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Thread: Advice on build <£400

  1. #1
    Senior Member Hicks12's Avatar
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    Advice on build <£400

    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.
    Quote Originally Posted by snootyjim View Post
    Trust me, go into any local club and shout "I've got dual Nehalem Xeons" and all of the girls will practically collapse on the spot at the thought of your e-penis

  2. #2
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    Quote Originally Posted by Hicks12 View Post
    ... 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...
    Last edited by scaryjim; 16-03-2010 at 01:00 AM.

  3. #3
    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    Quote Originally Posted by Hicks12 View Post
    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

  4. #4
    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    It's probably worth spending the extra ~£5 for an F3 instead.
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
    TKPeters: "Off to AVForum better Deal - £20+Vat for Free Shipping @ Scan"
    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Hicks12's Avatar
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      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z68-V
      • CPU:
      • Intel i5 2500k@4ghz, cooled by EK Supreme HF
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Kingston hyperX ddr3 PC3-12800 1600mhz
      • Storage:
      • 64GB M4/128GB M4 / WD 640GB AAKS / 1TB Samsung F3
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Palit GTX460 @ 900Mhz Core
      • PSU:
      • 675W ThermalTake ThoughPower XT
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC-A70 with modded top for 360mm rad
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Professional 64bit
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    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 .

    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?
    Quote Originally Posted by snootyjim View Post
    Trust me, go into any local club and shout "I've got dual Nehalem Xeons" and all of the girls will practically collapse on the spot at the thought of your e-penis

  6. #6
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    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

  7. #7
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    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

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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    May be budgeted but would a 555 not have quite a bit better performance over the 550 CPU?

  9. #9
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    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...

  10. #10
    Previously modd1uk Cornholio's Avatar
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    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.
    Last edited by Cornholio; 16-03-2010 at 03:04 AM.

  11. #11
    Previously modd1uk Cornholio's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    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
    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.

  12. #12
    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
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      • Massive E-PEEN
      • Memory:
      • RGB E-PEEN
      • Storage:
      • Not in any order
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      • EVEN BIGGER E-PEEN
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      • OVERSIZED
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    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.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 16-03-2010 at 05:20 AM.

  13. #13
    Previously modd1uk Cornholio's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    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.

  14. #14
    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
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      • Operating System:
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    Re: Advice on build <£400

    The OCZ StealthXStream 400W is on Ebuyer for £30:

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152505

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