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nicmel

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Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP, tomorrow?

Budget Range: £250-350

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Games (WoW and LoL right now, not sure what in the future but dont want to get left behind), Uni work (MS office + SPSS), TV show streaming

Parts Not Required: will be reusing my optical drive, my 750gb hard drive, my keyboard, mouse and monitor.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: dabs.com, ebuyer.com or amazon.co.uk

Country of Origin: Edinburgh, Scotland

Parts Preferences: I like AMD, not for any particular reason though.

Overclocking: Maybe, probably not though

SLI or Crossfire: not in the foreseeable future

Monitor Resolution: 1366x768 (I use my samsung 32" lcd tv)

I'm thinking of getting:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz Black Edition AM3 Socket L2/L3 8MB £93
http://www.dabs.com/products/amd-phenom-ii-x4-965-3-4ghz-black-edition-am3-socket-l2-l3-8mb-6B0X.html

Gigabyte M68MT-S2P AM3 AMD GeForce 7025 DDR3 mATX £41
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-m68mt-s2p-am3-amd-geforce-7025-ddr3-matx-7KSG.html

Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon 6570 HD 650MHz 1GB PCI-E HDMI Ultimate £61
http://www.dabs.com/products/sapphire-technology-ati-radeon-6570-hd-650mhz-1gb-pci-e-hdmi-ultimate-7L6P.html

Best Value Ezcool NA-725D Midi-Tower + 500W PSU £25
http://www.dabs.com/products/best-value-ezcool-na-725d-midi-tower---500w-psu-7Q5Z.html


OCZ Technology 60GB Vertex Plus Series SATA 3Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive (for Win7 and WoW) £55
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-60gb-vertex-plus-series-sata-3gb-s-2-5--solid-state-drive-7P0S.html

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 XMS3 1600Mhz DIMM CL9 1.65V £45
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-xms3-8gb--2x4gb--ddr3-xms3-1600mhz-dimm-cl9-1-65v-75H5.html


That comes to about £320, which is towards the top end of my budget. I'm just wondering 3 things: Have I forgotten anything? Are all these pieces compatible? Is there anything in there that would be better replaced, either to reduce cost, or increase performance for a couple of bucks extra?

Thank you in advance,

Nick
 
N

nicmel

Distinguished
Oct 17, 2011
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18,510
AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz Black Edition AM3 Socket L2/L3 8MB £93
http://www.dabs.com/products/amd-phenom-ii-x4-965-3-4ghz-black-edition-am3-socket-l2-l3-8mb-6B0X.html

Gigabyte M68MT-S2P AM3 AMD GeForce 7025 DDR3 mATX £41
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-m68mt-s2p-am3-amd-geforce-7025-ddr3-matx-7KSG.html

Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon 6570 HD 650MHz 1GB PCI-E HDMI Ultimate £61
http://www.dabs.com/products/sapphire-technology-ati-radeon-6570-hd-650mhz-1gb-pci-e-hdmi-ultimate-7L6P.html

Arctic Cooling Silentium T11 Black Case £34
http://www.dabs.com/products/arctic-cooling-silentium-t11-black-case-7H09.html

XIGMATEK NRP-VC503 500W PSU £30
http://www.dabs.com/products/xigmatek-nrp-vc503-500w-psu-7BPZ.html

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 XMS3 1600Mhz DIMM CL9 1.65V £45
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-xms3-8gb--2x4gb--ddr3-xms3-1600mhz-dimm-cl9-1-65v-75H5.html

I've tried to edit this message, but I'm not able to apparently, and so I've resorted to bumping.

I've edited the list, as some research showed the case/psu bundle was too good to be true. I've taken the SSD out, as if needed I can wait for that. I'm not sure if this will give a huge improvement in performance over what I have right now (Phenom i x3, 2.2ghz. 4GB ram, geforce 210), I reads like it will, and the new case will certainly open more options than the crappy one I have right now.

Are there any glaring problems, either compatibility wise or value/performance wise? This will be my first build in a very long time, so I'm not overly confident!
 
michxymi

michxymi

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Give us full specs of your current pc (everything listed would be great, if this is hard for you, what need most is the exact name of the motherboard and the PSU model)

Also check if your optical drive and HDD are SATA or IDE
 
N

nicmel

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Oct 17, 2011
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it's a store bought packard bell imedia, so I assume the motherboard and PSU are probably not up to scratch (hence being replaced)

both drives are Sata I beleive, had a look this morning, the hard drive certainly is.
 
michxymi

michxymi

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Value case from Silverstone

Silverstone Precision Midi ATX Black no PSU
http://www.dabs.com/products/silverstone-precision-midi-atx-black-no-psu-77NR.html

High quality PSU, created by Seasonic, that can hold even more powerful cards like 6850 - 6870

XFX 450 Watt Core Edition Single Rail PSU w/ Full Wired Cables
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-450-watt-core-edition-single-rail-psu-w--full-wired-cables-7NSV.html

965 and 955 is the same CPU. All you have to do is +1 955's multiplier and BAM your 955 becomes a 965 :D

AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz Black Edition Socket AM3 L2/L3 6MB
http://www.dabs.com/products/amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-3-2ghz-black-edition-socket-am3-l2-l3-6mb-6K8D.html

The most value motherboard ever made...AM3+ with up to 140W TDP CPU support, high quality componets and USB III..The only disadvantage is that it doesn't support SATA III but you won't feel the difference with normal HDDs

Asus AM3+ AMD 760G DDR3 uATX
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-am3--amd-760g-ddr3-uatx-7MMB.html

