Prodigy M-ITX build - I'm a novice.

PokerTree

PokerTree

PokerTree

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7 Jul 2013
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6
Hi,

I've decided I wanted to build a new PC. However, as I'm a complete novice at this kind of thing, I was hoping someone on here might be able to help me out..

Once I've built the PC I plan to use it for streaming live football, playing the new Total War: Rome II game, and quite a bit of playing around in large Access databases/Excel spreadsheets. I've had a bit of a look around, and purchased the "BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White" case, but I now need to decide what to put in it.

Due to my completely uneducated nature with PC builds, I've got some questions that I was hoping the more knowledgeable around here might be able to help me with...
1. I would like a quick boot up - will getting an SSD be the best way to achieve this?

2. I'm working within a £650 budget at the moment, but would like to upgrade to a more powerful system in the future. Does this mean it's best for me to look at buying a CPU/mobo with 1150 socket?...How much RAM should I aim for, bearing in mind that I'm happy to buy more later, but would like good processing speed for databases/spreadsheets now?

3. Linked to the previous point, should I got for 64-bit or 32-bit windows? I have no idea about the difference in performance here really..

4. What is key thing I need to look out for when checking component sizes to fit in this size of case?

5. Any other points I should be aware of, given my aims?

If anyone is able to provide a spec, that would also be greatly appreciated...thanks! :)
 
Are you planning to use it for gaming in general or just that one now and then?

As to the questions:

1. Yes

2. Yes, and 8GB.

3. 64bit

4. That they fit :)

5. If you go for a Haswell processor you may as well get the 4670K, as the i3 range isn't out yet. With an SSD, hard drive and graphics card, it's a tough squeeze on the budget.
 
Thanks for the reply teppic.

Yes, I plan to use if for other games as well ideally, but Rome II is probably the main one I'll play for quite a while.

I'm happy to extend the budget up to £750 if it makes more sense to buy that CPU now, it's just that I don't want it spiralling out of control (I've found a lot of the parts look nice when you don't add up the total cost! :D) - is that a more realistic amount?

Would you be able to advise me on a good mobo and GPU for the i5 4670k?

Thanks.
 
Up to £750 takes a lot of pressure off for sure. If you want to use it for other games, I'd ideally go for a 7850 graphics card, but it's pushing it a bit high. The 7790 is a cheaper alternative (£100) but nowhere near as good.

This still needs a cooler (though stock is ok if you don't overclock):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785Q2G2M) £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £64.99
1 x Thermaltake Smart M550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
Total : £740.93 (includes shipping : £10.00).



This graphics card would come with 8 free games until the end of the month.
 
teppic said:
Up to £750 takes a lot of pressure off for sure. If you want to use it for other games, I'd ideally go for a 7850 graphics card, but it's pushing it a bit high. The 7790 is a cheaper alternative (£100) but nowhere near as good.

This still needs a cooler (though stock is ok if you don't overclock):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785Q2G2M) £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £64.99
1 x Thermaltake Smart M550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
Total : £740.93 (includes shipping : £10.00).



This graphics card would come with 8 free games until the end of the month.
Click to expand...


That is a solid build if you choose b grade for graphics card you will make fairly large saving bringing ti closer to original budget

msi 7850 oc b grade £120 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-295-MS&groupid=595&catid=683

also switch the mboard to Gigabyte H87N-WIFI they tend to go for between £90-£100
 
Yeah, a second hand or b-grade 7850 would bring the cost down nicely.

With just Total War I'd probably have suggested a 7750 (almost half the price of a 7850) but it'd be really limiting in some newer games.

Of course selling the 8 games would bring the cost down of the new 7850, I guess £40 minimum.
 
I was looking at the 7850 as anything above that is moving out of midrange gaming towards high end, and PokerTree doesn't seem to have gaming as much of a priority. The 7850 b-grade or with games sold isn't too badly priced, and will play the majority of games very well at 1080p.

For someone after a good gaming PC I'd go for at least the 7870, ideally a 7950.
 
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