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JacksonFrenchTime · 28th Feb 2013, 10:43

Greetings all, I am new to the forum and I just wanted to see who would be kind enough to give me some advice on a new build and somebody local (Bradford-Shipley) to build it for me?

Budget: £800 ish

Main computer use: Gaming, internet, watching films etc. I play LOL, CS:GO, and some older games. I want it to be able to play the likes of new games with no issues.

The spec of my current PC is:

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
GPU: GeForce 8800GT
RAM: 3GB - COrsair, not sure what spec
Mobo: MSI - not sure
Nothing special standard HDD
Not sure what PSU

I think my current PC is atleast 3-4 years old so I am not bothered about re-using parts, I would rather have something new.

Resolution: I havent bought a new monitor yet and I dont need to include it within this budget, so a monitor suggestion would be nice. Currently I am playing on a CIBOX LCD screen at 1440 x 900 with a standard dell LCD screen as my 2nd monitor.

Overclocking: I won't be over-clocking because I wouldn't have a clue. never done it before!

Storage Space: I don't need tons and tons of space. I would like a quick SDD though as the boot drive. I was looking at the Cruicial M4 256GB ones???

No real motherboard requirements, USB3 would be nice.

Case: I will need a new case - I like the Antec P280!

I will need an OS. Currently running VISTA!

So basically I need everything, but I will buy the monitor separate from this budget If somebody could recommend a good one, it would be a bonus if I could plug in my PS2 to the monitor too for occasional retro gaming!

Thanks in advance

Gavin

JacksonFrenchTime · 1st Mar 2013, 12:32

I just checked my RAM and its 3 x 1GB Corsair XMS 800Mhz thats in my existing PC. Thanks

JacksonFrenchTime · 15th Mar 2013, 18:01

Any response guys?

ShakeyJake · 15th Mar 2013, 18:41

I don't feel best placed to help you but seeing as no one else is I'll venture something to get you started. I can say that after a fair bit of research I'm going with an

i5-3570k
ASRock Extreme4
8GB Ram
GTX 660

That's hitting about £550. £650 with your case and you've hit your £800 by the time you factor in a decent screen. Then you're just short the SSD you need. I'd imagine the best way to save money would be to downgrade the gpu, but you'll have to wait for one of our gaming friends on this board to sort that out for you. You could easily save £50 or more by swapping the i5 for an i3 if you don't fancy the 2 extra cores. It's my understanding that you probably don't need a proper quad for video games.

EDIT - Just noticed you're happy to buy the monitor separate. That's within your budget then. I've always believed that you should spend good money on screens etc though so don't overlook it. We spend gazillions on shiny things that go in black boxes that we never actually see. Nobody actually USES a pc. We use the mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, etc etc etc. Don't overlook them.

atc95 · 15th Mar 2013, 19:23

This just falls in budget and includes everything you would need, money could be saved if you want atx rather than m-atx and this basket is based on the fact you have a good power supply left over from your previous build as 3-4 years isn't that long.

scan basket.

narwen · 15th Mar 2013, 21:49

Antec P280 Mid Tower Case Gun Metal Black with USB 3.0
Microsoft Windows 8 64bit DVD OEM
Intel CPU Core i5 3470 Quad Core Processor
Asus P8B75-M LX Intel B75 Socket 1155 Motherboard
Corsair Memory Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile 2x4GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 XMP
be quiet! Pure Power L8 630W CM Power Supply BN182 Modular 80+ Bronze
Crucial 128GB RealSSD M4 SSD - Solid State Drive
1TB Western Digital Caviar Green SATA III - 6Gb/s Hard Drive
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X

just under £800 from scan.

phoenixck · 15th Mar 2013, 22:49

As its not going to be anything other than a complete overhaul look at scan bundles and add in what ever else you need.
Either way you should probably be looking for an i5 (something like a 3570k)
8gb of ram
Some sort of cheap aftermarket cooler
For a graphics card either a gtx 570 or above or one of the newer 7 series amd cards.

JacksonFrenchTime · 16th Mar 2013, 10:18

Windows 7 or windows 8 guys? Thanks for the help so far

chrismarkham1982 · 16th Mar 2013, 10:21

Go with Windows 7, not belittling Win8 as I personally like it but there are 1 or 2 probs (not everyone has them btw)

aramil · 16th Mar 2013, 10:32

Personally windows 8 as long as you are willing to relearn a few tricks. If not then windows 7.

atc95 · 16th Mar 2013, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacksonFrenchTime

Windows 7 or windows 8 guys? Thanks for the help so far

Windows 7 is better for desktops, but windows 8 with start 8 installed is even better as you get speed of windows 8 and it still looks exactly like windows 7 in desktop mode!

You should also be able to just get an upgrade dvd for windows 8 and upgrade your vista which could be a bit cheaper.

phoenixck · 16th Mar 2013, 17:59

7. Windows 8 ties with vista for the worst os.

mm vr · 19th Mar 2013, 06:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenixck

7. Windows 8 ties with vista for the worst os.

Why? Because 8 is fast and light?

will_123 · 19th Mar 2013, 06:46

I actually just upgraded recently because I got it free from uni before I left and I didn't have access to 7.

The interface is abolsute naff. Worst thing in the world, but my boot times seem to have been slashed with my new z77 board. UEFI and fast boot enabled you get a scarily quick boot. I counted 11 secs until login.

I just play games on mine so I'm not working daily on it, but I can confirm that if you move to the desktop and stay there its not all that bad! I reckon if I worked on it and didn't just play games I would get more annoyed probably. If only metro wasn't there it would be bloody good.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

mm vr · 19th Mar 2013, 09:24

I don't understand what's so bad about the Metro thing. It's just a full screen start menu. The functionality is the exact same as in previous start menus, but the buttons are bigger.

atc95 · 19th Mar 2013, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by mm vr

I don't understand what's so bad about the Metro thing. It's just a full screen start menu. The functionality is the exact same as in previous start menus, but the buttons are bigger.

This, plus I believe you can boot straight to desktop if the metro UI annoys you that much.

will_123 · 19th Mar 2013, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by atc95

This, plus I believe you can boot straight to desktop if the metro UI annoys you that much.

I don’t like it, its built for touch and I would much prefer a start menu and task bar, just like I have on my Linux install with KDE that I use for my work. But like I said I play games on my machine so its fine. I see it when I boot up and that’s it. If I can boot straight to desktop I might see about getting that set up.

Xir · 19th Mar 2013, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by atc95

This, plus I believe you can boot straight to desktop if the metro UI annoys you that much.

You'll have to mod it for that, and reset the file associations away from full-screen-metroapps (again as stated, only if it annoys you)

JacksonFrenchTime · 21st Mar 2013, 12:57

I think I will settle on Windows 8 but use that mod to make it look like Windows 7, I cant be without my start button and I would want to do away with the Tile Screen, awful.

phoenixck · 21st Mar 2013, 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacksonFrenchTime

I think I will settle on Windows 8 but use that mod to make it look like Windows 7, I cant be without my start button and I would want to do away with the Tile Screen, awful.

Be careful, quite often windows plays silly balls when you try to mess with the os files. My partners new windows 8 laptop wont let me change them from read only at all. Not that windows 7 is any better.
And yes i've changed the permissions taken ownership used the hidden admin account etc.

At the moment more than a few programs have issues with windows 8 including a few voip programs like mumble.

