Decentish Spec Home PC - £750 - Advice for Mobo/PSU please

[katklaw]

Wonder if anyone can help - Its a long time since Ive done a build and I would like some advice in a few areas... apologies if some questions are a bit n00bish. Ive tried reading up on what I can, but still have a few areas of indecission. So thoughts/comments are appreciated.



Approximate Purchase Date: Within next 2 weeks.

Budget Range: £750 inc VAT

System Usage from Most to Least Important: High level home/hobby use, Image editing, Heavy resource apps such as M$ Office, DW, lots of web work/coding, HTTP/FTP server. Movies, occasional gaming.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitors, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Scan, Novatech

Country: UK

Parts Preferences: Tower System, Must support dual monitors

Overclocking: Probably not

SLI or Crossfire: Probably not

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 x2 - current set up is 1xDVI 1xDSUB

Additional Comments: Quietish PC as Im sat next to it for much of day and its on 24/7.
Have new Win 7 Pro Licence & DVD. Current system 3GB RAM pushed to the max, multi-task screen user. Funds are limited and need a system to see me through the next 3-4 years... oh and cat sleeps on top of PC


This is what I have so far:-
-------------------------------------------------------


Case Coolermaster Silencio 550
£63.98
CPU Intel Core i7 2600, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.4GHz, HD2000 IGP 850Mhz, 8MB Cache, 95W,
£229.40
PSU
Mobo
RAM 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair, DDR3 1600MHz
£42.19
HDD - System 120GB SSD Corsair Force Series 3 Series SATA III
£86.54
HDD Storage 1TB Seagate Barracuda, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64Mb Cache
£68.52
Graphics Card 1GB EVGA GTX 550 Ti FPB, 951MHz GPU, 192 Cores, 4356 Mhz GDDR5 (£79.55)
£95.46
Additional Dynamode Bluetooth BT-USB-M2 nano Dongle 150m v2.0 (Ultra Small) 2.34
Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x Blu-ray BD-ROM & DVDRW Combo Player OEM 47.54
Samsung WriteMaster SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM 13.18
Card Reader Needed!!!! Wifi needed!



As you can see from the above by the time I add in a mobo and PSU Im going to be nearing my budget limit.

Im unsure with mobo to go for and what PSU I need and if any additional cooling fans so ....

Would something like this be over the top?
Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H full specs

TIA

 

[katklaw]

Any suggestions / help please.?

 

[mrclownface]

it is hard to choose considering your remaining budget of 120GBP,its best to buy good quality coz the rest of your system is also,maybe you can remove your ssd drive to allow more money to spend on the mobo and power supply,and add a ssd later on


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-148-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-391-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

 

[katklaw]

Thank you for your reply - appreciated.

Is there any advantage of the Z77 over the H77 that Im missing? Just tried doing a google. Its highly unlikely I'll be overclocking, nor using 2 video cards.

"a scaled-back chipset option, suitable when overclocking and multiple video cards are not needed.../snip/
.. Aside from those two limitations, though, it is effectively the same as Z77: the same number of SATA and USB ports are there, SSD caching, onboard Intel graphics, and more."

....although saying that just checked the price if this is the same board you recommend then I may go with that as its only a couple of quid more.


>>> maybe you can remove your ssd drive to allow more money to spend on the mobo and power supply,

I understand your thinking, but since the SSD will be the system drive, it may be too much hassle to replace at a later date. If anything could be sacrificed it could be the bluray, which can easily be slotted in without any messing.

I have however taken onboard what you've said and Ive done some rejigging of a couple of things
(Note: Ivy Bridge CPU, higher spec Mobo... and OCZ for the SSD rather than Corsair).


New Total is £710.52 so leaving just £40 for the PSU

Any thoughts on the Coolermaster GX RS650-ACAAE3-UK 650W ?

This takes me £17 over budget which I can maybe live with as Im now getting fairly decent spec of everything else.... or do I sacrifice the Bluray for the Antec?


-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Case Coolermaster Silencio 550
63.98
CPU Intel Core i7 3770,1155, Ivy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.4GHz, 5 GT/s DMI, 650MHz GPU, 8MB Smart Cache, 34x Ratio, 77W, OEM
220.2
PSU Coolermaster GX RS650-ACAAE3-UK 650W
57.18
Mobo Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Intel Z77
80.12
RAM 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair, DDR3 1600MHz
42.19
HDD - System OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD - Solid State Drive
76.99
HDD - Storage 1TB Seagate ST1000DM003 Barracuda 7200.14 SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm 64mb Cache 8ms NCQ OEM
68.52
Graphics 1GB EVGA GTX 550 Ti FPB, 951MHz GPU, 192 Cores, 4356 Mhz GDDR5
95.46
CD/DVD etc Dynamode Bluetooth BT-USB-M2 nano Dongle 150m v2.0 (Ultra Small) 2.34
Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x Blu-ray BD-ROM & DVDRW Combo Player OEM 47.54
Samsung WriteMaster SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM 13.18
Card Reader Needed (if dont get Silencio case)
Wifi (perhaps cannibalise other machine? - or purchase nano dongle at later date)


