Recommend me a system please....

Robinson · 20 Feb 2010 at 13:52

I looked at the guide and it seems a little out of date. I'd like to build a new system for my nephew, under £700. He's into gaming, so obviously I want something capable in that respect. This is minus monitor of course, which he already has.

Can anyone recommend me all the hardware I'll need? I appreciate it.

Alex74 · 20 Feb 2010 at 14:08

The guide looks alright to me tbh..if anything i'd take the 700 pound Intel rig, switch the 5850 out for 2 5770s, should cost less overall and perform better..

This should give a nice rig for your nephew

xBLiNG · 20 Feb 2010 at 20:56

The guide is fine, I would go with the AMD build personally, you get a quad core over a dual core with hyper-threading. Those builds don't include Windows, so if you need that, drop the 5850 to a 5770.

Robinson · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:01

Really, the AMD rig? I'm not sure about that. Core for core, the Intel is a much better performer, isn't it? And not all that much software would take advantage of all of the cores in any case.

What do you think about that?

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:04

If it's purely for gaming go for the Intel and clock the nuts off it.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:08

Alex74 said:
The guide looks alright to me tbh..if anything i'd take the 700 pound Intel rig, switch the 5850 out for 2 5770s, should cost less overall and perform better..

This should give a nice rig for your nephew

The Intel motherboard listed in the £700 build only does asymmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X/4X.

The OP should look at this article:

http://www.hardware-revolution.com/p55-motherboards-crossfire-sli-performance-problem/

Robinson · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:10

Thanks, I'll give it a read.

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:13

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
The Intel motherboard listed in the £700 build only does asymmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X/4X.

The OP should look at this article:

http://www.hardware-revolution.com/p55-motherboards-crossfire-sli-performance-problem/

If he's going for the 5850 this isn't going to be a problem.

Unless the ops nephew is planning on using a 30" Dell the 5850 will play anything that's thrown at it.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:16

coupe69 said:
If he's going for the 5850 this isn't going to be a problem.

Unless the ops nephew is planning on using a 30" Dell the 5850 will play anything that's thrown at it.

The HD5850 1GB is an excellent card but if someone is suggesting a Crossfire setup with a pair of HD5770 1GB cards it is important that the correct motherboard is chosen.

Also I would not be getting a Core i3 over a Phenom II X4 for gaming either.

The Phenom II X4 955BE is a better choice IMHO:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=88&p2=118&c=1

Even the X3 720BE is a better choice for gaming over a Core i3 530:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=83&p2=118&c=1

http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcont.asp?id=7488

This is an AMD Phenom II based build which the OP may want to consider(or not):

Phenom II X4 955BE ~ £136

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

This is a quad core processor with an unlocked multiplier.

OR

Phenom II X3 720BE ~ £100

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-238-AM

Asus M4A785TD-V Evo ~ £73

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-355-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

This motherboard has an 8+2 phase VRM with cooling,all solid capacitors and has integrated graphics too. Has ACC for core unlocking too.

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £77

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM ~ £77

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-127-MS

OR

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail ~ £100

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-124-MS

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w ~ £60

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB ~ £40

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-081-SA

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-099-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

Antec 300 ~ £41

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

With the OEM version of Windows 7 the total comes to around £483 to £519 excluding postage.

The OP may be able to fit in an HD5850 into the budget too:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?&groupid=701&catid=56&subid=411&sortby=priceAsc

Alex74 · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:32

coupe69 said:
If he's going for the 5850 this isn't going to be a problem.

Unless the ops nephew is planning on using a 30" Dell the 5850 will play anything that's thrown at it.

Yea CAT-THE-FIFTH was right to call me out there, I recommended the cheaper 5770 crossfire option for him. Good catch mate

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:32

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
The HD5850 1GB is an excellent card but if someone is suggesting a Crossfire setup with a pair of HD5770 1GB cards it is important that the correct motherboard is chosen.

Yes very true, but I'd rather have the more powerfull single card solution for better minimum framerates.

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Also I would not be getting a Core i3 over a Phenom II X4 for gaming either.

The Phenom II X4 955BE is a better choice IMHO:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=88&p2=118&c=1

Again this is true, but the Phenom II X4 955BE is nearly 50 quid more expensive :eek:

and if you're overclocking the i3 is clock for clock on a par with the Phenom in games.

You've also got the option of upgrading to a core i5 or even a core i7 with the Intel spec.