4GB are enough for now..more memory won't give you more fps @ games

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 DIMM 240-Pin 1600Mhz CL9
http://www.dabs.com/products/kingston-hyperx-4gb--2-x-2gb--ddr3-dimm-240-pin-1600mhz-cl9-5FSR.html

And a 6770 for GPU..the least you have to get for a gaming PC

XFX ATI Radeon 6770 HD 850MHz 1GB PCI-Express HDMI
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-ati-radeon-6770-hd-850mhz-1gb-pci-express-hdmi-7NQV.html

SUM 323 £ and you have a great gaming pc with high quality components and upgradeable both to CPU (AMD FX) and GPU (newer 7xxx GPUs)
 
N

nicmel

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Oct 17, 2011
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Thanks mate, the only problem is alot of that is "ordered upon request" which means they order it from supplier once you order it, a long wait.

I'm gonna end up spending more to get it sooner, I always do!
 
michxymi

michxymi

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We can check for similar items at other stores you prefered
 
N

nicmel

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Oct 17, 2011
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yeh, thats an option. 1 last question before I peice it all together and order it then. I know AM3 processors (the one I am ordering) will work in an AM3+ slot. Are there any issues with the TDP of the processor, or any other factors I need to be aware of?
 
michxymi

michxymi

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Nothing mate....The Asus motherboard supports both AM3 and AM3+ CPUs with up to 140W TDP...Phenom II X4 955 is 125W TDP so it will work fine and without problems ;)
 
N

nicmel

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Oct 17, 2011
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thanks mate,

browsing scan for a case and PSU now, might as well get the lot all at the one place, they seem a couple of pounds cheaper than DABS, but don't offer free shipping.
 
michxymi

michxymi

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If you can build this alone take only the motherboard from scan
 
N

nicmel

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michxymi

michxymi

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You should prefer a branded PSU....this one seems very crappy...

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-psu-xfx-core-edition-p1-550s-xxb9-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx
 
michxymi

michxymi

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Here's a list of alternatives from scan

NZXT Source 210 Elite White Mid Tower Gaming Case with USB 3.0 w/o PSU
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nzxt-source-210-elite-white-mid-tower-gaming-case-with-usb-30-w-o-psu

Akasa ES AK-P450AG8-SLUK 450W Power Supply (PSU)
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-psu-akasa-ak-p450ag8-sluk-80plus-eff-uncertified-atx-v23

HDZ955FBGMBOX - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, Deneb Core, S AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Cache, HT 3600MHz, 125W, Retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-black-deneb-core-s-am3-32ghz-8mb-cache-ht-3600mhz-125w-retail

Asus M5A78L-M/USB3, AMD 760G, S AM3+, DDR3, SATA II - 3Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe (x16), Graphics On Board, Micro ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-m5a78l-m-usb3-amd-760g-s-am3plus-ddr3-sata-ii-3gb-s-raid-sata-pcie-%28x16%29-graphics-on-board-micr

HD-677X-ZHLC - 1GB XFX HD 6770, PCIe 2.1 (x16), 4800MHz GDDR5, GPU 850MHz, 800 Cores, 2x Dual Link DVI-I/ mini HDMI
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-6770-pcie-21-%28x16%29-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-850mhz-800-cores-2x-dual-link-dvi-i-mini-hdmi

And go to your local store and buy a 4GB kit of Kingston Hyper X Blue 1600MHz CL9 memory..scan has only Corsair and I was having some problems with this particular motherboard and Corsair's memory
 
N

nicmel

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Oct 17, 2011
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Thanks for all your help dude, really do appreciate it.

I've ordered everything now, except the PSU. I ordered some on Dabs and some on scan. Dabs have dispatched already, scan wont dispatch til tomorrow, so I'm going to phone them first thing and try to add on a PSU under the same order, their customer service rep is pretty decent so I cant imagine it will be too difficult to sort something out.

I'll post back here on Thursday when it all arrives! Hopefully finish my lit review by then so I can play with it!
 
N

nicmel

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Oct 17, 2011
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Arctic Cooling Silentium T11 Black Case £30
AKASA AK-P450AG8-SLUK PSU £39
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 AMD 760G AM3+ mATX Motherboard£51
AMD CPU Phenom II 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor £89
XFX ATI Radeon 6770 HD 850MHz 1GB PCI-Express HDMI £80
Corsair Memory Vengeance Black 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 XMP Dual Channel Desktop £42

£345 after shipping.
It all gets here tomorrow, really looking forward to it! I did order it before you mentioned the issue with corsair ram and the motherboard, hopefully I don't have that problem, if I do I can return the ram under distance selling regulations and order a new set. I couldn't say no to 8GB for £40 :p
 
michxymi

michxymi

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It's a great PSU more powerful than both of them...
 
N

nicmel

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I did a bit of checking, and it appears its manufactured by Enhance, who have a pretty good rep. Each review i've read has been positive and under "stress" conditions it provides the correct voltage down each rail, more so than some more expensive ones.

 
michxymi

michxymi

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Oh I just saw that...you could get a better case but OK...it's great happy building!
 
N

nicmel

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boot times with the SSD are a pretty decent, from POST to browsing its about 12 seconds, I was expecting more.

The build took a while, mostly due to the psu cables getting in the way, and tying to get into my old case was an absolute nightmare. Once it was built I trouble installing windows on the SSD without the HDD getting in the way, thats sorted now though and booting isnt a problem at all. Thanks for everyones help, I'm a happy chap!

 
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