I have £400 to spend on computer

[neonplanet40]

Hey guys need help. My cousin is building a computer and not sure what to get.

Currently he has a monitor. Sapphire 5850 and 8GB DDR3 ram.

So we need

Case
Cpu
Motherboard
Power supply
Hard drive
Cd-Drive

Think thats it? lol

Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Do you need a copy of Windows and a keyboard and mouse??

[neonplanet40]

No mate. He has windows and a keyboard and mouse.

Main uses will be gaming

[Bambooz]

You're kinda missing the RAM there .. lol
edit: and GPU

[dave87]

You're kinda missing the RAM there .. lol
edit: and GPU

He mentions that he already has those?

[neonplanet40]

Im not
EDIT: Beat to it

Thanks

[e-LAN-go]

May be worth noting that Ivy Bridge will be coming out at the end of april so that should bring prices down of current gen CPUs if he can hold out until then.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I assume you have a copy of Windows 7 64 bit?? I assume you have got 1.5V RAM??

CPU:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...132_HotUKDeals

You can get cashback from TopCashBack on Novatech purchases.

This motherboard:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gigabyte-G...item19ce8197e0

It is out of stock at Scan. It is quite basic but has USB3.0 and 4 RAM slots.

One of these PSUs should do the job:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...s-12v-quiet-fa

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...eps-12v-fan-at

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...et-fan-atx-v23

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...-quiet-fan-atx

The last one is semi-modular.

TBH,even this much cheaper 450W PSU would be more than enough IMHO:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-...v-fan-atx-v231

One of these hard drives would do the job:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500gb...cache-85ms-ncq

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500gb...16mb-cache-8ms

I would suggest a Bitfenix Merc Alpha for around £30 to £40 but they seemed to have varnished from many stores now.

The alternatives I would suggest are these cases:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...usb-30-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/therm...5-sata-w-o-psu

With a SATA DVD rewriter,the total should be around £335 to £355.

The system cannot be overclocked as the H61 lacks overclocking options. Also the Core i5 2320 has limited overclocking ability. However,it is around £40 cheaper than the retail Core i5 2500K.

However,to make good use of the Core i5 2500K,you not only have to pay more for the CPU but also more for a P67 or Z68 based motherboard,and a cooler.

The extra money could be spent on a better motherboard if you want more options,like this Z68 based one:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...dvi-d-hdmi-atx

The Z68 based motherboards which are better for overclocking cost more. However,since the CPU has limited overclocking ability,it might not be a good idea to pay any more IMHO.

[Bambooz]

He mentions that he already has those?

I shouldn't post when I'm hammered..

[neonplanet40]

I assume you have a copy of Windows 7 64 bit?? I assume you have got 1.5V RAM??

CPU:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...132_HotUKDeals

You can get cashback from TopCashBack on Novatech purchases.

This motherboard:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gigabyte-G...item19ce8197e0

It is out of stock at Scan. It is quite basic but has USB3.0 and 4 RAM slots.

One of these PSUs should do the job:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...s-12v-quiet-fa

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...eps-12v-fan-at

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...et-fan-atx-v23

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...-quiet-fan-atx

The last one is semi-modular.

TBH,even this much cheaper 450W PSU would be more than enough IMHO:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-...v-fan-atx-v231

One of these hard drives would do the job:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500gb...cache-85ms-ncq

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500gb...16mb-cache-8ms

I would suggest a Bitfenix Merc Alpha for around £30 to £40 but they seemed to have varnished from many stores now.

The alternatives I would suggest are these cases:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...usb-30-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/therm...5-sata-w-o-psu

With a SATA DVD rewriter,the total should be around £335 to £355.

The system cannot be overclocked as the H61 lacks overclocking options. Also the Core i5 2320 has limited overclocking ability. However,it is around £40 cheaper than the retail Core i5 2500K.

However,to make good use of the Core i5 2500K,you not only have to pay more for the CPU but also more for a P67 or Z68 based motherboard,and a cooler.

The extra money could be spent on a better motherboard if you want more options,like this Z68 based one:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...dvi-d-hdmi-atx

The Z68 based motherboards which are better for overclocking cost more. However,since the CPU has limited overclocking ability,it might not be a good idea to pay any more IMHO.

Many thanks Cat

I will see if I can push him to get some more money together so that he can get the 2500k and a better motherboard. if not what you suggested will be great.

Thanks!

[prehensile]

what's he got already, what's he using it for? you can play crysis2 on any fast core duo and core quad... i just got a coolermaster case with core duo, gtx 260, hdd, nice power supply etc etc for 230 on ebay, put a quad in it, pretty good gear! running at 3 gigs, what can u run on a sandy bridge that looks much better than a core quad, nothing much at the moment!

[neonplanet40]

Got a little bit more money so ordered this and built it today.


Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Unlocked Processor
Silverstone SST-PS04B Black Midi Tower Chassis
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive
ASUS P8Z68-V LE Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
22" Dell UltraSharp U2212HM Widescreen IPS LED Monitor
Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE DVD Writer
650W XFX Core Edition 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply (Seasonic OEM)
2x 4Gb DDR3
Sapphire 5850

Computer is nice and fast. In a few months he can get an SSD.

[CivilDrone]

For £400 you can go for pre assembled PC. Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked Combo on SCAN's today only is a good choice. Add used gpu such as 6870 or 560 and you have a very good machine.

[neonplanet40]

[UseItNow]

Got a little bit more money so ordered this and built it today.


Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Unlocked Processor
Silverstone SST-PS04B Black Midi Tower Chassis
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive
ASUS P8Z68-V LE Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
22" Dell UltraSharp U2212HM Widescreen IPS LED Monitor
Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE DVD Writer
650W XFX Core Edition 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply (Seasonic OEM)
2x 4Gb DDR3
Sapphire 5850

Computer is nice and fast. In a few months he can get an SSD.

Nice build there!

What did the final cost come to?

[neonplanet40]

Emmmmm £550 not including memory and gpu I think. He also bought my old amp and rear speakers too so doesn't sound too bad either.