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Thread: New Computer

  1. #1
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    New Computer

    Hey guys.

    Haven't kept up with new hardware for about a year now so a little rusty on things. Im tring to build a desktop for my cousin for about £500-£600 with the main priorities being gaming on the machine and then just general internet usage really. No overclocking etc. (he's too young to understand it properly).

    Any help would be appreciated. Cheers iKiX

  2. #2
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    Re: New Computer

    The Core i5 is being released next month however how good initial prices and availability will be is another question!! Does the build need to factor in the cost of an OS and a monitor and peripherals??

    For example if you need to include everything this is what i would get:

    AMD Athlon II X3 720 ~ £89

    http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

    4gb DDR3 ~£54

    http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

    Samsung F1 320gb hard drive ~ £33

    http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

    It is the fastest hard drive in its price range AFAIK.

    Asus M4A785TD-M EVO ~ £69

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A785TD-M-EVO

    OR

    Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P ~ £69

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/GIGAB...770T-UD3P-MOBO

    Coolermaster Elite 340 case ~ £28

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127584

    Sony SATA DVD rewriter ~ £16

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170014

    HD4870 512mb ~ £90

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167332

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169206

    Corsair HX450W modular ~ £55

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152606

    Acer V223WBBD 22" LCD monitor ~ £108

    http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx/5

    Vista Basic 64 bit ~ £62

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Micro...-OEM-%28DVD%29

    The total comes to just under £610 if the OP uses the free postage option on Ebuyer and the free postage available to Hexus members from Scan. The cost of a keyboard and mouse has not been included though.

    I would probably install Windows 7 RC1 for a few months and replace it with a retail copy of Windows 7 eventually.

    The OP could drop down to the following AM2+ motherboard and DDR2 instead to save some money though:

    Gigabyte MA770-UD3 revision 2 ~ £55

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...D3-Motherboard

    4gb PC2-8500 DDR2 ~ £43

    http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx/5

    However a DDR3 based system will offer better upgrade potential for the future if newer AMD processors become DDR3 only.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 15-08-2009 at 01:25 PM.

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    Re: New Computer

    Do you have any items already or would you need a monitor, keyboard/mouse or an OS? It's a silly question I know but thought I'd ask before making a spec

    Edit: That darned CAT!

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    Re: New Computer

    Quote Originally Posted by Mazzle View Post
    Edit: That darned CAT!

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    Re: New Computer

    Nice little setup, ebuyer and Scan these days are pretty much in line with their prices, Take for instance the chassis I got yesterday £89.82 the ebuyer and £90.89 with Scan not much of a difference.
    JONESSIE
    Never use an iPod Touch to type because you need fingers like chopsticks.

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    Re: New Computer

    Quote Originally Posted by Jonessie View Post
    Nice little setup, ebuyer and Scan these days are pretty much in line with their prices, Take for instance the chassis I got yesterday £89.82 the ebuyer and £90.89 with Scan not much of a difference.
    Yeh have been looking for a 2.5" external hard drive and prices are very similar, i do get more delivery options with ebuyer though

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    Re: New Computer

    hey i was looking around for a computer and this seems to be in my budget so i think that it will do greatly, but if i would like to overclock the would i need a better cooler for the processor and a higer watt psu?

  8. #8
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    Re: New Computer

    Quote Originally Posted by Jabra View Post
    hey i was looking around for a computer and this seems to be in my budget so i think that it will do greatly, but if i would like to overclock the would i need a better cooler for the processor and a higer watt psu?
    The PSU will be fine and the stock cooler will be enough for a small overclock.

    If you want to overclock a lot or if you can manage to unlock the X3 to an X4 quad core get one of the following coolers:

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...AM2-Cpu-cooler

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...939-940-socket

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...D-AM2754939940

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152658

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akasa...-120mm-PWM-fan

    I would look to get the Akasa Nero AK967 which IMHO is the best AMD air cooler under £30.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 16-08-2009 at 03:18 PM.

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    Re: New Computer

    will unlocking the 4th core work on the Asus M4A785TD-M EVO motherboard?

  10. #10
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    Re: New Computer

    Quote Originally Posted by Jabra View Post
    will unlocking the 4th core work on the Asus M4A785TD-M EVO motherboard?
    In theory it should work.

    However I would go for this ATX Asus motherboard as it has 8+2 phase power regulation like the Gigabyte has:

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...-SATA-RAID-VGA

    The Gigabyte is available from Ebuyer:

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167782


    8+2 phase power will be better for overclocking especially if the X3 processor can be unlocked to an X4 as power consumption will increase. The Gigabyte is known to be good for overclocking and unlocking but there are not so many reviews available for the Asus motherboard as it is much newer.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 16-08-2009 at 07:58 PM.

  11. #11
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    Re: New Computer

    Thanks, how easy is it to unlock the 4th core? also are there any guides that i can follow when unlocking the 4th core .

  12. #12
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    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
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    Re: New Computer

    Quote Originally Posted by Jabra View Post
    Thanks, how easy is it to unlock the 4th core? also are there any guides that i can follow when unlocking the 4th core .
    Unlocking is not a given but some people on Hexus have got it to work with both the X2 550 and X3 720 so it is worth a try.

    This guide may help you:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...m-ii,2273.html

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