Finally my first build (budget build) is complete

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

Hi

*to avoid confusion the tower I bought off ebay and with exception to the HDD which is 250gb I would have built with the same components but would have cost me a lot more than the £430 the tower cost me*

I joined 2 months ago for advice in components for setting up a budget build to start my YouTube channel for close up magic, gaming and all round entertainment.

You guys have been so helpful and I wanted to share with you all what I have finally decided on.

I had to make some compromises as my budget went from £1600 straight down to £700 then I got hit with an unexpected situation bringing my total budget down to £600.

Did I mention that includes EVERYTHING including monitor, keyboard, mouse, mic and webcam?!?!

Anyway... I did a lot of research over 2 months and played the game of "waiting impatiently" and just about bided my time in order to dig around.

This is the outcome..

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FGVzRB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FGVzRB/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£143.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 103 43.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£17.86 @ CCL Computers)
Thermal Compound: Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 4g Thermal Paste (£6.99)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£61.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.42 @ More Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Re 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£58.78 @ Misco UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.79 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (£159.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£51.00 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£10.50 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.34 @ Aria PC)
Other: AOC i2367Fm 23 inch Widescreen Full HD IPS Multimedia Monitor - Black/Silver (1920x1080, 5ms, VGA, 2x HDMI) (£133.11)
Other: Samson SASR850C Professional Studio Reference Open Back Headphones (£29.00)
Other: edragon® CENTROPHORUS Gaming PC Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse set (£19.99)
Other: Logitech C525 HD Webcam (£28.50)
Other: Samson SAGOMIC Go Mic Clip On USB Microphone - White (£33.00)
Other: HAVIT® HV-MP808 Professional Extra Large Computer Gaming Mouse Pad 22.4cm x 27.5cm with Laser Cut Edges (£4.59)
Other: CiT Venom Mesh Gaming Case with Black Interior and 12cm Blue LED Fan (£25.00)
Total: £957.95

(note: I bought a pc off ebay which had the processor RAM, 250gb HDD, GPU, cooler, PSU and case for £430) didn't want you to think I opted for a 250gb when I could have hot a SSD for less lol

Now total that comes to £957.

I got all the above for £726 of which I am only financially out of pocket.. £26.

Due to a tax rebate and a decision to sell my playstation 4 in favour of PC to take it seriously.. I hardly got hit in the pocket at all, and with a wife and 2 children it definitely helps to be smart about these things.

My comprises were I opted for a Samson Go Mic instead of a Blue Snowball and a Logitech C525 webcam instead of the C920.i also went with a 20 gaming keyboard and mouse

But I wanted to thank all you guys for your help and to ask you what you think of my gaming/Editing build?

I have never had a gaming PC before and this is the first PC I have had for almost 18 years.

Is this decent?

Somasundaram Sathiyathasan · Apr 3, 2015

So have you built it yet?

ztrexx · Apr 3, 2015

looks good expect stay away from corsair CX series, get the xfx 550w instead, you might even find it cheaper than the CX.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

you dont need thermal compound, it will follow with your cooler master.
wow thats a cheap case, have to look it up.

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

I had the PC tower off ebay (including that abysmal 250gb hdd) but I have just put the 1TB HDD into it.

The monitor, mic, webcam, keyboard mouse amd mouse mat will all be here tomorrow.

Why is there something you would have changed (besides the 250gb HDD)?

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

Just to clarify, the tower I got off ebay. However it had the exact components in there that I had chosen for my own build anyway with exception to the HDD and for £430 I would have been silly not to buy it right?

Can't do anything about the PSU it's in there. I'm sure it will be fine. *fingers crossed*

It's only 2 months old and he sent all the original receipts for everything.

The thermal compound was in with it all, spare parts, original boxes etc all in the for the tower part of it.

