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Thread: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

  1. #17
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis View Post
    Half the RAM, change the GPU to a 7950.

    Unless your going to run a lot of VMs or edit mahoosive photoshop files....the 16GB is wasted...in most cases 8GB is overkill.
    Hey Shaithis,

    Ok, I've dropped the 16Gb back down to 8Gb and changed out the GTX 580 for the 7950. Would it be worth paying an extra £50 and going for the 3Gb XFX HD 7970 Black GPU??

  2. #18
    Senior Member Ulti's Avatar
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    You may want to consider having an SSD in your PC as well, I'm sure you can fit a 128GB Crucial M4 in there. It would be one of the first thing I'd take personally. Also if you're going to be moving the PC around a lot and not going to do any overclocking, then you might want to go for an mATX or mini ITX build. I'd recommend mATX as its generally good value for money and it'll be much easier than a mini ITX build for a first time builder.

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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Quote Originally Posted by Ulti View Post
    You may want to consider having an SSD in your PC as well, I'm sure you can fit a 128GB Crucial M4 in there. It would be one of the first thing I'd take personally. Also if you're going to be moving the PC around a lot and not going to do any overclocking, then you might want to go for an mATX or mini ITX build. I'd recommend mATX as its generally good value for money and it'll be much easier than a mini ITX build for a first time builder.
    Hi Ulti,

    I have a 64GB Crucial M4 SSD and 500GB WD HDD in my Current system so was just going to swap them over... I can do that right?? I had also been thinking about swapping out the 850w PSU from my old system to save me some money there.

    If I was to build it in a mid-sized tower then it won't be getting moved around at all. I would only be looking to move it if it was something small like the Alienware x51 that I mentioned earlier but from the reception that it got I think the mid-sized tower is the answer.

  4. #20
    Senior Member Ulti's Avatar
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    You would be able to swap them over indeed, however it would probably be best to take the SSD and format it and then use it with the new build as new hardware with a previous copy of an OS generally doesn't go well. Windows 7 has worked fine for me when I've changed platforms without reinstalling it (just a test) but personally I wouldn't do that myself.

    Ah yeah, I looked at some pictures of the Alienware x51 and I do like it's size, 340mm x 320mm x 95mm is only 10.3L, a bit smaller than some mini ITX cases (Silverstone SG05 12.2L and Lian Li PC-Q11 at 17L) and MUCH smaller than other mini ITX cases *cough* BitFenix Prodigy *cough*. The Alienware X51 is pretty much an mini ITX build as far as I can tell, which is probably why they charge so much. I guess at the end of the day, the Alienware X51 isn't THAT bad, just that it's really unbalanced. If they knocked it down to an i5 2500 and upped the GPU to at least a GTX570 then it'd be much more balanced.

  5. #21
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    A left field question, what is your "old machine" that you referred to?

    To be honest, most processors from the last few years are actually pretty good, we might be able to spruce up the old box for a lot less?

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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    My old system is:

    Asus P5Q Pro MB
    2Gb Corsair XMS2 RAM
    E8600 C2D
    GTX 260
    800w or 850w Corsair PSU
    Antec 300 case
    Crucial M4 64GB SSD
    WD 500Mb HDD
    Thermal Take Golden Orb II cooler

    I think that's about everything

  7. #23
    Senior Member Ulti's Avatar
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Looking at the Scan system's that Phage linked, I don't think they're that good VFM either. To be honest I'd actually choose the X51 £799 (i5 2320, GTX555) due to its smaller size. But that's because I practically live in my bedroom and it's small as I'm a student. I don't think the size of the PC matters for you guys though.

    As you only use the PC for gaming and multimedia use, I don't think you need an i5 2500k overclocked to 5Ghz or something like that. I'm not sure how much space there is for the graphics card and how much power the X51 has to spare. I've read that the graphics card is easily interchangeable and if you buy from Scan you can also buy Scansure to cover the graphics card if it were to go wrong during installation.

    Most graphics cards in the range you're looking at (mid-high range), will let you run up to 3 monitors without problems AFAIK, but you may need 1 adapter. The GTX680 doesn't need an adapter though IIRC but it doesn't come cheap either.

    Found a video on how to change the graphics card inside the Alienware X51: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSHa5MopfKI

    After a quickly google, seems the 7850 is the best upgrade in terms of power consumptions and performance.

