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Advice Needed - New Multimedia/Gaming PC

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2 weeks maximum (the closer the better))

BUDGET RANGE: £700

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: VideoEditing - other Multimedia work (e.g. CS4), Online Gaming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: ebuyer.com, overclockers.co.uk (other reputable UK based companies can be considered)

PARTS PREFERENCES: Not too fussy as long as its within Budget, and works!

OVERCLOCKING: Strongly considering it, but only when needed.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: HDtv Runs in Full HD, 19"Monitor Runs in 1280x1024. Need a new 19" or 20" Monitor. So i would guess 1280x1024

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I have a 19" monitor and a 32" TV that will be connected to the system, plus one new monitor if possible within the budget. This could possibly wait for a month or so though. I will be using Win7 but could fall back on XP if its more suited.

So far i have put this together, any advice or changes would be a great help.

Case + PSU - CM Storm Scout + Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W Modular PSU £124.99
MotherBoard - Asus M4A785TD-V EVO 785G Socket AM3 onboard DVI VGA HDMI 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £70.81
Processor - MD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz Socket AM3 8MB Cache £122.03
Memory - EXDISPLAY Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V £90.84
HDD - Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM £61.89
Graphics Card - Sapphire HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI DisplayPort HDCP PCI-E £133.54

Total = 604.10

Thanks in advance. Any more info needed just ask and ill do my best to answer quickly.

More about : advice needed multimedia gaming

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Alright so £700 is like $1000, right?

My question would be what are your priorities (in order) for what you want to do with your pc? That will help with how much money should be put into the cpu/video card.

The components you have at the moment won't use much power, so you could go for a 500W PSU from a well known company if it will save you any money.
That EXDisplay RAM is actually more expensive than the non-exdisplay. It is also probably a bit slow for what you want to do. You might also benefit from going for more than 4GB of RAM, your call if you want to wait and see what 4GB is like first tho. This is actually a very similiar price: G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V £89.58, altho the Crucial has free delivery and lower voltage.

Sorry for the delayed response, i havnt been at a computer for most of the evening.

@touchdowntexas13 - My prioritys are
1. Video Editing and PhotoEditing etc
2. General Office applications i.e.database, spreadsheet, internet browing.
3.Online gaming (This is is only an occasional use, but i would like to enjoy it to a reasonable standard on my 19" monitor but not a massive prioity)

also yes i think that £700 is approximatly $1000 (in that ball park area anyway.) I am able to go a little bit higher with my budget but only if nessecery, would like to see what can be done on this first if possible.

@Silvune - Thanks for the advice on the RAM, Would you definaltly recoomemnd faster Memory for the applications that i intend to use my PC for? Also i have had NO experiance with G-Skill, does anyone know if it will be reliable?
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G.Skill are often recommended, so it is highly unlikely that they would have reliability issues. They are in fact one of the best RAM manufacturing companies. Seeing as there is no price difference, then a lot of people would consider you crazy for going for 1333mhz RAM over the G.Skill 1600mhz. So yea, it is a definite recommendation from me.

I would advice for something like this:

CPU: Intel Core i5 750
£163.99 inc VAT
£139.57 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP...
the only reason im recommending the 750 over amd is because it will be easier for you to upgrade from here, the only thing you would need to add to the system it an ssd later down the road when prices are better, and this pc should last you at least a year or two depending on how often you upgrade

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5
£141.99 inc VAT
£120.84 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB...

RAM: Geil Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz
£95.99 inc VAT
£81.69 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY...
The reason 1600 ram is the standard, would be, because its price so close to its lower modules of 1333 and 1066, it makes little sense on spending as much on 1333 set

Heat-sink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
£19.99 inc VAT
£17.01 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS...

GPU: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5
£127.99 inc VAT
£108.93 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX...

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB
£42.99 inc VAT
£36.59 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD...

Case: Coolermaster CM-690 II Advanced Dominator Case
£89.99 inc VAT
£76.59 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA...

PSU: Corsair VX 550W ATX Power Supply
£67.99 inc VAT
£57.86 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA...

DVD: Samsung SH-S223L/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter
£18.99 inc VAT
£16.16 ex VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD...

Total : £783.71
A little over your budget, but its worth it, notice that didn't use any combo, so some money can be save if combos are found



Thanks to both of you, i will have to check out these recomendations in the morning as i am just heading offline. Are there any noticable pros/cons for the intel system except upgradability...any other differences i should be aware of??

well the i5 750 is faster then both AMD 955 and 965, also upgradability translate into cheaper, because upgrading one part later on, can save you money, instead of doing a simple build now and the another simple build later, when you can just buy the little better now and then finish it when you feel it needs more power.

I have had a look at your build now and i must say it is looking rather promising. one thing i did note though was that the PSU and case come to more than the original combo that i found...any particular reason that you would recommend this over the one i found?

Just thought id ask as it is over £30 more expensive. Would there be any compatibility issues with putting this setup in the case i found?

Its not that i dont like the case etc, im not particulary attached to the one i found just trying to get it within budget if possible.

Ok well im pretty certain that im going to order the parts that you suggested. Shame that the heatsink is no longer in stock, will either have to wait on it or come up with a new option i guess. Shouldnt need itstraight away though right??

I figured that by using the case and PSU combo and increasing my hard drive space then i stil save a little money but have a system that i will be happy with.....stil very much contemplating the case and PSU suggested though (its a toughy)

One other quick question need an opinion on, if you dont mind...would i be better off getting 2x

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB
£42.99 inc VAT
£36.59 ex VAT

or just going for a 1TB HDD - either the larger version of the above or the

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM £61.89

Obviously cost is a slight issue but put that asside before you answer please, what would you do??

builderbobftw said:
The Spinpoint is a good general drive. The 7200.12 is the hardocre gamer's choice. You should go for the spinpoint.


Thanks very much, what is it that makes the drive suitable for gaming out of interest? Might need to know for future reference.
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