£750 build. UK

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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Gmyvbv
I am very limited on my budget, there is very little chance of stretching beyond this.
I know some of my parts don't really correlate to such a budget build
I know I need a 1080p monitor and OS.
with the motherboard as a z97, I know I'm stuck to radeon for SLI in the potential future - combined with a new PSU
anything I can improve?
Oh and i'm not switching the case unless its the phantom 240.
 
Solution
andrei65
Like i said ; DO NOT buy cx power supplies , they're known to fail after several months , and I don't know why they're so popular .
I also suggest a case with AT LEAST 4 fans to keep the build cool

Suggestion 1 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£101.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£59.83 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card...
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dasulman

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well I wanted to keep it prepared for any further upgrade in the future - hence the space, SLI, power supply, cooling etc and maxwell GPUs
the z97 was only in case of significant changes in devils canyon - I wanted an SLI for freedom of graphics choice, but the 270s and 280s will do just fine. even in crossfire
 
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andrei65

andrei65

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£103.97 @ Dabs)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£57.46 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.50 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card (£129.00 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£44.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£78.90 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£10.84 @ Dabs)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.65 @ CCL Computers)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2246M-LED 60Hz 22.0" Monitor (£103.79 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £758.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 15:52 BST+0100)
 
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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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the extra money spent on the 270X isn't worth it, I can overclock the 270 myself to match the 270X's performance.
windows 7 premium is more expensive than professional.
And quite frankly I don't like the Corsair case?
 
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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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I've removed the optical drive - since I can cannibalise my current office PC for it.
changed the case to the phantom 240 - to reduce the budget to £700. Phantom 240 in the UK is found at Scan.co.uk
full build:
PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/94QF4D
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/94QF4D/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/94QF4D/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.24 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£69.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£57.46 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.50 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£129.92 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£45.38 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2246M-LED 60Hz 22.0" Monitor (£103.79 @ CCL Computers)
Other: NZXT Phantom 240 Case (£50.69)
Total: £700.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 19:31 BST+0100)
 
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dasulman

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phantom 240 has just been released, and supposedly the only fault so far found is that the dust filter isn't a slide in and so is a pain in the arse to put back in after clean. I am sadly a slave to appearances - always fancied a phantom case - to me they just look cool. Plus it comes with 2 fans and since this will probably be my first build - I want to keep it fairly simple.
 
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andrei65

andrei65

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As for overclocking the 270 - you can overclock the 270 to achieve the performances of a 270x , but you can overclock the 270x to achieve or almost achieve the performances of a 280
EDIT : No you do not need a cm hyper 212 evo if you don't oc
 
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andrei65

andrei65

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Also , why not get a 270x when it's actually 92 cents cheaper than the 270 ?
Do not get CX power supplies , they fail after 6 months usually
2133MHz ram is a waste of money , it makes literally NO difference
 
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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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thank you very much for the suggestions - all were highly useful
I was mainly aiming for cost minimisation but here's the build at present:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£69.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.50 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card (£129.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£45.38 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2246M-LED 60Hz 22.0" Monitor (£103.79 @ CCL Computers)
Other: NZXT Phantom 240 Case (£50.69)
Total: £672.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 20:03 BST+0100)
 
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andrei65

andrei65

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Apr 14, 2014
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Like i said ; DO NOT buy cx power supplies , they're known to fail after several months , and I don't know why they're so popular .
I also suggest a case with AT LEAST 4 fans to keep the build cool

Suggestion 1 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£101.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£59.83 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card (£129.00 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.59 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£64.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (£83.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £629.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 20:15 BST+0100)

Suggestion 2 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£101.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£59.83 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card (£129.00 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT H230 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£55.48 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£64.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (£83.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £645.52
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 20:18 BST+0100)

It's as low as I can make it whilst keeping optimal performance and a good monitor for that budget
 
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Solution
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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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by my count the build has 4 fans (including GPU). I don't see the absolute requirement of 4 fans even then for this - I know radeon cards are normally less efficient in power and heat than nvidea - hence why originally I focused on the 270 model with 2 fans, but accepted the 270X with two fans as well.
the case itself can fit in 6, so in the future if I see that temps are spiking - then yes i'll buy 4 more.
changed the PSU to an XFX 80+ bronze 550W
I refuse to go AMD CPU + MOBO combo, call me prejudiced, but I just don't think the extra heat and energy waste is worth it. I'd rather have a more efficient machine. If you like, for now until proven otherwise - i'm going to play as an intel bitch.
once again thank you for your help :) and sorry for constantly arguing - but I'm very picky when it comes to my money
refusing the monitor change, reviews pin point bad image quality with the hanns

current build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£69.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.50 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card (£129.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.98 @ Aria PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2246M-LED 60Hz 22.0" Monitor (£103.79 @ CCL Computers)
Other: NZXT Phantom 240 Case (£50.69)
Total: £673.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 21:04 BST+0100)
 
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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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I know the aesthetics are limiting it - but to me this is already a humongous step forward. right now with such a limited budget, I'm happy just to run things like metro at 1080p 30FPS whilst being easily upgradeable in the future.
think about it, to upgrade my system, I buy a new video card, and later on go crossfire as needed as well as a new PSU
CPU bottleneck? Z97 MOBO, will handle DC for the future as needed.
Not sure how DDR4 is coming along, but that's not for another 2 years yet.

you've got to bare in mind, I come from trying to use an office style comp with a Geforce 8400GS and a duo e4500.
with 2.5GB RAM of DDR2 - and I still tried to play games on it.
 
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andrei65

andrei65

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If you want to know , I have a far worse system than you so yeah ...
Metro LL ? 30FPS at low MAYBE with the 270x at stock , but overclocked maybe it might work at normal 30FPS , that game is very hungry , even 780 ti's have trouble running it maxed out
DDR4 is coming out in late 2014- start of 2015 , devil's canyon in august if i remember correctly and 800 series in september i guess ? Just so you know

 
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dasulman

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Feb 2, 2014
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well if you turn down AA and a few other bits, but ultra textures can easily hit 30+ FPS with the 270X - either way, if it can handle that, it'll handle everything i throw at it :L

what's your rig?
 
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