£150 build

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13-01-2009, 12:27 PM
mehmeh

£150 build

Hey all.
Knocking together my Granddad a base unit for internet type use. He's been on an old PII 200mhz I gave him instead of the bin for over a year now and deffo time for an upgrade now hes got into it all. Challenge is, I wanna bring the whole system in under £150. He has Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor. OS not required.

So far I've come up with this...

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...rris9/hmmm.jpg

+ Ram.. (PNY 2GB £11.99 still on offer at play.com unless anyone knows cheaper)

+ Case/PSU.. I guess any old cheapo case/PSU combo will do. My build gives me £25 to play with so not really enough for anything amazing, but will happily push the budget for something a bit better than a £20 jobbey from Ebuyer. Case has to be black.

Any thoughts? input? something I've not considered?

Thanks all. :)
13-01-2009, 12:40 PM
kalniel

Re: £150 build

Does it have to be a new computer? You'd probably be able to find something much better second hand.
13-01-2009, 01:02 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalniel

Does it have to be a new computer? You'd probably be able to find something much better second hand.

Agreed, could get something higher spec'd s/h, but in this instance something new and shiney is part of the alure. Plus less grief and warranty on stuff helps me out. :)
13-01-2009, 01:35 PM
shbris

Re: £150 build

for only a few quid more you could double the harddrive, might not need it all but might as well
13-01-2009, 01:58 PM
Webby

Re: £150 build

You could have the same size 80GB hard drive made by Samsung from Scan for £22 ;) You could also save a couple of £ on the motherboard, CPU and DVD at Scan.

Still only leaves you £35 for a case & PSU though and I can't find one I would recommend for that money.
13-01-2009, 02:12 PM
CAT-THE-FIFTH

Re: £150 build

You can get a cheapo brand new G31 based motherboard for under £25 delivered off Ebay. You can also get a secondhand E2140 or E2160 for under £30 from Ebay or a single core Celeron 420 or 440 for under 20 quid. If you are lucky you could get new CPUs at this price too! :)

This will save you £35 to £45.
13-01-2009, 02:30 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webby

You could have the same size 80GB hard drive made by Samsung from Scan for £22 ;) You could also save a couple of £ on the motherboard, CPU and DVD at Scan.

Still only leaves you £35 for a case & PSU though and I can't find one I would recommend for that money.

Serves me right for being lazy, find it easier to spec on Ebuyer.. Thanks as always, Webby. :)

So switched to the Samsung drive you advised, nice saving there :D and also swapped for a LG DVD drive, another £1.50 saved w00t! Will deffo grab this little lot from Scan then.

So with Ram comes to £114.73.

What if we looked at it another way, the quality of the actual case is unimportant, but I'd like atleast a semi decent PSU as I've learned that lesson the hard way... TWICE!

£20-£30 for a remotetly decent PSU? (considered the FSP 700W, but not on offer and seems insane overkill)

What abouts...

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/350W-...ATA-80plus-Eff
or
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/350W-...ltra-Quiet-Fan

Atleast they're branded (leaning towards the Silverstone tbh) and I could throw them in a ten quid case for a few quid over the £150 target.
13-01-2009, 03:02 PM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

They are both older design psu's but should be ok
Some cheap cases look quite nice, only when you have to build in them it shows (don't forget to add a box of sticky plasters into the price ;) )

Or how about his current case? for £10 you could get some sand paper and a can of black spray paint ;)
13-01-2009, 03:18 PM
shbris

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehmeh

(considered the FSP 700W, but not on offer and seems insane overkill)[/I]

100 w would probably be overkill for this rig. its hard to recommend any power supply under 30 quid though
13-01-2009, 04:08 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pob255

They are both older design psu's but should be ok
Some cheap cases look quite nice, only when you have to build in them it shows (don't forget to add a box of sticky plasters into the price ;) )

Older design? All I can see missing from my prefference the Silverpower is 8pn EPS and 8pin PCIe? :O_o1:

I've actually got quite good at working on cheapo cases over the years, trick is to put the Plasters on before you start! :D

With the little adjustments and Scan prices, I can work £30+ for a PSU into the budget? Just dont want it to start getting silly as its only a basic machine, never likely to see an upgrade tbh. Just something decent enough not to take everything with it if/when it explodes would make me a happy man. :)
13-01-2009, 04:31 PM
Webby

