The PC Building Thread

Re: Decent PC's...

Do you want definitely want to buy a pre-built? If you buy all the parts of that £700 machine individually then it works out to be cheaper by like £80. I added better parts too and it's still £50 less (better mobo, cooler, HDD). I guess it's not OC'd though but if you know what you're doing then that is very simple. On the mobo i put it it even has an OC button on the board itself where it does it automatically for you.

http://imageshack.us/f/850/checkout.jpg/
 
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Re: Decent PC's...

So I've given it a go to see what I could come up with -

Intel Core i5 2400 3.1GHz (Sandy Bridge) Socket LGA1155 - Retail.
MSI GeForce GTX 550 Ti OC 1024MB GDDR5
MSI 970A-G45 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) Motherboard
Samsung M8 750GB 8MB Cache Hard Drive SATA II 5400RPM - OEM
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD+/-RW SATA Black - OEM
Gelid Tranquillo Quiet CPU Cooler
Novatech PowerStation Gaming 400W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply
Novatech Vulcan Midi Case
Novatech 300Mbps 802.11n Wireless PCI Adapter


Thoughts? I might try to make it cheaper but I'll first see feedback from you lot :))
 
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Re: Decent PC's...

400w PSU? Pretty sure you'll need more for a GTX 550. Maybe a 600w is a better choice.

Edit: yep, 400w is the minimum but you definitely want some spare power available. I'd go for a 600w. And modular is definitely better. I bought a standard PSU and the spare cables look a mess.

Also I'm not sure how big the GTX 550 is but check measurements of that and your case. I had to turn down a great card for cheap because my case was too small and the card was huge.
 
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Re: Decent PC's...

You would be better off registering on the Aria forums to be honest mate. You can give them a budget and they will spec you the best system to suit your needs.
 
Re: Decent PC's...

Yeah don't skimp on the psu. You generally want a decent brand one or an 80+ certified one. Don't forget that the PSU is the one thing in your computer that can potentially kill everything in it.
 
Re: Decent PC's...

Right. Cheers guys. I've been using the Novatech site and have mustered the following all as individual items :

  • 2nd Generation Intel® Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz Socket LGA1155
  • MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) Motherboard
  • Corsair TX 650W V2 ATX2.31 80 PLUS® Bronze Power Supply
  • Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler
  • Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
  • Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII 1TB 32MB Cache Hard Drive <8.9ms 7200rpm
  • Zalman Z9 Plus Black Tower Case - With Fan Controller
  • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti OC 1024MB GDDR5

Comes to £670 including VAT.

Obviously I'll have to add a monitor on top of that, but it seems a decent enough spec. I just wonder if Novatech could assemble that for a small price or is it easy enough to DIY?

Opinions on that spec?
 
Re: Decent PC's...

Looks nice to me. I'd built it myself, it's really straightforward and just a cases of plugging things into your case and then system board.
 
Re: Decent PC's...

Yeah thought as much. Done it years ago but now you can get cable management and all that and I'm getting into the thinking it's going to be like Spaghetti Junction in there. Probably getting worked up for nothing.

Also chose the nVidia card over the ATI Radeon but don't actually know why, other than it seems to get tip top reviews. So it should for £190 mind.

That motherboard allows an automatic overclock, too. No idea what I'd be doing and I thought it was dependant on what RAM you've got and all that, so maybe worth leaving that alone.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...l1155p67chipsetmotherboards/p67a-gd53-b3.html
 
Re: Decent PC's...

While we are on this subject, slightly different purpose though

Video editing/ rendering

I currently have an core duo intel e6600 only 2.6ghz dual core, 4gb ddr2 800mhz ram

I want to upgrade so I can run multiple virtualisation machines for testing work purposes etc

However I want to be able to video render too so I have the chance to buy the following for £250, I am hoping this will be up to the job much more than my currently setup

I7 920 D0 @ 4ghz
Asus pt6 se
12gb 1600mhz ddr3 ram
ati x1950 pro from original setup

Anyone know about video editing?
 
Re: Decent PC's...

hey guys ill add this in this thread can you advise me on upgarde for bf3

I need

CPU--amd/intel?
RAM---2x4 or 2x2 or 4x2?
Mobo---?
GFX card----nvidia/ati?


I have all other components lol hard drive and psu 520W corsair, case etc...
 
Re: Decent PC's...

pes4lyfe said:
hey guys ill add this in this thread can you advise me on upgarde for bf3

I need

CPU--amd/intel?
RAM---2x4 or 2x2 or 4x2?
Mobo---?
GFX card----nvidia/ati?


