All round PC for £200?

[wzix]

Hi

Looking at building a PC for around £200ish to start with, no need for game playing but will be using for blu-ray's at some point.

One reason being that my current PC can't run my new monitor (BenQ 22" 16:9), so need something more powerful, i think prob dualcore!

A while since I last built a PC, what are the best Built in GPU Mobo's atm ?

Also would want it be quiet and small

Thanks in advance

[staffsMike]

Have you got bits you can salvage, £200 doesn't get you the decent components I would want if you need everything.

Your system << is looking quite potent as well is this a different build?

[wzix]

yeah this one for my brother,

Not really much I would want to salvage, only need a cheap case then a good gpu mobo, would add the blu-ray etc after? maybe could stretch towards sub £300

[staffsMike]

Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU
Be Quiet 350W Pure Power PSU - 80plus Certified 4x SATA 120mm Fan
Xilence Black 120mm Case Fan - 4pin with 3pin adapto
ASUS M4A78-VM 780G Socket AM2+ HDMI DVI VGA 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 245 2.9GHZ Socket AM3 2MB Cache Retail Box Processor
Corsair 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Xtreme Performance Memory CL5
Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer & RAM Burner + LightScribe Black Bare Drive OEM

Cart total inc vat: £244.51

These are just basic suggestions there are perhaps things I would change. Such as a single platter 320GB from Samsung for a similar price. Perhaps a different case fan (might have picked the wrong case there as well, they do a £30 uATX one), Enermax make a nice 350W ECO psu sold for £10 more than the be quiet etc..

This should get you started though, the 780G has plenty of poke for blu ray

[wzix]

Thanks alot for the advice, what site are you using for the prices?

[Champman99]

I came up with build very similar to previous recommendation, I included a Blu-Ray drive, which obviously jumps the cost slightly, this basket was made on scan.co.uk with Scan2Hexus free delivery.



£275.17

£200 would be really tight to buy new, to really be sub £200 and still get a decent modern spec you will really have to trawl through ebay/clearance stuff. Also, although the more modern integrated graphics solutions do have the "grunt" for blu-ray, often they dont have the advanced video processing that discrete graphics cards have sadly, if you are serious about a PC for major Blu-ray use I suggest getting something like an HD4670 to sit in the PCI-E slot.

[Pob255]

Bit over budget at £314 but it's got a blu-ray in it already
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=1043201

I would use it for any demanding games, but for watching films, internet and such it'll be fine and it's very small.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This is what I would go for:

ASRock ASR-A780GM-LE/128M ~ £35

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=1097139

Has 128mb of sideport memory for the IGP and the SB710 soutbridge.

AMD Sempron 140 ~ £27

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-S...MHz-45W-Retail

With the 780G chipset should be fast enough for media and general purpose use. If the Asrock motherboard has ACC enabled you maybe able to unlock the CPU to a dual core.

2gb PC2-8500 DDR2 RAM ~ £37

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142405

500GB Samsung F3 hard disk ~ £36

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=1073587

LiteOn IHOS104-37 4xBlu-Ray, 8x DVD Reader OEM inc Software ~ £51

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/LiteO...M-inc-Software

Be Quiet 350W Pure Power PSU ~ £30

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166784

Coolermaster Elite 360 ~ £28

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164647

The total cost comes to around £244 excluding any postage costs.

Edit!!

The motherboard has ACC enabled:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=233254

[wzix]

Ok thanks for the help, decided no need for bluray. So is the 780 decent for big resolutions?, also I think a MATX case will be best, as I'm looking for something small any suggestions?

[Pob255]

Not great for games, but for desktop and movies you need very little in the way of gpu power and memory.
My other half is still happly running a 1600x1200 desktop on my old old 5200fx 128mb agp
and the 780 onboard (hd3200 I think) is going to beat the pants off that.

I would try to squeeze a dual core cpu into that budget
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...che-65W-Retail

[Champman99]

You might end up actually having to pay more for a Micro-ATX case (strangely as you would think they use less materials), I guess as they are made in smaller quantities there are less cost savings

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Antec...0mm-fan-no-PSU

Is a decent brand, and a decent price I think. The Asus cases on scan might also be fine for your needs, as it is a modest build in terms of heat.


These are some ultra nice Micro-ATX cases, but a little out of budget.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Antec...plus120mm-fans

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...silver-w-o-PSU

[wzix]

Hi,

Thanks for everyone's help on this. Now since christmas etc is over, I actually need to buy and build.

Just wanted some opinions on what I'm buying, as I've noticed the PSU I was looking at is already not available through ebuyer.

AMD Athlon A2 X2 245 2.9GHz £46.78 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168975)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 £38.99 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158366
Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB £33.15 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124735
Asus M4A78-VM, AMD 780G £48.77 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...-uATX-VGA-HDMI
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166784 - No longer available, alternative?

Is everything still ok?, I know I need to add a case. So around £250 mark prob. Any small upgrades which have come into my price range within last 4months or so?

thanks alot for any help

wzix


thanks

[scaryjim]

EDIT: just realised the memory you've picked is a single 2GB stick - you want a kit really to take advantage of the dual channel memory controller. I'd recommend this OCZ reaper DDR2-1150MHz kit if you're quick (they look like a real bargain to me...)

Here's a couple of slightly money-saving suggestions:
I'd consider getting a 45nm Athlon X2 5000+, which is £6 cheaper than an Athlon II X2 245. It doesn't sound like the PC will be used for anything particularly stressing so you shouldn't see any real world different between the two.

If you did go for the 5000+ and gaming isn't going to happen this Gigabyte 760G motherboard could be an option - it's a little cheaper than the ASUS 780G, has the same basic features, and has the ACC supporting SB710 - this might let you unlock the 5000+ to a full Phenom II!

As to PSU / Case, I'd recommend an Antec Earthwatts 380W and this mATX Compucase case (yes, it's a cheap case but I've built in one myself and it's a good case for the money )

[Pob255]

For a cheap case I'd look at this
Coolermaster elite 341
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...X-Case-w-o-PSU

or even cheaper
Casecom MA-6650
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146272

To ether of thoes I'd add a low rpm 120mm fan
eg Silverstone FN122 (decent and cheap)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...bearing-design
or if you want a blue LED fan
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...aster-Case-Fan

PSU Corsair 400CX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-year-warranty

As to PSU / Case, I'd recommend an Antec Earthwatts 380W and this mATX Compucase case (yes, it's a cheap case but I've built in one myself and it's a good case for the money )

LOL you beat me to it, although I've not used it, for the cash is looks ok, steel is thin but that comes with a case this cheap and at least it can take 2x120mm fans (front and back)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This is what I would look at getting:

AMD Athlon II 425 X3 ~ £54

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176042

There is a possibility of unlocking this to an Athlon II X4 quad core or even a Phenom II X4 quad core if you are lucky.

ASRock ASR-A780GM-LE/128M ~ £43

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ASRoc...SATA-RAID-mATX

Has the 780G with 128MB of RAM on the motherboard for the IGP. This has motherboard has ACC for core unlocking.

OR

ASUS M3N78-VM ~£48

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152752

This motherboard may have NCC for unlocking cores but you will need to check beforehand.

2GB PC2-9200 DDR2 RAM ~ £40

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128021

Coolermaster Elite 330 Case With Coolermaster eXtreme Power 460W PSU ~ £52

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £37

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

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145450

Review of the PSU:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/550

[jim]

Buying a few second-hand might be an idea... maybe?