What System? £550

Shampoo

Shampoo

Shampoo

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28 Apr 2009
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772
I'm not confident enough to put my own together and I want the assurance of the 24 month RTB warranty of a pre-build so I'm going for one of those. I just don't know what one though? there's so many and I'm not sure what is old or new tech. I need help, guys.

My budget is £550 and my main (almost exclusive) use is watching HD video and constant video encoding/Photoshop work. I don't game so extreme video cards aren't a requirement. I don't need an OS either and I have a new 2TB drive already waiting so keep that in mind (don't need SSD). I want the BitFenix Shinobi white case so that might also reduce the price in some cases of the build on a better machine? I guess I'm after the best/most powerful combination of motherboard/RAM/CPU

Can you please recommend the best possible machine for me budget/needs?
 
Cant afford to be too fussy unless your going to make if yourself!

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Titan 8000i Predator" Intel Core i3 2120 3.30GHz DDR3 Dual Core Gaming PC £358
1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0
1 x No Operating System £20
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x No Hard Drive Upgrade £0
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £62.99
1 x Asus HD 6450 SILENT EDITION 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card £31.99
Total : £543.98 (includes shipping : £17.50).



You'll get more for your money if you build. Dont be put off by it, there are loads of guides out there.
 
Problem with the 1st link is it's just an i3. I was hoping to get a little more future proofed than that and get an i5 3750. Problem with the 2nd is the Coolermaster 500W power. I've actually had 2 Coolermaster's blow on me so I'd never go back to them.

If I self build how much more am I actually able to get? I'm interested if it's a noticeable upgrade. I've taken a PC to bits many times to clean them but I've never attempted to remove/reseat a CPU as that part scares me.
 
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This should do it:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £79.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Avexir Blitz Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2GW) £39.95
1 x Asus HD 6450 SILENT EDITION 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card £31.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £534.94 (includes shipping : £11.75).



No cooler added as if your not playing games, no point overclocking, but it's there if you feel the need anyhow.

Seating a CPU is dead easy, just take your time & read the instructions as well as watching videos. If you have any mates who build, get them to help too!
 
Could you revise the above post to factor in me not needing a HD or Optical Drive. Put the money into better parts if possible? Especially the power supply. I need a rock solid supply that could run a card if need be. Thanks. I'd like one of those motherboards that allow 1-click overclocks.
 
 
Shampoo said:
Could you revise the above post to factor in me not needing a HD or Optical Drive. Put the money into better parts if possible? Especially the power supply. I need a rock solid supply that could run a card if need be. Thanks. I'd like one of those motherboards that allow 1-click overclocks.
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Power supply is fine, nothing wrong with it and I'm not sure you know how this works! We've spec'd you the best you can get for the budget & requirements you have given and your asking us to change it!

AMD Trinity:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £95.99
1 x Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2133HC11DC01) £39.95
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
Total : £299.96 (includes shipping : £11.75).



No graphics card included as the CPU has integrated graphics, best in it's class, and matched with the 2133RAM would be spot-on.

Or the more powerful i5 with GPU:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £155.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24
Total : £544.91 (includes shipping : £12.50).



For encoding & video editing, the i5 would be a better choice. You could always change the 7850 for a Slient 6450 if your not gaming.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24


I'm quite happy with these parts. :) Just again about the power supply, I'll be running the CPU and 2 hard drives, an optical drive and would need enough to cover a future video card, so would 450W really be enough for this? I'll need some RAM on this build too. :P
 
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Shampoo said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24


I'm quite happy with these parts. :) Just again about the power supply, I'll be running the CPU and 2 hard drives, an optical drive and would need enough to cover a future video card, so would 450W really be enough for this? I'll need some RAM on this build too. :P
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The XFX 450w PSU is fine, could always get the 500/550 version if you think you'll need more & you'll need RAM too.

Use this for the PSU - http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

Idleman has spec'd you a good selection and if your o/cing, as you've pointed out, you'll need a better cooler, than using the stock one.
 
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Idleman said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £239.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX16C10B1BK2/16X) £71.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £49.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 412S CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £28.99
Total : £535.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

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This seems perfect and also within my price range. :) Amazed I can get an i7 on this budget. If nobody else can see a way to improve upon this then I'll go with this for my set up. Thanks.
 
Shampoo said:
This seems perfect and also within my price range. :) Amazed I can get an i7 on this budget. If nobody else can see a way to improve upon this then I'll go with this for my set up. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Looks good from here!

You could always add an SSD later on.
 
Idles build is Great. :)

An SSD will help with loading/saving and editing Video's/Photo's.. Not essentail, but would be a nice upgrade in a few months. :)
 
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