My 1st build, £400 including Win 7 - Any good?

[BONDIE_86]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to build my first pc, I was wondering if it will all fit together nicely and will it fit because I have found a micro case I like. Are all the parts I've selected compatible?

The main use of the pc will be surfing the net, hardly playing any games on it. In short I just want a small but fast pc.

I haven't sourced a monitor or keyboard yet but I already have a decent Razer Diamondback mouse to go with the new build.

AMD BULLDOZER 4100 / GIGABYTE M68MT-S2P / 8GB DDR3 RAM
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150744209967

NIVIDIA GEFORCE 520
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180861401627

ALPINE 700W PSU TO REPLACE THE 300W THAT COMES WITH THE CASE
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360413178145

CIT S010BA MICRO ATX TOWER WITH IN BUILT CARD READER
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0052ITABK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=A17AS5ETPMZ9A1

WD 500GB SATAIII HDD
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00461G3MS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

SAMSUNG SH-S223C DVD-RW DRIVE (Will this be ok because the case sits upright or do I need one where the disc clips in place?)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002YXVX7U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=A17AS5ETPMZ9A1

WINDOWS 7 FOR SYSTEM BUILDERS
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004Q0PT3I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1RBLI8BU7UB9Y

Thanks guys, Im looking to build a cheap fast-ish pc that doesn't need to play the latest games at full settings.

 

[Cold_War]

You seem to have picked some bad parts for that system, Alpine PSU's are VERY BAD and will probably not last very long, don't have certifications and for that price, built with bad parts. I think that motherboard supports AM3+, but it won't support that 6GB/s HDD. You like that case, but for one thing, it is going to cause lots of hassle as it is a very bad case, it has no modern features space to install the CPU fan, no tool-less design, no cable management, no cooling and looks to me like a badly build case. I don't even think you can remove the PSU in the case! It would be much better to buy a cheap pair of speakers with a better case than that.

Here is my recommendation (it's from a US site but you will save lots, and it does international shipping):

Processor: AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz Processor - $108
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=FX-4100BOX

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ Motherboard - $90
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-970A-46#

Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB DDR3 1600MHz - $49
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D31600_8GK

Power Supply: Coolermaster GX450 450W 80Plus Bronze - $54
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-GX450W

Case - Coolermaster HAF 912 - $54 <- this would be your best pick, but go for the other if you don't like the case
or Coolermaster Elite 371 - $45
HAF: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-912KKN1#
Elite: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-371KKN1#

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA III - $74
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=HD-W50AZRX

DVD Drive - Samsung 22X SATA Drive - $17
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=SH-222BB

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit - $100
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MSGFC02050

Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon 6570 1GB DDR3 (I have the 2GB version, I love it) - $58
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-HD6570#

The total comes to $604, which is roughly around £375, use the spare to buy a new keyboard and a cheap pair of speakers, but then you may have to save to get a new monitor.

 

[ddan49]

^That is a great build for the money. Seriously... you should get that. Your parts are not very good. I know you will have suspicions about the PSU being too low... it's not. Most PSU recommendators online recommend PSUs WAY too high. I think you'd only really use about 300W maximum, but it's good to be safe. Use the calculator on eXtreme Outvision to really find out what PSU you need.

About the case... I like the Antec Three Hundred Illusion... it seemed to be better side-by-side, and it also comes with more fans. Each fan has a three speed controller!

 

[Cold_War]

^That is a great build for the money. Seriously... you should get that. Your parts are not very good. I know you will have suspicions about the PSU being too low... it's not. Most PSU recommendators online recommend PSUs WAY too high. I think you'd only really use about 300W maximum, but it's good to be safe. Use the calculator on eXtreme Outvision to really find out what PSU you need.

About the case... I like the Antec Three Hundred Illusion... it seemed to be better side-by-side, and it also comes with more fans. Each fan has a three speed controller!

It is a great system, but with the Antec on the outside it looks better but on the inside it has no cable management or any good features so it seems to me the HAF just needs 1 or 2 more fans. You will have to pay a lot for a good case with fan controls.

 

[BONDIE_86]

Thanks, but delivery is $166 for the cheapest option making my total spend 480 GBP. Also, im not keen on those huge cases, I prefer the smaller ones.

I've already ordered the FX-4100, M68MT-S2P, Patriot 8GB DDR3, Geforce 520 and Win 7.

So you say to find a better case and a better power supply?

 

[Cold_War]

Thanks, but delivery is $166 for the cheapest option making my total spend 480 GBP. Also, im not keen on those huge cases, I prefer the smaller ones.

I've already ordered the FX-4100, M68MT-S2P, Patriot 8GB DDR3, Geforce 520 and Win 7.

So you say to find a better case and a better power supply?

Basically you went for a bad motherboard so you can't get a SATA III HDD. There are two good Micro-ATX cases below, but if you wish you can buy the bad case waste more of your money.

XFX Pro Core 450W 80Plus Bronze - £39
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-psu-xfx-pro-core-edition-p1-450s-u2b9-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-fan-atx-v231

or if you want a bigger PSU

OCZ ZS Series 550W 80Plus Bronze - £44
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-psu-ocz-technology-zs-series-ocz-zs550w-uk-86-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fa

Aerocool QS-202 Compact Case - £47
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/aerocool-qs-202-compact-series-black-performance-micro-atx-mini-tower-case-w-o-psu

or if you don't like that

Fractal Design Arc Mini - £59
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/fractal-design-arc-mini-microatx-tower-case-black-w-o-psu

 

[ddan49]

You went micro-ATX? Aw... that's a shame. It's a lot worse. I don't know about Antec cable management, but the fan controllers come pre-installed. The HAF is really popular, though, and won't disappoint you.

Mid-size cases aren't huge... full size are. You could just hide it somewhere. All of the items Cold_War (haha nice name btw) suggested are sufficient.

 

[BONDIE_86]

Thanks! The QS-202 is very cool, loving it.

Hows this?

Shell: Aerocool QS-202
Mobo: MSI 970A-G46
Processor: Bulldozer FX-4100
Graphic Card: GeForce 520
RAM: 8GB Patriot DDR3 1333MHz
PSU: XFX Pro 450W
HDD: Western Digital 500GB SATAiii 6GB/s
DVD: Samsung SH-S223C
Other: 3.5" card reader with 5.25" adapter

 

[metal orient]

What is so bad about mATX? If you never plan to use multiple graphics they're fine.

edit: Cold War you realise that SATA II and III are completely compatible right?

 

[BONDIE_86]

You went micro-ATX? Aw... that's a shame. It's a lot worse. I don't know about Antec cable management, but the fan controllers come pre-installed. The HAF is really popular, though, and won't disappoint you.

Mid-size cases aren't huge... full size are. You could just hide it somewhere. All of the items Cold_War (haha nice name btw) suggested are sufficient.

I don't want a massive pc for gaming though, I used to have one that was half a meter tall and I've had about 4 pcs since then and they have all been roughly 350mm tall. I understand if you are going to be playing lots of games and have all the best equipment etc then you may want a big case to keep it cool and space for water cooling etc.

BTW that Zalman Z11 looks amazing, just come accross it if any of you guys want to take a look, especially with the dial. Just a shame it is a bit big for what I need.

Hiding it somewhewre lol, that defeats the point of getting a nice case

 

[BONDIE_86]

What is so bad about mATX? If you never plan to use multiple graphics they're fine.

edit: Cold War you realise that SATA II and III are completely compatible right?

You mean a SATAiii HDD would run at 6GB/s with a mobo that isn't advertised as supporting SATAiii?

 

[metal orient]

You mean a SATAiii HDD would run at 6GB/s with a mobo that isn't advertised as supporting SATAiii?

Of course it wouldn't, it would run at SATA II speeds, however since mechanical hard drives do not saturate the data connection of SATA II yet it's not a problem.

 

[BONDIE_86]

Add another 100 pounds to the budget and you could be slamming your games on high settings with this:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-evga-gtx-460-fpb-4008mhz-gddr5-gpu-823mhz-shader-clock-1646mhz-336-cores-2x-dual-link-dvi-i-mini

I prefer my PS3, I can relax while playing games then.

Just deciding on a case now but there aren't many micro cases.

Probally will go with the QS-202.

 

[BONDIE_86]

I decided to go for the Z11 Plus in the end, couldn't resist. Watched a few videos on it and it looks very well made and the design is awesome.

But I have another noob question ... On that MSi 970A-G46 mobo it says it has 2 x USB 3.0 at back panel 12 x USB 2.0 (6 at rear 6 at mid board).

Case:
http://www.zalman.com/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=476

Mobo:
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/970A-G46.html

My question is can I use some of those mid board 2.0 to power the 3.0 on the top of the case at full 3.0 speed? If not is there a mobo that I can power the top 3.0 at full speed with SATAiii support.

 

[Lieutenant Awesome]

To be quite honest with you, I don't even see why you're getting 8GB of RAM when it's a CPU/GPU like that. Just get 4GB and spend the money elsewhere.

And no, you can't use 2.0 mobo with the case USB 3.0 ports.

 

[BONDIE_86]

Yeah, thought so. Because some have internal 3.0.

8GB Ram will speed up the PC though won't it as apposed to 4GB and it's roughly £30? Like I say I wan't a fast pc. I don't really have a budget so to speak, but for what I use it for I don't want to spend say £1000 because I wouldn't use it enough.

Can you explain, I wan't USB 3.0 internal and external and SATAiii support for my HDD. Do you know of a good AM3+ mobo for me?

I've found the Sabertooth which has both on the ASUS site but cheapest I've found it for is £130, but I'd be getting a load of features I don't need wouldn't I?

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/SABERTOOTH_990FX/

 

[BONDIE_86]

Also, it says "1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) (19-pin, moss green)".

Does this mean 1 mid board 3.0 can power two front case 3.0 at full USB 3.0 speeds?

 

[Lieutenant Awesome]

You're only surfing so you won't need 8GB, 4GB is fine to play latest games anyway for now really. There's just some big idea that you need 8GB when seriously, practically nothing except for maybe video editing actually needs more than 4gb of memory. Why don't you buy 4GB of 1600Mhz memory?

 

[BONDIE_86]

Already ordered it mate, lol I'm a noob I know :-D Not to worry though, just need to find a decent mobo for a reasonable price with SATA3 and USB3.0 for front.

So far I've found:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=970%20Extreme4&cat=Specifications
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/SABERTOOTH_990FX/
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/990FXA-GD80.html

As you've probally gathered I don't understand the inner workings of a pc yet, like what is more important.

I started off by trying to build a better pc for £400 than a similar priced off the shelf model but I can see it is going to turn into building a tank, lol.

I probally will end up playing games on it anyways because the PS3 is getting old now.

 

[BONDIE_86]

Do you think the Sabertooth 990FX will work well with the FX-4100?

 

[Lieutenant Awesome]

Based on first look I'd go for the Asus. Then when I compare the brands together, Asus would win again. Asus makle top class motherboards.

 

[Lieutenant Awesome]

Wait, why do you even need that for a surfing computer?

 

[BONDIE_86]

Because I've ordered the Zalman Z11 Plus with 2 x front USB 3.0 ports and a SATA3 HDD and that mobo supports both. Plus like I say I may end up gaming on it. I've found the Sabertooth for £108 including delivery here:

http://www.byhunt.co.uk/tech/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=72548

Is it a good buy?

 

[Lieutenant Awesome]

Yeah, that's really good. Well if you're going to end up gaming on it then there's no point getting a GeForce 520. You might aswell just have no graphics card for now, and if you decide you want to game in the future then by a graphics card then, a proper one that can handle gaming. A 520 won't be much use at all.

 

[BONDIE_86]

Thanks, what is your opinion on that power supply? Will it do the job if I have 4 fans with the z11 and the fan controller?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360413178145?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649