Spec for someone going to Uni

Mockingbird

Mockingbird

Mockingbird

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21 Jun 2011
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1,448
Hello,

Speccing for a friend's son to go to Uni.

Course requires 3DSMax, and programming in unreal 3 engine. I.e. he basically needs a gaming PC. He's contacted the course about exact requirements, but they haven't got back to him (grr).

Ordering date: This week in the UK

Components we already have (donated by me):
Asus P5Q-E motherboard
Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 stepping
Arctic cooling Freezer 7 Pro (1st edition)
4Gb (2x2) DDR2 RAM

(has not overclocked well in the past, in case suggestions rely on that)

Components needed:
OS (he can get student editions - aren't they upgrade-only though?)
Case (would prefer a side window / some good looks, but at this price I am aware of the beggars/choosers interface)
PSU
Hard drive
Graphics card (I made a post in the GPU section, currently thinking HD7770 / GTX560)
Monitor (16:9, 1080p I think will be fine for the type of work/gaming/space available)
Keyboard/mouse
Speakers (I'm liking the Logitech S220 set, but is it too much of a luxury at this budget)
DVD writer/drive

And now for the REALLY fun bit:
Target price £500

Impossible dream or achievable goal?
I've got a spec started on OCUK - how do I paste the basket to here? (no access to photo sharing from this location).

I will also be recommending things like USB sticks, external drive for data backup (having watched a hard drive with the only copy of my dissertation on emit black smoke two weeks before due date, I am quite a fan of backups now) but those can follow and be squeezed from separate budget really - this is to get him started.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x BenQ GW2250HM 22" Widescreen LED Professional Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte HD 7770 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x In-Win Griffin Midi Tower Case - Black £32.99
1 x Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £21.98
1 x OcUK Compact Wireless Desktop Set (6309ARF) £17.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £544.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).



As you can see, my attempt has gone over budget by £45 quid.
A student edition of Win 7 (if feasible) would shave ~30 off this I think, and then the options would seem to be dropping the speakers altogether or dropping to a 500Gb drive? I dunno.

Also, the case was chosen virtually at random.

Re: basket link, cheers you legend :D
 
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Use Win8 preview for the moment and get him to inquire at his Uni about windows for students.

A little over budget.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £129.95
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) £46.99
1 x Xigmatek Pantheon Mid Tower Case - Black £35.99
1 x Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £21.98
1 x OcUK Ultra-Slim Wirelesss Desktop Set (6311ARF) £19.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £506.36 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Idleman said:
Use Win8 preview for the moment and get him to inquire at his Uni about windows for students.

A little over budget.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £129.95
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) £46.99
1 x Xigmatek Pantheon Mid Tower Case - Black £35.99
1 x Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £21.98
1 x OcUK Ultra-Slim Wirelesss Desktop Set (6311ARF) £19.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £506.36 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Click to expand...

looks good. remember with that monitor you get £20 cash back so will come under budget once you've claimed it
 
as idleman said use windows 8 preview for the mean while, as its free. then save up for windows and buy it via the uni as will get is cheaper
 
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Mockingbird said:
Won't he still need to pay for Windows for Students? I mean, will I need to budget for it?
Click to expand...

I don`t know, thats why i suggested he make inqueries with the Uni he is going to. They will better advise on his eligibility and cost. Sorry i can`t be more helpful.
 
My university I stopped by the IT support dept, bought them a cup of coffee and they just bunged me a copy of xp with the volume license for nothing.

If they don't officially do it theres no harm asking.
 
check to see if ur uni is part of microsoft MSDN / dreamspark.

Ones that soecialise in IT tend to be.

I studied at stafford and got windows xp, vista, 7 , 8 profession all totaly free.

Also server and developer software.
 
If the university is also part of Microsoft's Dreamspark scheme he can get a free copy of Windows 7 Professional. I'm starting to see a few copies of Windows 8 on my university's Dreamspark site ;). But he will need to check with his IT department. May be different from his but for me only those under the facualty of computing was eligible.

I would probably get him to check this first considering the Windows copy itself takes a fair chunk of the budget, even the student edition (they were a lot cheaper a couple of years back...).
 
It's Portsmouth, who do indeed have the Dreamspark programme - I'll give them a ring. thanks very much!

