Hello all, My first post here as I am looking to build my first PC. I'm hoping some of you experienced custom PC builders will be able to advise me on some good hardware to suit my needs. I have copied the template from the Custom Build Advice thread sticky so here goes: Budget: My budget is around £600 (Not including monitors, keyboard, mouse etc.). I'm pretty flexible with this but in reality I don't need a super duper does everything PC so £600 should suffice. Main uses of intended build: For the last few years I've been teaching myself how to trade shares and currencies (forex), and now I'd like to build a dedicated trading PC with 3 screens. My requirements are - Support for at least 3 monitors, Fast as possible for budget, quiet. That's about it. I don't need much storage space as I'll be using another computer for pictures/videos/etc. Parts required: I have an old Shuttle PC somewhere that my grandad built me years ago. It died though and I'm not sure which parts work so I don't know what, if anything I should salvage. I could use the CD/DVD drive from that I guess although it is black and I was looking at a white case but we'll see.... Previous build information (list details of parts): N/A Monitor resolution: I'm not really clued up on resolutions and the like but I am planning on using three of these monitors: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002QQUS...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B002QQUS7G Storage requirements: I don't need much storage at all. I'm going to try and keep this PC free of everything other than my trading software and files which is not a lot. will you be overclocking: yes/no (delete as required) I don't know much about overclocking and so I think I'd like to leave the system to run as it was intended without boosting it up. I believe this can void warranties and put extra strain on some parts (could be wrong though!). But no I don't fancy overclocking. Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Like I say, I need 3 monitors so it must either have on board graphics and space for a graphics card, OR space for 2 graphics cards, Or one with 3 outputs? Maybe someone could advise me on the best route to go with this!? Extra information about desired system: I'm not currently into gaming but if I can build a PC with a decent enough spec I might get a few games for it also. I guess RAM is important for that and processor speed? I have bought custom PC magazine and have been looking at their 'Budget PC' setup which looks pretty good and is £601 so fits my budget almost perfectly! The only thing is the processor is Intel Pentium G6950 which I believe is a 2.8Ghz processor. Isn't this pretty slow? I mean most of the PC's I've been reading about are at least 3 and the norm seems around 3.2, 3.3. Is this the best I can get with my £600 budget? Ok, well that is all for now, I'd really appreciate some advice because like I say, I'm pretty clueless about all of this but I'm really keen to learn and do what is takes to build my custom PC! Any questions please ask. Thanks in advance all. Cheers, Sam.
welcome to the forums... pretty standard build around here is a sandybridge...should be able to hit your budget... take a look at the following and price it up on scan or something -intel i5-2500 -p67 or h67 mobo...gigabyte or asus p8p67 seem to be the favorites...p67 gives you the option of getting an unlocked chip for overclocking in the future, h67 gives you ability to use sandybridge's onboard gpu -any cheap 2x4 gb set of ram...corsair seems to be the choice as well, preferably something with low heat sinks -no need for a cpu cooler really...intel's stock units aren't that loud and will keep the cpu cool enough -antec 100 -good psu...i recommend corsair, seasonic, some antecs...xfx look for around 400 watts or more, modular if you want it, 80+ -500 gb to 1 tb hdd - i prefer wd caviar blacks...samsung spinpoints... -ati 5850 or 6950 1 gb (maybe go as low as the 6790 if the price is right) should do fine and give you eyefinity (multiple monitors) -dvd or blueray drive... should put you under budget...
First place to start is the Fractal R3 anyways. Maybe an AMD 955 4gb of ram and see if you can get in a SSD Like this: Might be worth getting a board with sata 6gbs though.
Murrant builds looks good. Will run nice and quiet while the SSD will mean you can go from cold boot to forex in <30 seconds.
