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Build Advice New PC specification, okay?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Shikkari, 5 Jun 2011.

  1. Shikkari

    Shikkari I know what a Dremel is XD

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    Hey there everyone, my friend has asked me to make up some specifications for him for a general use and occasional gaming computer and I just wanted to run them by everyone here to make sure they are all compatible.

    His maximum budget is £500, so it's a little bit of a squeeze.

    He already has monitor which has a VGA connection, no other sadly and its resolution is 1024 x 768.

    He is re – using his tower also which is a Coolermaster Centurion 5 [link] (I have never heard of this before today)

    He wants to go AMD all the way so these are the spec's I have come up with:

    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA – 890GPA – UD3H [link] - £84.05

    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE [link] - £115.82

    CPU Cooler: Corsair A70 [link] - £34.22

    HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB [link] - £41.79

    RAM: G – Skill 4GB DDR3 133Mhz Ripjaws Memory [link] - £32.97

    PSU: XFX Core Edition 550W [link] - £51.32 (Enough wattage?)

    DVD Drive: Samsung SH – S223L [link] - £16.98

    Wireless Card: Tenda Wireless- N300 PCI [link] - £9.99 (More expensive one?)

    And finally the GPU, which I have no idea about as this is only my second build and first time I've had to choose a GPU, there is £112.86 left in the budget, but it can be flexible by £10 or so. My thoughts were a ASUS HD 6850, [link] (And use of VGA adapter), which is £122.26, but like I said I have no experience with Graphics Cards.

    Also Overclocking is doubtful but will need to check.

    Thanks in advance to everyone.
    Shikkari :thumb:
     
  2. Dae314

    Dae314 What's a Dremel?

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    I'm not sure I would trust that line of PSUs from XFX, but that's only b/c I haven't heard of it before. JonnyGuru gives it a 9 though so I guess it's at least average.

    You could also bump down the cooler to like a gelid tranquillo, CM hyper 212+, or stock.

    I personally would go for a better wireless card than that :p. I know nothing about wireless cards, but that looks kinda cheap.

    For GPU, he might actually be OK with just the on board graphics. He's only gaming at a tiny 1024x768, and unless he suddenly moves up to 1920x1200 there shouldn't be a problem. Even 1280x800, 1280x1024, or 1680x1050 wouldn't be too bad. If you did get a card I'd say go for something around the level of the 6670 or 6770.
     
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  3. Wicked_Sludge

    Wicked_Sludge My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

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    this is crazy! have you never gamed with on-board graphics?

    i had to use a 4670 for the last week after the cooler on my 5870 died and even that was barely able to handle my 1680x1050 resolution without sacrificing graphics and frame rates. and the 4670 is significantly better than on board.

    the 6850 you linked would probably be perfect. plenty of grunt to handle any modern games, and leaves room for expansion later if he upgrades his monitor. if he doesnt upgrade, the card will get him through many generations of games before he needs to upgrade. either way he will get his money out of the card.
     
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  4. chrismarkham1982

    chrismarkham1982 Multimodder

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    build is fine although i will point you in the direction of the hd 6870 which is currently 127quid @ aria.
    http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...+of+Pripyat+&+Shogun+2+Games+?productId=44533

    that xfx psu is absolutely fine mate, they are good psu's, solid and have a lot of grunt as-well

    edit: just to throw another option out there, save a few quid and get a 2nd hand gtx 460 or hd 5850 for around 90 quid, take the 30quid thats been saved add another tenner and you should have enough to buy a decent 2nd hand 20" monitor
     
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  5. mucgoo

    mucgoo Minimodder

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    Get a gelid tranquillo £10 saved
    Get a 955 instead of the 970 £25 saved

    The 6870 mentioned above is a superb bargain however at 1024* and light gaming its massive overkill.
     
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  6. chrismarkham1982

    chrismarkham1982 Multimodder

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    if he upgrades his monitor then he will be sorted, you never whats round the corner..........usually me with a scary mask but hey ho :lol:
     
  7. Madness_3d

    Madness_3d Bit-Tech/Asus OC Winner

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    I'd cut back on the PC, and get at least like a 20" monitor, even if it's bargain basement because that machine would just be wasted on that screen
     
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  8. Shikkari

    Shikkari I know what a Dremel is XD

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    First, thank you everyone for the replies, many helpful suggestions.

    So changes:

    CPU: We went for a compromise on the Phenom II X4 695 [link] as it is only £3 more than the 955.

    CPU Cooler: Gelid Tranquillo [link] (thanks to Dae314 and mucgoo for suggestion) seems excellent, epecially because it is only a few degrees hotter than the Frio.

    GPU: And the deal with the 6870 [link] is amazing, so we took that (special thanks to chrismarkham1982). And he promised to get a better monitor ASAP so the GPU won't go to waste!!

    Wireless card: Looked for a dearer one found this [link] D-Link DWL-G510, it doesn't have 802.11n but I believe his router doesn't support it either so that okay, but as I said still not sure, as I always use Ethernet.

    Seem okay?
    Much appreciated.
    Shikkari
     
  9. murraynt

    murraynt Modder

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    The 955 is only 88 pounds from scan

    The xfx psus are pretty loud and alot of people have complaints about whining and the 5v rails dropping below atx spec

    Swap it out for something like the corsair builder series v2 or the be quite pure power

    If you have 20 posts here you get free shipping from scan

    If you need to cut costs more drop the GPU down to the 5850.

    The coolermaster 212 hyper + is also a great hsf.
     
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  10. Shikkari

    Shikkari I know what a Dremel is XD

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    Thanks murraynt, I didn't know that about the XFX :/ it was recommend in Mirco Mart, though they would have mentioned a fault like that. I think were going to go with the Be Quiet! PSU, [Link] don't think we need a 600W Corsair as he's not going to overclock.

    530W should be enough wattage though shouldn't it?

    That means were £30 under budget which is fine and he can put that towards a monitor.
     
    Last edited: 5 Jun 2011
  11. chrismarkham1982

    chrismarkham1982 Multimodder

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  12. murraynt

    murraynt Modder

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    Loads of power.
     
  13. Shikkari

    Shikkari I know what a Dremel is XD

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    Thanks, are using Windows XP though because the description says it is only compatible with XP,

    "**Please be aware this item will ONLY work with Windows XP**, Vista & Windows 7 are not compatibile with this device."

    murraynt > Thanks, wasn't sure because my mate asked another mate who said he would need at least 700W, I was like o0.
     
    Last edited: 5 Jun 2011
  14. chrismarkham1982

    chrismarkham1982 Multimodder

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    im using windows 7 64 bit and its worked flawless, as far as i know abit dont exist anymore which is they didnt do drivers but the actual chip is made by atheros who do do the drivers for it
     
  15. Shikkari

    Shikkari I know what a Dremel is XD

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    Okay cool, seems great!
     
  16. murraynt

    murraynt Modder

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    :jawdrop: If it had enough connectors you could nearly run two of these systems on a 700watt PSU. :p
     
  17. Shikkari

    Shikkari I know what a Dremel is XD

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    Lmao, I thought that was a silly wattage PSU for this system. :D

    Well thanks everyone, I think were pretty much done here, final price: £460.70.

    + Rep for everyone who has contributed,

    Many thanks from me and my friend.
    Shikkari
     

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