System for under £400

[manda]

I've just been asked by my dad to build him a PC. We don't need a case or a monitor. It does need to be overclockable though.

It won't be a gaming rig, so the graphics card doesn't have to be anything special.

Has anyone got any ideas, I basically want the best rig for the money.

Thanks

[staffsMike]

What does he do with it though, for example does it need to be super quiet, play blu ray? Does it need a quad core?

With £400 with limited graphics and no case I would build this,

Intel E5200 ~ £55 with scythe Ninja II ~£30 (if it fits in the case)
4GB PC6400 ~£40
Biostar P45 ~£75 (loads of overclocking headroom with that chip)
640GB WD or Sammy HDD ~£45
Optical ~£15
HD3450 graphics ~£25
Corsair 450W VX PSU ~£45

Comes to £330 so up to you if you want to try and squeeze a quad into the budget.

But you could save some money with this mobo with integrated graphics
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?W...cro+ATX%2c+VGA

[manda]

Thanks for that.

I modded an old server case a couple of years ago and my dad has been obsessed ever since, so i've got to build him a case, he won't really use it for anything special, mainly surfing and watching DVD's.

[staffsMike]

The above will do very nicely for that and will be near silent depending on the case really

[manda]

Intel E5200 ~ £55 with scythe Ninja II ~£30 (if it fits in the case)
4GB PC6400 ~£40
Biostar P45 ~£75 (loads of overclocking headroom with that chip)
640GB WD or Sammy HDD ~£45
Optical ~£15
HD3450 graphics ~£25
Corsair 450W VX PSU ~£45

Thats a nice little bundle for the money, but my dad's decided now that he wants XP as well, just to cause more problems, so what would you recommend saving money on?

sorry to be a pain.

Thanks for your help

[matty-hodgson]

Thats a nice little bundle for the money, but my dad's decided now that he wants XP as well, just to cause more problems, so what would you recommend saving money on?

sorry to be a pain.

Thanks for your help

just go for the same.. but get 64 bit Windows XP?
or even if you don't go with 64 bit XP, you'll still get 3.25GB memory and it'll be very quick

[Webby]

A bit of a slant on the build Mike suggested,

MB - Biostar 790GX - £68 http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=911394
CPU - X2 5200+ 2.7GHz - £52 http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=632504

It has integrated graphics which are the very best you can buy and are probably on a par with the 3450. The 5200 should overclock a fair way (not that it will really need to for the things you hae stated the PC will be for).

Total saving assuming Mikes rough prices are correct still ~£35 you could also drop the after market cooling from the Ninja to the Xigmatek S963 costs £16 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigmatek-HDT-S963 so a saving of ~£14 or you could just use the stock cooler and save the full £30.

[staffsMike]

I went with Intel due to the (it has to be overclockable part) but of course AMD is a better option due to it's IGP.

You could save a little more on the intel build using the Abit IP-35 dark raider on scan for about £65.

The difference is, clock for clock the intel is almost certainly faster and the intel has at least 900MHz left in it. The AMD might get to.. 3.0Ghz if it's a brisbane though.

[aidanjt]

The difference is, clock for clock the intel is almost certainly faster and the intel has at least 900MHz left in it. The AMD might get to.. 3.0Ghz if it's a brisbane though.

They're neck and neck in native mode.

[manda]

Thanks again,

He doesn't want to overclock it for any reason other that to show off to his friends that I can do it, yes, he really is that childish.

Anyway, I've managed to sort the components out, he's really tight with his case so everything has had to be alot cheaper that I originally thought. By the look of things hes getting:

GA-P31-DS3L
e2160
Arctic cooling freezer 7 pro
Generic 6400 ram
512MB Palit/XVision 8400GS
250GB Maxtor
Dvd-rw
Generic PSU
CoolDrive 5
Scan 90 in 1 card reader
wireless keyboard and mouse
19" hard glass tft monitor
4 120mm fans
xp

All for £420.

I know its far from brilliant but, its all there for the money he wants to spend.

[Webby]

I really would consider switching the CPU, motherboard, graphics and PSU to the following

CPU: AMD X2 5000+ - £45 (today only)
Motherboard: Biostar 790GX - £68
Graphics: Non-required
PSU: Enermax Pro82+ 385W - £41

If you change nothing else please please please get the better PSU its the most important component in the whole system.

Oh and if you post 5 more constructive posts you will qualify for free delivery from Scan which will save you ~£10.

[staffsMike]

I agree with webby that Intel system has slipped beyond worthwhile now. The AMD system saves money in all the right area's and it will teach him to overclock like a man lol

Agreed again, his mates will be really impressed... when the PSU performs a fireworks display.

[manda]

Trust me i know exactly what you are saying, that is the way I would go but he wont listen to me. Thing is the extra £20 it would cost with those components he wont pay. I have explained about the PSU but he wont listen to that either.

I guess thats the fun of building to a budget for someone else.

And it wont be him doing the overclocking, it'll be me.

[Webby]

Its quite simple really tell him that you won't build it unless he accepts that you know best and that a better PSU is not a luxury but a necessity.

Try this board instead integrated graphics is still very good and saves ~£15 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146837 which means that were only £5 more and definitely worth it.

[staffsMike]

Well if he's not overclocking it himself there just get the AMD and say.. look.. I got it to 2.7GHz.. healthy overclock for a 1.8Ghz chip

[manda]

Thanks for the advice, the AMD plan sounds good

Just want to get the thing built now, can't beat playing with hardware!