Hi guys, thanks for the great replies. A few of the terms go straight over my head though! Murraynt, why do you say the first place to start is the fractal R3? Is this just your favorite case or is there another reason for choosing it? As a matter of fact I did look at this case already and I like it but in white. I also like this case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-224-CM&utm_source=froogle Would that one be ok? As for a SSD, that is a solid state hard drive right? What advantages does that have over a....erm.... non solid state one?! Is it just faster? I'm sure I read somewhere that they can become slower over time or something? As for the graphics card you suggested, the XFX HD5750, in the latest copy of Custom PC they have reviewed the XFX HD5770 and it got a good rating. It's not a great deal more money, would it be worth going for that instead or would it not make much difference? Also would I need 2 of these to have 3 monitors as it only has 2 outputs, or will I just have to use an output from the motherboard as well? Also in the review, it says it can be used for a twin card cross fire setup... What is on of those?! And what did you mean by this "Might be worth getting a board with sata 6gbs though."? Really sorry for all the questions, like I say I'm a complete beginner! Finally, it looks like you missed RAM from your recommendations. Any suggestions? Cheers, Sam.
Things move so fast on this forum I can't seem to get any follow up to this thread and I can't send PM's either! Can anyone help me answer my above questions or maybe someone would be kind enough to PM murryant for me and ask him to check this thread. I can't PM yet as I don't have enough posts. Thanks in advance. Sam.
You've got to have spent more time here and have more posts to send PMs - it stops spam (not that you are, but it's the rule of thumb). I would read the buyers guide and aim this for your budget. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2011/05/10/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-may-2011/3 Go ahead and read reviews around the hardware in the buyers guide - see the prices, then spec up your machine and post it here for comment. You need to have the idea yourself first and more people will reply As for SSDs - yes they are a LOT faster and more responsive. They are a great upgrade if you can afford one, even if you just buy a 64GB one for a few programs and the OS, then use a normal hard drive for storage and games.
OK mate! First of all, if you want to run 3 panels at the same time ideally you'll need to use an ATI card and ATIs Eyefinity technology. One of the monitors has to be connected via 'displayport' (which is like the new DVI) The one Murray suggested would be great for this. Just make sure whatever monitor you buy also has a Displayport input! I wouldn't bother upgrading to the 5770 if you aren't doing any gaming. You can run 3 panels using an Nvidia card, but you'll need to run two in SLI (running two of the same card together). ATIs version of this is called Crossfire - in answer to your question. The Fractal R3 is a great case, very well made and very quiet. If your going to be working on this computer, thats probably pretty important! If you don't need much storage, definitely go for an SSD - it will mean a very fast boot time, as well as hugely fast application load times etc etc! SSDs do slow down over time, but Windows 7 now supports TRIM, which minimises this massively, and you'll hardly notice any difference at all. The thing to remember is that an SSD will always be massively massively quicker than an HD at everyday tasks. Don't worry about the SATA 6Gbps comment too much - a SATA port connects a DVD/Hard drive to the motherboard, there are different speeds, 6Gbps is the current fastest, but in reality the step down - 3Gbps is so fast you'll probably not notice too much difference in real world use.
Slightly off. you simply need 2 Nvidia cards they dont have to be the same and do not have to be SLI'd for multiple monitors. You only NEED the sli when looking to use 3 screens as 1 display i.e like eyefinity.
Hi Bindi, Thanks for the reply. Ok I'm going to post up a spec based on all the recommendations I've had so far and see what people think. Might take me a while though as I'm baffled by all this stuff! Definitely sounds like a SSD is the way to go though! Cheers, Sam.
Note that the preferred screens linked to in the first post have HDMI only (no display port) - so two cards are needed plus an adapter. Otherwise different monitors, although I suspect that these were chosen for their White finish.
Hey Parge, Again, thanks for the reply. So is using an ATI card and Eyefinity the only way to have 3 monitors or is just what you consider to be the best way? I thought the one Murryant suggested was a XFX card and not an ATI, or are they different things? Fractal R3 sounds like the way to go then and I do like the white one so I think I'll go with that. Same with SSD, I don't need much storage just speed so that sounds ideal... Why is it that they slow over time though? Also, what is your opinion on motherboard and processor? Stick with murryants suggestions? Cheers, Sam.
