A friend has asked me to spec up a low cost build for her and I thought I would pass it through the Bit-Tech filter before I send it to her. It will be used only for internet access, watching videos (both streaming and DVD) and office software. I've never really thought about a computer like this so i'm kinda just guessing but have worked up the following spec as a stating point. https://secure.scan.co.uk/aspnet/shop/basket.aspx Any suggestions/ cost saving/ dumb ass mistakes I've made. I have windows and a dvd drive already so their covered. Any help would be appreciated.
We can't actually see what you put in your basket! Just list it in your reply and we'll have a look see what's what.
Lol I was wondering whether that would actually work, guess I shouldn't be so lazy next time. 1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ, OEM Xigmatek Asgard Black, Mid Tower, ATX Case with 4x5.25" 6x3.5" Bays inc 120mm Fan, No PSU 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 Classic DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.5V Intel Core i3 2100, 1155, Sdy Bridge, 3.1GHz, 5 GT/s, GPU 850Mhz, 3MB Cache, Core R 31x, 65W, Retail 21.5" BenQ G2222HDL, Widescreen LED Monitor, 1920x1080, 5ms, 250cd/m², 1000:1, Black 380W Antec EA 380D EarthWatts Green, 80 PLUS Bronze, 82% Eff', EPS 12V, 80mm Fan, ATX12V Asus P8H67-M LE Rev3, Intel H67, S1155, PCI-E 2.0 x16, DDR3 1333, SATA 6Gb/s, RAID, MATX, VGA Also if anyone could suggest a similar spec and cost but in the smallest case you can find I'd be interested in seeing that because as far as I can see if you want small you have to pay for it -Is that true or could you do it on this budget?
Thats a pretty good solid build. I'd be happy with that. it's true what you say about smaller costing more. Then again a Ferrari is smaller than my Mondeo .
Antec NSK 3480 MATX Micro Tower - With 380W EarthWatts PSU £63.56 Biostar H61MH H61 Socket 1155 6 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard £49.98 Intel Core i3 2100 3.10GHz Socket 1155 3MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor£95.30 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit 1.5V CL9£24.99 Hitachi Deskstar 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache£37.11 Benq G2222HDL 21.5 LCD Monitor LED Backlight 16:9 Widescreen Full HD 1920x1080 £100.95 Cart total inc vat: £371.89 no idea what price you got it to, but that's what it comes in at if you use ebuyer. Add another 40quid if you want a p8p67 matx (which would be advisable!)
Crap forgot to state budget really was asleep when made first post. £500 max. Cheers for the spec Sonic that is dirt cheap even with the extra for the asus MB.
no worries, it should all be available on ebuyer now. some are ex display, but they are new, just open boxes. The ram is extra value stuff, so for the sake of a fiver or so, swap it out for branded stuff. it also gives you around a hundred quid to play with too, so you could add a decent discrete gfx card in there too, something like a 5770, or possibly a gtx460 if you shop around
I am building a non-gaming Photoshop (no 3D rendering) rig for a friend at the moment and purchased the following over the last week: Intel Core i3 2100, 1155, Sandy Bridge, 3.1GHz - £87.59 * Asus P8H67-M PRO Rev3, Intel H67, S1155, PCI-E 2.0 x16, DDR3 1333, SATA 6Gb/s, RAID, mATX, VGA - £77.99 * 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 Classic DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) - £35.99 * 500GB Samsung HD502HJ Spinpoint F3 - £28.79 * 400W Silverstone SST-ST40F-ES Strider - £29.99 * BenQ G2222HDL, Widescreen LED Monitor, 1920x1080 - £109.18 Plexus DVI-D Dual Link Flat Panel Replacement Cable (Black) 2m - £3.99 Xigmatek Midgard - £51.47 (prices marked with an * were purchased on Scan's Today Only page over the last week) Grand Total: £424.99. In fact, the motherboard is beside me, all built on top of the m/b box ready to go in the case which arrived today. I am actually using the BenQ monitor right now - couldn't resist trying it out on BC2 with my own gaming rig - it is a good monitor with very low power consumption. It doesn't come with a DVI cable so you will have to buy one. I got a good deal on the Silverstone PSU, if I hadn't I would of bought the Antec 380D. The motherboard is a very good motherboard and was also a very good price - it also has four RAM slots as opposed to the two on the LE so gives you room to upgrade in future. With the i3 2100, the stock Intel cooler is perfect and dead silent. No need for an aftermarket cooler.
Cheers fingers that rig look about what she needs. One question - why did you go for the p8h67 m pro over the standard? No overlook so was banking on the stock cooler to save a little cash.
I went to the Pro version over the LX or LE versions for the 4 DIMM slots, the USB 3.0 (LX doesn't have this), more total RAM support (32GB vs 16GB), VRM heatsink and the extra fan header on the motherboard. The person I am building this for used to design artwork on a Mac and wants to play with Photoshop on a PC. The 4 DIMM slots gives him the option of going to 8GB of RAM without having to replace the existing 4GB. As he doesn't know whether he will actually get into Photoshop or not, I didn't get him 8GB of RAM from the off. He will be using an external USB 3.0 hard drive for backups so the USB 3.0 was essential for the speed. Also, the Pro version was the same price on Scan's Today Only deal page as the LE version normally was. I had budgeted based upon the LE normal price so getting a slightly better motherboard for the same price was a bonus. All I had to do was check the Today Only page every day for just over a week and buy it when it came up. A lot of the items on the Today Only deal page are on every week, just on different days.
