Nice busy site, hi all, this is my new to be set up, getting it Wednesday, building it up on the weekend, first build so im hoping everything goes smoothly.... (yea right!! ) using it for, Games, on line games, web, music, i had a lot of help picking to hardware (as i freely admit im new to building from scratch) and i didn't have a clue as to what was what, anyway good to see a uk site that has such a wealth of info and help, any suggestions as to what to add on would be appreciated, i have windows 7 but no screen as yet 1 x Arctic Power 700W PSU - With PCI-E, 4x SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors - Retail Boxed 1 x Gigabyte GTX 460 OC 1GB GDDR5 OC Edition Dual DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card With H.A.W.X. 2 Game Voucher 1 x AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz 9MB Cache Socket AM3 Retail Box Processor 1 x Asrock 890GX Extreme3 Socket AM3 DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard 1 x OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10666 Platinum i5 Memory Kit 1.65V CL7(7-7-7-20) 1 x Casecom 6788 Black Mid Tower Case with Full Black Interior/Exterior 120mm Blue LED Front Fan - No PSU 1 x Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache 1 x Samsung SH-S223L 22x DVD±RW DL & RAM with LightScribe SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black 1 x Asus Xonar DS PCI 7.1 Soundcard 1 x Compucase 52-In-1 Internal 3.5" Bay Card Reader 1 x Tenda Wireless-G PCI Adapter 1 x Casecom 140mm Blue LED Case Fan - 3 and 4pin Connection 3 x Xilence Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan - 3&4pin connection
I Have Windows 7 is it a good idea to partition the drive just for that? (i have the disks) also can i use W7 to put on this puter when i format the hard drive and clean it all up? and then put it on my new build one, i just asking if i can use it twice, is there a problem with doing that?
I split my F3 down the middle, C: and D: so I could keep all docs, media and the like on the D: leaving the C: for programs. That way when I recently had to do a fresh install all my media was still there. Probably didn't need to make the C: drive so large I might reduce it when I install my SSD. First thing is to try it as quickly as possible, perhaps even outside of the case just to see if there are any compatibility issues. I had one with my PSU and MB and Aria would not exchange my PSU because I didn't do it within the poxy 7 days. No after market CPU cooler?
I wouldnt go down that PSU.. Get something like silverstone or corsair. As for AMD.. it will be a costly build. I suggest getting an i3 530 and overclock.. !! its very good i am using mines at 4.5ghz on air. this will save money over the 6 core amd and for that you can afford a decent case like the CM 690 Adv II ( Im selling my one) Also the xilence fans are crap ( honestly) Iwe had two of them.. not worth the money. Might want to change that too. As for monitors get something in the samsung range. Best for the price
Good tip with the power supply, avoid Arctic Cooling, and you don't really need such high wattage. Some proper (Corsair, Enermax, ...) 500 W will be much better. I'd ignore the talk about the case though. If you don't want anything flashy, the basic tower will do just fine. It isn't as sturdy or nice to work with as the more expensive ones, but really, so what? Getting a dual-core i3 instead of a hex-core Phenom made me go seriously Yeah right... A quad-core Phenom (955 or 965) might still be a better purchase than the 1055, as hex-cores are really only going to help if you render/do something extremely CPU-intensive. On the uses you listed there, a quad will be faster. Also having unlocked multiplier is going to help with overclocking.
