Spec me a machine? 700-800 Budget

Indie

Indie

Indie

Soldato
Joined
11 Jul 2006
Posts
4,530
Location
Cradley, West Midlands
Good Afternoon!

I'm on the market for a new machine. However, I won't be buying untill the end of may (not sure if this will make a difference), just want to get some idea of what i can get for my money at the moment...

Currently Running
Q6600
4GB RAM
GTX460

- It will be specifically aimed at gaming
- Budget of around £700-£800, Give or take
- not comfortable with overclocking myself

There's a couple of optionals/not required....
Case: Optional - Currently have an Antec 900
Graphics: Optional - Currently have a GTX460
OS: Not needed
Monitors: Not needed
Keyboard/Mouse: Not needed

Think thats all the info needed.. if i've missed anything please let me know :)

Cheers!
 
im at work atm so cant spec but the sandybridge systems are a breeze to overclock your self plus theres loads of quides to show you how, for gaming you would probably ber look at the i5 2500k cpu
 
You've said optional on case/graphics, are you happy with your Antec 900 and the performance of your GTX 460 or would you prefer an upgrade? Also which power supply are you using atm? For the money you're spending you could easily either go SLI on your GTX 460 or swap it out for something better. Sandy bridge SLI motherboards can be had for around £130: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-166-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

There's also the option of slashing out for a decent SSD if you're not bothered about a graphics card upgrade:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-008-CR&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-015-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-071-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427

If you want a nice modular PSU:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497
 
Last edited:
I'm happy with the 900 but really wouldn't mind upgrading it or even swapping it out. My intention is to give my old machine to the missus when she finishes uni or something. Either way i do want to recycle it to somebody else (will do all that after i have my new machine though, will buy other parts if im transferring some over to my new one). So i suppose getting another case would be preferable

Quite happy with my 460, never really thought SLI would be an option with my budget, however if you guys think its viable then im willing to give that a go :)

not sure what my current power supply is as im nowhere near it, all i know is that its an Antec and on its way out ^^ I'd guess at about 500-600w though.
 
Last edited:
I opted for you keeping the 900 and added a decent psu to the mix. Stuck with a beast of a single card as well. If your buying later you may want to wait for the z68 mobos as some companies are ditching p67
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18264851

Something like this would serve you well. An ssd could be worked into the budget if you wanted :)
specxy.jpg
 
Last edited:
If its mainly fir gaming I'd suggest an i5 build. Some thing like this:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £169.99

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £139.98

Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £114.98

XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular Power Supply £76.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £43.99

OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £37.99

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

Sub Total : £509.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £103.99
Total : £623.92

That then leaves you some money to get a new case or up the RAM to 8GB or something. I chose the MSI board because it has an overclock button, which won't give you the best results but if your uncomfortable going into the BIOS and messing around its a good alternative to get an extra boost.
 
Looking good :) thanks so far guys

Couple of questions, whats the big difference between the i5 and i7?

I noticed JeffyB speced for a GTX480. am I going to see a significant difference between my 460 and the 480? ... the price is quite nice for the SOC 480 i notice...

Really like the look of that MSI mobo though :)

Also, If i could get SOME parts for this build now, which parts would you pick out?
 
Yes significant difference.

I would personally opt for the i5 2500 or 2500k.

If you look at the guides to overclocking it you might change your mind about overclocking because it is easy on k edition.

JeffyB- why spec a p67 board and a non k edition of the cpu? waste of money especially with the improved cooler.
 
The main difference between the i5 and the i7 is that the i7 has hyperthreading, which games don't make use of, which is why I suggested a an i5. You can see here that the difference in FPS between the two is not much, in some cases the i5 is better.

I would suggest buying all the parts at the same time as the prices drop when new stuff comes out, maybe the p67 boards will drop in price when the z68 boards come out, who knows ;) lol
 
this poses a new issue... saving my money! i may have to give it to somebody to hold untill the end of may! hehe

Thanks for the quick i5/i7 lesson :) seems that i'll be going for an i5 then, i mean when im at my computer all i do is game anyway :) probably better to spend the difference in cash on other aspects.

When are the new z68 boards released?
 
skylineboy said:
Yes significant difference.

I would personally opt for the i5 2500 or 2500k.

If you look at the guides to overclocking it you might change your mind about overclocking because it is easy on k edition.

JeffyB- why spec a p67 board and a non k edition of the cpu? waste of money especially with the improved cooler.
Click to expand...

Why i said to wait for z68. Was just a guide as to what his budget would allow. He says hes not big on overclocking and the non k was cheaper and would also clock anyway.
 
Thanks guys for the excellent advice, may even have a dabble at over-clocking.

First half off may sounds good, considering i'll be buying my machine at the end of may :)
 
Yeah, sit tight until the new releases. Even Bulldozer may be worth the wait. At the moment, your system isn't too shabby. Maybe jump on the SSD bandwagon for OS, but also beneficial to wait for that as well :) ATM the older gen is getting slashed (almost 1£ -> 1Gig).
 
imo I would wait for the Z68s to come out (and hopefully reduce the prices of the P67s) and then buy a P67. The advantages of the Z68s aren't worth it imo, but it's your choice so have a look around and see what suits you best. Here's a thread with a bit of info on the P67 vs H68 debate.
 
JeffyB said:
Why i said to wait for z68. Was just a guide as to what his budget would allow. He says hes not big on overclocking and the non k was cheaper and would also clock anyway.
Click to expand...

The non K i7 is cheaper yes, but for his uses spending the extra on an i7-2600 and a P67, over the i5-2500k is pointless. A better indication of what he can get with the money is to spec what he should buy at this moment in time. Yes the Z68s will most likely change prices. But that is a bridge to cross when time comes any price drop on this current spec can then be seen as a bonus.

Yes if he is waiting until the end of May it is worthwhile waiting for the new boards. However combining a non K chip with a P67 was pointless.

OP: 4GB of ram is plenty for gaming. However, that is a good price for 8GB.
 
Had another stab at it, think it's about as good as it'll get for around £800. Added an ssd and quietr storage drive :)
spec2i.jpg
 
Last edited:
Looks bang on JeffyB.

OP that is the spec to go for at this stage in my opinion. The prices will fluctuate/drop from now to the time of the new SB boards. So will need a small review. However this is a good basis to work from.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom