Help me create a build

[Mit321]

Don't really want to spend over £900 if possible, even less would be great.

Already have a Samsung 226CW (22" 1680x1050), Speakers a mouse and Keyboard.

Need a small case (while staying ATX) so am going for this:

Lian Li PC-A05B
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1067.html

But scan is my preferred retailer.

Right now i'm still playing BF2142 and would quite like to play it on High with Full AA and 1680x1050 res. So the main use of my computer will be mid-range gaming.

I'm guessing a Dual Core is best bet for me, 4GB Ram and Windows 64bit?

Thanks,

Tim

[staffsMike]

Scan have the case (on pre-order)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...luminium-Black

Nice case, slightly odd layout but it's cramming a lot in. Personally I'd go uATX, saves on more space and gives graphics cards better cooling as that case can make them struggle.

I would build this,

E5200 ~£60 + xigmatec/scythe cooler ~£25 - £30
4GB PC6400 ~£36 (ebuyer, crucial ballistix.. good stuff)
Biostar P45 ~£80
Lian Li A05B ~£60
Enermax Modu82+ 425W (or Proe82+) £50
HIS Hd4850 ~£120
640GB WD AAKS/Caviar Blue ~£50
Optiarc DVD ~£15

That's around £500 and will be overclockable to 3.0GHz+ and quiet too.

What I would actually do though is go uATX AMD, get a phenom II quad core and keep the rest the same. That will be about £100 more but a beast for a long time. Change the case for an Antec NSK3480, silverstone tj08 or Antec P180 mini

[Mit321]

I don't need the case to be any smaller if anything I would like it to be slightly bigger its just my desk limits the height to about 400mm.

Any ideas on the rest of the hardware?

[staffsMike]

Yep lots of ninja edits above.

[Mit321]

Would it be worth going for a E8400 instead? and how about a Corsair 500w PSU.

[Blitzen]

Would it be worth going for a E8400 instead? and how about a Corsair 500w PSU.

1. Not really...The 5200 is a very good CPU
2. The Enermax unit Mike mentioned is a better unit than the Corsair EVERY time.

[Mit321]

Ok, I'll try and put a Scan list togther, put does that look like the best list for me? No Video encoding or anything like that just Game playing and music listening

[Mit321]

Also with that Mobo is Biostar reputable I was thinking of one of the more well known brands

[Mit321]

Also sorry to add another post but won't I need a slightly beefier PSU for the 4850 + i might want to upgrade it in the future.

[Pob255]

Well you really should need any more power than that for a single graphics card, but if you're that worried you could go for the 525w enermax
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard
I would go for a modular in a smaller case, which you are going to be limited to by a max height of 400mm (that's probably the biggest pain)

Apart from that Lian-Li you're looking at an mATX case as ATX midi cases generally start around 450mm tall
As scan don't have it in stock you'd have to go elseware for one.
(unfortunately the antec 180 mini is too tall so that's out)

If you want to stick with intel cpu then you may want to look at the DFI Jr p45 probably the best mATX socket 775 motherboard
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/DFI-J...SATA-RAID-uATX
(again not in stock )

One final note you may want to consider a bolt through kit or cpu cooler which comes with one rather than push pins, esp if you're useing a large aftermarket cpu cooler.

[Mit321]

I pretty much wanna defo stick with full ATX, theres a 128page thread on the [H]ard forum on the case and it seems to fit everything you need.

I'm pretty much set on that and the ram and the graphics card and the harddrive that Staffsmike suggested just not sure about the Mobo,Cpu and PSU

[Mit321]

Case: Lian-Li PC-A05B £58.72 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...luminium-Black

PSU: 525W Enermax MODU82 £73.01 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard

Isn't the cost of this overkill for the system i'm getting?

RAM: Crucial 4GB (2X2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Ballistix Memory £35.42 Inc vat
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143844

GPU: XAE/48500+T352-PM9048 - 512MB Palit HD 4850, PCI-E 2.0(x16), 1986MHz GDDR3, GPU 625MHz, 800 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ HDTV, HDCP £118.80 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...VI-I-HDTV-HDCP

HDD: 640 GB Western Digital WD6400AAKS Caviar Blue, SATA 300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms £55.99 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/640-G...MB-Cache-89-ms

[staffsMike]

Yes very much so but the 425W doesn't seem to exist anymore

[Mit321]

So what would u recommend instead, considering I may want to upgrade to more powerful tech in the future.

[Mit321]

Case: Lian-Li PC-A05B £58.72 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...luminium-Black

PSU: 525W Enermax MODU82 £73.01 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard

Isn't the cost of this overkill for the system i'm getting?

RAM: Crucial 4GB (2X2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Ballistix Memory £35.42 Inc vat
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143844

GPU: XAE/48500+T352-PM9048 - 512MB Palit HD 4850, PCI-E 2.0(x16), 1986MHz GDDR3, GPU 625MHz, 800 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ HDTV, HDCP £118.80 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...VI-I-HDTV-HDCP

HDD: 640 GB Western Digital WD6400AAKS Caviar Blue, SATA 300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms £55.99 Inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/640-G...MB-Cache-89-ms

Updated List what do you think of the GPU, + still need recommendations on PSU, Mobo and CPU

[Kurshu]

E5200
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...B-Cache-Retail

This would be a fine cpu for what you want, it is easily overclockable to 3ghz and you should have no trouble running BF2142. If you want to spend more money go for one of the later versions, but you shouldn't need it.