Advice on components for a new rig.

[Kilty]

Hey guys,

I used to post a long time ago, before getting shoved into a hospital for some time. And I'm back to leech some advice of your very talented selves!

Ok, so basically I'm looking to spend maybe £400-£500 on a new rig. I'm quite a big gamer but I want to keep cost to a minimum. I have a list of components, all from ebuyer, that I would very much like your opinion's on. I am quite keen to build a rig based on the Intel Core i5:

Coolermaster Elite 330 Case With Coolermaster eXtreme Power 460W PSU (£49.98)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101

Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor: (£145.72)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755

G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V (£82.08)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490

Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L P55 Socket 1156 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard (£73.86)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/174499

Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue (£35.42)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228

Sony AD7241S 24x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer & RAM Burner + LightScribe Black Bare Drive - OEM (£18.70)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165168

All in 1 Internal Card Reader Plus One USB2.0 Port (Black) (£5.35)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/108453

Total cost of above components: £411.11

I have an an Ati x1950pro which I intend to use as my graphics card until prices and availability on the current generation of cards suits me more.

I think all the components are compatible, but I'm not really sure about each individual component. Could I do better?

For instance, is the motherboard suitable. I'm not entirely sure what features I can expect, or would I require from more expensive ones. Is the case and power supply ok, or not really up to standard?

Any thoughts at all, or recommendations or perhaps anything I am missing excluding the graphics card?

Cheers! =]

[Iron Sights]

How about a monitor or OS?

I ask because when it comes to building a rig you need to take everything into consideration. The gpu you choose will depend on what resolution you game at. Also bear in mind that higher end graphics cards may need a better psu than the one you listed

[Kilty]

How about a monitor or OS?

I ask because when it comes to building a rig you need to take everything into consideration. The gpu you choose will depend on what resolution you game at. Also bear in mind that higher end graphics cards may need a better psu than the one you listed

I will be using a 17" TFT. So a maximum reso of 1280 x 1024?

My x1950pro shouldn't really have many issues until I get a new card. I was eyeing up the HD 5000 series, but want to hold off for now.

As for the OS, I didn't mention anything regarding that, so my apologies. I think my intention is to buy Windows 7, but then I imagine I could possibly have some driver issues for my current card?

I have little experience with the 64 bit platform.

Cheers!

[MrM]

I agree with Iron Sights, the PSU is the only potential weakness. You are going to want to build in overhead for your future GPU upgrade.

I advise that you use the PSU Calculator here: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Factor in what you think you might have in the system in a year or two from now so you can have a conservative estimate of your power needs.

Otherwise the choices look very sensible to me. You've got some real bargains there.

[Iron Sights]

The i5 750 is a good cpu but since your going purely for a gaming pc have you also considered going for a am3 build, it will probabily work out cheaper leaving you more money for better gpu.

[Kilty]

I agree with Iron Sights, the PSU is the only potential weakness. You are going to want to build in overhead for your future GPU upgrade.

I advise that you use the PSU Calculator here: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Factor in what you think you might have in the system in a year or two from now so you can have a conservative estimate of your power needs.

Otherwise the choices look very sensible to me. You've got some real bargains there.

Ah the good old PSU calculator! Using it, even with gtx 280 in sli, I'm not hitting 500w.

Cheers guys. Will I have any driver issues with Windows 7 and my x1950?

Could I do better anywhere? Any advice or thoughts in general?

Really appreciate it thanks!

[MrM]

Ah the good old PSU calculator! Using it, even with gtx 280 in sli, I'm not hitting 500w.

Cheers guys. Will I have any driver issues with Windows 7 and my x1950?

Could I do better anywhere? Any advice or thoughts in general?

Really appreciate it thanks!

No problem. Ebuyer prices tend to be very competitive, you might save a few quid by going to different places, but it's probably easiest just to order it all together - rather than having certain components taking longer than others to arrive.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Here is an alternate build spec:

AMD Phenom II X4 955BE ~ £118

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164047

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P~ £66

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

4GB DDR3 ~ £82

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £19

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165168

Card reader ~ £5

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/108453

Casecom 6788 case ~ £25

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172779

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £37

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500Gb...-Cache-8ms-OEM

This is a single platter hard drive which is much faster than the Caviar Blue you have specced.

500W Silverstone Strider ST50F-230 ~ £48

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

Windows 7 retail ~ £90

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Micro...-32-and-64-Bit

Unlike the OEM versions this can be reinstalled if needed.

Remember you can free postage from Scan as you are a Hexus member with 20+ posts so I would try to get this activated.

Also the PSU you have specced is not really that great a choice if you intend to be building a gaming computer. Just looking at the wattage of a PSU means nothing - you need to look at the number of amps available on the 12 volt lines and reviews of the PSU to gauge if it is upto the task. The Coolermaster PSU also can only actually provide 430W and only has a passive PFC.

[Kilty]

Here is an alternate build spec:

AMD Phenom II X4 955BE ~ £118

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164047

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P~ £66

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

4GB DDR3 ~ £82

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £19

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165168

Card reader ~ £5

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/108453

Casecom 6788 case ~ £25

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172779

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £37

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500Gb...-Cache-8ms-OEM

This is a single platter hard drive which is much faster than the Caviar Blue you have specced.

500W Silverstone Strider ST50F-230 ~ £48

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

Windows 7 retail ~ £90

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Micro...-32-and-64-Bit

Unlike the OEM versions this can be reinstalled if needed.

