Help needed for first PC build

[wh!rlw!nd]

Guys and Gals,

As some of you will be aware, I currently only play ET when im at work due to not having the time and a decent PC at home to play. The time i can probably find, but as for the PC - I will need a new one and would like to build my own to hopefully save some money and get the best out of my cash (And hopefully upwards of 100 FPS on ET)

 

Having never built a PC before, I am looking for some assistance. As much as i understand some of the technologies and brands, i really am a complete n00b when it comes to this stuff!

 

I currently have a beat up HP Pavilion Media laptop which is on its last legs - really good for Movies and web browsing, But barely runs ET at more than 60FPS.

 

I am probably looking to spend little over £350 if possible, and if not under £500 in the upcoming month or two, and will really only use it for watching Hockey / Movies and Playing games - I currently only play ET but would like to play COD 4 on occasion with the F|A guys and if possible give BF3 a crack, too (although this is optional for now as most of my time im at work or on the xbox at home!)

 

Any help on what parts / case to buy would be muchos apreciated.

 

 

Cheers,

 

~Wh!rlW!nd

[Jefke]

Questions

 

- Does that £350 - £500 is for the pc only or does this includes screen and keyboard.

=> asking because you said you are currently on a laptop and it would take away a part of the budget.

 

- How much storage do you think you need.

 

- Do you have a windows license or do you have to buy one => this will take a pretty large part of the budget ^^

 

 

 

Build possibilities (my idea, other might have another point of view like always ):

 

- CPU: like always Intel or AMD (intel I3 3220 or AMD fx 6200 => if I check the cpus now)

- Motherboard => depends on CPU choice

- Graphics: like always AMD or Nvidia (AMD 7770 / 7850 or Nvidia 650ti)

- Memory: 8gb => I would go for corsair vengeance 1600mHz. prices are really low, but going for a bit cheaper RAM can safe some money.

- HDD: depends how much storage you need, but the seagate barracuda 7200.14 1TB HDD is a solid choice

- PSU: a decent A-brand one around 350-400watt should do the trick: be quiet power L7 serie for example. You can go for 500watt if you want to be sure ^^

- Case: whatever you like as long it supports (micro)-atx. Cheaper cases tend to be more annoying to build in than a bit more expensive ones

- DVD/bluray player/burner: DVD is pretty cheap, bluray is not

 

- Windows 7/8: dunno, if you tried win8. I would go for win 7 though ^^

Edited January 21, 2013 by DrJoske

[wh!rlw!nd]

Thanks for the help - I have a monitor, mouse and keyboard so that won't be an issue. and as for windows...... hmmmmm i think i may have an ultimate disc

 

I have put a list together on www.ebuyer.com (recommended from one of my co-workers)... Any feedback would be much apreciated, and if anyone knows of a cheaper place to get parts from (that is either in the UK or ships to the UK and is worth my while on postage! )

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/lists/list/133471

[1337]

newegg.com is a real good place to buy from, not entirely sure if they skip to the UK but I have a pretty good feeling they do.

 

They have a good selection of "DIY Kits" from time to time that you could build something really nice from.

[Jefke]

-That motherboard won't work with that processor

You need socket AM3+

 

These do work: CLICK

 

It's your choice which on to take. I can help, but in the end it's your pc ^^

 

- I would up the graphics to a 7770, if the money permits it (this one to be precise: CLICK or the £4 cheaper not OC'd one if the small stuff matters ^^)

 

 

- Do not use the psu in that case!!! Those are garbage and got the potential to fry your whole computers (I had it twice...). A good psu is really worth the money, it's the only part you shouldn't try to safe money with.

 

I would go with this one (it's modular which is dam handy for when building a pc and from an A-brand): CLICK

 

For the price you will have to look for yourself ^^, I only can help Belgian and Dutch people with that.

 

 

 

newegg.com is a real good place to buy from, not entirely sure if they skip to the UK but I have a pretty good feeling they do.

 

They have a good selection of "DIY Kits" from time to time that you could build something really nice from.

 

Nope, they don't and even if they did I wouldn't do it (customs you know ^^). But you are right, it's a great store.

Edited January 21, 2013 by DrJoske

[1337]

ahh gotcha

[BulletxPrD]

Here you go, OP.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£89.94 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard (£59.49 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£41.99 @ Novatech)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.59 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card (£113.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Case: NZXT LEXA S (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£55.18 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£36.98 @ Novatech)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £468.14

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-03 13:01 GMT+0000)

 

Should meet the requirements you posted.

[Jefke]

Here you go, OP.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£89.94 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard (£59.49 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£41.99 @ Novatech)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.59 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card (£113.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Case: NZXT LEXA S (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£55.18 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£36.98 @ Novatech)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £468.14

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-03 13:01 GMT+0000)

 

Should meet the requirements you posted.

 

The a10 loses its use when you put a seperate GPU besides it (apart from the 6670, you can crossfire that one with the gpu in the a10)

So in this case the fx 6200 (although a bit more expensive) is the better choice.

 

Besides that I would take the seagate barracude above the WD (benchmarks and personal preference), but that's the major issue.

Edited February 3, 2013 by DrJoske

[BulletxPrD]

The a10 loses its use when you put a seperate GPU besides it (apart from the 6670, you can crossfire that one with the gpu in the a10)

So in this case the fx 6200 (although a bit more expensive) is the better choice.

 

Besides that I would take the seagate barracude above the WD (benchmarks and personal preference), but that's the major issue.

 

Seagate are unpopular with myself because of the high failure rate in comparison to WD. I have had two fail on me personally and some people seem to have the same problem.

 

As for the processor I was just trying to keep it as close to the bottom end of the budget as possible whilst maximizing performance.

 

Thanks for the feedback on my build, though.

 

-Bullet

[Jefke]

Seagate are unpopular with myself because of the high failure rate in comparison to WD. I have had two fail on me personally and some people seem to have the same problem.

 

As for the processor I was just trying to keep it as close to the bottom end of the budget as possible whilst maximizing performance.

 

Thanks for the feedback on my build, though.

 

-Bullet

 

I got both seagates and western digitals running here (4x seagates and 2x WD)

and to get good seagates you need to make sure you got hdd from the plants in Thailand, not the ones in China. Those in China are indeed rubbish

For example the Samsung spinpoint f3 are now property of Seagate and since then you take a risk buying one => part of them is made in China. (not that you want a samsung spinpoint f3, they are a bit outdated now ^^)

 

In this case you might go better with WD, but I never had a 7200.14 (dam good HDD) from China ^^.

Although personally I had a equal failure rate (well, except when I get seagates from China, I don't accept those => I demand a trade in the shop).

 

Point remains the Seagate 7200.14 is faster than the WD blue (and even blacks). It's a risk I would take, considering I never had a Chinese one.

 

 

Wall of text I know ^^. CPU is worth the 10-20 £ extra.

Edited February 3, 2013 by DrJoske

[m4G-]

I would also stay the f*** out from any asrock products. They are really low quality and will most likely brake down pretty easily. Go with asus or similiar big brand.

[m4G-]

Here you go, OP.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£89.94 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard (£59.49 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£41.99 @ Novatech)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.59 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card (£113.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Case: NZXT LEXA S (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£55.18 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£36.98 @ Novatech)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £468.14

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-03 13:01 GMT+0000)

 

Should meet the requirements you posted.

I would also check ebay or ytour local PC store for the cheapest possible case, there must be some for less than 30pounds so you can put that 20 pounds towards a better motherboard. with this kind of setup BF3 will rtun at high and look pretty amazing actualyl. Good luck.