Re: Advice on build <£400
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hicks12
... Am i missing anything ...
Memory ;) If the budget's really tight you could probably manage on 2GB for ~ £50: 4GB will cost you more like £80.
Also, an operating system? Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM is currently £75 from ebuyer...
Frankly, if he wants a *good* gaming PC £300 isn't going to cut it, and £400 is cutting it *very* fine - i.e. you'll have to compromise and go with 2GB RAM and even them you're only just coming in on budget.
Any idea what monitor he has / resolution he plays games at, and what games he intends to play? If he's still using an old 15" or 17" monitor then you could scrape a bit off the price by going with a 4670 rather than a 4850, which would save ~ £30...
Re: Advice on build <£400
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hicks12
Mate needs a system for gaming, doesnt want secondhand so thats not an option :(. Basically he wants to aim for £300 but the max budget is £400, needs all the components in a case and heres what i thought so far so any suggestions are appreciated.
PS: Ignore case, hes buying one of mine
CPU: AMD Phenom II 550 3.1GHz 6MB L2 Cache Socket AM3- £66
GPU: PowerColor HD 4850 PCS 512MB GDDR3 -£80
Motherboard: MSI 770-C45 AM3- £53
HDD:Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD322HJ 320GB- £32
PSU: Powercool 450W 80plus (cant remember if this ok) - £32
DVD: LiteOn IHAS124 - £14
Total: £276 fro ebuyer
Am i missing anything and is there anything that should/could be changed. Best perforance for gaiming is the aim.
Thanks.
I would get one of these PSUs instead:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/185183
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...400SXS-UK.html
You might want to also consider the Athlon II X3 440:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191955
Here is a comparison of the X3 440 and the X2 550:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=119&p2=97
Re: Advice on build <£400
It's probably worth spending the extra ~£5 for an F3 instead.
Re: Advice on build <£400
Quote:
Originally Posted by
scaryjim
Memory ;) If the budget's really tight you could probably manage on 2GB for ~ £50: 4GB will cost you more like £80.
Also, an operating system? Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM is currently £75 from ebuyer...
Frankly, if he wants a *good* gaming PC £300 isn't going to cut it, and £400 is cutting it *very* fine - i.e. you'll have to compromise and go with 2GB RAM and even them you're only just coming in on budget.
Any idea what monitor he has / resolution he plays games at, and what games he intends to play? If he's still using an old 15" or 17" monitor then you could scrape a bit off the price by going with a 4670 rather than a 4850, which would save ~ £30...
FML, how did i forget the ram :(. Thats like £80 so expensive :D.
Doesnt need OS, he has WIndows 7 prebought already (why lol). Hes using a 22" tv, no idea on specs but as its a tv not a monitor i assue 720p res so not that high.
So just the ram really, ill have a talk with him tomorrow as we had like sorted it at £300 really but didnt notice the error before :(.
WIll look at those PSU's cat thanks. I did look at the F3 but its like £10 more and everything added up so got rid of it.
edit, can get ram fro here for £45 http://www.redstore.com/CRUMEM436 but its the older ddr3 that runs at 1.8v, i know it wont support i5 but would it be ok for phenoms?
Re: Advice on build <£400
Lordy that RAM's a good find! Yeah, that'll be fine on a Phenom II memory controller - don't forget they're designed to run with DDR2 or DDR3, so can generally take up to 2.1V comfortably! In that case, I'd say you've got him a reasonable build for not much more than £300 - good work :D
Re: Advice on build <£400
Is the retailer for the RAM reputable??
Also I would get the OCZ 400W PSU as it seems to have got a very good review at Hardware Secrets:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/794
Re: Advice on build <£400
May be budgeted but would a 555 not have quite a bit better performance over the 550 CPU?
Re: Advice on build <£400
No, it'll have 1/31 better performance: or about 3.2%. Almost certainly not enough to make it worth paying extra for...
Re: Advice on build <£400
Hicks, if you get a decent cooler (ie anything other than a stock one, even a stock phenom II X4 cooler would do, its what i use) on that cpu, you may be able to unlock the 2 extra cores ;), or atleast one of them, instant performance gain for free ? i think so !.
You would have to check that model of board supports AAC though.
Re: Advice on build <£400
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
Cat, it has good reviews but my mate works for a company i cant really mention on here due to the companies he supplies..;). Even though OCZ are one of his biggest clients the amount of returns he gets is unreal, word coming down the grape vine is avoid OCZ for the meantime.
Cant knock the Enermax PSU's though (you recommended one about 9 months ago, a MODU jobby), lovely power supplies.
Even a corsair 400w like this would be cracking (just bought one for my second media pc downstairs).
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-year-warranty
Might even get it on today only from scan at some point.
Re: Advice on build <£400
The OCZ StealthXStream 400W is a CWT unit unlike the other StealthXStream units which are FSP made. AFAIK the ModXStream PSUs are also made by FSP. The 400W version seems to use mostly Japanese capacitors whereas the 500W version and above seems to use cheaper capacitors which has probably lead to a shorter lifespan. FSP does make some decent PSUs although in the last few years there have been issues with some of their newer designs according to reviews and I would consider CWT a better OEM.
OTH,the Seasonic made Corsair CX400W seems to able to provide upto around 480W according to the Hardware Secrets review as opposed to around 450W for the OCZ unit. However the OCZ PSU seems to be more efficient and is better at higher ambient temperatures IIRC.
Re: Advice on build <£400
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
The OCZ StealthXStream 400W is a CWT unit unlike the other StealthXStream units which are FSP made. AFAIK the ModXStream PSUs are also made by FSP. The 400W version seems to use mostly Japanese capacitors whereas the 500W version and above seems to use cheaper capacitors which has probably lead to a shorter lifespan. FSP does make some decent PSUs although in the last few years there have been issues with some of their newer designs according to reviews and I would consider CWT a better OEM.
OTH,the Seasonic made Corsair CX400W seems to able to provide upto around 480W according to the Hardware Secrets review as opposed to around 450W for the OCZ unit. However the OCZ PSU seems to be more efficient and is better at higher ambient temperatures IIRC.
haha cant argue with that then ! I know your the man in the know. Least its cleared that OCZ issue up for me.
Re: Advice on build <£400
The OCZ StealthXStream 400W is on Ebuyer for £30:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152505
