£650 ($1100) PC Build

tom331 · May 7, 2014

Hi,

I've been using an old laptop for too long and I'm looking to build a new computer in the next month. I'd appreciate any advice I can get as I'm pretty out of touch with the hardware world, I want to spend about £650 and will be using the computer for gaming, programming, watching movies etc.
I don't really have any preference on parts but I quite like the idea of having an i5. Overclocking is a maybe, I don't know enough to have a real opinion on SLI or crossfire and I will need a monitor but that's not included in the price.

Thanks

thespaceduck · May 7, 2014

Hello

Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk7wYpWhWE0
I love these people. They are enthusiasts and they know what they are doing.
If that one doesnt do it for you try the "system building marathon" here. 1100USD is a price range not covered lately but the information will get you up to speed.

Kudos,
Albert

Suztera · May 7, 2014

DO you need any peripherals or an OS?

If not, Intel option that is not overclockable except for the graphic card.
I know the power supply is overkill but it is Haswell certified and is plenty for crossfire. XF is a good brand. You can equally swap the power supply to a XFX XTR 550 gold power supply if you want.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£128.90 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£76.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£61.01 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.82 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card (£221.46 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£45.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£69.78 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £645.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-07 17:16 BST+0100)

However, i would wait a little bit before buying as the Z97, H97 motherboard will be out on 11/05/14 on major retialer liek ebuyer, scan.co.uk etc.

HiTechObsessed · May 7, 2014

I wouldn't put dual 280x's in Crossfire on a 750w power supply. That system with a pair of 280x's will see peak power draw of almost 650w, which isn't good for the long run, even on a quality power supply.

The rest of that build looks great

but I wouldn't really worry about the newer line of processors. There won't be any noticeable difference in performance for gaming.

tom331 · May 8, 2014

Thanks for the speedy replies, and sorry for my delayed one.

Looks like a pretty nice build! The only thing I'm concerned about is the graphics card, I just did a quick google and a lot of the reviews are saying that sapphire cards fail after a few weeks, the fans are faulty etc.
Chances are I wont be ordering this for a week or so, so should I replace the H87 motherboard with the Z97? I've been stuck with this laptop for a long time so I'm pretty used to it, if waiting a few weeks means I could get a notably better system then I'm happy to do it!

HiTechObsessed I'm not sure I understand you, should I use a 650w psu since that's the most it'll need?

I like the channel spaceduck, a lot of good stuff there

HiTechObsessed · May 8, 2014

I'm sure you'll find about the same percentage of failures for all cards on the market lol Sapphire cards have just about the same failure rate as EVGA, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI, and are generally great quality.

I don't think it's really that worth it, but if you are fine with waiting, why not I guess lol

But yes, 650w will be plenty for a single GPU system, and will give you plenty of headroom for overclocking and longevity as well.

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£650 ($1100) PC Build

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tom331

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