Re: £150 build

I would consider the Silverstone ST350F £28 good solid unit only down side is the lack f PCIe connector but since the is no graphics card and no plans to ever include one that is really a moot point.
13-01-2009, 07:56 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

mmhmmm just read the specs again and noticed that. No a big deal, but seems odd to have not included one, what PSU doesnt these days?! :O_o1: Read a few reviews of both and now not so sure, as the Akaska seems to be decent aswell, but gets knocked for its passive APC. tbh think I've giving this way to much thought as usual, either one will get the job done and as the Silverstone has recieved the Webby seal of approval, thats good enough for me. :D

Will get all this ordered up tomorrow then, just waiting for him to get back to me with his case chioce, he's like the proverbial kid in a sweet shop LOL!

Cheers as always to all. :)
15-01-2009, 12:13 AM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Hmmm still unsure and didnt get around to ordering today. Had an email from novatech...

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...html?CM-ELITEP <--- Very tempted by that bundle and will bring me in ten quid over budget. Figure the case is a step up from cheapo rubbish. Anyone have any expereince of Coolmaster PSU's? Notice they have quite an extensive range, but cant find allot of reviews or info on this 460W jobbey... Even knowing who the OEM is would be a start!
15-01-2009, 12:42 AM
CAT-THE-FIFTH

Re: £150 build

Ebuyer do the same combo for £53 including free postage:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101
15-01-2009, 12:53 AM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

Like I said both of these (sliverstone and Akasa, no silverpower mentioned) are older designs and units
both have been around for a few years now, will be fine for this build. :)

That's not a bad deal from novatech. :)

If your feeling lazy go for one of there cheap bundels
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s....html?BB-A422A
That'll give you £40 for a hard drive and dvd
15-01-2009, 12:59 AM
CAT-THE-FIFTH

Re: £150 build

The Silverpower SP400 is an excellent budget power supply. For under 30 quid it is great value for money. Remember there are two versions of this power supply. The later SP400P2C version has a larger fan unlike the earlier one. I have used one in a budget build for a person at work and there have been no issues so far for the last year or so.

A few reviews of the earlier version:

http://www.custompc.co.uk/labs/79280...sp-400p1b.html

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/shopper-labs/...0p1b-400w.html

http://www.trustedreviews.com/periph...p-Test-2005/p8
15-01-2009, 01:27 AM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Aye saw that, but its free postage at Novatech too once you hit £50, was gonna add a fan or something cheap and shiney with LEDs to the order. Thanks for the linkys too, hadnt considered the Silverpower tbh as never heard of them before.

Cheers for reply Pob, looked at the bundles, but only 1GB Ram is a bit tight and too many unknowns on mobo, ram and PSU etc to bother chasing it all up. Much prefer to spec it myself.

Say again, I *censored* hate PSU shopping, makes me feel like a noob :surrender: :( Am deffo going around in circles here anyway lol (sorry!). Just have zero confidence in my own ablities at choosing one since my last rig and nearly Rob too was proper roasted when the PSU went boom.

Thanks for replies you two ^^ :)
15-01-2009, 01:44 AM
CAT-THE-FIFTH

Re: £150 build

Silverpower is a part of Tagan hence they are a good brand. 1 gb of RAM would be enough if you are running XP - of course Vista would be better with 2gb of RAM!
15-01-2009, 02:21 AM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

The one I linked too is,
AMD X2 4200 2Gb DDR2 RAM AMD 690V Micro Atx Motherboard 4 Bay ATX Tower Case With 400w PSU

Although the PSU is an utter unkown, likely a El'cheapo supplied with El'cheapo case :(
15-01-2009, 03:48 AM
Biscuit

Re: £150 build

I have found microdirect to be really good for super cheapo componants however their postage isnt free and a lot of the stuff seems out of stock at the moment :(
15-01-2009, 11:32 AM
s3ds

Re: £150 build

A cheap case i have used
looks ok ( daughters pc )
but watch your fingers

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135584...oduct_overview
with one of these
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...ed-cooling-fan
15-01-2009, 02:14 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pob255

The one I linked too is,
AMD X2 4200 2Gb DDR2 RAM AMD 690V Micro Atx Motherboard 4 Bay ATX Tower Case With 400w PSU

