hokay, so here's the deal, I've been planning my first build for a while now, but I can't actually do it until after my exams (about a month). So, the situation keeps changing and newer/better deals keep turning up. Here's my latest revision of the parts list. I'm using scan.co.uk , i'd previously looked at aria.co.uk but scan seem cheaper at the moment. LN19849 550w Corsair VX Series PSU, ATX, PS/2, 5 year Warranty £55.21 LN11596 2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-12 £29.36 LN21079 Intel Core 2 Duo, E8200, Wolfdale Core, S775, 2.66 GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB Cache, Retail £110.44 LN19750 Gigabyte GA P31-DS3L, iP31 Express, S 775, PCI-E(x16), DDR2 667/800 MHz, SATA II, ATX £44.17 LN20626 512MB PNY 8800GT PCI-E 2.0, Mem 1800 MHz, GDDR3, GPU 600 MHz, Stream 112, 2x DL DVI-I £104.56 LN16546 500 GB Samsung HD501LJ Spinpoint T166, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ £44.50 LN21894 LG GH20NS10 20X DVD±R, 10x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM £16.32 LN17382 Gigabyte GZ-X2 Black Case 2 x 120mm Fans, USB2.0/Firewire/Audio I/O without PSU £28.07 LN18916 Logitech Internet 350 Wired Keyboard, USB 1.1, Black (967740-0120) £7.05 LN14803 Razer RZ01-00110100-R2M1, Krait Gaming Laser Mouse, 1600dpi, USB 1.1/2.0, 3 Buttons, Black £23.37 LN21675 22" Viewsonic VA2216W Widescreen LCD, 1680x1050, 2000:1, 300 cd/m², 5.0 ms, VESA, D-Sub £150.04 Total is £633.51 including 17 quid delivery and vat. Thoughts? I was concerned about motherboard compatibility with just about everything: fitting in the case, the ram and the wolfdale cpu. Apparently BIOS flashing (if necessary) using a USB pen is easy on the ds3l, can anyone confirm that? Also- i have a cheap keyboard...basically the only problem a keyboard can have is if it doesnt register lots of simultaneous button presses, presumably this is unlikely to be an issue? The 8800gt was insanely cheap also, assuming PNY are a reasonable brand...Lastly, the monitor only has D-sub. Will this connect to the 8800gt? Some people have mentioned that DHCP and DVI were absolutely necessary, some said not to bother, so I am unsure. Thanks very much!
First of all, I would choose a different motherboard. something like: LN19715 Asus P5K SE, iP35, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800MHz, SATA II, ATX. Second of all that case is one of the cheapest and may not maintain a proper airflow. I would recommend Antec, Thermaltake or Coolermaster cases. And I would get a monitor with DVI if I were you
only thing i have to add is more or less the same as triplex... different motherboard, the p35 he has recommended is a good solid board different case if you can afford it, have a look at the antec, there good and reasonably priced also with the monitor, definetly get one with a dvi connector, means you won't need to upgrade in the furture, also if you want to get a blu ray in the future, will allow you to use with the HDCP etc
Motherboard: Consider the Gigabyte GA P35 DS3 Ram: Crucial Ballistix 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400C4 G.Skill 2GB DDR2 PK PC2-6400C4 or OCZ 2GB PC2-6400C4 PC Case: Lian Li PC-7B PLUS II Aluminium Midi-Tower Case ________ Washington dispensaries
Good shout about the mobo- I'd listed the wrong one. I meant to post the P35 version- LN19754 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, ATX £56.75 which had been recommended to me. Sorry, didn't realise there were 2 types of ds3l. Once I put that mobo in, it said the corsair ram was compatible, so yay! Just looking at better cases and it's problematic. How do you tell a good one, how much to spend? I really couldn't care less what it looks like, and if I overclock it'll only be slight anyway so heat isnt a massive issue. That said, can anyone point something out from this selection? list of cases How about this monitor: linky its the size and res i would ideally like and is the same price, unless there's something I missed?
Or, there's the monitor I would have bought from aria, I'd have to pay separate delivery bills but this is cheaper anyway: here thanks!
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=644041 I would go for this case from your list you are running a GT and plan to overclock rather get a good case with good airflow this is good value for money with the price of Ram there is no reason not to get a 2x2 gb set it will only add about 20 quid to your build but the 4gb will be well worth it
okay, cool stuff. I've asked for advice on a couple other forums... people have mixed reactions to PNY. Anyone have good/bad experiences to share?
updated list: LN21079 Intel Core 2 Duo, E8200, Wolfdale Core, S775, 2.66 GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB Cache, Retail £93.99 £110.44 LN16546 500 GB Samsung HD501LJ Spinpoint T166, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ £37.69 £44.29 LN21894 LG GH20NS10 20X DVD±R, 10x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM £13.89 £16.32 LN18916 Logitech Internet 350 Wired Keyboard, USB 1.1, Black (967740-0120) £6.00 £7.05 LN19754 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, ATX £48.30 £56.75 LN19203 22" Neovo H-W22 V2 Widescreen LCD, 1680x1050, DVI, 2000:1 DCR, 300 cd/m2, 3 ms, Speakers, VESA £129.98 £152.73 LN19340 Coolermaster CM-690 V2 Dominator Black Midi Tower Case with Mesh Top Panel w/o PSU £44.49 £52.28 LN19302 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18 £49.64 £58.33 LN15993 Logitech RX 1000 Laser Mouse, 1000dpi, USB 1.1/2.0, 4 Buttons, Silver/Black £9.29 £10.92 LN19492 450W Corsair VX Series PSU, ATX, PS/2, UK Version, 80 PLUS® certified £37.49 £44.05 LN20440 512MB BFG Tech 8800GT OC, PCI-E 2.0, Mem 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 625MHz, Streams 112, 2x DL DVI-I £104.89 £123.25 which now totals about £680 plus 20 quid delivery. This look better? The E8200 is out of stock and i'm wondering if there's anything comparable at that pricepoint, but everything looks a little costly. Thanks!
PNY are fine. I had a flash drive from them a little while ago which worked, though the build quality wasn't the best. I now have an 8800gts from them and it is just the stock one, It may not even have a PNY sticker on it - I can't remember. The box was very generic, the only part saying that it is an 8800gts was a sticker - the rest could have been for any other nVidia graphics card
