua said:
You could go down the route of AMD Apu if he doesn't need as much CPU power. Or you could drop it down to an Intel Pentium. They are just a tad slower than an i3
Click to expand...

I did consider a quad core AMD.

I would be very interested to see if you guys could build a package together for me. I am by no means an expert and would really avail of your expertise and advice.
 
I don't work for Overclockers sadly, just help out around here. If you want you could take a look at overclockers pre-builts. Although i would still recommend building yourself. It's not actually that hard. Just have to find the right slot for everything. Have a search on youtube, there are a lot of tutorials on there.

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Primo 6200a" AMD Bulldozer FX-4 4100 3.60GHz DDR3 Quad Core System £263.98
1 x No Operating System £20
1 x No Hard Drive Upgrade £0
1 x No Graphics Card Upgrade £0
1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x Opt Out of FREE AV Software £0.01
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Channel Module (TED34GM1600C1101) £15.95
Total : £317.95 (includes shipping : £15.00).



This seems like a great system coming in just over, how much is shipping to Ireland?
 
ConnorJoshua said:
I don't work for Overclockers sadly, just help out around here. If you want you could take a look at overclockers pre-builts. Although i would still recommend building yourself. It's not actually that hard. Just have to find the right slot for everything. Have a search on youtube, there are a lot of tutorials on there.

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Primo 6200a" AMD Bulldozer FX-4 4100 3.60GHz DDR3 Quad Core System £263.98
1 x No Operating System £20
1 x No Hard Drive Upgrade £0
1 x No Graphics Card Upgrade £0
1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x Opt Out of FREE AV Software £0.01
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Channel Module (TED34GM1600C1101) £15.95
Total : £317.95 (includes shipping : £15.00).



This seems like a great system coming in just over, how much is shipping to Ireland?
Click to expand...

Thanks for that,

Not sure how much shipping is but i'd imaging it would be no more than £10
 
 
Last edited:
what do you think of this

I got this response on another forum

I guess that link doesn't work w/o my cookies lol.

With that budget, for everyday fast general purpose -

this if Intel...
http://www.******.com/351598-gigaby...mi-8-channel-audio-atx-motherboard-ga-z77-d3h
http://www.******.com/254978-intel-...-1155-3mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-bx80623i32120

this if AMD..
http://www.******.com/398815-amd-a8...-socket-fm2-4mb-l2-cache-retail-ad560kwohjbox
http://www.******.com/406359-gigaby...i-displayport-7-1-channel-audio-ga-f2a85x-up4

with..
http://www.******.com/274405-corsair-4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-xms3-memory-cmx4gx3m2b1600c9
http://www.******.com/272944-seagate-500gb-barracuda-internal-hard-drive-st500dm002
http://www.******.com/409011-samsung-24x-dvd-writer-sata-sh-224bb
http://www.******.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cp-9020046-uk

The AMD is quad core and @ 3.6GHz and can go higher so I would go with that for a rig that won't need a video card and it already has better graphics capabilities than the i3's integrated graphics. Not that you'd see a diff on the screen, depends on what they're doing, but better nonetheless. The i3 setup has more options for cpu upgrading but it seems it would be years before this user would need to if even then. And by then there would be new tech. I'd go with the AMD APU and it will also prolong any needed/wanted cpu upgrade. Nice mb too. The pricing is about the same.

As far as case, it's personal preference. Look for:
ATX mb support.
Bottom mount ps.
front and rear fan.
Cut-outs in the mb tray (where the mb screws onto) so cables can be routed behind the tray instead of in the open area of the case.

If after that I had a little more money I'd get faster memory and/or more memory, or a bigger hdd if I needed more space right away. But as is they should be very happy with the performance.
Click to expand...

I responded with

Thank you, this is the response I have been waiting for, a breakdown of a full system!

would this RAM be better tho, 8GB
http://www.******.com/264750-g-skill...2800cl9d-8gbxl
Click to expand...
 
The links don't work. There is no point getting expensive RAM, you are on a small budget to start with and you will struggle to tell the difference between 1600mhz and 1800mhz plus. You will also not need 8gb, 4gb will be plenty.
 
MikeTheNative said:
The links don't work. There is no point getting expensive RAM, you are on a small budget to start with and you will struggle to tell the difference between 1600mhz and 1800mhz plus. You will also not need 8gb, 4gb will be plenty.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your feedback. Can you just tell me the main reason why 8GB is not needed. Surely the more RAM the better?
 
JCX50 said:
If you make 250 Posts on this forum, you get free shipping!
Click to expand...

Seriously or are you throwing the bait. It is so difficult to get this correct hence the reason I need help from you guys. I need a Motherboard and CPU for about £120 ish....AMD will do even
 
 
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