Hi, I'm looking to build a new computer, and would like to order the parts as soon as possible, in the vain hope that the arrive before Christmas. Since it looks like the Dec edition of the 'What hardware to buy guide has been cancelled, I would really appreciate any advice from the broader forum. I'm looking to spend £700-£750, and would like to use the system primarily for gaming. I'm not particularly worried about DirectX 11, since I have a rather large backlog of Dx 10 games to try out. I've already bought the case (Antec 300) and would like recommendations for Mobo CPU - I'm thinking i7 920 RAM - I'd like 6GB, recommendations on brands welcome Gfx card HDD PSU Cooler Optical Drive My past experiences on this forum have been quite nice, and I'm typing this post on a Logitech Illuminated Keyboard, bought based on recommendations here. Still, maybe it's too much to hope to be able to order my computer tomorrow... Many thanks to whoever takes pity on me.
Hey I will give you two possible builds now, as an i7 920 for 700 would be quite good. For that Price cathegory I'd rather go for an i5. But let's just start with my i7 recommendations: If you go i7, you need a X58 Mobo. The Gigabyte GA-EX58 and the ASUS P6T Deluxe or V2 or excellent choices. For the Ram - any 1600 mhz triple channel RAM by any good brand (Corsair, G.Skill, OCZ) will do just fine. Find the cheapest and take it. GFX Card really depends on your needs. I'd say a 4850 or 90 if you want more power, preferrably a Vapor-X Card from Sapphire, they have awesome cooling performance and stay quiet. If you want DX11, go for a 5770 or 5850, whatever your budget allows. The power of the cards compared like this somehow: 4850 - 5770 - 4890 - 5850 HDD? Samsung's new F3 Spinpoint drives are great, just take whatever capacity you need. For the PSU, you need to go quality. I personally love Corsair and they get excellent review as well. A 700 or maybe even 800 W PSU should already be more than enough. The Titan Fenrir is both Silent and not too expensive. One of the best i7 Coolers up to date. Any S-ATA Optical Drive will do. Search for whatever you want and then pick the cheapest. LG, Samsung, it really doesn't matter. (Except that certain drive receives bad reviews ) That was it for the i7, but I think this won't quite fit within 700-750. So here is what I would recommend: An i5 750 Core on a Asus P7P55D Mainboard, with a HD 5770 from your favourite brand, (Or maybe a 5850, or wait for the Fermis), 4 Gig G.Skill Ripjaws Ram 1600 MhZ Dual Channel, plus a Corsair 700W PSU, a Titan Fenrir (Not sure if this one is availible for the 1156 Platform? If not, go Noctua NH-U12P) and any Sata Optical Drive that fits your needs (Blu-Ray, DVD...) as I said before. If you decide what you want you could tell me and I could make you a list of parts you need. Then you could order tomorrow
Hi n0va. Many thanks for the quick response and for your offer of further help. Processor - I'd prefer to stick with the i7, even if it means stretching my budget slightly. Gfx - I think a 4890 should suit my needs HDD - 1TB should be enough, for now PSU - 650-700 W should be enough, right? I was basing my price expectations around last month's gaming build: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2009/11/10/what-hardware-should-i-buy-november-2009/3 That is ~£850, including a £95 case, i.e. £760 for the rest of it. Do you know how much of a performance difference there would be between the i7 920 and the i5 750?
Scan: Ebuyer: Did it quite quickly, and it's £8 over budget ... but that's the best i7 rig I could put together for that budget. Shouldn't be too shabby, but I'm sure you and/or others can make other suggestions.
My budget is a bit flexible, depending on the incremental value per £. One possibly relevant fact I forgot to mention: My monitor is 1920x1080 I'd like to game (dare I say Crysis?) at this resolution.
Wow nice Razman, I didn't have the time to figure it all out so I just took a quick guess. Think I forgot to think about the GBP - Euro Conversion Yes you will be pretty much able to play crysis, at least at high. With some i7 overclocking AA will also be possible
Thanks guys. As this is my first time putting together my own system, is there anything else that I would have to order? I have a Philips screwdriver, but will I need any cables, thermal paste etc? Also, n0va, if you have time I'd appreciate a part list from you too.
You're ordering OEM drives, which won't come with SATA cables, so you might need to order a couple of those. The Fenrir comes with Thermal Paste and I'm sure it's more the adequate, but you could always get yourself a tube of Artic Silver 5, or MX-3. Just personal preference.
if you go for the sapphire 4890 vapor x go for the 2gb version, its better, if they bring games out that need a lot of memory you will be ok, as you will have 2 gb lol take care
I can't seem to find the 2GB version available anywhere. What do you think of this build? http://www.lambda-tek.com/computing...1 HDD B229087 1 PSU 1492290 1 CASE B103524 1 It breaks my budget somewhat, but I'm hoping I can find cheaper prices elsewhere.
not bad but if your overclocking id go with 1600mhz RAM not 1333mhz. well if you intend to go to around 3.6Ghz+ also that HDD is pants get a samsung F3 they are much quicker side note that lambda is very expensive comes to £784 !!!!! have a look at ebuyer.com, scan.co.uk they usually the cheapest. PSU is ok but its not modular so cables would be a mess unless you spend some time working out clever means to tidy.
Another vote here for the P6T se, great board considering it at the lower end of the scale. Sammy f3 or nothing tbh also dont worry about over a gig of vid memory, the 2gb will likely be a waste on a single card.
This, if you can afford it. Also another vote for the Samsung F3 Spinpoint; great HDD and affordable. I'd personally go for Corsair or G-Skill RAM, but I don't think that's going to make too much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. Looks good, overall. Definitely find some of the parts cheaper elsewhere though; Lambda is bad for price.
psu corsair 650w modular =90 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W...-Modular-PSU-with-80PLUS-Bronze-Certification mobo gigabyte ud5 =188 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Giga...1366-PCI-E-20-DDR3-1066-1600-2000-SATA-II-ATX cpu 920 = 207 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-i7-920-Socket-1366-(B)-Nehalem-266GHz-Cache-8MB-OEM ram 6gb 1600mhz corsair =126 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/6GB-...atched-XMS3-with-Classic-Heat-Spreader-CoreI7 cooler akasa nero =26 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akas...0-AM2-AM2plus)-Heat-Pipe-cooler-120mm-PWM-fan gpu 275 gtx gainward =188 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/896M...MHz-GDDR3-GPU-648MHz-Shader-1450MHz-240-Cores hdd samsung f3 500gb =37 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500G...HD502HJ-SATA-3Gb-s-7200rpm-16Mb-Cache-8ms-OEM optical sony =16 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sony-AD-5240S-0B-24x-DVDR-12xDVDDL-DVDRW-x8-RWx6-SATA-Black total=878
That's pretty much what I would go with, but it's quite a bit over budget. If you change the motherboard to the P6T SE and get this GTX 275 or a 4890 (if you don't mind higher idle power consumption and it being much louder) you'll be able to bring it closer to £800, which is still over budget but will get you a decent system. You'll definitely appreciate a modular PSU in the Antec 300, but I'd change the Akasa Nero to the Titan Fenrir for the sake of £5, as it's a much better cooler.
the suggestion i made is under £800 and it has a 1TB F3 although i would also opt for a titan fenrir if budget allows