    DIY job in under 7 mins!
    Last edited by Ulti; 21-04-2012 at 11:14 PM.

  8. #24
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    And of course Scan, or others, will assemble it for you for a fee.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Quote Originally Posted by Ulti View Post
    Looking at the Scan system's that Phage linked, I don't think they're that good VFM either. To be honest I'd actually choose the X51 £799 (i5 2320, GTX555) due to its smaller size. But that's because I practically live in my bedroom and it's small as I'm a student. I don't think the size of the PC matters for you guys though.

    As you only use the PC for gaming and multimedia use, I don't think you need an i5 2500k overclocked to 5Ghz or something like that. I'm not sure how much space there is for the graphics card and how much power the X51 has to spare. I've read that the graphics card is easily interchangeable and if you buy from Scan you can also buy Scansure to cover the graphics card if it were to go wrong during installation.

    Most graphics cards in the range you're looking at (mid-high range), will let you run up to 3 monitors without problems AFAIK, but you may need 1 adapter. The GTX680 doesn't need an adapter though IIRC but it doesn't come cheap either.

    Found a video on how to change the graphics card inside the Alienware X51: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSHa5MopfKI

    After a quickly google, seems the 7850 is the best upgrade in terms of power consumptions and performance.

    DIY job in under 7 mins!
    I've been reading up about the x51 and from what I gather the 330w PSU it uses won't support much of a GPU upgrade if any, then people also went on to mention over heating issues and other problems so although Alienware say the GPU can be upgraded it doesn't look like a viable option which is a shame because if I could have upgraded the GPU then it would have been perfect.

    Anyway, I think the build-it-myself option is going to be my best bet. I've been looking at different builds all night and I think I'm getting close to what I'm going to buy... Althought this talk of Ivy Bridge and new nVidia cards getting announced at the end of this month has got me holding off just to see what effect they have on the market both in performance and price.

  10. #26
    Senior Member Ulti's Avatar
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Yup, build it yourself option is indeed the best option - especially if you've got time to spare. I guess you may as well wait for the next week before picking parts, just do a bit of reading now as IB should be released next week so you can have a greater choice and more opinions/reviews to help you decide on what to build.

    You can then ask us Hexites to spec you up a build.
    Last edited by Ulti; 22-04-2012 at 12:05 AM.

  11. #27
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Quote Originally Posted by Rookie1986 View Post
    My old system is:

    Asus P5Q Pro MB
    2Gb Corsair XMS2 RAM
    E8600 C2D
    GTX 260
    800w or 850w Corsair PSU
    Antec 300 case
    Crucial M4 64GB SSD
    WD 500Mb HDD
    Thermal Take Golden Orb II cooler

    I think that's about everything
    Well if you go the build it yourself route, then all you'd need to replace is motherboard, cpu, gpu, ram and cpu cooler.
    If you need more storage then you could add in a 2nd hard drive.

    The antec 300 is still a decent case
    The SSD and hard drive will be fine to move over as would the corsair psu, heck that psu is probably still overkill

    I take it you have a valid copy of windows7?

    If you're a bit scared to build your own system from scratch then Scan do some nice pre-overclocked pre-assembled bundles http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs-overclocked-bundles

    Smart - Intel Core i5 2500K - Overclocked to 4.5Ghz - Updated April 2012
    LN1198 *Operating System Not required* (System Tested under Win 7 HP)
    LN38197 1280MB EVGA GTX 570 HD SuperClocked, 40nm, 3900MHz GDDR5, GPU 797MHz, Shader 1594MHz, 480 Cores
    LN43592 3XS No Power Supply Required
    LN37731 3XS OCB P67 SMART
    LN28928 3XS-OVERCLOCKING- Check Build
    LN39754 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black LP, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.5V
    LN37177 Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Intel 775/1155/1156/1366 AMD 939/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+
    LN40916 Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), VGA On Board, ATX
    LN36726 Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.3GHz, HD3000 IGP 850Mhz, 6MB Cache 95W Retail
    LN41202 Scan Overclocked Bundle Range
    £564.34 inc vat

    I've increased the RAM to 8gb and added in a gtx570, although if you want to go multi-monitor you'd need to ether swap to a gtx680 (only single nvidia card that can do 3 monitor support), swap motherboard for one with sli support (that motherboard doesn't support sli which is needed for multi monitor on the 500 series nvidia cards, look at the Radius bundle instead that motherboard supports sli) or go for an Ati card which do support 3 monitors, although for gaming you'd want to look at a crossfire setup as adding on more monitors has a big impact in the gpu load.

