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Build Advice New Build Adivce (Under £800)

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by 1nsignia, 20 May 2010.

  1. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    Still I'd say the Phenom is a massive upgrade over the current build, and if he's a self-aware fanboy then you're likely just wasting your time suggesting Intel.

    Anyway the Formula is nothing but waste of money. Get a cheaper motherboard (790FX/890GX). They will serve you just as well as the overpriced Formula, I haven't had problems hitting stable 4 GHz on 965BE on any of the boards I've had. Also frees some money for the 5850.
     
  2. 1nsignia

    1nsignia What's a Dremel?

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    Puresilver's build was good, but I'm looking forward to watching Dark Knight on bluray with my mates, and I'll probably be buying quite a few BD movies/tv series soon, so a BD drive and a soundcard are a must. I'd have to add £135 to it for them, so that'd be ~£870.


    As far as 5850+ goes, let me clarify:
    Right now, I don't need a GPU that is too good (will buy a highend 6000 when it is out - probably within the next 4-5 months). I don't want to spend £200+ on a GPU now, and then spend another £200+ on a GPU that soon. I'd be playing Mirrors Edge, Mass Effect 1, BioShock 1, GTA 4 - games I have but can't play yet. I'll play games like BS/ME 2 later on, after I've played the originals (I don't even have the 2's yet).

    After some serious thinking, £800+ is pushing it, ideally £800-. That way, I can start taking my Driving Test next month, rather than waiting an additional month.

    I'd like the below to last a good few years:
    • PSU: powerful enough for next few years. As CPU's shrink in size, they use less power, and I'd never get a dual GPU card (too costly), would I really need 650 Watts+ for a high end Intel or AMD in 3/4 years time with a highend single GPU (i.e. not X2s or 59x0's)
    • HDD: if I'm not using them as the main HDD, then I'll use them for archiving
    • Case: like it to last, but I've already brought that, a CM II ad

    I'd like the Motherboard to last least the next CPU upgrade, so if I stick with AMD, then Bulldozer when its out. I'm currently looking at cheaper 890 FX/GX boards, too see if they might be a better choice.

    After reading everyone's opinions on the HDD, I'll buy a 200-500 GB Sata HDD to use as the main drive, though I'll use it after I've completed some of the games I'm playing right now, so I'll get cracking on them.

    I'm considering getting something cheaper than a Phenom II x4 (about -£100), that should be good enough for games that are 1-2 years old (for now), and not be a bottleneck when paired with a 6850 or faster (when its out).
     
  3. Madness_3d

    Madness_3d Bit-Tech/Asus OC Winner

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    Okay, I'm about your age (At a guess from what you've said) and I've played the game for a good few years and I'm going to take the time to pass on some tips. I now have a part time job building Gaming PC's for a company so I have a second view on it as well as my own.

    The first thing is that brand loyalty, no matter how you feel won't get you anywhere. Now I am a prime example of this. I'm an AMD, XFX, Nvidia Fanboy. I cut a side-panelled window in my case and cut the XFX letters into the side too. My first system was an Athlon 3200+ with an XFX 7800GS. But I have the system I have today purely because each time I Upgraded I never had much more than £200 in one go. So it was Athlon 6000+ (when they were good) --> new mobo (£60) --> Phenom II 940 (£200) --> New Mobo (£120) --> New RAM (£60) --> Watercooling --> Phenom II 965 (sold 940). And I would argue that I am an AMD Fanboy, but if I could swap my entire CPU/RAM/MOBO for an i7 setup or have the cash to start again I would. It's the best investment in the future. You get more performance, more enjoyment, more speed and more satisfaction. I Also have a Blu-Ray Drive and you're right they're excellent but don't waste your money on a sound card, All of them have their negative sides and unless you've got a 3300 set of speakers it just isn't worth it.

