Spec me up butter-cup !!

ademcg

ademcg

ademcg

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Ok, I have been asked by the Father in-law to build him a PC.

He doesn't game...EVER !
but has set aside a budget of £400-500 max and that might have to include a monitor.

He mainly browses the internet and general old geezer stuff like building a family tree (basic software) the grand children do play the odd game when they come to visit, mainly the free ware stuff and Mine craft...so nothing too demanding.

To put his expectations in to perspective, his previous Dell desktop is 8 years old and is SUPER slow...he just wants something very "now" and that he won't have to change for another 5-6 years.

He had thought of another Dell, but I thought I could rustle up something a little better.

So....I was thinking of a build around an i5:

CPU -
Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
£149.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-363-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

MOBO
Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
£47.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-386-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1965

RAM -
Not sure of RAM compatability -----anyone help out ??

Storage-
BOOT - SSD - HDD - Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC128B/WW)
£79.99


SECOND DRIVE:
Back up storage HDD - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM
£63.98


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-364-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1953

PSU-
OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
£49.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-055-OC&tool=3

GFX -
Sapphire HD 6670 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£74.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-261-SP&tool=3


CASE-
igmatek Asgard II Windowed Midi Tower Case - Black/Silver
£32.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-024-XG

Knocking on the door of £500 already :eek: and yet to find RAM and an OS.

Then I saw this week only:

"Primo 6200i" Intel Core i5 3450 3.10GHz DDR3 Quad Core System
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-178-OE

And thought "What is the point in me building anything"!

Advice please....anyone !!:confused:
 
In reality any old Pc will do for him and be better than what he has. The question is do you want to be called every time it needs fixing? The advantage of a Dell or some other pre-built system is that it will come with a warranty that will be supported by someone else.

e: An example build with monitor and Windows 7 retail
YOUR BASKET
1 x BenQ G2255 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £69.95
1 x Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £49.99
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £48.95
1 x MSI H61M-P31-G3 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £38.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite Power 500W Power Supply £32.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £29.99
1 x OcUK Value 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit £29.99
Total : £485.32 (includes shipping : £13.75).



It is doable but as you can see Windows 7 is a large chunk of the budget, I've left out a graphics card as this has integrated Intel graphics. Also not included mouse/keyboard/optical as you can re-use those I imagine.
 
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T345 build is better, but id definately go for an i5, this would push the total build up to 503. also, if you can afford to spend about £550, id definately consider getting a z77 board. you can pick up a cheap one for around 75 on here.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x BenQ G2255 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £83.99
1 x ASRock H77M Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £62.99
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £48.95
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £41.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1333C9DC) £37.99
1 x OCZ CoreXtreme 500w '80 Plus' Power Supply £27.98
Total : £502.82 (includes shipping : £12.50).




no hdd only an ssd as your dad wont need much more storage.

can save yourself some money and download windows 8 for free and upgrade at a later date

the primo pre built is a good shout, takes the hassle out of building urself and any warranty problems go straihgt back to ocuk.
 
AMD Alternative with on board 6410 graphics.

YOUR BASKET
1 x BenQ GW2250HM 22" Widescreen LED Professional Monitor - Black £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x AMD A4-3400 2.70GHz (Socket FM1) APU Processor (AD3400OJGXBOX) £46.99
1 x Asus F1A55-M LK AMD A55 (Socket FM1) DDR3 Motherboard ** WINDOWS 8 READY ** FREE NEXUIZ GAME ** £41.99
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £37.98
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £29.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £23.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £456.85 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
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slightly over budget, BUT DEFINATELY WORTH IT! Ivy bridge is the latest line of intel processors and that will see him through for a good few years. the gpu is personal choice, it was cheap and decent for the price. Case is personal choice too, I love Bitfenix cases, great value for money.
 
Cheers guys for all your comments....and suggestions, much appreciated.;)

As for being called if it all goes wrong...not a problem, they live close and also help look after my children so anything I can do for them I am glad to be of help.

