What do you think?

[GriM]

Hi all. This is my first post and I thought I should ask the experts about this system; I hope to gain a lot of advice and experties at Hexus.

So, this PC will basically be used for gaming (First person shooters basically) and surfing the internet. Nothing like video encoding etc. I may upgrade to CrossFire later down the line or get something more powerful when prices drop.

General opinions and advice are welcome. All I want to know is; what do you think?

Can't post my image so here it is;
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz) S AM3 & Black Edition...inc VAT = £139.78
Motherboard: Asus M4A79-T Deluxe AMD 790FX...inc VAT = £130.65
RAM: 4GB (2X2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3-10666 (1333MHz)...inc VAT = £87.07
PSU: Corsair 550W VXUK...inc VAT = £64.59
GPU: Asus 1GB HD 5770 4800MHz GDDR5 GPU 860MHz 800 Cores...inc VAT = £123.69
DVD/R: Samsung SH-S223C...inc VAT = £17.24
HDD: 640GB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200rpm 32MB Cache...inc VAT = £48.14
Case: Coolermaster HAF 932...inc VAT = £111.38
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit OEM...inc VAT = £78.81
CPU Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer Pro V2...inc VAT = £18.67

Total: inc VAT + £11.94 shipping = £834.04

Thanks very much

[Ulti]

It looks good but there are a few things I'd change, why do you need a board with 4 PCI-E slots.

Something like these would be enough tbh:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/DFI-L...3Gb-s-RAID-ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...-SATA-RAID-ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...-30-and-20-ATX

This memory is slightly better:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...L8D-4GBRM.html

CPU, PSU, GPU, HDD choices look good.

For the CPU cooler I'd go for something better as the Phenom II X4 965 is a 140W processor (new stock will be 125W).

If you don't want to spend that much and won't be overclocking then this is probably good enough:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...uad-Core-Ready

If you are overclocking then you'd probably want to go for a better cooler than that.

[Cheapy]

Just thought ill chuck in a Intel build.

Intel Core i5 750 at £150
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...che-95W-Retail

ASRock P55M Pro at £88 Seems to have all the bases covered
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asroc...rboard-LGA1156

Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5850 at £225
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyt...?refs=52400000

Either that memory that Ulti picked out or a slightly faster set G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz CAS 7-8-7-24 at £90
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...L7D-4GBRM.html

500GB Samsung HD502HJ Spinpoint F3 at £38
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500Gb...-Cache-8ms-OEM

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w modular as an alternative to the corsair at £60
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CA-037-OC

Couple of cases from £45 to £55
Xclio NightHawk Extreme: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xclio...-18cm-Side-Fan
Coolermaster Centurion 590: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...vable-HDD-rack
Coolermaster CM-690 V2: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...-Panel-w-o-PSU

CPU cooler like Ulti said as the Xigmatek HDT S1283 and backplate togthere at £31
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...Knight-Coolers and http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...uad-Core-Ready

Plus DVD drive at £15 and windows 7 at £79

Gives you a grand total of £831. Feel free to swap about with components to better suit you.

EDIT: If your happy with overclocking then instead of a Phenom II X4 965 in your AMD build what about the Phenom II X4 955 and a overclock to get it up to the 965 clock speeds? Save about £15 to put elsewhere.

[Pob255]

I'd agree with Ulti here, I'd add that I'm not a big fan of the HAF, personally I'd go for the Lancool K-58 and get a couple of extra low rpm 140mm fans
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lanco...97-Audio-ports

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Shun the evil Core i5!! Shunnnnnnnn!!

[dirky]

You don't give a link for the CPU, but make sure you get the 125W version rather than the 140W one. (965 that is)

[Ulti]

Hard to know though as some e-tailers don't update their stock info - some may not even know!

It's worth calling them up to double check though as it'll reduce your temps a bit and therefore if you overclock it could be a bit of extra juice.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hi all. This is my first post and I thought I should ask the experts about this system; I hope to gain a lot of advice and experties at Hexus.

So, this PC will basically be used for gaming (First person shooters basically) and surfing the internet. Nothing like video encoding etc. I may upgrade to CrossFire later down the line or get something more powerful when prices drop.

General opinions and advice are welcome. All I want to know is; what do you think?