+1 on the above comments re: PSU and CPU. Get a good quality PSU and a quad Phenom II, much better bet. I would also suggest pricing 1600MHz RAM, you amy find it is the same price as the 1333MHz RAM you have proposed. The 1600MHz may give you more options when overclocking and if it is the same price then it is a no-brainer. If overclocking you may also want to consider an after-market CPU cooler. In addition, I would ditch the crappy Asrock motherboard and go for something like these: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...-(x16)-ddr3-2000(oc)-sata-6gb-s-sata-raid-atx or http://www.scan.co.uk/products/giga...-(x16)-ddr3-1866(oc)-sata-6gb-s-sata-raid-atx. I wouldn't ignore the comment about the crappy el-cheapo case actually, it is the second most visible thing of your build other than the monitor. You will only regret it later. If you don't want to spend loads of money on a case, at least get something like one of these: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-elite-335-black-mini-tower-case-w-o-psu http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec-300-three-hundred-black-midi-tower-ultimate-gaming-case-w-o-psu http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silverstone-precision-ps02b-black-mid-tower-case-w-o-psu http://www.scan.co.uk/products/xigm...ase-with-4x525-6x35-bays-inc-120mm-fan-no-psu
Tbh i don't know, what's the difference and how can you tell? all i know is its the full version and there's 2 disks in the box, it doesn't say on the box what it is (ultimate) Next thing is i am on a budget, £600 not including the screen or the Windows 7, at this time this (as i could see it from help and me picking stuff) this is the beast all round i could get with my limited knowledge (this is my first build ever) I have already ordered the stuff above so its hard now to change the larger priced items now, ( but i have asked for advice and that's what i picked now) but things like fans are as cheep as chips so i can change them around after (i originally bought Blue LED ones and changed them on advise as there meant to be very noisy) I was thinking of getting a cooler etc, but i didn't want to over-clock thinking let it be and i wont screw with any warranted goods then, and it has a cooler in the box already i think?? I was thinking the PSU was good for the ££ it has had good write-ups, and it was big enough for what i have don't you think? and again ££ was a factor in what i was getting at the time, again it has good reviews, i got it on the strength of that (Five year warranty on it) The case is almost hidden in a draw, all you can see is the front of it its £29 i thought it was reasonable and it seems to be (for the ££) a decent built one Ram i was thinking of getting more.....ran out of ££ Thanks to everyone for the comments though im gona need some help putting this lot together on the weekend is there any any good site, that talk you through it ?? any free software out there's that will help be music wise and a media player that's better than the windows one
Media Monkey - it will organise, store, play and rip your music collection as well as sync with any portable player on the market. Link: www.mediamonkey.com VLC Media Player - handles DVDs, (S)VCDs, Audio CDs, web streams, TV cards etc, comes with nearly every codec built in. Link: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Sorry, I'm too lazy to fully read every post on this thread so I might repeat some stuff . Where's your CPU cooler? Or are you planning to go stock?
From the PSU listing: Connectors: Universal 24pin (20+4pin) Main ATX power 4 pin ATX12V power connector x1 3x 4 pin Molex Connector(for HDD, CD-ROM) 2x Floppy connector (4pin) 4x SATA Hard Drive Power connector 1x 6pin PCI-Express Connector (via 4pin Molex Adaptor) 4 pin Molex to 8 (4+4) pin + 12V Power Adapter Velcro Cable Tie x2 700W?? seems to have too few connectors for that. IMO the Enthusiast Overclocker from the buyers guide would have been a much better buy for very similar money.
my 2 bits: rubbish PSU - grab a decent one 500W should be enough CPU - not worth it and for £155 is outperformed easily by i5 760 (which is cheaper) or if AMD is your flavour the 965 is a much better choice (cheaper and overclocks better) mobo - rubbish board for overclocking and im not a fan of Asrock when it comes to tweaking. look at the much cheaper MSI 770 C45 which is a brilliant little board for overclocking. Case - is well rubbish and although its not quite as important as other components its is a good idea to have a case with decent airflow especially when overclocking. look at an antec 300 or maybe Xigmatek Asgard sound card - good choice but do you need it, HD audio on most mobo is pretty good and unless your really picky about audio and you have a good set of speakers you wont benfit from this. wireless card - id go N now but if gaming is your thing id be looking at hardwiring it anyway as gaming over wi-fi is rubbish especailly if its FPS your in to. case fans - those fans are pretty rubbish and if you opt for the xigmatek case you will only need a decent 120mm for the rear
Agree with most of above. In short get a decent 500W PSU, pop that in a better case and then you wont need the extra fans. And connect that lot to an Asus or Gigabyte H55 motherboard and a i3 530. And pop in some branded 1600mhz DDR3.
You got plenty. Really the only dangerously rubbish choice is the PSU. Other than that it's largely opinions, with the 1055 processor being the worst choice of the lot. Get the 965 BE instead. 1600 MHz memory is also nice and hardly costs any more, again, if you go with AMD, you don't need the low voltage (mainly Intel i5) stuff either. And if you're going to stick with AMD, I don't know where Dae314 came up with his opinion of the Asrock board, but that one's good and for the money offers great value. For case.. The Antec Three Hundred remains my personal budget case of choice. Doesn't need extra fans either. And get an after market CPU cooler.
Well its only gona last 3 years tops, maybe 2, but i can change as i go along i guess, its all replaceable at the end of the day, like you say live and learn eh??