Hmm, don't know about the Celeron and the G620 chips...I think I would try to limit the need to upgrade CPU and buy the most powerful / bang for buck I could straight away.

The reason I am shying away from the Dell is because of future tweaking and upgrade path, but the warranty is always nice to have.

T345 - I have never had much "B" grade stuff, from here, would it be a concern for stuff like drives and Mobos ?

And I just saw the deals on the screens:eek::D nice.

I know we have tended to cut the SSD out (primarily due to cost) but I like the thought of the speed of boot up....and for second storage, he likes to take photos, not huge storage requirement I know, but I don't think an SSD alone would cut it.

Anyone have experience / thoughts on these Vertex 4s ?
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18426264

£89.99 for a 128 SSD sounds a good deal ?
 
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The shiniobi core case doesn't come with any fans at all. It's a bare canvas to build on.

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK E2250SWDA 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £99.95
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £47.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £41.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £34.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £23.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £499.82 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
ademcg said:
Cheers guys for all your comments....and suggestions, much appreciated.;)

As for being called if it all goes wrong...not a problem, they live close and also help look after my children so anything I can do for them I am glad to be of help.

Hmm, don't know about the Celeron and the G620 chips...I think I would try to limit the need to upgrade CPU and buy the most powerful / bang for buck I could straight away.

The reason I am shying away from the Dell is because of future tweaking and upgrade path, but the warranty is always nice to have.

T345 - I have never had much "B" grade stuff, from here, would it be a concern for stuff like drives and Mobos ?

And I just saw the deals on the screens:eek::D nice.

I know we have tended to cut the SSD out (primarily due to cost) but I like the thought of the speed of boot up....and for second storage, he likes to take photos, not huge storage requirement I know, but I don't think an SSD alone would cut it.

Anyone have experience / thoughts on these Vertex 4s ?
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18426264

£89.99 for a 128 SSD sounds a good deal ?
Click to expand...
in my personal experience, not slating OCUK for this as it could well be a one off. but I got a B grade z68 board about 10 months ago from them for my dads christmas present. 90 day warranty. 96 days later, the board died. I thought OCUK would be leniant because I got it over the christmas period, but they werent. told me their warranty was up. That I will slate OCUK for because it is appalling. Over christmas time they should be leniant on the warranty by 28 days or so. Anyway, luckily the board was under 3 years old so the manufacturer replaced it.

Regarding an SSD, for boot and things, I'd just look at a 60/64gb drive. This is more than enough for OS. however I personally wouldn't store photos on it, just programs and utilities that your dad is likely to use, such as Microsoft office, and maybe a web browser. A 60gb should set you back between 45-60 pounds depending on where you look.

In my opinion, I'd just look at getting him those first components (mainly because an ivy bridge cpu is lightyears ahead of AMD and intel celeron CPU's, as is the z77 motherboard, much better than H61 motherboards) and when you can afford an extra £50-60, get the ssd. I recommend SSD's, I just picked up an OCZ agility 3 for £20 in the local classifieds where I live.

I can't recommend Ivy bridge enough, that system looks fantastic in my opinion.

Ste
 
Bacon? said:
I am confused as to why Overclockers should extend their warranty for no obvious reason?
Click to expand...

Because its common decency to accept 6 days over the warranty because it was purchased AT CHRISTMAS.
Many companies do this, they have exceptions in the warranty if they actually value customer satisfaction. Their whole attitude wasn't very nice considering I'd recently shelled out £600 to them for a build for a mate. All they had to do was take it in and get the manufacturer to give them a replacement, luckily I got this anyway but OCUK couldve been more helpful.
 
But it went over the warranty date... I dont know any manufactures which replace parts when they have gone past that period.
 
ademcg said:
Cheers guys for all your comments....and suggestions, much appreciated.;)

As for being called if it all goes wrong...not a problem, they live close and also help look after my children so anything I can do for them I am glad to be of help.