28th Feb 2013, 10:43	#1
JacksonFrenchTime What's a Dremel? Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 15	New Computer Build Help£800 Budget Greetings all, I am new to the forum and I just wanted to see who would be kind enough to give me some advice on a new build and somebody local (Bradford-Shipley) to build it for me? Budget: £800 ish Main computer use: Gaming, internet, watching films etc. I play LOL, CS:GO, and some older games. I want it to be able to play the likes of new games with no issues. The spec of my current PC is: CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz GPU: GeForce 8800GT RAM: 3GB - COrsair, not sure what spec Mobo: MSI - not sure Nothing special standard HDD Not sure what PSU I think my current PC is atleast 3-4 years old so I am not bothered about re-using parts, I would rather have something new. Resolution: I havent bought a new monitor yet and I dont need to include it within this budget, so a monitor suggestion would be nice. Currently I am playing on a CIBOX LCD screen at 1440 x 900 with a standard dell LCD screen as my 2nd monitor. Overclocking: I won't be over-clocking because I wouldn't have a clue. never done it before! Storage Space: I don't need tons and tons of space. I would like a quick SDD though as the boot drive. I was looking at the Cruicial M4 256GB ones??? No real motherboard requirements, USB3 would be nice. Case: I will need a new case - I like the Antec P280! I will need an OS. Currently running VISTA! So basically I need everything, but I will buy the monitor separate from this budget If somebody could recommend a good one, it would be a bonus if I could plug in my PS2 to the monitor too for occasional retro gaming! Thanks in advance Gavin Last edited by JacksonFrenchTime; 10th Mar 2013 at 12:15. Reason: Add title budget

15th Mar 2013, 18:41	#4
ShakeyJake My name is actually 'Jack'. Join Date: May 2009 Location: Newcastle, UK Posts: 639	I don't feel best placed to help you but seeing as no one else is I'll venture something to get you started. I can say that after a fair bit of research I'm going with an i5-3570k ASRock Extreme4 8GB Ram GTX 660 That's hitting about £550. £650 with your case and you've hit your £800 by the time you factor in a decent screen. Then you're just short the SSD you need. I'd imagine the best way to save money would be to downgrade the gpu, but you'll have to wait for one of our gaming friends on this board to sort that out for you. You could easily save £50 or more by swapping the i5 for an i3 if you don't fancy the 2 extra cores. It's my understanding that you probably don't need a proper quad for video games. EDIT - Just noticed you're happy to buy the monitor separate. That's within your budget then. I've always believed that you should spend good money on screens etc though so don't overlook it. We spend gazillions on shiny things that go in black boxes that we never actually see. Nobody actually USES a pc. We use the mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, etc etc etc. Don't overlook them. __________________ Processor, Memory, Disks, Screens, Mouse. Yup, it's all here.

15th Mar 2013, 19:23	#5
atc95 Need help with scratchbuild! Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Berkshire Posts: 788	This just falls in budget and includes everything you would need, money could be saved if you want atx rather than m-atx and this basket is based on the fact you have a good power supply left over from your previous build as 3-4 years isn't that long. scan basket. __________________ i5 3550 // gigabyte g1 sniper m3 // xfx 7950 dd @ 1ghz // 2x4gb C. Vengeance // samsung 256gb 830 // 750gb scorpio black // silverstone tj08be // enermax ets t40 tb // ocz modXstream pro 700w // Dell u2412m // IBM 17" tft. Xbox PC mod (nearly finished): a10 5800k @ 4.6ghz, h100i, msi fm2 a75ia, 8gb samsung greens, 256gb sandisk ultra!

15th Mar 2013, 21:49	#6
narwen narwen Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Warrington Posts: 253	Antec P280 Mid Tower Case Gun Metal Black with USB 3.0 Microsoft Windows 8 64bit DVD OEM Intel CPU Core i5 3470 Quad Core Processor Asus P8B75-M LX Intel B75 Socket 1155 Motherboard Corsair Memory Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile 2x4GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 XMP be quiet! Pure Power L8 630W CM Power Supply BN182 Modular 80+ Bronze Crucial 128GB RealSSD M4 SSD - Solid State Drive 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green SATA III - 6Gb/s Hard Drive Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X just under £800 from scan. __________________ CPU 2600K \| MB ASUS P67PRO \| MEM 16MB \| GC 570 \| WIN 7

15th Mar 2013, 22:49	#7
phoenixck Supermodder Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Nottingham UK Posts: 351	As its not going to be anything other than a complete overhaul look at scan bundles and add in what ever else you need. Either way you should probably be looking for an i5 (something like a 3570k) 8gb of ram Some sort of cheap aftermarket cooler For a graphics card either a gtx 570 or above or one of the newer 7 series amd cards. __________________ I'll post my rig so i don't have to keep reposting it over and over: ASUS Sabertooth p79 B3 rev. I5 2500k @ 4.3 (ish), PNY GTX 570, Antec tru power 650w, CM 690 II To do, put in a water loop, then fry all my components.

