Hi I'm looking to build my first PC, currently have a Dell Dimension 9100, P4 630 3.0 GHz that i have upgraded RAM, hard drive and replaced graphics card. Budget: £800 - £1000 Main uses of intended build: web browsing, video, word processing, moving more to gaming Parts required: fresh build, have Win7, will use current mouse/keyboard/monitor for now Previous build information (list details of parts): Monitor resolution: 1920 x 1080, Philips 23" Storage requirements: SSD for OS, up to 1TB for storage Will you be overclocking: havent overclocked before but interested in trying/finding out more Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): futureproof AS possible Extra information about desired system: not a serious gamer but interested in playing BF3 Would like to have a system that as a whole would last 5+ years, possibly with odd upgrade. What do you think to the system below. Have looked around here and in CPC CPU: Intel i5 2500k MB: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 Graphics: GTX 560 Ti RAM: Corsair Vengeance Black 16GB DDR3 1600 MHz Storage: SSD OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA 3 - for OS and games Seagate 1Tb SATA 3 7200rpm 64mb PSU: ThermalTake SP-630PCWEU Smart Series 630W Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced - ready for overclocking? Fans: unsure? What do people think? Is 16GB ott, better spent on PSU? Graphics card ok? SSD too big? Thanks
your build looks good, except ditch that psu and get a better one. something from corsair, antec, enermax are good. a 650w is a good bet but for future proofing and if you were thinking of going sli id get 800w or thereabout to be safe. also id go with a 570, for bf3 at your resolution. maybe even a 580 depending on the frame rates you want 16gb is ott i dont use my 16gb i just wanted it lol. 8gb is fine. so yh use the money on a better psu. 120gb is not overkill for ssd, thats least you want imo if you are putting os AND programs on it which i assume you are. i wish i had got that size instead of 64gb now
I don't think i will go SLI, unless i become addicted to PC gaming! I was thinking 650W would be ok, I looked at the ThermalTake SP after reading the review in CPC. (looking to save a bit i suppose, maybe just go for the Corsair HX650) With the graphics card, i have never really gamed on a PC, so not sure on the FPS. Nvidia recommend at least a 560, i decided on 560 Ti after the latest CPC review. Done some reading up but its all new to me!
well at 1080p my personal recommendation is a 570. unless you are going to only go for like medium settings but bf3 is really a game which you have to crank up to see it in its full glory
So what about Kepler? Buy a GTX 570 now or wait? Currently not playing games (will do soon) but really looking to upgrade CPU etc
The power supply advice is good, if you get a Corsair, you get a five year guarantee, which is the proposed lifetime of your machine
Um Maybe I missed something, but you might want a case? At £~75, a Fractal Design - Define Array R3 is pretty much one of the best you can get out there. Also recommend, you post up a completed buy list before you actually purchase. Personally, if you can, just wait until NVidia Kepler + Ivy Bridge is out (i.e. June-ish?)
Very true! I have had my Dell since 2005 and have only had to replace graphics card, so very lucky i guess. Any advice on fans?
Oh yeh, the case! I made a bit of a rushed buy, based on size and design i liked - BitFenix Outlaw. Cheap case i know but doesnt seem a pile of junk. Something i could change quite easy in future though. Any advice for fans in this case? Or ditch the case now?!!
