Hi guys (and gals),
***Before you get started, I should you that this is a fairly long post, you have been warned.***
So, this post is sort of a follow up to another one I posted a couple weeks ago, where I asked what sort of performance I could expect from a ~£400 budget.
I've never built a PC before so I wasn't sure where to start looking (parts wise) and what the end result could handle, thankfully I got a reply from TheN00bBuilder, who was kind enough to put a build together for me.
Since then I've been reading up and researching the various components, using the suggested build as a starting point and sort of check list.
Anyway, I've managed to come up with two builds but obviously being a tech noob I don't know if they're any good and/or even if they will work when I slap everything together lol
I should probably re-iterate at this point that what I intend to do with the final build: general office work, streaming HD videos, recording/editing/rendering HD videos and last but not least, gaming.
To make things easier when replying with suggestions and/or poking holes in my build, I've given each build a name and numbered/lettered each question/point
Build 1 - The cheapest setup I could manage - Code name: APRIL
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.53 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£37.72 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£40.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£43.26 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£36.78 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £358.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 04:48 GMT+0000)
Build 2 - Some parts are a step up from the previous build - Code name: SARAH
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.53 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£44.85 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£43.26 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.27 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £394.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 05:52 GMT+0000)
In addition to thoughts on the build itself, I'd love to get some second opinions on the reasoning behind why I opted for each part, just in case I got confused somewhere:-
1) CPU: It was a toss up between the AMD FX-4300 and FX-6300, mainly because Intel is pretty darn expensive, the first Intel chip was +£50 O_O. I did look at the i3's but they only come in dual core, which isn't ideal for the future. I ended up picking the FX-6300 cus it's only about £6 more than the FX-4300 and despite losing a bit of performance on single thread tasks, I believe I stand to gain a boost where rendering and editing is concerned(?)
2) MoBo: In build APRIL, I chose it cus it was the cheapest 😛 In build SARAH I opted for the next mobo up, I lose two video outputs but gain two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots, which I figure will be more useful if I wanted to add stuff in the future, though at this point I can't really think of anything besides an internal PVR of some sort...
3) RAM: In build APRIL, I went with the cheapest that I could find but it's not actually in stock, so I don't even know if I can still buy it but it's not like I'm in any immediate rush. In build SARAH I went for the next set up that was in stock, I may end up having to buy this RAM anyway even if I went with build APRIL, despite her mobo being a max of 1333.
4) Storage: For both APRIL and SARAH, I went with the same HDD, 1TB @7200rpm should suffice for the time being, I'll probs add another once I max it. I'd like an SSD but as with Intel chips, they're just a bit too pricey for me.
5) Video Card: I think TheN00bBuilder's build suggested a newer card with 1GB memory but I found that by adding a few more pounds, I could get a slighty older 2GB card, which should suffice for at least a couple years. There were three contenders in this category: the one I picked, the MSI N650-2GD5/OC and the Asus GTX650-E-2GD5 , all based on GeForce GTX 650. Not much seperates them to be honest and depending on what feedback I get, I might opt for one of the others. Basically, I picked the Gigabyte card because it consumes 64W and runs at 1.11GHz compared to 75W and 1.07Ghz for the other two cards, also it has two DVI-D ports vs one DVI-I, though thinking about it now, could be useful having a DVI-I if I went with SARAH's mobo...
6) Case: Again for both APRIL and SARAH I went with the cheapest option, I realise there are two versions of the case but I don't think I'll need the extra fan mounts/roof vents, so I figured I'd save a couple quid. No USB 3.0 at the front is a slight negative but I can always buy a cheap extension cable on eBay, no biggie.
7) Power Supply: For both builds I went with a semi-modular PSU, despite it costing slightly more than it's non-modular counterpart but I'm hoping it will make the task of cabling that bit easier. I did a rough tally of the power I think my build will need (250W) and considered future additions (100W), so I figured a 430W PSU would suffice, which is what I put into build APRIL. Then I came across two articles, the first said I should allow +100W leeway for the PSU and the second said that running a PSU constantly near max would dramatically decrease it's life span, so to err on the safe side, I chose a 500W PSU for build SARAH.
Just to be completely thorough, there's a few other topics that I'd like throw into the mix, you know, while I'm here:
A) Overclocking: Considered it but don't really like the idea of my CPU having a shorter lifespan as a result plus the idea of messing with BIOS etc is somewhat daunting.
B) CPU Cooler: From what I've read, stock coolers should be adequate for any non-OC'd CPU but I went through YLOD with my first PS3, so I'm very conscientious of over heating. I might get this after market CPU cooler Zalman CNPS5X Performa, if I can confirm it'll fit and won't actually be causing more heat issues than it solves (which I didn't even know could happen :S)
C) Thermal Compound: As with the CPU cooler, I'm only considering using an after market product because of the PS3 YLOD incident. I think I've still got the tube of whatever I bought (tempted to say Arctic Silver 5) three odd years ago, no idea if it's still usable XD but as I say, it's only a consideration at this point.
D) Case Fans: I'll probably purchase one other 120mm fan (something generic off eBay) and attach it to the front of the case, to suck in fresh air, as the pre-attached rear case fan pulls it through and pushes it out.
E) Optical Drive: Haven't decided on whether to buy a cheap one or re-use from a different machine, shouldn't really impact the build either way.
F) SLI/CrossFire: The GPUs I've shortlisted aren't capable but I only use one 24" 1080p screen, so I doubt I really need to. When I get around to upgrading again (not any time soon), it'll probably be easier and more cost effective to just get a new single card.
I don't think I've missed anything out but please feel free to bring up anything I have.
Props if you made it this far, now if you could just muster a little more strength to bash out a reply, that'll be grand 😉
So, yay or nay on APRIL / SARAH (or maybe some middle ground) and were my decisions competently made?
Thanks in advance
***Before you get started, I should you that this is a fairly long post, you have been warned.***
So, this post is sort of a follow up to another one I posted a couple weeks ago, where I asked what sort of performance I could expect from a ~£400 budget.
I've never built a PC before so I wasn't sure where to start looking (parts wise) and what the end result could handle, thankfully I got a reply from TheN00bBuilder, who was kind enough to put a build together for me.
Since then I've been reading up and researching the various components, using the suggested build as a starting point and sort of check list.
Anyway, I've managed to come up with two builds but obviously being a tech noob I don't know if they're any good and/or even if they will work when I slap everything together lol
I should probably re-iterate at this point that what I intend to do with the final build: general office work, streaming HD videos, recording/editing/rendering HD videos and last but not least, gaming.
To make things easier when replying with suggestions and/or poking holes in my build, I've given each build a name and numbered/lettered each question/point
Build 1 - The cheapest setup I could manage - Code name: APRIL
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.53 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£37.72 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£40.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£43.26 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£36.78 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £358.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 04:48 GMT+0000)
Build 2 - Some parts are a step up from the previous build - Code name: SARAH
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.53 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£44.85 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£43.26 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.27 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £394.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 05:52 GMT+0000)
In addition to thoughts on the build itself, I'd love to get some second opinions on the reasoning behind why I opted for each part, just in case I got confused somewhere:-
1) CPU: It was a toss up between the AMD FX-4300 and FX-6300, mainly because Intel is pretty darn expensive, the first Intel chip was +£50 O_O. I did look at the i3's but they only come in dual core, which isn't ideal for the future. I ended up picking the FX-6300 cus it's only about £6 more than the FX-4300 and despite losing a bit of performance on single thread tasks, I believe I stand to gain a boost where rendering and editing is concerned(?)
2) MoBo: In build APRIL, I chose it cus it was the cheapest 😛 In build SARAH I opted for the next mobo up, I lose two video outputs but gain two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots, which I figure will be more useful if I wanted to add stuff in the future, though at this point I can't really think of anything besides an internal PVR of some sort...
3) RAM: In build APRIL, I went with the cheapest that I could find but it's not actually in stock, so I don't even know if I can still buy it but it's not like I'm in any immediate rush. In build SARAH I went for the next set up that was in stock, I may end up having to buy this RAM anyway even if I went with build APRIL, despite her mobo being a max of 1333.
4) Storage: For both APRIL and SARAH, I went with the same HDD, 1TB @7200rpm should suffice for the time being, I'll probs add another once I max it. I'd like an SSD but as with Intel chips, they're just a bit too pricey for me.
5) Video Card: I think TheN00bBuilder's build suggested a newer card with 1GB memory but I found that by adding a few more pounds, I could get a slighty older 2GB card, which should suffice for at least a couple years. There were three contenders in this category: the one I picked, the MSI N650-2GD5/OC and the Asus GTX650-E-2GD5 , all based on GeForce GTX 650. Not much seperates them to be honest and depending on what feedback I get, I might opt for one of the others. Basically, I picked the Gigabyte card because it consumes 64W and runs at 1.11GHz compared to 75W and 1.07Ghz for the other two cards, also it has two DVI-D ports vs one DVI-I, though thinking about it now, could be useful having a DVI-I if I went with SARAH's mobo...
6) Case: Again for both APRIL and SARAH I went with the cheapest option, I realise there are two versions of the case but I don't think I'll need the extra fan mounts/roof vents, so I figured I'd save a couple quid. No USB 3.0 at the front is a slight negative but I can always buy a cheap extension cable on eBay, no biggie.
7) Power Supply: For both builds I went with a semi-modular PSU, despite it costing slightly more than it's non-modular counterpart but I'm hoping it will make the task of cabling that bit easier. I did a rough tally of the power I think my build will need (250W) and considered future additions (100W), so I figured a 430W PSU would suffice, which is what I put into build APRIL. Then I came across two articles, the first said I should allow +100W leeway for the PSU and the second said that running a PSU constantly near max would dramatically decrease it's life span, so to err on the safe side, I chose a 500W PSU for build SARAH.
Just to be completely thorough, there's a few other topics that I'd like throw into the mix, you know, while I'm here:
A) Overclocking: Considered it but don't really like the idea of my CPU having a shorter lifespan as a result plus the idea of messing with BIOS etc is somewhat daunting.
B) CPU Cooler: From what I've read, stock coolers should be adequate for any non-OC'd CPU but I went through YLOD with my first PS3, so I'm very conscientious of over heating. I might get this after market CPU cooler Zalman CNPS5X Performa, if I can confirm it'll fit and won't actually be causing more heat issues than it solves (which I didn't even know could happen :S)
C) Thermal Compound: As with the CPU cooler, I'm only considering using an after market product because of the PS3 YLOD incident. I think I've still got the tube of whatever I bought (tempted to say Arctic Silver 5) three odd years ago, no idea if it's still usable XD but as I say, it's only a consideration at this point.
D) Case Fans: I'll probably purchase one other 120mm fan (something generic off eBay) and attach it to the front of the case, to suck in fresh air, as the pre-attached rear case fan pulls it through and pushes it out.
E) Optical Drive: Haven't decided on whether to buy a cheap one or re-use from a different machine, shouldn't really impact the build either way.
F) SLI/CrossFire: The GPUs I've shortlisted aren't capable but I only use one 24" 1080p screen, so I doubt I really need to. When I get around to upgrading again (not any time soon), it'll probably be easier and more cost effective to just get a new single card.
I don't think I've missed anything out but please feel free to bring up anything I have.
Props if you made it this far, now if you could just muster a little more strength to bash out a reply, that'll be grand 😉
So, yay or nay on APRIL / SARAH (or maybe some middle ground) and were my decisions competently made?
Thanks in advance
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