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Build Advice £400 budget pc, general use, female

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by slambittech, 2 Feb 2010.

  1. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    Budget: £400

    Main uses of intended build: general browsing, photos, watching stream tv youtube.

    Parts required: dvd, hard drive whole build really.

    Previous build information (list details of parts): i5 processor, http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755
    i would like to build around the i5 because i got it befre and its mega fast. is there a motherboard with built in graphics because i dont think she needs that good a graphics because she doesnt play hard core gaming games like call of duty just games on facebook etc. and graphics enough to stream tv.

    Monitor resolution: dunno but she got a 32inch lcd she planning on hooking it up to.

    Storage requirements: above 500gb

    Will you be overclocking: no

    Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): nope just looking for reliable and speed

    Extra information about desired system: fast and reliable is the key

    kind regards
     
    Last edited: 2 Feb 2010
  2. tonpal

    tonpal What's a Dremel?

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    Can you tell us which i5 processor you would like to use?
     
  3. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755
    its the i5 750

    im looking at i3 as well is there much difference? except from price its like 50£ cheaper. is it worth paying the extra £50 for an i5?
     
  4. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    prefer to buy from ebuyer and novatech, got dabs as well but usually expensive so i try to avoid
     
  5. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    I don't think P55-motherboards come with integrated graphics, so you'll end up spending extra £30 or something on a low-end graphic card (if you don't have one around).

    Other than that my recommendation is the basic 2*2 GB + 1 TB Samsung F3 + case that fits your or her eye and Corsair CX400 PSU.

    EDIT: Whoops thought you already had the 750. Don't buy such a hugely overkill CPU. i3 comes with integrated graphics and AMD-builds at this price gap are easily fast enough for a more casual user (and also come with graphics on board).
     
  6. smc8788

    smc8788 Multimodder

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    So why exactly are you intent on a 'mega fast' processor if she doesn't need it? Especially when it would eat up more than a third of her budget. Honestly, it makes no sense whatsoever; for her needs a laptop would more than suffice.
     
  7. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    laptop it seems more unstable and unreliable and becomes hot and slow when used for long hours. i am intent on the i5 because its fast. and sometimes she opens several applications like photoshop, ineternet several pages. and a movie player as well as itunes.
     
  8. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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  9. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    The power supplies that come bundled with those cheap cases are rubbish. Just stay away from that stuff.

    http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=cx+400w&x=53&y=14

    That's pretty much the cheapest PSU worth buying. As for the case - it doesn't really matter. Cheap cases do come with noisier fans, sharp edges and rubbish build quality that make the installation a pain in the arse. You may also end up having no dust filters which again hinders the reliability in long run, but still they don't pose a fire hazard unlike the cheap PSUs.
     
  10. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    what motherboard and graphics would you recommend for this build?
     
  11. tonpal

    tonpal What's a Dremel?

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    Here are my thoughts on what can be done. The costs are approximate only, to get a feel for budget.

    Case

    Always a difficult one to recommend as it is as much about personal taste as about functionality. Here are my thoughts:
    Silverstone PS02 Precision / Antec 300 – Approx £40

    PSU

    400W Corsair CX4000 - Approx £40

    CPU

    AMD Athlon II X2 255 – Approx £60

    OR

    Intel Core i3 530 - Approx £90

    Motherboard

    AMD 785G based MSI/Asus/Gigabyte – approximately £50 to £70

    OR

    Intel H55 based MSI/Asus/Gigabyte - £70 to £90

    Memory

    4GB Corsair DDR3 (1333/1600) – approx £80

    Graphics

    Integrated

    Hard Drive

    500GB Samsung F3 approx £40

    Optical Drive

    Samsung SH-S223L approx £20

    OS

    Windows 7 approx £90


    This lot comes in around £440 for the AMD based or £490 for the Intel
     
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  12. PureSilver

    PureSilver E-tailer Tailor

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    Tonpal's got the right idea. Your i5 750 will be wasted on a casual user unless she really does a lot of heavy photoshop editing; since she doesn't game I think you could save a significant sum of money and go integrated graphics too. I have a natural preference for Intel over AMD, and the new IGP of the Clarkdale cores is nicer than the AMD alternative, so I'd recommend;

    CPU: Intel Core i3 530 £92
    CPU Cooler: The retail processor has one supplied; if you're not overclocking it should be fine. Otherwise any old 1156 cooler will do.
    Motherboard: Gigabyte G-H55M-UD2H £82 - She doesn't need any of H57's expanded abilities, like SATA 6GB/s, so H55 will be fine.
    RAM: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) 1333Mhz - £88 / 1600Mhz £96
    HDD: Samsung F3 500GB £38 / 1TB £63
    PSU: Corsair 400CX £38
    Optical Drive: LG GH22NS50 £19
    Chassis: Antec Three Hundred £43

    Total: (Recommended configuration, with 1333Mhz memory and the 500GB drive) £400 (Fully-loaded with 1600Mhz memory and 1TB drive) £433. Prices will no doubt be incrementally better if you shop around, I just use Scan because it's easy to navigate.

    [EDIT]I forgot to add an OS. If you can't get one from school/Uni/your old computer, Windows 7 x64 is a prerequisite.[/EDIT]
     
    Last edited: 4 Mar 2010
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  13. javaman

    javaman May irritate Eyes

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    +1 tone pal. Apart from photshop, you could get away with an atom system. i5 is just stupid.

    Even then just go AMD and pick up an athlon x4 620. Ive heard that "quads feel more snappy" than dual's

    like to add, you can save money on the OS by using an upgrade edition and following these instructions
     
  14. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    with the ram, i was thinking of getting the ripsaw ones instead of the corsair? is that recommended? :
    http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...12800/1600MHz/G.Skill/F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM.html

    i think i like the i3 build though
     
  15. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    For all I know i5/i3 setups like, or even require, low memory voltages, so the ripjaws seem better to me. (might be just a misunderstanding on my side, but I remember a friend of mine getting lower voltage dimms for an i5-build)
     
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  16. PureSilver

    PureSilver E-tailer Tailor

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    Ripjaws should be fine; since there's no huge aftermarket cooler you don't need to be careful about standard height RAM or anything. RAM's much of a muchness these days; get 4GB minimum, 1333Mhz minimum, after that whatever you like really.
     
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  17. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    as you don't need to spend so much money on the actual hard ware you should consider if you should buy a nice sleek case, like the lian li V350 or something similar so it atleast looks nice
     
  18. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead It's big, and it's clever.

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    What relevance has "female" got? Am I missing something?
     
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  19. brave758

    brave758 Minimodder

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    What is this build wanted for?
     
  20. slambittech

    slambittech Minimodder

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    stated above.

    I think a cheaper case like the £20 one on ebuyer is nice enough, all that is important is the parts and components, doesnt really matter if it looks nice or not!

    female as no meaning sorry, i just mentioned it. u no what women are like, have to get it right. lol

    this build looking within my budget atm, dont think i need a cooler.

    is it best to get two 500gb hd or just the one 1tb hard drive?
     

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