Grrr. I seem to be miss reading stuff alot lately, time for an eye test I think! Would deffo be a step backwards going with cheap case and its PSU like you say, I can get one of those from ebuyer or aria for a tenner if I wasnt stressing about it so much. (is what I always used to do!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biscuit

I have found microdirect to be really good for super cheapo componants however their postage isnt free and a lot of the stuff seems out of stock at the moment :(

Havent used them before, will have a look now. TBH everywhere seems to be iffy on stock these days. My first thought was a Sempron LE-1200 I used in a build a few months back, but only ebuyer seem to have any stock of that and for an extra tenner the proper Althon seems better value. Have heard but don\'t know if theres any truth in it, that its basically a reworked FX55/XP chip and overclocks like mad too, not that thats of any interest in this build.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s3ds

A cheap case i have used
looks ok ( daughters pc )
but watch your fingers

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135584...oduct_overview
with one of these
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...ed-cooling-fan

Thanks for the reply. Another vote for the Silverpower then. Will have to double check it'll fit with the fan sticking out at the back, as it looks like I'll be going with one of those little cube cases.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135583...roduct_reviews

Thanks for the replies all. Hopefully by this afternoon I can get this little lot ordered up and just forget about it. :D
15-01-2009, 02:38 PM
CAT-THE-FIFTH

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehmeh

Grrr. I seem to be miss reading stuff alot lately, time for an eye test I think! Would deffo be a step backwards going with cheap case and its PSU like you say, I can get one of those from ebuyer or aria for a tenner if I wasnt stressing about it so much. (is what I always used to do!)

Havent used them before, will have a look now. TBH everywhere seems to be iffy on stock these days. My first thought was a Sempron LE-1200 I used in a build a few months back, but only ebuyer seem to have any stock of that and for an extra tenner the proper Althon seems better value. Have heard but don't know if theres any truth in it, that its basically a reworked FX55/XP chip and overclocks like mad too, not that thats of any interest in this build.

Thanks for the reply. Another vote for the Silverpower then. Will have to double check it'll fit with the fan sticking out at the back, as it looks like I'll be going with one of those little cube cases.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135583...roduct_reviews

Thanks for the replies all. Hopefully by this afternoon I can get this little lot ordered up and just forget about it. :D

The older ones had the fan sticking out the back. The newer version which I used for the build at work has internal fans like most other power supplies.

Here are some pictures of the newer 400w SP400P2C version:

http://www.maxpoint.de/en/products/p...e_objectID=476

http://www.pc-coolers.ro/produs.php?id=912
15-01-2009, 05:39 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Ahhh right, thanks for that, will fit fine then. Decisions are all made, just waiting to here back on a question from Scan as might be tempted by a combo they have, but they're gonna have to be quick as wanna try and make delivery for tomorrow.

Cheers all. :)
15-01-2009, 05:41 PM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by s3ds

A cheap case i have used
looks ok ( daughters pc )
but watch your fingers

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135584...oduct_overview

I used one of thoes before to rehouse my gf's current pc.
It actually looks quite nice out side, it is very large for a cheap mid tower, but is cheap and nasty inside (like any of thoes cases)
I've been thinking of getting another to totally chop to peicess and rebuild the innards to get the layout I've always wanted at a low cost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehmeh

Thanks for the reply. Another vote for the Silverpower then. Will have to double check it'll fit with the fan sticking out at the back, as it looks like I'll be going with one of those little cube cases.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135583...roduct_reviews

Thanks for the replies all. Hopefully by this afternoon I can get this little lot ordered up and just forget about it. :D

Please please tell me what you think of that cube case, take pic's and start a build thread in the chassis & modding section
I'm currently looking at one of thoes for a HTPC for a friend.
15-01-2009, 07:38 PM
s3ds

Re: £150 build

[http://i42.tinypic.com/zydh1t.jpg
just dont look to close to the insides :P
16-01-2009, 01:38 AM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

I actually moved the mesh panel to the other side on my gf's one.
The mesh was causing the panel to twist and the whole case was twisted slightly :( although a bit of brute force and putting the mesh panel on the other side fixed *most* of that.
One foot doesn't quite sit on the floor so it rocks very slightly, I fixed that with a disk of PaxMate sound proofing stuck to each foot, also stopped it sliding on the laminate floor.