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1st Mar 2013, 12:32	#2
JacksonFrenchTime What's a Dremel? Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 15	I just checked my RAM and its 3 x 1GB Corsair XMS 800Mhz thats in my existing PC. Thanks

15th Mar 2013, 18:01	#3
JacksonFrenchTime What's a Dremel? Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 15	Any response guys?

16th Mar 2013, 10:18	#8
JacksonFrenchTime What's a Dremel? Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 15	Windows 7 or windows 8 guys? Thanks for the help so far

16th Mar 2013, 10:32	#10
aramil Duct Tape Saves...... Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Worcester, UK Posts: 429	Personally windows 8 as long as you are willing to relearn a few tricks. If not then windows 7. __________________ System: Intel i5 3570K delidded CLU @ 4.6Ghz \| Asus Stabertooth Z77 (1708) \| Asus GTX560-TI Direct cuII \| OCZ Agility 3 120Gb \| Samsung 1Tb F2 \| WD 500Gb \| Corsair 750TX v2 \| 8Gb (2x4) Corsair Vengence \| XSPC-Raystorm-750-RS2400 (2 X Akasa viper) \| Casecom 5288 \| Samsung LS24B300HL / LE32R74 / LE46C750 \| Windows 8 Pro 64bit \| Audio: Linn Classik & Keilidh Speakers

16th Mar 2013, 17:59	#12
phoenixck Supermodder Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Nottingham UK Posts: 351	7. Windows 8 ties with vista for the worst os. __________________ I'll post my rig so i don't have to keep reposting it over and over: ASUS Sabertooth p79 B3 rev. I5 2500k @ 4.3 (ish), PNY GTX 570, Antec tru power 650w, CM 690 II To do, put in a water loop, then fry all my components.

19th Mar 2013, 06:46	#14
will_123 Small childs brain in a big body Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 944	I actually just upgraded recently because I got it free from uni before I left and I didn't have access to 7. The interface is abolsute naff. Worst thing in the world, but my boot times seem to have been slashed with my new z77 board. UEFI and fast boot enabled you get a scarily quick boot. I counted 11 secs until login. I just play games on mine so I'm not working daily on it, but I can confirm that if you move to the desktop and stay there its not all that bad! I reckon if I worked on it and didn't just play games I would get more annoyed probably. If only metro wasn't there it would be bloody good. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2 __________________ i5 3570k @ 4.5GhZ \| Fractal Arc Midi \| H100i \| Twin Frorz 7870 \| 8GB Crosair 1600MhZ \| Website - https://www.kerneltalk.co.uk/ BF3 - Pvt_Will123 Steam - hardcorewillie

19th Mar 2013, 09:24	#15
mm vr The cheesecake is a lie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Finland Posts: 2,968	I don't understand what's so bad about the Metro thing. It's just a full screen start menu. The functionality is the exact same as in previous start menus, but the buttons are bigger. __________________ Intel Core i5 3570K @ 4.5GHz \|\| Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme \|\| Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H \|\| 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3 1600MHz CL10 \|\| Radeon 4870 512MB \|\| AC Accelero Twin Turbo Pro \|\| Asus Xonar DX \|\| Samsung 830 128GB \|\| 2x WD Blue 640GB \|\| Corsair HX620 \|\| Antec P182 \|\| Samsung SM 2232 + 2233 \|\| Windows Server 2012

21st Mar 2013, 12:57	#19
JacksonFrenchTime What's a Dremel? Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 15	I think I will settle on Windows 8 but use that mod to make it look like Windows 7, I cant be without my start button and I would want to do away with the Tile Screen, awful.