XFX are an ATI partner - so it's the same thing ASUS are also an ATI partner FYI 3 monitors is just easier with AMD you only need one card and the drivers support it well and it's easy to setup. SSDs will potentially slow because they have a technical limitation. Modern SSDs have advanced compensation techniques (called TRIM) that work to get around it but serious issues will take YEARS to manifest so don't worry. My current SSD has been running for 2 years solid and it still has great performance. 3.3GHz Intel Core i5-2500K without a shadow of a doubt. It'll be a LOT faster. Drop it into an ASUS P8P67 and you'll be laughing: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2011/01/12/asus-p8p67-review/1 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/07/how-to-overclock-the-intel-core-i5-2500k/1
ATI cards are easier for 3 screens, since you only have to use one card rather than two (with Nvidia). Btw: more info on Eyefinity here So just to clarify: Two people design GPU's - ATI (now AMD) and Nvidia. They then sell the GPUs to their partners, who make the rest of the board (called, 'Board partners). So a card can be an ATI card, made by XFX for example. The most popular board partners are probably, XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, Palit, Asus, Gigabyte, Gainward and Point of View. In regards to SSDs - the other good thing about them is that they produce far less heat and noise than traditional hard drives. Murrays suggestions for CPU and Motherboard are good. Intel CPUs are far faster than AMDs at the moment, but also cost a lot more, and in all liklihood, the extra speed won't benefit you that much more outside of playing games or encoding videos etc etc. When it comes to CPUs there are two things to think about, number of cores, and clockspeed. The more the better is usually the rule but it does depend on what you are doing. So for example: A game may run faster on a dual core CPU that has a clockspeed of 3Ghz, than a quad core CPU that has a clockspeed of only 2Ghz. However, another piece of software may run better on the 2GHZ quad core because it has been designed to take advantage of CPUs with more than two cores (we call this a 'multithreaded application'). Personally, I'd probably go with the CPU that has already been recommended since your budget isn't particularly tight and it'll future proof you somewhat (as more and more things are taking advantage of CPUs having 4 cores or more). Though I can't prove it, if you go on Newegg and look at the reviews on that motherboard, there are quite a few complaints that it has died. Personally I'd go with a different one. If you do go with that CPU you'll need a compatible motherboard - AM3 - are the ones your looking for. Asus or Gigabyte are very reliable motherboard brands and since you won't be overclocking, most things will do. This or this would be my choices. If you copy and paste the model number and name of the motherboard into google along with the word 'review' you should be able to read a few reviews. I'll be back on later tonight or tomorrow morning to answer any more questions you have
hello boyz am new member here my own home made pc is finish so awsome xd Present hardware Asrock p55 ekstreme bios rev2.70 soket 1156 cpu core i7 860 ocz gold 8gb (2133) ocz ssd agility2 (64gig) raid0 for OS ocz ssd summit only running GAMEZ Asus engtx 460 1024mb x2 in sli mode ..... defrindt bios rev one those hmmm advice please western digital black caviar 1tb x2 for savings like blueray flikz! and my flac soundz barracuda 320 gig only for download linksys pci dual band N wifi (wmp600n) one ratech original chip driver sunbeamtech cabinet sweet awsome **** best most stable setup i have ever made after my sli setup i found out that nvidea under clocks there cards out off the box! so now it runs whit a bit off a twist msi afterburner 2.1.0 did it for me gpu core clock 775 men clock 2000 shader clock 1550 core voltage on deafult 0.99 fan speed 100procent at all timez all my games run like a charme battelfield2 steam an so one! but one thats crysis 2 exe and menu looks fine but in game colers ****t up am so sad hehehe well am out of here
Hi Parge, Thanks again for the brilliant reply - you did a good job of dumbing things down for me! You know I didn't even realize that AMD Phenom was quad core until you pointed it out! So all in all murryant has suggested me a great setup - is there anything you would change? What about the motherboard? You gave a couple of suggestions, would you favor those over the one murryant suggested (MSI was it?)? Also, other than what has already been suggested, what else would I need to have a fully functioning system? Obviously, keyboard, mouse, monitors, operating system (I'm guessing Windows 7 is the only way to go with that?) but do I need to purchase any extra cables, fans, etc? How long would you expect it to take me, a complete beginner to built? I've watched a few videos on how to do it and it doesn't look too difficult but I'm sure the guys make it look easy! Oh and am I able to use those Benq Eco monitors I linked with that graphics card and eyefinity? Cheers, Sam.