Did you have this problem?

What I've been considering is removing the motherboard tray, cutting out the back panel (so I can move the psu to the bottom and fit a removable motherboard tray) then cutting out the hard drive cage so I can fit one that's twisted through 90 degrees (ie you put the drives in from the side)
Probably need to reinforce the whole thing though.
Oh and fitting a sheet of pursplex behind the mesh like in the hipper cases.
16-01-2009, 02:37 PM
Maccer101

Re: £150 build

You could get a HHD of ebay I got a new 80gb Maxtor SataII for £15, If you went for a used 40gb IDE you'd probably find something for £10 or less.

This week I bought a 2nd hand Antec Earthwatts 430w PSU for £17 off ebay (was a low feedback seller though), but its your call if you want a new PSU.

Unforunately people bidding on ebay don't seem to have a clue about CPU prices as a Athlon LE I wanted went for more than new on Scan, crazy.. and most are on "But it Now" for high prices

Case wise keep checking Scan for deals on the CM330 as last week thay had it for £18 on today only, sure it'll come round again.
16-01-2009, 08:47 PM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

I dont have a problem with secondhand stuff in general, allthough is a pain trying to source bits from all over to put a whole system together. Just really dislike ebay. Used to be a powerseller and regulary got shafted by punters and ebay. Last time I got ripped off, swore it would be the last. :angst:

Thanks for everyones help again, case etc is all ordered up now, so hopefully throw this little lot together beginning of next week. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pob255

Please please tell me what you think of that cube case, take pic's and start a build thread in the chassis & modding section
I'm currently looking at one of thoes for a HTPC for a friend.

Will do. :) Not expecting miracles for thrity quid, but should do the job nicely.
16-01-2009, 09:31 PM
pepsi_max2k

Re: £150 build

Ok this probably won't be much use as it's based off partly ebay 2nd hand stuff, but i just bought most of a system for (hopefully) around £150, minus case / psu / HD, but something to think about...

Biostar TF8200 - mobo w/ Geforce 8200 integrated graphics @ £56 shipped on cclonline.com
cheapest decent mobo w/ integrated graphics online atm.

ATI HD8350 256MB - ~£40 on ebay, new, you can leave that out though for the integrated.

AMD 5200+ - £27 from these forums, Arctic Freezer 64 Pro can be had for £8 on ebay. Otherwise ~£40 on ebay.

Best PSU you'll get is FSP700-80GLN for ~£28 on scan, if they ever bring the price down.

Antec 300 can be had for £39.99 on ccl if you ask for it as a C3 deal, it was £34.99 a few weeks ago though. Anyway... Coolermaster Elites go on scan for ~£19 every now n then.

PNY 2GB - sorry, the Play deal's gone up to £14.99, likely to stay there due to current dram prices and credit crunch. Same sticks ~£9 on ebay though.

HDD - no idea, I've got 3 to play with, but < £30 surely.
LG DVD-RW from scan, just got it ~£12.50 on today only.

Sooo...
Case: £20
PSU: £28
Mobo: £56
Athlon 64 ~5000+: ~£35 (if ebaying one, get whatever's most available as it drives costs down)
HDD: ~£30
Optical drive, if you need it, £13
RAM: ~£20 - 25

sooo... cock. oh well, find a spare optical drive, case and HDD and you're sorted... :rolleyes: and you still need an os... ok it can't be done. maybe a 939 system? or XP?

>> Say again, I *censored* hate PSU shopping, makes me feel like a noob Am deffo going around in
>> circles here anyway lol (sorry!). Just have zero confidence in my own ablities at choosing one since
>> my last rig and nearly Rob too was proper roasted when the PSU went boom.

check out http://www.jonnyguru.com/ and forums for some excellent psu based education, or http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=108088 for a basic ranking of brand quality. FWIW Jonny isn't the biggest tagan fan (although mine's fine, but it's not like I ever tried to blow it up...), and the cheapest good quality brands you're gonna find are FSP / Fortron, and probably some antecs and enermaxs.
16-01-2009, 11:21 PM
Maccer101

Re: £150 build

Yeah I think the FSPs are the cheapest PSUs of any quality.

Ebay can be a pain you just have to "let the deals come to you" otherwise just spend another £30-£40 for the whole build and buy it new.