Hmm, don't know about the Celeron and the G620 chips...I think I would try to limit the need to upgrade CPU and buy the most powerful / bang for buck I could straight away.

The reason I am shying away from the Dell is because of future tweaking and upgrade path, but the warranty is always nice to have.

T345 - I have never had much "B" grade stuff, from here, would it be a concern for stuff like drives and Mobos ?

And I just saw the deals on the screens:eek::D nice.

I know we have tended to cut the SSD out (primarily due to cost) but I like the thought of the speed of boot up....and for second storage, he likes to take photos, not huge storage requirement I know, but I don't think an SSD alone would cut it.

Anyone have experience / thoughts on these Vertex 4s ?
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18426264

£89.99 for a 128 SSD sounds a good deal ?
Click to expand...

My b-grade mobo came with IO shield, thats all you need, if you dont have any spare sata cables, but 2 for a pound on fleabay
 
Bacon? said:
But it went over the warranty date... I dont know any manufactures which replace parts when they have gone past that period.
Click to expand...

I don't get his argument either Bacon. OCuk already took a hit on that mobo in the first place. B grade means it's been returned, they have refunded the item but as it's opened, by law they can't sell it at full price!

I'm not keen on squares spec either if im honest. I saw he edited out the core shinobi case which is a good start. Still think he spent too much on the case which means you have to compromise on other components.

I'm confused by the use of a Z77 mobo with low speed RAM as well. The H61 I used would be absolutely fine for the price. You can't overclock the i5 he picked anyway so no real need for the Z77.

I used an LED monitor with a 3 year warranty, which was worth the extra in my eyes. We are all allowed an opinion but seeing as squarehead went over budget and didn't include an OS (yes you can use win8 DC but not forever) or an optical drive, so in the long run it will cost even more
 
honosuseri said:
I don't get his argument either Bacon. OCuk already took a hit on that mobo in the first place. B grade means it's been returned, they have refunded the item but as it's opened, by law they can't sell it at full price!

I'm not keen on squares spec either if im honest. I saw he edited out the core shinobi case which is a good start. Still think he spent too much on the case which means you have to compromise on other components.

I'm confused by the use of a Z77 mobo with low speed RAM as well. The H61 I used would be absolutely fine for the price. You can't overclock the i5 he picked anyway so no real need for the Z77.

I used an LED monitor with a 3 year warranty, which was worth the extra in my eyes. We are all allowed an opinion but seeing as squarehead went over budget and didn't include an OS (yes you can use win8 DC but not forever) or an optical drive, so in the long run it will cost even more
Click to expand...

hows my spec hono?
 
For once we arent arguing :p
The only change I would make to your spec Hono would be just to put a 6450 on it, as they are cheap so it wouldn't bump up the price that much :)
A 6670 isnt needed seeing as the most demanded games to be played are minecraft :D
 
Bacon? said:
For once we arent arguing :p
The only change I would make to your spec Hono would be just to put a 6450 on it, as they are cheap so it wouldn't bump up the price that much :)
A 6670 isnt needed seeing as the most demanded games to be played are minecraft :D
Click to expand...

It's never an argument just a discussion. I get annoyed when people accuse me of trolling the forum :'(

I'll be honest I think me using the i3 was overkill, from the implied uses an i5 is MEGA overkill lol. The G840 would make more sense and save cash. As the OP wanted an i5 i had a feeling the pentium CPU would be dismissed unfairly, so i used the i3. THe llano system would cover him for what he needs but it's a dead socket really, so there is more room for expansion on the 1155 socket.

For gaming I would suggest the 6850 as a minimum. He can add one later i suppose. There is a growing trend of really good free to play games which use decent graphics engines. So in my eyes it makes sense to go for the 6850 or a 460 (depending on price) which are both excellent bang for buck.

If he uses the G840 I could fit a storage HDD (B grade mind) in alongside the small SSD too

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK E2250SWDA 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £54.95
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £47.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £41.99
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £40.00
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £34.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £23.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £494.82 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
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