Can't post my image so here it is;
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz) S AM3 & Black Edition...inc VAT = £139.78
Motherboard: Asus M4A79-T Deluxe AMD 790FX...inc VAT = £130.65
RAM: 4GB (2X2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3-10666 (1333MHz)...inc VAT = £87.07
PSU: Corsair 550W VXUK...inc VAT = £64.59
GPU: Asus 1GB HD 5770 4800MHz GDDR5 GPU 860MHz 800 Cores...inc VAT = £123.69
DVD/R: Samsung SH-S223C...inc VAT = £17.24
HDD: 640GB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200rpm 32MB Cache...inc VAT = £48.14
Case: Coolermaster HAF 932...inc VAT = £111.38
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit OEM...inc VAT = £78.81
CPU Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer Pro V2...inc VAT = £18.67

Total: inc VAT + £11.94 shipping = £834.04

Thanks very much

This is what I would look at getting:

AMD Phenom II X4 955BE ~ £122

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

Asus M4A79XTD EVO ~ £87

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172846

4GB DDR3 ~ £85

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...L9D-4GBRL.html

There is cashback available on Novatech purchases from Quidco and TopCashBack!

HD5850 1GB ~ £225 excluding delivery

http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...d=0&tid=hd5850

Antec Signature 650W ~ £82

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-...Silent-Fan-PSU

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £39

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146252

Coolermaster HAF 932 Full Tower Case~ £107

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148685

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £17

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164449

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English ~ £72

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173791

[GriM]

Tried to combine everyones opinions. However, I would like to try to buy from the same retailer; e.g. Scan/Ebuyer do not sell the Ripjaw memory so I stuck with Corsair.

Changes written in red

*IS THE CPU COOLER COMPATIBLE WITH THE 955 S AM3 (says its an AM2 socket cooler)?*
*According to Corsairs own calculator, the 550W should be sufficient enough*

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) S AM3 & Black Edition *125W*...inc VAT = £123.32
Motherboard: Asus M4A79XTD EVO AMD 790X...inc VAT = £85.75
RAM: 4GB (2X2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3-10666 (1333MHz)...inc VAT = £87.07
PSU: Corsair 550W VXUK...inc VAT = £64.59
GPU: Asus 1GB HD 5850 4000MHz GDDR5 GPU 725MHz 1440 Cores...inc VAT = £232.93
DVD/R: Samsung SH-S223C...inc VAT = £17.24
HDD: 500GB Samsung HD502HJ 7200rpm 16MB Cache...inc VAT = £37.56
Case: Lancool K58 Black Advanced Tower...inc VAT = £57.56
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit OEM...inc VAT = £78.81
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek HDT-S1283...inc VAT = £23.37

Total price inc VAT & £10.98 delivery = £821.10

Cleary seems a much better FPS gaming rig now with the top end GPU and decent CPU.

Thank you all

[Phage]

Fnar ! Nice build.

[Pob255]

*IS THE CPU COOLER COMPATIBLE WITH THE 955 S AM3 (says its an AM2 socket cooler)?*
*According to Corsairs own calculator, the 550W should be sufficient enough*

Yes and Yes
AM2 AM2+ and AM3 all use the same mounting bracket/motherboard holes.
That PSU should be more than enough.
I would consider a modular psu as it will cableing slightly easier, however it will cost a bit more and it's not vital.

EDIT:I'd also add a couple of 140mm fans
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...n-Black-No-LED
or
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/140-S...900rpm-22db(A)
Ideally you'd want the rubber gromit screw set to go with it but I can only find one place that sells them and they are not that cheap
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2424.html
However you should be able to use the gromits fromt the hard drive cages as long as you don't mind sacrificing one or two trays.

Why doesn't anyone sell the LanCool K60 in the UK??

[Cheapy]

Have to be quick but the XFX HD 5850 XXX is on today only at scan for £235. Just £2 more for a faster clocked 5850

Its second from bottom under ATI graphics bit
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

[Indieboi918]

Just a thought, but if the PCI-E X16 slots are next to each other then i think you would be unable to crossfire 2 5850's as it is a dual slot card, but personally I think 1 card solutions are usually better as sometimes you get compatibility issues with some games and crossfired cards.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

EDIT: I checked out your proposed MOBO and the PCI-E X16 slots are not next to each other so there is room for crossfire.

[GriM]

Just a thought, but if the PCI-E X16 slots are next to each other then i think you would be unable to crossfire 2 5850's as it is a dual slot card, but personally I think 1 card solutions are usually better as sometimes you get compatibility issues with some games and crossfired cards.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

EDIT: I checked out your proposed MOBO and the PCI-E X16 slots are not next to each other so there is room for crossfire.

Thanks, thats helpful to know. Thank you all, much appreciated!

[nibbler]

Shun the evil Core i5!! Shunnnnnnnn!!

boooooooooo.... why??

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

boooooooooo.... why??

Because the Moose is being silly!!

Also watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus