Student Gaming Build £350 Budget

[shadowhuntur]

The other day I had one of my student friends ask me for yet again for another gaming build (I wish I charged now! lol.) Anyways he said he spotted a really good deal on a website and wants me to build with those components. And yes he just want this build for gaming, and surfing the internet, and doing coursework.

Deal from Novatech £179.99 inc VAT & Shipping:

Novatech Barebone Bundle -
Intel i3 2120
4GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV
4 Bay ATX Tower Case & 400W PSU

This gets my alarm bell ringing... that power supply must be barely usable... but alas he is insisting on keeping that one.

Anyways I point out he will need to buy a hard drive and a graphics card. He chose a 7770 and a £18 hard drive off CEX (a pawn shop).

He then said as he has some money left over within his budget his going to buy a Logitech G9X mouse. I am posting this so you guys can check over everything as this build is very very cheap for what it is.

Here is full list of components with links & prices:

Novatech Bundle £179.99 /w free shipping. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/barebones/bb-21204g.html#reviews

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 £105 /w free shipping. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeon-HD7770-Graphics-GDDR5/dp/B00761YFGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335535960&sr=8-1

Really cheap HDD http://uk.webuy.com/product.php?sku=SHDDSCA0AA

Logitech G9X its mw3 as thats cheaper than the actual one with no branding on it! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Call-Duty-Laser-Mouse/dp/B005X784WG/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1335536142&sr=1-3

Would be great if you guys shared your opinions as I am quite apprehensive about this mega budget build...

 

[aebome]

Like you I would be worried about the quality of that PSU. Granted the price is pretty good for getting that number of parts together, but I would worry about that PSU in the long run, especially powering a GPU (even one as power conscious as the 7770)

Below are the same types of parts as in the Novatech bundle, but better quality, especially the PSU and case, which are well reviewed.

The GPU looks fine, and is a good one to put into a budget build. The hard drive makes me a little nervous, but that's his call.

The mouse, however, is WAY too expensive for the limited budget your student is working with. Here is a MUCH cheaper alternative with great reviews, and it is still a 7 button gaming mouse: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharkoon-Fireglider-Laser-Mouse-Black/dp/B003C4FW7C/ref=pd_cp_computers_2

The mouse saves £26, which I put into better components below. Over all total cost is only up £4 (or £10, if you keep the Core i3 2120 http://www.ebuyer.com/254978-intel-core-i3-2120-3-3ghz-socket-1155-3mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-bx80623i32120)

Parts from Ebuyer.co.uk to replace the awful bundle

Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz - £18.58
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166995

MSI H61M-P25 (B3) Socket 1155 mATX Motherboard - £36.60
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/320145

Intel Core i3 2100 3.10GHz Socket 1155 - £88.60
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/254976

Fractal Design Core 1000 mATX case - £29.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/270599

Corsair CX430 V2 430W PSU - £36.38
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/271798

total inc vat: £210.14

 

[shadowhuntur]

Okay, that seems pretty good. I will go and tell him I have a better build and that he may need to invest £10 more. Thanks, your help it is greatly appreciated.

 

[aebome]

Good luck! I think he'll be happier with this in the long run.