But I suppose I'm referring to build as the complete setup really. I added a 1TB HDD to the Tower and put the rest together based on what budget I had

Somasundaram Sathiyathasan · Apr 3, 2015

I would've change the PSU, case, CPU (i5-4690k is great and is easily overclockable) but you got all of these in a tower.

RCFProd · Apr 3, 2015

Good build. The PSU is not the greatest but It's fine really with the GTX 960.

HEXiT · Apr 3, 2015

well the thermal paste isnt needed. the stuff that comes with the hyper is excelent.
Western Digital Re 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£58.78 @ Misco UK) this seems like a waste. i would have used a cheap ssd of the same size.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/ocz-internal-hard-drive-arc10025sat3240g and costs a little over a quid more.

other than that its a very nice build.
i would however suggest as your not going for an extreme oc, swap the fan on the hyper for a fluid dynamic bearing fan. as the 1 that comes with it can get loud when they spin up. (you could have saved a bit by sticking to the stock cooler... )

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

@somasundaram

Of course, I would changed all these too but my complete budget was £700 so I was never going to get what I wanted. What I wanted would have cost me just over £1600

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

@hexit..

I know mate but the thermal paste came did come with the cooler I assume. (tower off ebay, and had the same components I was going for except the hdd).. And with the HDD it was already in the pm tower. If I had built it myself I couldn't have afforded a SSD anyway on my budget

Somasundaram Sathiyathasan · Apr 3, 2015

Kobrax :

Ok then. I'm not sure about CiT products; they don't even have a phone number or website. It was your choice though.

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

@somasundaram

It came with the tower so I'm not complaining. I wasn't going to pass up a tower with everything bar a decent HDD for £430 just because of a case. But I get your point mate, I like it though. I still have room for 2 HDD's and an SSD. Nothing else is going into this case and it runs quiet.

Somasundaram Sathiyathasan · Apr 3, 2015

Kobrax :

Add a Samsung 850 Evo 120GB ssd (you can even get it in Currys for £58), cheaper than other online retailers too. Then you'll have a solid build. The 850 Evo is the fastest 120GB ssd you can buy (other 120 ssds have much slower write speeds)

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

I plan to add an SSD at the end of April

then switch my OS over to the SSD. And I'll keep the the 250GB HDD until I fill the 1TB HDD and 2TB HDD I'll buy after that. So Yeh, the only thing pretty much I'm looking to change is the SSD when I can afford it,

What about the webcam and mic guys? I kind of settled on them due to price alone, backed up by some solid reviews.i do panto swap them out at some point in the near future but..

have any of you got experience or knowledge about the webcam and mic?

Or the keyboardt/mouse combo for that matter?

RCFProd · Apr 3, 2015

Don't expect any premium quality from the mouse/keyboard.

You can just upgrade that later though if you aren't happy with it. Atleast you've got something to work with for now

Somasundaram Sathiyathasan · Apr 3, 2015

Kobrax :

It should keep you going for a while. Logitech make good stuff, so the webcam is ok.

sora · Apr 3, 2015

ztrexx :

+1; The Corsair CX series of power supplies use poor capacitors.

Somasundaram Sathiyathasan · Apr 3, 2015

sora :

Did you read through the thread carefully? The PSU came with the tower, and so there's no point in replacing it. A tier 3 is good enough for the OP's needs. I would recommend a good XFX, Antec, Seasonic or EVGA psu too, but it came in the tower when he bought it.

Kobrax · Apr 3, 2015

Yeh I'd have gone for an xfx if I hadn't vans across what I found on eBay.

I know the keyboard mouse combo isn't premium quality, but I don't have any experience with any of components or peripherals period so I'm not missing out on anything at this stage.

When I've got myself going and have save some more money, I'll probably go for something like mechanical K65 keyboard or something and high end gaming mouse. But I'm no pro gamer, I just need it to function.

I'm more concerned about the webcam and mic but at long as they will produce good quality in audio and webcam visuals on final videos I'll be happy

Finally my first build (budget build) is complete

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