Spec me better than I can

Cleisthenes

Cleisthenes

Cleisthenes

Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2013
Posts
8,617
Doing a spec for a mate. £1400 budget. Needs everything. At least micro atx or smaller as I'm trying to convince him to build a pc instead of getting an Alienware laptop (:D).

Can you improve this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCUII OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £299.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £148.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £107.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM (FQC-06949) £106.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £99.95
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £99.95
1 x Corsair Obsidian 350D Windowed Micro ATX Case - Black (CC-9011029-WW) £94.99
1 x Avexir Venom Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CIG) - Green Light £71.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £52.99
1 x DEMCiflex Dust Filter Kit for Corsair 350D - black/black £34.99
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24F1ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £23.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,486.45 (includes shipping : £29.80).

 
Hows this? It's very similair to your spec, but also considerably more powerful. I've opted for a smaller case so that you get the full advantage of going to MATX, dropped the PSU to a good quality 650 (still more than enough) increased the storage drive from 1TB to 2TB, and then with a few other tweaks managed to get it so you have a 290X instead of the 280X whilst still coming out £30 cheaper.

If you like this but want to buy immediately and need a case thats in stock take a look at the Xigmatek Aquila, it's basically the same case without the sound deadening and with better cooling thanks to more of it being mesh.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290X Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £429.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £148.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £107.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM (FQC-06949) £106.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek EreBoss High Performance CPU Cooler £26.99
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24F1ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £23.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,457.04 (includes shipping : £24.45).

 
Last edited:
Does he actually need Windows 8.1 Pro?

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £367.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £107.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM (FQC-06949) £106.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White/Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
2 x Enermax Cluster UCCL12 120mm Fan £9.98 (£19.96)
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,359.62 (includes shipping : £19.10).

 
YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D Radeon R9 290 V2 X-Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (VXR9 290 4GBD5-DHX) £329.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 350D Windowed Micro ATX Case - Black (CC-9011029-WW) £94.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 1220 Series 4 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler £81.6
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £69.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,395.47 (includes shipping : £20.10).

 
Wow, some nice builds here. Did think I'd be able to fit a 4670k and a 290 into this budget!

I thought that Pro was required for 64 bit OS's or am I wrong in thinking that?

How does a 780 compare with the 290?
 
Yup, you're wrong ;)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
Total : £82.73 (includes shipping : £6.45).



290 and 780 are roughly equal. I put a 290 in there because the MSI one is available for a good price at the moment.

EDIT: With 8.1 Pro out you can actually get a 4770k in there too:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £367.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £107.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White/Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
2 x Enermax Cluster UCCL12 120mm Fan £9.98 (£19.96)
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,399.62 (includes shipping : £19.10).

 
Last edited:
Fulax said:
Yup, you're wrong ;)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
Total : £82.73 (includes shipping : £6.45).



290 and 780 are roughly equal. I put a 290 in there because the MSI one is available for a good price at the moment.

EDIT: With 8.1 Pro out you can actually get a 4770k in there too:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £367.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £107.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White/Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
2 x Enermax Cluster UCCL12 120mm Fan £9.98 (£19.96)
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,399.62 (includes shipping : £19.10).

Click to expand...
Holey moley. That's crazy! Thanks a lot!

Also, how come you specced an external dvd drive?
 
Internal drives look messy, ruin the front of the case, and how often do you really use them? Much better to keep the build looking clean and hook up an external drive when you need it, I'd say.
 
An AIO cooler, perhaps, if he'll be overclocking this. Drop the two fans I put in and get an Antec 1220.

Or you could get the Sniper M5 motherboard from your original spec.

Or a nicer keyboard/mouse.
 
Cool. I'll have to ask him and see what him priority is :)

Thanks for your help, it's times like this when I wish that our forums took a note out of AVForums book and got a 'Like' or 'Thanks' system :D
 
If you get the VTX3D gpu, you can get a better cooler and a semi modular psu.


YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D Radeon R9 290 V2 X-Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (VXR9 290 4GBD5-DHX) £329.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £107.99
1 x Seasonic G series 650w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £69.95
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.95
Total : £1,372.64 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom