Spec & compatibility check for First time build

Wilhelm

Wilhelm

Wilhelm

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Joined
21 May 2014
Posts
8
Hi all,

I'm looking to build my first PC and have put together a prospective spec I'd like to run by those in the know about compatibility and whether it makes for a good system:

It will be used predominantly for web dev and design work (non video), photo editing as well as light gaming (old point-and-click games though - nothing too demanding). As well as more general use, web browsing and watching movies.

My budget is around 700, which I'm currently slightly exceeding all shipping etc. considered, but that's fine providing this makes for a sound build. If there are any suggestions for changes or omissions I'm totally open as this is my first foray into the realms self-building:


Intel Core i5-4460 3.2Ghz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor

Raijintek Rhea Headpipe CPU Cooler - PWM - 92mm

TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600Mhz Dual Channel Kit

Gainward GeForce GT640 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM HDD

BitFenix Neos ATX Tower Black/Gold

OcUK 24x DVD+RW SATA ReWriter (black) OEM

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Asus VS228DE 22" Widescreen LED Multimedia Monitor - Black

Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard & Mouse set



Thanks!
 
dacads said:
Or motherboard :p
Click to expand...

Sorry the cooler and memory are bundled with a motherboard as an OC bundle.

The motherboard would be a Asus Z97-K ATX Motherboard

As for PSU, I thought this particular BitFenix case came with one, but I've just looked and apparently not - so please advise, I'm aware this is a pretty important aspect of a build!

Thanks!!
 
To be honest, with your requirements I wouldn't bother with a GPU. Use the money for something more important and you can always slot in a GPU later if you decide you want to play more intensive games.

Here is a micro-ATX build with a PSU, 24-inch monitor and some other components swapped for price or performance improvements.
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £134.99
1 x BenQ GW2450HM 24" Widescreen LED Professional Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02733) £73.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £67.99
1 x ASRock H97M Pro4 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £64.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £55.99
1 x Silverstone Precision PS07 Midi-Tower Case - White (SST-PS07W) £55.99
1 x Avexir Core White Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CIW) - White Light £49.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £10.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £727.78 (includes shipping : £19.10).

 
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Much better graphics card :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £134.99
1 x BenQ GW2265HM 22" Widescreen LED Flicker-Free Multimedia Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £89.99
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 250X Vapor-X 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02733) £73.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £69.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £55.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £52.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x BitFenix Neos ATX Tower Black/Gold £29.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £10.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £725.30 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
As you say you will only be doing some light gaming it may be worth going down the AMD APU route. If you wanted to add some graphical grunt down the line you can add any R7 GDDR3 GPU in Crossfire. It won't have the processor power like the i5 below but just adding something different. It will still feel very speedy when web browsing/YouTube etc.

Also comes in well under budget so you can choose and mouse & keyboard of your choice, as I find that's quite a personal preference.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7850K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £119.99
1 x BenQ GW2265HM 22" Widescreen LED Flicker-Free Multimedia Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £67.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88X-D3H AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Motherboard £62.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G1600HC9DC01) £55.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x BitFenix Comrade Midi-Tower - Black £29.99
1 x Raijintek Aidos Direct Contact CPU Cooler £14.99
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-14 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £650.30 (includes shipping : £17.85).



EDIT: Sorry I forgot to mention the motherboard is out of stock at the moment - there is a Gigabyte which is slightly more expensive but has WiFi built in, and there are two gaming motherboards by Gigabyte and MSI to choose from.
 
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Thanks this looks great.

A friend has been urging me towards ATX systems over micro ATX for awhile now - but having done some research since this suggestion, it seems airflow is the only real consideration to be taken between the two - as the few additions on the motherboard etc don't really seem warranted for my usage.
 
Yes I specifically chose the case I did as it should have better airflow than the other cases in the same price region :)
 
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