Total £767.70

 

[metal orient]

How about this from Dab.com;


Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600MHz CL9 1.5v 240pin
Quicklinx:7Y8SWS00 | Mfr#: BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU
Due in 3-4 days £34.99 £69.98

Seagate 1TB Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Quicklinx:7XD5WS00 | Mfr#: ST1000DM003
In stock £64.99 £64.99

Sandisk 120GB Extreme SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive
Quicklinx:80C0WS00 | Mfr#: SDSSDX-120G-G25
In stock £81.99 £81.99

Intel Core i7-3770 S1155 3.4GHz 8MB
Quicklinx:7YXHWS00 | Mfr#: BX80637I73770
Usually shipped in 3 days £229.99 £229.99

Gigabyte H77-D3H S1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 ATX
Quicklinx:800WWS00 | Mfr#: H77-D3H
In stock £79.99 £79.99

Fractal Design Core 3000 Mid-Tower Case
Quicklinx:7TMMWS00 | Mfr#: FD-CA-CORE-3000-BL
In stock £52.99 £52.99

Akasa 3.5" 6 Internal 6-Slot Media Card Reader
Quicklinx:756TWS00 | Mfr#: AK-ICR-07
In stock £7.99 £7.99

Asus ATI Radeon 6770 HD 850MHz 1GB PCI-E HDMI DirectCU Dirt 3 Bundle
Quicklinx:7MT0WS00 | Mfr#: EAH6770DC/G/2DI/1GD5
In stock £79.99 £79.99

XFX 450 Watt Core Edition Single Rail PSU w/ Full Wired Cables
Quicklinx:7NSVWS00 | Mfr#: P1-450S-U2B9
Due in 3-4 days £39.99 £39.99

Veho VB-5881 - Network adapter - Hi-Speed USB - Bluetooth
Quicklinx:7TRZWS00 | Mfr#: VB-5881
In stock £3.99 £3.99

Samsung SH-S223 22x DVD-RW SATA OEM (Black)
Quicklinx:7WXQWS00 | Mfr#: SH-222BB/BEBE
In stock £11.98 £11.98

TP LINK 150Mbit-WLAN-Lite-N-PCIe x1-Adapter
Quicklinx:7X91WS00 | Mfr#: TL-WN781ND
Usually shipped in 3 days £9.58 £9.58
Delivery (18.265kg)
£5.40


Total (inc VAT) £738.85

 

[katklaw]

Thank you metal - some good options there and Im grateful for all suggestions
Graphics card looks ok

PSU

What I know about PSU's could be written on the back of a postage stamp, hence me asking for help on here.


Notice that the XFX 450 is £36-54 at SCAN which brings me in on budget without sacrificing the blu-ray (something not accounted for in your kit.)


I take it this would be decent for my requirements (quiet)?


Case

The only thing in your setup that is a big no is the Fractal Case. Mesh doesnt do it for me (shiny is possibly a girly thing)..
but the biggest problem is the fans/vents at the top.. not a good idea when a fluffy white Birman cat tends to sleep on top of your PC (and any other crap I throw on top of it). Mesh is going to be a fur magnet


CPU Cooler/Heatsink

Finally one thing I just realised I did forget was a heatsink/cooler. - again something I know little about

Does anyone know if the Heat Sink and Fan included in the box is sufficient?

I have something like this zalman on my soon to be retired machine. The only problem with own builds for me is the heatsink.. as I sometimes struggle with some of the clips (possibly one of the reasons why its a while since I last did an own build... and fitting something that needs strong fingers/brute force could be a problem.

 

[metal orient]

PSU is a nice unit made by seasonic who are a good OEM.

If you can get the bluray player in by all means, I just give a guide on what i found if you can do better that's great (males things easier for me).

Can't comment on the quietness of it, I have no idea


Yeah i did consider that the top might need to be completely closed because of that.

The included heatsink is fine but you may want to buy a better one down the road if it turns out to be too noisy.

I don't think that will work better than the stock heatsink.

 

[katklaw]

Thanks again.

If I get the PSU you suggested and the graphics card... then that gives me a tiny bit to play with to go for the Sandisk drive... and still get the blu-ray.. still coming in on budget. Scan is only about 45mins from here, and I pass it on the way to my brothers anyhow.. which is why I was thinking of using them for most of the stuff, but theres no reason why I couldnt do a mix and match of both.

I think we are heading towards a solution unless anyone else has anything further to add about the PSU and heatsink.

Thank you very much to all that have contributed so far - appreciated much

 

[metal orient]

Do you keep an eye on the one day only deals on scan? They can be pretty good sometimes.

 

[katklaw]

System parts ordered with a few tweaks on a couple of things to take advantage of a bundle offer @ scan.

Thank you everyone that responded