Some help choosing a system please

csj2k

csj2k

csj2k

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Joined
26 Apr 2011
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19
I've been looking at self build but I'm starting to lean to a prebuilt system.

I want the best gaming system I can get for £600. I'd ideally have a 24" monitor in that budget too but I could put up with my old one (nec 14") for now if it meant a better system.

I've been on a another thread and from what reading I've done, I like the sound of an intel i5 (sandy bridge) based system.

You're advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
For the best performance you'd be better off waiting on the monitor and getting this:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98

MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache WD10EALX - OEM £44.99

BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98

Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98

Pioneer 24x Internal S19LBK DVD Rewriter including Labelflash SATA Retail £17.99

Sub Total : £487.39
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £99.58
Total : £597.47

However, if your not gonna be overclocking and are looking for a monitor in the spec, maybe something like this:

Iiyama ProLite E2409HDS 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £149.99

Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £143.99

Gigabyte H67M-UD2H-B3 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £84.98

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79

BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £27.98

OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.39

Sub Total : £512.56
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £105.26
Total : £631.57

Edit:

i5 2500k vs i5 2300

5850 vs 5830

And as you said in the other thread, call up about the MSI H67MA-E35 to see if it's coming in stock soon as that would bring the second build down to £606.58
 
Last edited:
I'd still keep money aside for the monitor, and if you have a HD TV use that instead via HDMI.

Pretty much the same. Slightly better board, better PSU, but 500GB hard drive. With your budget, It'd be hard not to cut corners, but it is still a very respectable system. See how it compares with a pre-built. Mind you, this system has no OS. If you add an extra £100, then you can squeeze a 6950 and OS in the budget.

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98
(£95.82) £114.98
(£95.82)
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(£28.32) £33.98
(£28.32)
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £487.40
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £99.73
Total : £598.38
 
Last edited:
with OS

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98
(£95.82) £114.98
(£95.82)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(£28.32) £33.98
(£28.32)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £510.24
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £104.30
Total : £625.79
 
Yeah, its a 22" but don't think that matters really - better monitor than the 24" you'd having to be looking at with your budget.


YOUR BASKET
1 x BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.98
1 x Asus P8H67-M Pro Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £89.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £43.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £29.60
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.39
Total : £617.30 (includes shipping : £17.85).
 
Meh, £26 overbudget, but i5 + HD5850. Only a 500GB drive I'm afraid but that should be ok. Two items are out of stock as well :(

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £143.99
1 x BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98
1 x Gigabyte H67M-UD2H-B3 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £84.98
1 x Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £27.98
1 x Sony DVD-ROM 18X SATA DDU1681S-0B (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £625.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).
 
Buchanan0204 said:
Do you need peripherals or an OS aswell?
Click to expand...

No peripherals or OS needed.

Cookeh said:
He needs a new monitor - 14" is diabolical!
Click to expand...

you're not kidding lol!

Going to read the other posts now - I didn't realise I had replies and then found the default board settings are no notifications and no automatic subscription. That's sorted now. I just didn't want you people to think I'd posted and run!

I don't mind be a little over budget if the extra spend is worth it
 
Looking at the different specs, I think I should leave the monitor for now. Once I have my new system up and running, my old 2 core duo should go some way to funding a decent monitor.

So, excluding the monitor from the equation, I'm having difficulty working out which one that people have posted is best. I've been looking intensively for the past four days and all the numbers are blurring into one lol


My third edit..... is there a way of converting the forum friendly shopping list back to the shopping basket?
 
Last edited:
I changed my mind about the monitor and my budget so here is what I have (mixed and matched a bit from the suggestions and bought a more expensive mobo just because it's in stock and I want it NOW lol)

If anyone's about, please let me know what you think before I go press the checkout button:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game
(£134.99)
£161.99

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £132.00
(£110.00)

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98
(£95.82)

OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32)

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(£28.32)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS)
£30.98
(£25.82)

Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98
(£23.32)

Pioneer 24x Internal S19LBK DVD Rewriter including Labelflash SATA Retail
£17.99
(£14.99)

BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black [9H.L3RLN.IBE]
£119.99
(£99.99)

£730.87
(609.06)
 
Nice!

Mobo is great, really it is - better than the equivalents for a similar price and is imo the best board up to around £160 (where Sabertooth takes over).

A50 will easily get you to 4.8Ghz :p

430 has black internals and good cooling solutions.

Will you be using the Labelflash though? Could save a few quid there, which could go toward a 1TB HDD?
 
Cookeh said:
Nice!

Mobo is great, really it is - better than the equivalents for a similar price and is imo the best board up to around £160 (where Sabertooth takes over).

A50 will easily get you to 4.8Ghz :p

430 has black internals and good cooling solutions.

Will you be using the Labelflash though? Could save a few quid there, which could go toward a 1TB HDD?
Click to expand...

I like the sound of labelflash and I do use a lot of discs. I just thought - do I also need to order some cables?
 
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game
MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive**
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS)
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
Pioneer 24x Internal S19LBK DVD Rewriter including Labelflash SATA Retail
BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black [9H.L3RLN.IBE]

£730.87
(609.06)[/QUOTE]

I've placed my order as above. Thank you all so much for your advice & support.
 
Last edited:
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