Building a new PC- DONE!! PICTURE TIME!!

[Kyaw]

So...

My mum gave me a green light to buy pc parts when i get my summer school holidays, which is like in 5 weeks.

So initially after a big amount of research i came up with this:

• Gigabyte EP45-UD3R Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
• £109.24

• XFX ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail

• £87.39

• Antec Three Hundred Case - Black - No Psu

• £45.99

• OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply
• £68.99

• Samsung S223B 22x DVD+/-RW 8x Dual Layer DVD-RAM SATA Black - OEM
• £16.99

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 4 x 2.66Ghz 4MB Cache 1333 FSB Quad Core Processor

• £143.36

• Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel (KHX8500D2K2/4G)

• £43.99

• Western Digital Caviar Blue 500Gb 16MB Cache Hard Drive SATAII 300MB/s <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM
• £42.46

• Samsung SM933SN 18.5" TFT Monitor 1360x768 16:9 300cd/m2 15000:1 5ms VGA W/Mount Gloss Black 3 Years Warranty
• £83

• Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
  
• £14.86

• TOTAL £ 610.28

Prices are from:
Novatech.co.uk
Overclockers.co.uk
Ebuyer.com

That seems like the cheapest i can find right now on the internet.

But my friend suggested a AMD setup.





I am now torn between those two setups.

Of course i dont mind about the minor things like keyboards or monitors.
But any best bang for your bucks would be appreciated.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[gruddy]

Is this going to be a gaming PC or what?

The second build seems better to me.

If this will be a gaming PC, get a 700w PSU if possible. It will ensure everything runs well. I would also suggest you go with a 20" monitor at least. It's not something you would upgrade much, if at all for several years. Get a decent one so you don't be put off by gaming on a small screen. The graphic cards on both build are fine and will be able to run most, if not all games easily (maybe not Crysis maxed).

[SnakeDevil]

What's your budget?

[Kyaw]

What's your budget?

Around £600 strictly.

Is this going to be a gaming PC or what?

The second build seems better to me.

If this will be a gaming PC, get a 700w PSU if possible. It will ensure everything runs well. I would also suggest you go with a 20" monitor at least. It's not something you would upgrade much, if at all for several years. Get a decent one so you don't be put off by gaming on a small screen. The graphic cards on both build are fine and will be able to run most, if not all games easily (maybe not Crysis maxed).

But i am on a strict budget so...
Also the 17 inch laptop i got now is more than big enough with 1440x900.

So i was thinking 19" or 18" would be enough.

Also i want the pc for gaming as well as 3D modelling.
And Photoshop and some other more CPU based programmes.

Of course i will be buying Crysis but i would mostly play RTS and some shooters.

EDIT: I found a really cheap GFX card deal:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-091-PC

[Xelios]

I like the second build better. Looks great to me, except the memory. Replace the Corsair kit in the AMD build with the Kingston kit you have in the first build.

Replace the PSU with this one as well.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CA-008-CS

This will add a few to it, but you'll end up with a quicker and more reliable system. I personally have had 2 OCZ PSUs fail (computers I built for friends) and I won't go back to them.

[Kyaw]

I like the second build better. Looks great to me, except the memory. Replace the Corsair kit in the AMD build with the Kingston kit you have in the first build.

Replace the PSU with this one as well.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CA-008-CS

This will add a few to it, but you'll end up with a quicker and more reliable system. I personally have had 2 OCZ PSUs fail (computers I built for friends) and I won't go back to them.

Yeah, i was looking into that PSU as well.

Thanks!

Also no problems with the MOBO and other stuff?

Is there any cheaper mobo but still reliable?

Oh and also should i get a CPU cooler?
Also should i do overclocking?

If i get AMD it is already clocked at 3ghz.

[SnakeDevil]

Based on the other thread, I don't recommend overclocking.

Run everything on stock levels, unless you really need the extra performance gains.

[Xelios]

Yeah, i was looking into that PSU as well.

Thanks!

Also no problems with the MOBO and other stuff?

Is there any cheaper mobo but still reliable?

Oh and also should i get a CPU cooler?
Also should i do overclocking?