id ditch the case lol. try fractal design r3 also id wait for kepler. only a couple months now if that
Lesson #1 -> Never be cheap. You'll regret it every day. Buy high-end, and you'll get peace of mind (assuming that the hardware in question is properly installed/drivers(if any)/no manufacture errors, obviously). In the old days, I used to get everything "value'... RAM -> Value pack Value RAM (RAM is RAM, I though). PSU -> Got the cheapest one even from big reputable brands.. they suck. And so on. I had problem monthly.... always problem.. and at the end, at about 3 years in, stuff broke.. and as the computer was old already.. I still didn't switch to quality hardware... I ended up paying A LOT more in the end... EXCLUDING all the wasted time in trying to fix mysterious problems. Once I switch to high-end. I build my computer, and voila! No problem, no issues, ready to OS and everything, stress test.. no problem. And since that, I never had any issues. My previous computer 7 years old, (AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Socket 939 (paid 750$Can for this mid range, first consumer dual core processor)). It proudly ran XP, Vista 64-bit with issues or problems (oh, yes sir!), and Win7 64-bit. GPU and memory is the only thing that was upgraded. The computer is still super duper quiet. You don't know if it's on or off, by listening, even in an ultra quiet room (yes the fans turns and aren't broken It's because they are good fans) Anyway. You need a case, I highly suggest the Fractal Design R3 case, available in several colors (Black, white, titanium, and silver). It has all the feature one can ask for, to build a quiet computer. Look nice, and good quality. On a limited budget, I don't think you can get a better deal than this. Even the most high-end cases, don't even have sound damping panels. You'll need fans. Case fans provided, are usually crap. Best to get good ones (always set them at minimum speed for the most quietness.. usually it enough, especially if you don't do some crazy overclock). I recommend Noctua fans, but they aren't cheap. Maybe BeQuiet... I see that name pop-up here a lot... so maybe they are worth a shot, if they are cheaper... maybe someone else has experience. PSU, get Seasonic X Gold series, or Corsair HX or AX series, in the 620-650W+ range. You are missing an optical drive. Get a DVD Burner. Make sure it's on SATA connection and not IDE. What are the timings and voltage of your RAM, and how many sticks of RAM are bundled? (most important stuff) 8GB is already playing safe. RAM is only getting cheaper... so getting it later, if you need it, is best. I am a little confused with the monitor. Did you FIND a monitor, that you plan to buy (a Philips 23inch), or you already have one? For the GPU, wait for Nvidia next line up, coming sometime this year. Supposed to be already out based on road-map... but I guess there are delays (this is not uncommon for Nvidia). At worst case, it will be end of the this year.
What you could do is build the new system, but keep your current graphics card. Then when the new cards come out, get one of them, or if they're too expensive, the cost of the previous gen should have come down a bit. That is of course assuming you current graphics card is PCI-E.
agreed. you are perhaps one of the few people i have come across, other than those who are stupidly rich so just buy the most expensive of anything anyway, who agrees with me on this. it pays off to buy expensive in the long run. and if you cant afford it, save until you can.
Thanks a lot guys, some good points there. Case I'm ready to be shot down (after seeing many posts) but i don't really like the door on the R3 case. Also its a little deeper than i wanted for current location. Fans Thanks for your advice, don't really know much about different manufacturers. PSU Now going to buy Corsair HX650. ODD Samsung or Sony DVD burner, SATA of course - £15 RAM Not really sure on all the specs, I went by the MB recommendations. 1.5V dual channel i think? Monitor Already have Philips 23", brought to replace old Dell square box, didn't buy it for gaming, just better page viewing (deal on ebuyer) GPU Current is GeForce 8400 GS, so needs replacing!! Should i build a new Sandy Bridge system now with GTX 5xx, and upgrade GPU later, or just wait for Ivy Bridge and Keplar? My P4 seems to be getting slower daily!
One thing I would like to add. Get these rubber fan "screws". They come in packs of 4, to install a fan. The idea is that they absorb all vibrations. They are very inexpensive (<1 pound/$), and does a major improvement in reducing computer noise. Be sure to install them for your case fans BEFORE installing any hardware, you'll need every mm of space. They are a pain to install. But the results are definitely worth it. Usually fans comes with them. So if you plan to replace case fans, you should have them. Else than that, you better get some, to replace the screws.
Have you seen the case in real life or just pictures? I recently bought one after seeing it, but was convinced i wasn't going to get one from the online pictures. About the depth, fair enough, although its a pretty standard depth. Any depth added by the front door is taken away with the sideways hard drive bays. I downsized from an antec 1200 which was ridiculously big.
If you want quiet computing.. you need the door to cut noise out. All ultra quiet cases have it. If you not interested in ultra quiet cases (meaning you'll need to invest more on better fans, quieter HDD (so perhaps change the Seagate 1TB HDD, with the Samsung SpinPoint series (faster too), or similar performance but even quieter the Western Digital Caviar Black 7200RPM 1TB HDD (P.S: I hate Seagate HDDs, reminds me of Maxtor)) - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D is a good case as well, all by looking super nice. Very good. What do you mean? It's on the page where you want to order the product? If you can wait for your system, isn't Ivy Bridge coming up later this year. You can possibly get the new Nvidia card and new Intel CPU. Correct me if I am wrong, guys.
The HX650 is a huge step up from your previous choice of PSU. As for the rest of your build, if I were you I'd go for the Sandy Bridge (2500k would be best for your needs/budget) as Ivy could be pretty pricey unless you want to wait an extra couple months for the prices to smooth down... As regards graphics cards I'd hold out till Keplar if you have the patience, I imagine Nvidia will be trying to get out their mid/high range cards out ASAP so Ati doesn't have too easy a time soaking up sales atm. Plus worse case scenario when they're released you can go for some of this gen's cards (for cheaper )
