orkie

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Hello all, I build my first pc for me about a year ago and a friend has asked me to help him choose parts for his pc which he will be buying "asap". He is not a gamer and so is planning not to buy a standalone graphics card. I'm just wondering where the graphics included in i5 2500 processor are sufficient for most daily tasks and won't cause problems and to run Microsoft flight simulator. The system requirements for flight simulator are pretty low (•Video Card: 32MB DirectX 9 compatible) but just want to be sure that it will work.

Also since he is not planning to overclock, I'm not sure wether to get i5 2500k or i5 2500 as one has Intel Hd 3000 graphics and the other Hd 2000 graphics. It's only a few pounds difference but if there is no point of getting the i5 2500k then no need to waste his money.

I'll Include what I've currently chosen at the bottom. Would apprecitiate if people can reccomend any changes or suggestions for other parts better value for money etc. Thanks for any Advice.


Approximate Purchase Date: in a week or two

Budget Range: £600, if possible slightly lower.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Being able to play Microsoft Flight simulator, Home usage - surfing the internet, watching movies, Doing homework.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preferences aslong as it sells in the Uk

Country: United Kingdom

Parts Preferences:by brand or type: None but probbably going for intel CPU

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: maximum of 1920x1200

CPU: i5 2500k (or i5 2500) £168

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3-B3 MoBo £66
Not sure on motherboards, I've always been confused by them and would be happy for some reccomendations.

CPU cooler: Retail cooler

GPU: Sandybridge processor graphics unless reccomended otherwise. £0

Memory: Corsair Memory XMS3 Classic 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 Dual Channel £22
I'm still in the impression that there is no point in getting 8gb atm for general use and he can always add 4gb more later on. I'm thinking correct? :p

Hard drive:Samsung HN-M101MBB Spinpoint M8, 2.5", 9.5 mm, SATA II - 3Gb/s, 5400rpm, 8MB Cache, 12ms £80
From when buying my pc, I remember Samsung being best value for money, but hard drives have obviously gone up quiet a lot so not sure what would be best suggestion at the moment?

Power Supply: Antec Basiq Power VP 550P-GB 550W Power Supply (PSU) £48

OS: Windows 7: Home premium OEM £72

DVD drive: Sony Optical DVD-ROM, DDU1681S-0B, SATA, OEM £12

Case: He has not chosen a case yet. He is looking for a decent looking mid tower preferably with a side window that does its job. Any reccomendations welcome at around £50 if possible.

Total: About £518

Any other tips also welcome. Thanks again.


 

scampy_008

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HI Mate,

If your going to spend that Kind of money your better of buying a socket 2011 set-up, although you will need a seperate graphics cards, it much much future proof. A £80-£100 Graphics should be sufficint to deal with your gaming requirments.

If you do go for a 1155 setup, then you need to check your prices, you should be able to get things a little cheaper then then you have quoted.

 

orkie

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Hey, Thanks for your reply. Why do you reccomend the 2011 set up? I gave a quick look and it seems the proccesors are mainly for enthusiasts. Since my friend will not be doing much gaming, I think it would be a wiser choice to go with 1155 setup as he probbably won't need to upgrade parts later on so will be cheaper.

I'm only slightly confused at the upcoming ivy bridge processors and would be nice if someone could shed some light on this. is Ivy bridge going to replace proccesors such as i5 2500 and what is the estimated release date? Would it be worth the wait?
 

scampy_008

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Yeah although 1155, is new I see it being phased out with the release of ivy bridge cpu's, socket 2011 will be compatible with Ivy bridge CPU's. One of the advantage of socket 2011 is Quad Channel memory. If sandybridge was the future why would intel remove the onboard GPU's, doesnt make sense?

Im pretty much in the same situation myself, a friend asked a few days ago to build a system for him, so I had a look at whats availble.

1156 vs 1155 vs 1366 vs 2011.

1156 is being phased out
1366 is pretty good set-up if your on a budget, however high end CPU's are still very expensive
1155 good cpu speeds, with onboard GPU, prices are reasonable
2001 latest tech, only drawback at the moment is CPu is expensive @ around £240 but you get mobos for it from about £110-120 and a gigabyte for around £155

So your total extra spend would be

£80 on a CPU
£50-£80 on mobo
£80-£100 on a Graphics Card

At a minimum thats an extra £210, just depend if the budget can stretch that far

But with that extra £210, you have a sytem that i likely to stay up to date for a good few years to come.

 

metal orient

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While 1155 will be phased out it's not going to happen for a while as Ivy bridge is 1155.
Quad channel RAM gives negligible advantages right now.
Intel haven't removed the integrated GPU's in Ivy, they've increased their power as this is the future for the mass market.

No point investing in 1156 or 1366 as they are old sockets and 1366 is prohibitively expensive as is 2011.

Stick with your 2500k and socket 1155, but as ivy is announced on the 23rd i'd certainly hold fire until then to see what benefits it gives and if the price difference is worth it.
 

scampy_008

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I dont know much, the experts know better, however it look as though socket 2011 CPU's dont have integrated GPU's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_2011

I did some pricing for you on you should be able to get the items you need a bit cheaper, all prices are for BNIB items with full manufacturers warranty and in the UK

i5-2500K - £159.54 (delivered)
ebay - 200747919946

BNIB 115 Gigabyte motherboard GIGABYTE H61M-D2H integrated graphics with HDMI (£41.78 delivered)
ebay - 200747005738

16GB Corsair Vengence (used, £63 delivered)
ebay - 320888110542
The reson I recommend used is because I sell Ram for a living, guess where on ebay(lol) so I know it cheap

You can always test it with Memtest (as I do) usually always OK, I sometime buy and sell the same ram on ebay, it happens!

Antec a pretty decent PSU, I have an alternative though Corsair 600W
Corsair Builder Series CMPSU-600CX 600W Power Supply PSU (£51.95 delivered)
http://www.fiercepc.co.uk/components/corsair-builder-series-cmpsu-600cx-600w-power-supply-psu-cmpsu-600cxuk/


Samsung 1TB (£69.95 delivered) with better cache 32MB instaed of 8MB
ebay - 400286505967

In terms of a case, I would recommend anything less then an Antec, most 3rd party case might look nice but the S**** inside. I have had a couple of antec cases and they are well worth the money. Maybe an Antec 300, they are around £50 delivered.

In terms of a CPU cooler check this one out, it looks mean
ebay - 250895143611
A basic artic one
ebay - 280848364728

As you can see I love ebay, Its pays my mortgage so im not complaning.

Good luck with building your system

Regards Abdul (ebay ID Scampy_008)
 

orkie

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Nov 21, 2010
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Hey, thanks for your suggestions. I'm not a big fan of Ebay however and do not usually buy items from there (even if new) unless it's from a shop with a ebay account.
I talked to my friend today and he is happy with going with the i5 2500k. I want to ask though, are the onboard graphics good enough for daily use? As the only game he would be playing is Microsoft flight simulator. But just want to be sure that there aren't some common programs that require dedicated graphic card for instance.