If i get AMD it is already clocked at 3ghz.

The motherboard is great. My brother had (I say had because he bircked it flashing it, no mechanical problems) it and loved it.

And the stock cooler will be fine for now. You shouldnt have a real need to overclock, unless your trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of it. It should be fast enough to last you a while.

Overclocking shouldnt be necessary. Don't see why you would, it should be fast enough as it is.

@Snake: You hit the nail on the head . Don't need frustrations when they arent necessary.

[keefy]

If you go for the AMD setup at £550 you have a spare 50 for a better monitor it is worth the extra monety getting a quality monitor.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...id=948&subcat=

EDIT:
Carp I was lookign at the price excluding VAT LOL it will put you even more over budget.

[SonyJunkie]

I would go with the the AMD build. I have that processor and will say it is awesome. Very fast and does everything no problem. I only had a few problems but i got the help I needed.

Overclocking isn't necessary but it is like crack, you just want to keep going back and trying to make it better. I didn't think I would, and have already increased it a little.

[Kyaw]

Thanks guys!

I will definitely be getting parts in summer school holidays.

I will post build pics and logs if possible.

[no1kevlin]

What OS are you planning on buying for it? I imagine some kind of Windows if it's to be a gaming rig.

[Kyaw]

What OS are you planning on buying for it? I imagine some kind of Windows if it's to be a gaming rig.

Oh yeah, good question!

I have Windows 7 RC Build 7100 on a DVD already.

Also i have Windows XP Professional SP2.

I am using W7 RC right now on my laptop and it is working fine so far.

But if i am to install W7 on my PC, i gotta get a new code from MS.

[keefy]

Its easy to get a new code they give them away to anyone.
Go here and select 32 or 64 bit then sign in with your msn/live account.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win.../download.aspx

[Kyaw]

Ohhhh, wait there....

I downloaded 32 bit and burned it so i might need 64 bit as i am getting 4gb of RAM.

Does that mean i have to download 64 bit version?

[Xelios]

You should be getting it. 32bit will give you 3.5GB of available RAM. That is, 3.5GB minus the GPU's memory. So if your card has 512MB, then you only got 3GB of avilable memory for your system to use. You pretty much lose a gig.

[SnakeDevil]

Yeah. You might as well download the Win 7 RC 64bit. It's free and should last you until April 2010.

[Kyaw]

Ok

Download 64 bit W7 RC at 37%. (500kb/sec)

I got the key also.

[SnakeDevil]

The funny thing about the keys is that there's about 8 keys total for the beta

[Kyaw]

The funny thing about the keys is that there's about 8 keys total for the beta

Is there?

I was never in the beta.

[SnakeDevil]

I'm pretty sure the beta keys carry over into the RC.

[Kyaw]

So i surfed around the net and picked the best deals for the parts.

I came up with this:



Exactly the same as the same as the actual list
except it is 27p cheaper!

So everything is alright, compatible?

They MIGHT be cheaper in about a month but who knows?

Also about £40 more than the Intel Setup but the AMD chip got better performance on benchmarks and such + the stock speed is 3ghz. D

[SonyJunkie]

So i surfed around the net and picked the best deals for the parts.

I came up with this:



Exactly the same as the same as the actual list
except it is 27p cheaper!

So everything is alright, compatible?

They MIGHT be cheaper in about a month but who knows?

Also about £40 more than the Intel Setup but the AMD chip got better performance on benchmarks and such + the stock speed is 3ghz. D

I wish I knew pounds so I could know the actual prices. The build looks good though. The Phenom II 940 is probably the best bang for your buck.

[Kyaw]

I wish I knew pounds so I could know the actual prices. The build looks good though. The Phenom II 940 is probably the best bang for your buck.

That is
$1,073.32. (it says so on the currency converter)

Yeah, looking around, 940 is probably top of the range up with i7s.

Also i am looking into this case:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...id=7&subcat=29

Is it good enough?

I know it is more expensive but its got better cable management.
I can get a smaller monitor and get that case.

[Xelios]

Build looks great. The CM case looks nice as well, but it comes down to your preference of looks. They're both great cases.