Gaming PC - First build

Montgomerie

Hi Guys,

Hope you can help me out a bit here. Looking to build my first PC. Will want this to last a few years too as I'm not made of money


1. What is your budget? €800 - €1000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Internet browsing, gaming (FSX, Deus Ex 3, BF3) and to be able to play anything that comes out in the next 2 years I guess.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No] Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I have a case given by a friend. See pic below. It's got 2 USB ports and sound/mic jacks in the front so it's got the appropriate connectors for those inside etc. Also 2 slots in the front were used so I'll have to fill those, was thinking CD/DVD drive and maybe a card reader??

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No] Yes, but don't include in price/budget. Any suggestions welcome.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.] 24 inch I'd say..

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] n/a

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] Yes, all of these.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No] I'm open to it but not very enthusiastic as I've no idea what to do.

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] All.

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days] Probably be picking components up over next 2-3 months.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.] I should be fine, fingers crossed!

I've been looking at threads in here over the last 2 weeks or so, and since I'm not buying all components straight away, it seems to be a suggested in holding off on the GPU and CPU in the hopes prices are reduced in 2-3 months time.

I'd rather purchase from Irish sites, just for peace of mind in returning goods should they be faulty. I could certainly buy some of the cheaper parts from abroad.

Anyway, thanks for any help/suggestions.

deconduo

If you aren't building for 2-3 months there's no point asking for a build now. Prices and parts change so much that the recommended build will probably be quite different. Also you do want to buy everything together if possible, as shipping charges will increase the price otherwise.

ShadowHearth

its a very long time for a build. in 2-3 months parts that you bought already might be more then 30% cheaper when you will be buying last bits. then you have a problem of parts being faulty. for example you buy mobo cpu ram now, but only buy the rest in 3 months. when you built it you realise that mobo is faulty. that will be a pain in a hole to get it replaced after such long time.

get whole sum and then build. the cpu is 2500k that you will be getting, even if ivy is coming out. Ivy does not look so good compared to sandy awesomeness so far. when ivy comes out sandy might drop in price a bit, but is it worth wait for 2-3 months to save 20eu? :rolleyes:
GPU wise you are looking at 7850/7870 which are already for sale and wont drop that much in price in the near future. on the other hand it is possible to squize in gtx 680 in your build or 7970 ( after price drop ) if you wait a week from today. just needs to see how well price war between nvidia and ati pan out.

what i am saying: if you got all funds, then there is no point waiting for new stuff to come out as it will make zero to none difference in your case. dont be buying piece by piece as you will run in in to huge problems if you will need to replace faulty bits.

Montgomerie

Thanks for the replies.

Well, point taken. Never thought of the issues I could run into doing it this way. I'll start putting the €50's under the mattress so

I guess I can still pick up some of the peripherals; mice and keyboard etc without much risk..

Montgomerie

I'm coming close to being able to buy. After lots of lurking, I've pieced together the following build. It's a little over budget. I'm hoping there is a way to scrape a few euros off it. I've included a monitor here as they are very cheap off that site. I may or may not pick one up elsewhere.

I didn't include a heatsink as I wanted to keep the initial build cheaper. I can always play with overclocking in the future.

What do you think? What can/should be changed?

Thanks in advance of any advice..


Item|Price
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€189.79
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€84.45
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€81.59
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz|€17.67
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€131.24
Sapphire HD 7850 OC 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express|€235.50
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€52.00
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€34.67
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€16.42
Enermax T.B.Silence 12x12cm|€5.91
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht|€6.32
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.81
Samsung SyncMaster S24A300BL|€141.25
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1100.61

Montgomerie

Bump! Anybody?

Skylinehead

That build is fine. If it was me, I'd bump the motherboard up to allow Crossfire in the future, but as you're on a tight budget might as well leave it.

Montgomerie

What mobo would you recommend so? Much more expensive? On OCing, the Z68 is, according to what I've been reading somewhat difficult to play with for overclock. I don't know much about overclocking so I can't really judge. Something to do with maintaining voltages or something.

Also, I can't find any reviews of that monitor so I'm unsure, could be a pile of sh*te.. Any suggestions?

Skylinehead

I have a vaguely similar Samsung and it's great, so that's probably a good bet.

As for boards, this if you can afford it.

luyolo

I'd say drop down the 7850 to the non OC from Sapphire version. you can save ~€6 and it takes you less than 5minutes to get a much better OC.

If you're interested in getting the best you can from your 7850 read this thread.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18389760

ShadowHearth

I have to admit that 7850 overclocks like crazy. Stock gtx 680 I got score 1870 points and some fella on same settings with 50% OC got 1555. That is very Impresive. I will try to OC my gtx 680, see of I get a better score.

Montgomerie

Quick fan question... No info on case so do I need a 92mm or 80mm fan for the side of this case? It's nearly 92mm when measured this way, as you can see, but closer to 80mm when measured vertically/horizontally.

Sholden

Montgomerie wrote: »

Quick fan question... No info on case so do I need a 92mm or 80mm fan for the side of this case? It's nearly 92mm when measured this way, as you can see, but closer to 80mm when measured vertically/horizontally.

Do you have the model/make of the case or anything?

Montgomerie

Nope, no make/model/branding I'm afraid. There is a pic in the original post. Have yet been able to identify it though. It's similar looking to some HKC cases though..

Montgomerie

Stupid me...should have known from the way they describe the fans 80mm x 80mm. Obviously this is 80mm high and 80mm wide and there was me measuring diagonally..haha please ignore!

deconduo

Montgomerie wrote: »

Stupid me...should have known from the way they describe the fans 80mm x 80mm. Obviously this is 80mm high and 80mm wide and there was me measuring diagonally..haha please ignore!

Yep fan size is done by diameter in general.