    Thirdly. You don't want to install again. Been There, Done that, and it isn't a path i'd send anyone down. You're looking at a Buggy (possibly unusable) OS and it's less hastle to actually start from scratch. I'd also advise get a Win 7 64* License with the build. (You can buy an Upgrade License, you just have to do a clean install and then do an Upgrade install over the clean install and it will activate perfectly.)

    I Know you don't want to get a new Hard drive but I will tell you this for nothing (And I'm not the first here)

    It is the single most important upgrade you will make to the system.

    The HDD by nature as a mechanical device, is the slowest part a computer system. You are wasting your time getting a new machine if you are going to pair it with an old hard drive, especially if you try to migrate an old install onto it. You will end up with a slow booting, slow running, slow app loading system, which completely negates the point of upgrading the rest. PLEASE do yourself a favour.
    Buy a nice new 3.5" 7200RPM High Areal Density Hard drive and sling your PATA's on as Storage. Or better, take the 1000GB 3.5" SATA drive out of your external enclosure and use it as a boot drive! save you some money! (providing its not 5400rpm and once you get it out remember to check out its read/write speeds)

    Get a high quality, oversized PSU. Not because your system needs it now, but because if you want to upgrade adn your current one isnt good enough it adds £100+ to the cost of buying that part (spend an extra £20 / £30 now and be safe) get 4x PCI-E conncetors and a single High current 12A DC-DC PSU to be safe. And FYI Graphics card manufacturers generally (and are this year) refresh and rebrand their product lines. They bring out a new series every other year. This year we'll be getting the refreshed 5 series not the 6 from ATI.

    Lastly, DVD/RW drives are one of the Banes of my life, along with Wifi and Printers. They are all as bad as each other, all of them have bad press, bad accounts your luck with one is hte same as the luck with any other. I've watched the company I work for sell 1000's and the return rates are actually quite low, but spread evenly across all brands. GFX cards die more often than DVD/RW drives (in the first 3 years of their lives)

    Thats a big chunk of text, you dont have to listen, heck you don't even have to read it but i'm trying to say, PLEASE for the love of god listen to at least some of what the guys here are saying! Their a great bunch and their advice deserves to be treated with respect. You don't have to listen but at least take the time to understand and explore the options their presenting you, read up on some performance reviews etc. I hope you enjoy your new system when you build it and I'm sure it will give you many hours of fun regardless of the path you choose to go down. :thumb:
     
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  4. 1nsignia

    1nsignia What's a Dremel?

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    Just to let you guys know, I've brought my parts, waiting for delivery.

    • ASRock GX890 Extreme3 Motherboard: ~£95 (as recommended by Jipa)
    • Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition (3.2 GHz - I'll unlock it to X4): ~£85
    • Corsair Dominator DDR3 4 GB Dual Channel 1600Mhz: ~£115
    • Seasonic X-750 (750 Watt 80+ Gold certified PSU): ~£140 (I want this to last many years)
    • HIS HD 5770 1 GB: ~£130 (the cheapest 5770 that was still in stock)
    • Xonar Dx 7.1 Soundcard: ~£55
    • Samsung SpinPint F3 1 TB: ~£60 (as most people recommended)
    • Samsung Blu-Ray Reader/DVD Writer Combi: ~£50 (£30 off at ebuyer - still on offer)

    Total = £730

    didn't buy a Heatsink Fan, as I'm still waiting for more info on the new Titan Fenrir Evo, if its out soon, I'll buy it, if its later this year, I get an older model. I'll use the stock cooler for now (and won't overclock).
     
  5. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    I've now been testing the Extreme3 against a gigabyte 890GX and MSI 790FX-GD70 (last gen top of the range) and the performance seems very similar. Elsewhere I've also seen the Asrock be used for some LN2-clocking, so I bet it'll meet your needs just fine :)

    One thing I've noticed though is some annoying overclocking it does all by itself. Just make sure to turn that crap off from bios before clocking it yourself.
     
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