Remember you can free postage from Scan as you are a Hexus member with 20+ posts so I would try to get this activated.

Also the PSU you have specced is not really that great a choice if you intend to be building a gaming computer. Just looking at the wattage of a PSU means nothing - you need to look at the number of amps available on the 12 volt lines and reviews of the PSU to gauge if it is upto the task. The Coolermaster PSU also can only actually provide 430W and only has a passive PFC.

Hey, I appreciate you took the time to come up with an alternate build, that's cool!

I think I'm a bit of an Intel fan boy for now. I know performance is incredibly similar unless I'm encoding/converting and what not, where the i5 takes a bit of a lead, but it's £60 difference, which I'm honestly not too bothered about.

I thought the PSU could be an issue, so I'll consider your case and PSU, if the PSU in that offer is really not so great. I have a Corsair VX 450W I could probably use, if I went for that casecom case. Would that be sufficient? I don't imagine I will overclock, and it's not costing me anything now if I need one in the future.

I had no idea about the hard drive, thanks for that. Your option is great!

Cheers

[MrM]

I thought the PSU could be an issue, so I'll consider your case and PSU, if the PSU in that offer is really not so great. I have a Corsair VX 450W I could probably use, if I went for that casecom case. Would that be sufficient? I don't imagine I will overclock, and it's not costing me anything now if I need one in the future.

The Corsair PSU you currently have is one of the very best and you can certainly stick with it for now.

My comments regarding the PSU are largely looking towards the future. You will be applying later graphics card upgrades which will require more volts. You may add hard drives, add a Blu-Ray drive etc.

Based on what you're saying I'd suggest keeping the present PSU, and accept that you may (certainly not guaranteed) need to upgrade in the future.

[Kilty]

The Corsair PSU you currently have is one of the very best and you can certainly stick with it for now.

My comments regarding the PSU are largely looking towards the future. You will be applying later graphics card upgrades which will require more volts. You may add hard drives, add a Blu-Ray drive etc.

Based on what you're saying I'd suggest keeping the present PSU, and accept that you may (certainly not guaranteed) need to upgrade in the future.

Ok I'll do that, and stick with the Corsair cheers.

How is the motherboard, doesn't seem to have reviews on it. Can I/Should I find something better? And is the RAM fine?

Are there any hard-drives similarly priced on ebuyer, that are like the single platter samsung posted earlier or should I just order that one off Scan?

Thanks, really appreciate all the help!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hey, I appreciate you took the time to come up with an alternate build, that's cool!

I think I'm a bit of an Intel fan boy for now. I know performance is incredibly similar unless I'm encoding/converting and what not, where the i5 takes a bit of a lead, but it's £60 difference, which I'm honestly not too bothered about.

I thought the PSU could be an issue, so I'll consider your case and PSU, if the PSU in that offer is really not so great. I have a Corsair VX 450W I could probably use, if I went for that casecom case. Would that be sufficient? I don't imagine I will overclock, and it's not costing me anything now if I need one in the future.

I had no idea about the hard drive, thanks for that. Your option is great!

Cheers

I would use the VX450W as it is made by Seasonic AFAIK!! The PSU I specced is modular and has another PCI-E power connector unlike the Corsair but the Corsair is an excellent PSU.

Also, I would look at getting this motherboard too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/174674

It uses all solid capacitors which means in theory they should have a longer lifespan and the motherboard seems to have good reviews.

Also if you went for the F3 1TB it uses a pair of 500GB platters.

[Kilty]

I would use the VX450W as it is made by Seasonic AFAIK!! The PSU I specced is modular and has another PCI-E power connector unlike the Corsair but the Corsair is an excellent PSU.

Also, I would look at getting this motherboard too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/174674

It uses all solid capacitors which means in theory they should have a longer lifespan and the motherboard seems to have good reviews.

Also if you went for the F3 1TB it uses a pair of 500GB platters.

Ok thank you kindly, good sir!

I've switched out for your recommended mobo. I'm not sure about the Hard Drive yet, To get 1TB means it's better value, but I'm not sure I need it.

Cheers

[Kilty]

Ok guys, I think I am ready to order.

Any last bits of advice or thoughts?

Here is what I have so far:


Casecom 6788 Black Mid Tower Case with Full Black Interior/Exterior 120mm Blue LED Front Fan - No PSU (£24.99)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172779

Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor: (£145.72)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755

G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V (£82.08)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490

Asus P7P55D LE P55 Socket 1156 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard (£93.44)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/174674

Sony AD7241S 24x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer & RAM Burner + LightScribe Black Bare Drive - OEM (£18.70)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165168

All in 1 Internal Card Reader Plus One USB2.0 Port (Black) (£5.35)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/108453

500GB Samsung HD502HJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ, OEM (£36.77)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500Gb...-Cache-8ms-OEM


Also, this is my first pc to build as a whole from scratch although I have done most things separately including re-applying thermal paste etc.
Will this be easy enough to get up and running, and are problems likely?

EDIT: Graphics: x1950pro PSU: Corsair VX450w

Cheers!

[woody_294]

I'd certainly recommend that build to anyone Even though you're an intel fanboi (Got one of each atm)

There shouldn't be any W7 dramas although you won't get any dx10/11 compatability, they learnt their lesson after Vista. Poor little X1950Pro grafting away trying to keep up with it lol.

It should be easy peasy, anything you may get stuck on will more than likely be in the mobo manual.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The build looks fine to me although I would look to get another case fan too.