I have all other components lol hard drive and psu 520W corsair, case etc...
Click to expand...

The items I listed here should play BF3 fine, although I'm not sure it will be on the highest settings as DICE themselves have claimed you'll need a monster GFX card to run it at it's limit.

http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showpost.php?p=2354261&postcount=37
 
Good link mate. Judging by that guide, I'm currently sitting between Great and Excellent for the spec I'm contemplating, coming in at around £680 without monitor.
 
perfectly doable at your budget.

What case you planning to get? im a big fan of large cases as it is easier to work in and usually provides better air flow/cooling
 
Re: Decent PC's...

Bitter Rivals said:
While we are on this subject, slightly different purpose though

Video editing/ rendering

I currently have an core duo intel e6600 only 2.6ghz dual core, 4gb ddr2 800mhz ram

I want to upgrade so I can run multiple virtualisation machines for testing work purposes etc

However I want to be able to video render too so I have the chance to buy the following for £250, I am hoping this will be up to the job much more than my currently setup

I7 920 D0 @ 4ghz
Asus pt6 se
12gb 1600mhz ddr3 ram
ati x1950 pro from original setup

Anyone know about video editing?
Click to expand...

I do abit of video editing with Adobe Premier if this is something you plan on doing regularly with professional programs unfortunetly you do need a beast of a machine otherwise sometimes it can take ages.
You will need a Quad Core and lots of RAM.
My system when I had a Q9550 was pretty good then upgraded to a 920 and was even better.
But since I upgraded to the new Sandybridge 2600K(running at 5GHZ) processor it has cut about 40% of encoding times but I also now have 16GB of ram instead of the 6 I had previous.
 
My current setup...

Intel Core2Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
ASRock 4Core1333-GLAN Motherboard - Intel® P31/G31 + ICH7 Chipsets
Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5C 4GB 800MHz C5 DDR2 Memory Kit
2 500GB Hard drives, one Samsung and one Seagate, Seagate one is 7200 and I believe the Samsung one might be the same but not sure, cba opening up my case atm.
Sapphire HD 5670 512MB GDDR5 HDMI DVI VGA PCI-E Graphics Card
Winpower ATX-450 PSU (It's pretty cheap/generic I believe...)

I'm a student atm so money is tight, but I'm slowly wanting to upgrade each and every part of my PC... mainly starting with my PSU/Motherboard. My motherboard doesn't support DDR3 and only allows 4GB total memory, so not sure if it's a weak point.

For gaming it's pretty decent actually, can play PES on top specs @ 1080p (not much I know) and other games on medium/high depending on the resolution, the higher the resolution the worse my PC performs though.

If any of you PC experts out there (I know a bit, I'd be capable of building my own etc) would give me some tips on what needs upgrading etc that'd be great. I just don't follow all these new things that come out about PCs really, lol.
 
Re: Decent PC's...

Scutch said:
The items I listed here should play BF3 fine, although I'm not sure it will be on the highest settings as DICE themselves have claimed you'll need a monster GFX card to run it at it's limit.

http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showpost.php?p=2354261&postcount=37
Click to expand...

2x2gb is enough? I see you went for slower ram there is like higher speeds you can buy. This is fast enough for you ya reckon? It really isnt more expensive for faster speeds or more ram

TO get 2x4gb at fast speeds is not much more expensive than slower 2x2gb
 
Re: Decent PC's...

pes4lyfe said:
2x2gb is enough? I see you went for slower ram there is like higher speeds you can buy. This is fast enough for you ya reckon? It really isnt more expensive for faster speeds or more ram

TO get 2x4gb at fast speeds is not much more expensive than slower 2x4gb
Click to expand...

I'll probably go for 8gb while prices are low enough but other than that I think the 1600MHz option is decent enough.
 
So this is seems like what I've got, you'll notice no GPU. Basically I'll post this and ask if you think their are any area's where I can bring the price down a little or if it will effect the PC too much and leave it and just save up for that GPU.

Intel Core i5 2400 3.1GHz (Sandy Bridge) Socket LGA1155 - Retail.
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD+/-RW SATA Black - OEM
Gelid Tranquillo Quiet CPU Cooler
Novatech Vulcan Midi Case
Novatech 300Mbps 802.11n Wireless PCI Adapter
Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII NCQ 500GB 16MB Cache Hard Drive <9.0ms 7200rpm - OEM
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) Motherboard
Corsair CX 600W V2 ATX2.2 80 PLUS® Power Supply

Just to make sure all those parts match right? :LOL: Wouldn't want to buy that and then realise it they don't add up.

