New i5 Build

[marshalex]

Right this is what i've managed to come up with for my brothers i5 build

MSI GD80 - £85.50

Core i5 750 - £145.48

G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit - £59.11

Coolermaster Elite 335 - £25.29

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w - £50.19

Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB - £41.59

Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE - £15.15

XFX HD 4850 XXX Edition 512MB - £79.90

Grand total of £502.21 give or take a few discounts!

The main thing I am unsure about is the case and have been looking at the Antec Three hundred (on dabs for just under £40)

Any further recommendations appreciated and apologies for keep clutting up the forum!

[Terbinator]

Seems like a solid build to me, the PSU will give you/him a degree of futureproofing as well. but like you say, your going to have to decide whether or not the Antec 300 is worth the extra £15 (YES IT IS!)

[barwell1992]

nice looks solid i would try and get a GPU with a bit more umph thogh as one of my 9800gtx+'s on its own strugles with any thing above 1600x1050

[Noxvayl]

This: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-P...I-I-HDMI-D-Sub

Or this: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...-DL-DVI-I-HDTV

Instead of the XFX HD4850. I wouldn't touch XFX with a barge pole and I think many others would agree.

If you have a few extra quid to spare with the build a HD4870 would be a much better purchase right now otherwise waiting a few weeks could prove very useful because the new series should drop prices of the old series cards nicely.

Other than that it looks like a great build. I prefer the Coolermaster 335 to the Antec 300 personally

[Phage]

Antec 300 is a fine case (I have one), but it's really a matter of personal taste between this and the coolermaster.

[marshalex]

well i like both cases but the Antec is bigger internally than the coolermaster so should give better airflow and more room to introduce a better (and probably) bigger graphics card at a later date. also on the graphics front i've seen a couple of 4870's for under £100 (Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 OC 512MB - £94.29 or Asus ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB - £96.59) Which of these would be better?

[Grymdawg]

I havent had any problems with XFX?

Wheres the XFX love?

The coolmaster 335 is an awesome case, i just finished a build with one. So its gets the +1 from me.

[marshalex]

I havent had any problems with XFX?

Wheres the XFX love?

The coolmaster 335 is an awesome case, i just finished a build with one. So its gets the +1 from me.

likewise, my GTX 260 Black has been pretty awesome so far. Think it does make sense though to get a higher spec graphics card for this system though, especially for the sake of £10

[marshalex]

will the corsair HX450 be powerful enough to power this system? I've changed the graphics card to a Powercolour 4870 OC 512mb at novatech. i quite like the idea of a 7 year warranty on this PSU as well. Thanks

[sleepyhead]

Mmmmeeehh...having an i7 860 I can tell you the stock HSF is really pants (and this is in a coolermaster ATCS 840 case). When the chance comes, jump on an aftermarket cooler at least for peace of mind.

Unless things have changed, the first time the 4850 (reference design) came out (my friend has one in his PC) the fan on it makes an annoying whining noise when loaded (ie playing games). Can't comment on the 4870. if you like and know the GTX260 (and what it can/can't do) why not get another for your brother or is budget limiting you to sub £100 cards?

Quite probable the HX450 is enough for that system. I run a HX520 and seems happy enough.

[Pob255]

The original stock 4850 single slot cooler was pritty pants, the xfx 4850 cooler is basic but very good.
Under the shroud it just a heatsink and blower like the stock cooler, however being double slot both the blower and heat sink are far larger and it vents all the hot out of the back not keeping it inside the case.

He's another sugestion for a case, alternative to the Antec 300
The new NZXT M59 £46.92
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173550
Ok some might not like the look of it, but some will prefur it to a more plane looking case the layout is good and so is the cooling, although you'd want to get an extra two 140mm fans for the top
http://www.nzxt.com/products/m59/

Google translate of a greman review
http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...v17Sw8YqC4D-Ag

[marshalex]

have to say i quite like the look of the case but i think its going to be a bit too big depth wise compared to the three hundred (crappy student rooms!) and he's not overly keen on the design either. Graphics are limited by the budget unfortunately as personally i would put a GTX 260 in there but unless one pops up sub-£100 then its going to have to be a 4870, which is on average about £20 cheaper from what i've seen. Not overly impressed at the massive price fluctuations going on as well (the g.skill memory is now £75!)

[Clunk]

Mmmmeeehh...having an i7 860 I can tell you the stock HSF is really pants (and this is in a coolermaster ATCS 840 case). When the chance comes, jump on an aftermarket cooler at least for peace of mind.

Yes, I'll vouch for that, it really is a rubbish cooler.

[kalniel]

Unless things have changed, the first time the 4850 (reference design) came out (my friend has one in his PC) the fan on it makes an annoying whining noise when loaded (ie playing games). Can't comment on the 4870.

The 4870 fan doesn't make any whine when loaded. There's a whooshing sound even when idle, but it doesn't actually change that much under load either, just slightly more of a whooshing. Mine's left at default settings though so the temperature figures might alarm some people. It's been rock solid though so presumably they knew what they were doing when setting the fan controls.

[Korky]

Hi just wondering what website your pricing from? all the same or?

[Pob255]

Yes, I'll vouch for that, it really is a rubbish cooler.

Is that basically the same half height cooler intel started useing on the pentium dual core cpu's?

Now it makes sense on a low temp, cut down core2duo but putting one on a quad core cpu
Intel must be spending all their profits on nasally imbued illicit substances.