Cases are hard to choose plus they don't seem to get any good until you spend £60+, for budget cases I just look for a nice bezel and a 120mm rear fan
17-01-2009, 12:10 AM
Firejack

Re: £150 build

Not sure if this is too late or not. Have you considered a Netbook? Just because they are designed to be mobile doesn't mean you can't use them as a Nettop as that is all your Grandad seems to need. Several offers come along each week offering various models for around the £150. That you can then simply plug your monitor, keyboard and mouse into. I know someone using an EEE PC as a desktop to download overnight. Really cuts down on the power bills!

Such an offer this week: http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/31820...0-ab-netbook-w

Mind you that one is blue. Sure another offer will be along soon though :)
17-01-2009, 01:10 AM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

FSP do a sort of od thing, after there top end models get a couple of years old, they re-release them, in plane grey cases with un-sleaved cables for the OEM market.
Oh and the 700w fps (it's their old epslion psu given the oem treatment) is only really cheap on scan when it's on today only other wise it's £70
17-01-2009, 01:11 AM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Never too late, majority of the bits are sorted now, but still apprieate all the input guys and gals. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepsi_max2k

Best PSU you'll get is FSP700-80GLN for ~£28 on scan, if they ever bring the price down.

Have one of those in my rig atm. :) Cracking for the money, but noticed it seems to have crept up in price on today only now, shame. I reckonned on 100-150W'ish load for what I'd spec'd, 700W PSU would be insane overkill otherwise would have deffintly grabbed one!

Thank god I didnt drag my feet on the ram if its crept up in price too! £11.99 for that stuff was a bargain too! Have 2GB of that myself aswell.

OS is sorted, going with XP, allthough so taken by Windows 7, might whack that on as I know he'll lurve all the eye candy. (year ago he didnt know what a computer was, now he has broadband. youtube, listens to online radio, not bad for someone who'll be 74 this year! :D)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maccer101

Ebay can be a pain you just have to "let the deals come to you" otherwise just spend another £30-£40 for the whole build and buy it new.

People still go auction crazy then? Must admit I used to turn over some awesome profits, mainly sold on commission though. Just became a complete mindfield overtime and when they changed the feedback system, really was the straw that broke the camels back.

Never put any thought into cases lol. I buy purely based on Asthetics, how else would I have ended up with my TT Lanbox I ask you! :embarrassed: :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firejack

Not sure if this is too late or not. Have you considered a Netbook?

Not a huge fan of them as laptop or desktop replacements tbh. He's outgrown what his PII can do in a year and I fully expect him to hammering this new one pretty fast. Originally he just wanted a laptop (goes caravaning allot, was considering mobile BB etc) but he never gave me the nod to sort one and mobile BB still seems to leave allot to be desired. Spoke to him about the desktop route after he'd got a shiney new screen the other week (replacing a 14in CRT!) and he bit my hand off. I suggested budget desktop for now, something to plug his printer etc into and a huge upgrade from what he currently has. When he's away during the summer, if he finds he does want to give mobile BB etc a try, a netbook would be ideal for the task. Plus £150 desktop + £200 tops Netbook, is still cheaper than one decent laptop that will never leave the desk anyway.
17-01-2009, 01:19 AM
mehmeh

Re: £150 build

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pob255

FSP do a sort of od thing, after there top end models get a couple of years old, they re-release them, in plane grey cases with un-sleaved cables for the OEM market.
Oh and the 700w fps (it's their old epslion psu given the oem treatment) is only really cheap on scan when it's on today only other wise it's £70

oh, I had the impression, they released two versions, sorta the full fat with sleeved cables, nice paintjob etc all for the unwashed masses and an OEM version that as with all OEM is meant for the system builder market but entivebly ends up on Scan etc with all the OEM processers, HDD, etc that we shouldnt really be allowed to buy.

Eitherway a cracking PSU. When has it not been on Today Only LOL! That PSU is single handedly seeing Scan safetly through the credit crunch! ;)
17-01-2009, 01:40 AM
Pob255

Re: £150 build

*looks at current psu* Strangely enough, thoes epslions got all over the place.
Yep my OCZ gameXtream 700w is actually the same psu inside. :D and a lovely stonker of a psu it is :)
17-01-2009, 02:14 AM
Biscuit

Re: £150 build

what are they like for noise?