Advice on first time build needed. Budgets + further info in post.

jackdag

Honorable
Sep 28, 2012
15
0
10,510
Hello,

I am embarking on a first build, gaming PC. I am turning to you guys, as I've read the forums before for tech advice, but this is my first real test. I guess the handy template I researched to help you narrow down your advice would be a good start, so here goes:

Approximate Purchase Date: Oct/Nov

Budget Range: £600-700 (not inc. monitor, OS or keyboard/mouse)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Primarily gaming.

Are you buying a monitor: No. Already have a Dell Ultrasharp U2311H on order.

Parts to Upgrade: N/A. I need it all.

Do you need to buy OS: I will, but that's not in my initial budget. I will be getting Windows 8.

Location: London, UK.

Overclocking: Maybe; if some could explain the advantages v price that would be great.

SLI or Crossfire: I don't know what that means.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: Not particularly fussy. I want some advice on the first things to be looking for. This (as you can tell by my budget) won't be a top of the range build, and I know that.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have a macbook pro, and that's fine. But I miss the gaming capability of PC's and I'm relishing the challenge of getting one/not getting ripped off in the process. Playing the latest games at the very highest specs is not my agenda, but building a very powerful PC that can handle nearly everything I can throw at it is my ideal outcome.

So, like I said, I'm a novice on this. If I've made a faux pas by asking in this way, or in this section, I apologise. I tried to follow the guidelines for this kind of post closely. Also, if asking for U.K advice on this site is wrong, then could someone please point me in the right direction?

Right, I think I've apologised for enough stuff in advance. I guess all that's left is to thank people in advance for all their helpful, impartial advice.

Thanks,

Jack.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
You're probably better off sticking with Windows 7 - the general consensus from most developers I've been reading have been pointing to Windows 8 sucking big time, it's a good cell phone operating system, not a good desktop operating system.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£140.87 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£72.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£49.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£59.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card (£187.89 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case (£53.02 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£69.99 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Lite-On DS-8A8SH DVD/CD Writer (£19.16 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £653.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

I went a little bit over budget but the Radeon 7870 is an awesome card for gaming and you get a dedicated quad core CPU.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Tower/dp/B006TVQTHW/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1348687216&sr=1-3 £50.50
Antec Three Hundred Two Midi Tower Case - ATX, M-ATX, M-ITX, 2 x USB 3.0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/550w-Power-Supply-Unit-Edition/dp/B005TDTV0S/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1348687436&sr=1-4 £48.86
Xfx Pro 550w Power Supply Unit (core Edition) (Manf Part Code: P1-550S-UKB9)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-P8B75-M-LX-Motherboard-PCI-Express/dp/B008P4ZS64/ref=sr_1_9?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1348686517&sr=1-9 £51.44
Asus P8B75-M LX Motherboard (Intel B75, DDR3 RAM, SATA 6GB/s, Micro ATX, USB 3.0, PCI-Express 3.0, GPU Boost, Asus UEFI BIOS, Socket 1155)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-FC-LGA12C-i5-3450-Processor-Cache/dp/B007RMH0MU/ref=sr_1_13?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1348687099&sr=1-13 £145.90
Intel FC-LGA12C Core i5-3450 Processor (6M Cache, 3.50 GHz)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006YG94Y2/ref=s9_simh_bw_p147_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0Y3VMP12Z3MFASYP6D1A&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=228922307&pf_rd_i=428655031 £27.49
Crucial Ballistix BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU 8GB (4GB x2) DDR3 Memory Kit

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-22x-SATA-DVD-Writer/dp/B004VU7MFQ/ref=pd_sim_computers_6 £14.95
Samsung 22x SATA DVD Writer - Black (Bare Drive Only)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HD103SJ-internal-SATAII-7200RPM/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_12?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1348687279&sr=1-12 £63.55
Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB internal Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache 7200RPM – OEM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11199-03-20G-HD7870-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B007MSI5AK/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1348687504&sr=1-2 £187.89
Sapphire 11199-03-20G HD7870 2GB GDDR5 OC Graphics Card

Total: £590.58
 

jackdag

Honorable
Sep 28, 2012
15
0
10,510
Great, thanks guys! Will come back here for more no doubt, but those two lists are a great starting point. You've both gone for the same CPU and Graphics card, which is good; certainly narrows those two down. And thanks deemo13 for answering that.