Robinson · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:38

To be honest I haven't used an AMD CPU for at least 5 years, so I'm not really to sure what to make of them. The benches look good, but you know how it is; I suppose I'd rather stick to what I know. Will probably go for the intel in that case.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:41

coupe69 said:
Yes very true, but I'd rather have the more powerfull single card solution for better minimum framerates.

Again this is true, but the Phenom II X4 955BE is nearly 50 quid more expensive and if you're overclocking the i3 is clock for clock on a par with the Phenom in games.

You've also got the option of upgrading to a core i5 or even a core i7 with the Intel spec.

Looking at the comparisons of the X3 720 triple core with the Core i3 530 for gaming in most cases the X3 720 is usually ahead. The X3 720 is clocked lower than a Core i3 530 and has one less core than the Phenom II X4.

The other alternative is for the OP to get a Core i5 750 based build and get a weaker graphics card.

For example this is an Intel Core i5 750 based build:

Core i5 750 ~ £160

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-299-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1672

Asus P7P55D LE ~ £105

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-363-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

There are cheaper P55 motherboards available but this has an 8+2 phase VRM which is better for overclocking and also has all solid capacitors. OTH,if the OP is not doing any major overclocking they could consider the cheaper P55 motherboards.

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £77

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM ~ £77

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-127-MS

OR

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail ~ £100

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-124-MS

HD5770 1GB ~ £113

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-131-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w ~ £60

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB ~ £40

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-081-SA

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-099-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

Antec 300 ~ £41

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

The total comes to around £688 excluding postage.

The HD5830 is being released very soon and supposedly should be around £170 to £190. If the OP gets one of the cheaper P55 motherboards and a cheaper case they could be able to fit this into the budget.

I think that the Coolermaster Elite 334 should be able to accommodate an HD5850:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-184-CM

The HD5830 has a similar PCB to the HD5850 from what I have heard so far.

However,I would check this beforehand.

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:55

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Looking at the comparisons of the X3 720 triple core with the Core i3 530 for gaming in most cases the X3 720 is usually ahead. The X3 720 is clocked lower than a Core i3 530 and has one less core than the Phenom II X4.

You must be looking at different sites to me then Cat

And using the Anandtech comparison the core i3 pretty much wipes the floor with the Phenom II X3 720 on just about every benchmark.

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 14:58

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
if the OP is not doing any major overclocking they could consider the cheaper P55 motherboards.

You could even just use one of the cheaper H55/H57.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 21 Feb 2010 at 15:04

coupe69 said:
You must be looking at different sites to me then Cat

What like this review:

http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcont.asp?id=7488

There is also this comparison too:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=83&p2=118&c=1

In Fallout 3 and L4D the Core i3 530 was slower than the X3 720BE and in FarCry2 and Crysis the Core i3 530 was slightly ahead.

coupe69 said:
You could even just use one of the cheaper H55/H57.

The cheapest H55 motherboards on OcUK are mATX and for only around £5 more you can get an ATX P55 motherboard which IMHO would be a better choice.

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 15:14

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
What like this review:

http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcont.asp?id=7488

LOL can we have some more up to date legitimate reviews

Hardly what I would call a reliable trustworthy site.

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
There is also this comparison too:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=83&p2=118&c=1

Yeah I know I have already linked to this in my previous post, and like I said the core i3 wipes the floor with the 720 X3 in pretty much every benchmark. :rolleyes:

freezin8472 · 21 Feb 2010 at 15:25

Edit: Ignore me. Looked at wrong results ^_^ but yeah...my choice between X3 and i3 would be the i3.

Skillmister · 21 Feb 2010 at 15:30

Dont forget the chance of unlocking the fourth core if you do go for the X3 route.

coupe69 · 21 Feb 2010 at 15:43

freezin8472 said:
The link shows the X3 only losing out in one of the four games tested.

Loses out in two of them and there's only 3.8 fps difference in l4d :confused:

admitedly the Fallout 3 benchmark is a few frames down, but have you actually looked at the rest of the benchmarks? the core i3 wins all of them bar 1.

Of course it's entirely up to the op what he purchases, but please don't be swayed by bs fanboy posts.

Cat the filth seems to have taken up where Big Wayne left off. He will always post an AMD spec regardless of whether or not it's actually going to be any better than the similarly priced Intel.

freezin8472 said:
I don't see any actual benchmarks for the X3 720 in those images posted.

No but look at the comparisons between the AMDs £150 flagship chip the Phenom X4 965 BE (which is obviously more powerfull than the tri core phenom) and a similarly clocked core i3, you'll notice the difference is minimal.