    Remember to keep scan secure on when you go through the checkout, it'll add a bit to the total cost but it gives you cover against accidental damage when installing (as long as you follow instructions and don't do anything blatantly stupid, like ting to put in screws with a hammer)
    Scan secure is an extra insurance thing scan have started doing, this is in addition to normal consumer rights, and is mainly around accidental damage not hardware failure due to manufacturing fault, as normal consumer rights and warranty should cover you there.

  12. #28
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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Quote Originally Posted by Pob255 View Post
    Well if you go the build it yourself route, then all you'd need to replace is motherboard, cpu, gpu, ram and cpu cooler.
    If you need more storage then you could add in a 2nd hard drive.

    The antec 300 is still a decent case
    The SSD and hard drive will be fine to move over as would the corsair psu, heck that psu is probably still overkill

    I take it you have a valid copy of windows7?

    If you're a bit scared to build your own system from scratch then Scan do some nice pre-overclocked pre-assembled bundles http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs-overclocked-bundles

    Smart - Intel Core i5 2500K - Overclocked to 4.5Ghz - Updated April 2012
    LN1198 *Operating System Not required* (System Tested under Win 7 HP)
    LN38197 1280MB EVGA GTX 570 HD SuperClocked, 40nm, 3900MHz GDDR5, GPU 797MHz, Shader 1594MHz, 480 Cores
    LN43592 3XS No Power Supply Required
    LN37731 3XS OCB P67 SMART
    LN28928 3XS-OVERCLOCKING- Check Build
    LN39754 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black LP, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.5V
    LN37177 Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Intel 775/1155/1156/1366 AMD 939/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+
    LN40916 Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), VGA On Board, ATX
    LN36726 Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.3GHz, HD3000 IGP 850Mhz, 6MB Cache 95W Retail
    LN41202 Scan Overclocked Bundle Range
    £564.34 inc vat

    I've increased the RAM to 8gb and added in a gtx570, although if you want to go multi-monitor you'd need to ether swap to a gtx680 (only single nvidia card that can do 3 monitor support), swap motherboard for one with sli support (that motherboard doesn't support sli which is needed for multi monitor on the 500 series nvidia cards, look at the Radius bundle instead that motherboard supports sli) or go for an Ati card which do support 3 monitors, although for gaming you'd want to look at a crossfire setup as adding on more monitors has a big impact in the gpu load.

    Remember to keep scan secure on when you go through the checkout, it'll add a bit to the total cost but it gives you cover against accidental damage when installing (as long as you follow instructions and don't do anything blatantly stupid, like ting to put in screws with a hammer)
    Scan secure is an extra insurance thing scan have started doing, this is in addition to normal consumer rights, and is mainly around accidental damage not hardware failure due to manufacturing fault, as normal consumer rights and warranty should cover you there.
    Well to be honest my Antec 300 has seen better days (the front USB are broken and my wife hit the front of it with the hoover and snapped off the clips so the front falls off all the time now).

    I don’t have windows 7 unfortunately so will need to buy it.

    Yeah I had been looking ath the 3xs systems that Scan build and they do seem decent enough for my needs. I will have a better look now that I’m home and see what they have to offer in detail.

    Thanks for the system build and advice

    Rookie

    P.S. Would I be better looking at a motherboard that supports Ivy Bridge, PCIe 3 and USB 3 to give me some future proofing??

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    Re: To Build or Pre-Build.....??

    Here is what I did in exactly the same situation as you...

    I decided I wanted to keep my old PC as a back-up and do a few improvements so I brought a second hand case and better power supply and changed the stock cooler to a budget after market one. I took my old PC apart and popped it bit by bit into the new case with its new second hand but improved power supply and cooler.

    I figured that if I could do that then I could build my own and that is exactly what I did, I can't describe the pleasure it gives you when building your own, it isn't hard if you do a little homework, watch some youtube clips if unsure and ask questions on the forums if in doubt.

    I also saved a little money on my new build as I removed the Bluray drive from my old machine and replaced it with a standard DVD drive popping the old Bluray into my new machine, I also removed my back up hard drive from my old machine, formatted it and popped it into the new machine as a storage drive.

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