So thoughts?
 
YoungGun_UK said:
So this is seems like what I've got, you'll notice no GPU. Basically I'll post this and ask if you think their are any area's where I can bring the price down a little or if it will effect the PC too much and leave it and just save up for that GPU.

Intel Core i5 2400 3.1GHz (Sandy Bridge) Socket LGA1155 - Retail.
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD+/-RW SATA Black - OEM
Gelid Tranquillo Quiet CPU Cooler
Novatech Vulcan Midi Case
Novatech 300Mbps 802.11n Wireless PCI Adapter
Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII NCQ 500GB 16MB Cache Hard Drive <9.0ms 7200rpm - OEM
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) Motherboard
Corsair CX 600W V2 ATX2.2 80 PLUS® Power Supply

Just to make sure all those parts match right? :LOL: Wouldn't want to buy that and then realise it they don't add up.

So thoughts?
Click to expand...

You could save money.
1. Don't use novatech they are generally the most expensive. They are convienient sometimes if your like me and live very close.
2. You don't need a seperate CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock.
3. I don't know if you would save money by getting an XFX power supply, Coolermaster, Cosair, some of the Antec's are all made by Seasonic.
4. If you can push your budget to the 2500K I would recommend that CPU as it is brilliant for overclocking.
5. I wouldn't buy an LG drive we used to have very bad experiences with them at work, we now use samsung drives.
6. Try and get 8GB of RAM you will not a big difference when using a 64 bit operating system, it really dosn't matter if you get gaming RAM, has how many people actually know how to go into the BIOS and change the timings anyway. About 90% of people think that buying lower latency gaming RAM it runs at that speed when you plug it in. It dosn't you have to configure the BIOS to make it run at those speeds.
 
bsmaff said:
1. Don't use novatech they are generally the most expensive. They are convienient sometimes if your like me and live very close.
Click to expand...

Novatech are actually one of the cheapest. Aria, Scan, OC, eBuyer and even eBay struggle matching prices of Novatech on many of their items. From every component I listed in my spec, only Aria beat Novatech on one item - the Intel CPU. Everything else they beat competitors hands down.
 
Scutch said:
Novatech are actually one of the cheapest. Aria, Scan, OC, eBuyer and even eBay struggle matching prices of Novatech on many of their items. From every component I listed in my spec, only Aria beat Novatech on one item - the Intel CPU. Everything else they beat competitors hands down.
Click to expand...

Everytime I have built a system Novatech are normally about £10 more expensive for every component.
But I guess it depends on which system you are building.
But then it always helps to shop around at all the online places to see which ones are cheaper.

There are about 10 different online retailers to use.
Ebuyer, dabs, scan, aria, eclipse, overclockers, novatech, yoyotech, micro direct.

99% of the time I always find aria to be the cheapest.
 
bsmaff said:
You could save money.
1. Don't use novatech they are generally the most expensive. They are convienient sometimes if your like me and live very close.
2. You don't need a seperate CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock.
3. I don't know if you would save money by getting an XFX power supply, Coolermaster, Cosair, some of the Antec's are all made by Seasonic.
4. If you can push your budget to the 2500K I would recommend that CPU as it is brilliant for overclocking.
5. I wouldn't buy an LG drive we used to have very bad experiences with them at work, we now use samsung drives.
6. Try and get 8GB of RAM you will not a big difference when using a 64 bit operating system, it really dosn't matter if you get gaming RAM, has how many people actually know how to go into the BIOS and change the timings anyway. About 90% of people think that buying lower latency gaming RAM it runs at that speed when you plug it in. It dosn't you have to configure the BIOS to make it run at those speeds.
Click to expand...


Cool will take a look then, The reason for the CPU cooler, is I've had overheating problems with my last PC, as well as my Laptop.

Do you think that case would be fine then? Wouldn't cause any issues?
 
bsmaff said:
Everytime I have built a system Novatech are normally about £10 more expensive for every component.
But I guess it depends on which system you are building.
But then it always helps to shop around at all the online places to see which ones are cheaper.

There are about 10 different online retailers to use.
Ebuyer, dabs, scan, aria, eclipse, overclockers, novatech, yoyotech, micro direct.

99% of the time I always find aria to be the cheapest.
Click to expand...

Interesting, cheers. Like I said, I did an individual search online for each component I had spec'd up and only Aria beat Novatech on the processor.

EDIT : Actually, it was cheaper for the GFX card as well, by £5.
 
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