Advice on HD, PCU, Case for "new" build

Coriolanus

1. What is your budget? €3-400

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming and a bit of digital art/photowork

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?
I have:
M5A97 Pro mobo
AMD Phenom II Black Edition
2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
ATI Radeon HD 6770

5. Do you need a monitor?

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1920x1080, may want a second in the future, not in the next 3 months though


7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Cash/VISA Debit

9. When are you purchasing? Within a week or two.

So, I've gotten some hands on some components in exchange for some work (barter economy ftw!) and I want to round out the part for a new PC.


As far as the HD goes, I have several TBs of external storage so I'm thinking going down the SSD route. I can always stick a larger drive into one of the SATA ports for my steam connection rather than running it over USB. I see something called the M4 being recommend in a few SSD related threads.

Casewise, I'm liking the look of the Fractal R3 but would similarly minimalist looking suggestions. My old case was a v old Thermaltake Armour Jr and I want a change.

PSU, whatevers required.

That's what I think I need. If something in what I have needs changing, by all means tell me so. My budget can go up if I need something outside of the PCU/Case/HD but timeline goes up accordingly.

Thanks ladies and gents.

Monotype

Item|Price
Total build cost: €291.35 (inc delivery €0.65)
XFX 450 Watt Core Edition Single Rail PSU w/ Full Wired Cables|€46.27
Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl Mid-Tower USB 3.0 Case|€85.69
Crucial 128GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive|€158.74

Eboggles

Nevore wrote: »

1. What is your budget? €3-400

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming and a bit of digital art/photowork

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?
I have:
M5A97 Pro mobo
AMD Phenom II Black Edition
2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
ATI Radeon HD 6770

5. Do you need a monitor?

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1920x1080, may want a second in the future, not in the next 3 months though


7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Cash/VISA Debit

9. When are you purchasing? Within a week or two.

So, I've gotten some hands on some components in exchange for some work (barter economy ftw!) and I want to round out the part for a new PC.


As far as the HD goes, I have several TBs of external storage so I'm thinking going down the SSD route. I can always stick a larger drive into one of the SATA ports for my steam connection rather than running it over USB. I see something called the M4 being recommend in a few SSD related threads.

Casewise, I'm liking the look of the Fractal R3 but would similarly minimalist looking suggestions. My old case was a v old Thermaltake Armour Jr and I want a change.

PSU, whatevers required.

That's what I think I need. If something in what I have needs changing, by all means tell me so. My budget can go up if I need something outside of the PCU/Case/HD but timeline goes up accordingly.

Thanks ladies and gents.

Wait, so you need a whole new build or do you just want case, PSU and storage? And by the way, what sort of gaming? That 6770 is for light games only.

If you just wanted case, PSU and an SSD, here ya go. Is the SSD for a boot drive? Depending on what you're using it for you might be as well just getting the 64gb version and putting the money towards a new graphics card, see the 7850/70 when they come out.

Total build cost: €303.02 (inc delivery Free!)
XFX 550 Watt Core Edition Full Wired 80+ Bronze PSU €58.59
Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl Mid-Tower USB 3.0 Case €85.69
Crucial 128GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive €158.74

Maybe something like this then? Save up a few weeks and get something better.

Total build cost: €463.65 (inc delivery Free!)
XFX 550 Watt Core Edition Full Wired 80+ Bronze PSU €58.59
Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl Mid-Tower USB 3.0 Case €85.69
Crucial 64GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive €89.37
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 €230.00 (If we're lucky)

Coriolanus

@eboggles New build in the sense that the parts I have are just that, parts in a variety of anti-stat bags rights now.
Gaming is mainly strat and rpgs. Graphics have never been a major issue for me.

I might go for the 128 M4 anyway. I can wait a month or two before upgrading the GPU, if I'll even need to.

Cheers gents.