Edit: bum, apparently it's Bournmouth, who don't :(
 
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Hi mate

I have done a quick build and theres a couple of points to metion here. Firstly the newer cards are going to be a little nerfed by the motherboard and RAM. The HD 7770 uses PCI-e 3.0 archetecture that you will only see the benefit of if you have an IB core CPU. Thats why I have selected an nvidia card. Comparing the GTX 460 to the HD 7770 over at gpureview the Nvidia comes in as performing better overall. Its also native PCI-e 2.0. The nvidia card should be fine on that board with a clean install (also the Nvidia supports CUDA/Physx)

Secondly, the PSU - buy quality as its the backbone of the system - hence the fact I have dropped in a decent modular corsair.

I have included a DV-i to HDMI adapter as the graphics card uses mini HDMI output. I am sure you could buy a mini HDMI cable + converter if you wanted to though.

I haven't managed to fit in the OS for the budget though :(

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked FTW 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (01G-P3-1363-KR) £139.99
1 x Samsung S23A350H 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £107.99
1 x Corsair HX 650W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650HXUK) £89.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ / ST1000DM005) £67.99
1 x Antec One Gaming Case - Black £39.98
1 x Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £21.98
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU) £10.99
1 x OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black £4.99
1 x OcUK Value 2m Male - Male Gold Plated Swivel Head HDMI Cable (CDLHD-902) £4.79
1 x OcUK Value HDMI to DVI Video Adapter (DV-006) £2.59
Total : £532.20 (includes shipping : £19.10).



Cheers

Buff
 
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YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** £99.98
1 x BenQ G2255 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £89.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £21.98
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £21.95
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x Logitech K120 Keyboard (920-002524) £9.98
Total : £424.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Went with the 560 Ti for CUDA support, which should help him in his course.

Also left space for a full OEM version of Windows if needed, but if you search software for students, you can find it for a good price (not sure if I'm allowed to link). It'll be an upgrade version but there's a way to make it a full version if you google around.

I also made it under budget since I know how much students like to spend... from experience :o.
 
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You can actually do a clean install from a Win 7 Pro upgrade disc - the disc is £40 for students, though he'll need a student e-mail etc before he'll be able to buy it. Google is your friend for more info - it's been confirmed as legal by Microsoft themselves, I believe, but I'm still wary of posting the details here. It works fine, that's how I got Win 7 onto my current computer.
 
Orcvader said:
Went with the 560 Ti for CUDA support, which should help him in his course.

Also left space for a full OEM version of Windows if needed, but if you search software for students, you can find for for a good price (not sure if I'm allowed to link).

I also made it under budget since I know how much students like to spend... from experience :o.
Click to expand...

Pretty nice spec.

That monitor does not have HDMI connectivity which is why I didnt pick it in my list. But thinking about it, the sound will be carried from the motherboard to the speakers anyway so I guess theres no real need for HDMI (as the DVI will give HD image output whilst the motherboard will output the sound to the speakers seperately). I guess the only need for HDMI is for connecting consoles.

Cheers

Buff
 
Wow, thanks for all the ideas folks. Definitely a lot to work with here.

I'll definitely get him onto the university IT department, as otherwise the cost of the OS is just too significant a chunk of the build..

Regarding the PCIE 2.0/3.0 issue - running a single screen at 1080p is that really going to make the slightest bit of difference?

Thanks again for all the help - I'll check back tomorrow and let you know what the decision is.

The HDMI may be an issue - I'll check what else he's planning to connect up.

Edit: Yep, wants to connect console too (use monitor for both = avoid TV license fees, avoid buying a TV) which makes sense I suppose.

I think I'm going to recommend a monitor with speakers rather than separates - sound over HDMI from either source will therefore work. I guess either that or a monito with HDMI in and a speaker out... which I imagine is something of a niche requirement.
 
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No difference with PCI-E 2.0/3.0 with 1080p.

Since he's using speakers DVI is fine, same quality as HDMI as they're both the same thing.
 
when I was at uni a few years ago, departments teaching technical subjects had completely free access to windows and other microsoft products (well, not free, but the uni stumped up a one off cost for the dept.), under the MSDNAA scheme. Worth checking with the uni IT team if they have this set up.
you can even continue to use the keys issued after leaving uni, just can't get new keys!
 
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