1st Gaming Desktop - budget ~£450

[drugie007]

Approximate Purchase Date: End of Feb/Beginning of March

Budget Range: Upto £450

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, General school work, Internet Browsing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ebuyer.com preferred but any reputable site is fine

Country: UK/England

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Maybe to a low level but most likely not

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 / 1366x768 but pretty much any considered

Additional Comments: Needs to be open to improvements as more money becomes available.

Currently thinking of the following build but looking for any improvements/savings that could be possible. I know the current gfx card isn't really good enough for gaming but it is just a stopgap measure until money is available for an upgrade.

Case:http://www.ebuyer.com/172779-casecom-6788-all-black-case-km-6788-black - £29.99
MB:http://www.ebuyer.com/281367-asus-p8z68-v-lx-socket-1155-onboard-graphics-output-8-channel-audio-atx-p8z68-v-lx - £86.14
Power:http://www.ebuyer.com/124922-arctic-power-500w-psu-p2-arctcic-500td - £36.73
CPU:http://www.ebuyer.com/254976-intel-core-i3-2100-3-10ghz-socket-1155-3mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-bx80623i32100 - £92.14
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/166995-crucial-4gb-2x2gb-ddr3-1333mhz-pc3-10600-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-ct2kit25664ba1339 - £19.00
DVD: http://www.ebuyer.com/268621-samsung-sh-222ab-22x-dvd-rw-dl-ram-sata-optical-drive-oem-sh-222ab-bebe - £11.98
Monitor:http://www.ebuyer.com/236539-benq-g925hda-lcd-tft-18-5-vga-monitor-9h-l2wln-i8e - £64.40
GFX:http://www.ebuyer.com/288949-powercolor-hd-6450-go-green-1gb-ddr3-dvi-d-vga-hdmi-pci-e-graphics-ax6450-1gbk3-shv2 - £34.71
HDD: http://www.ebuyer.com/272944-seagate-500gb-3-5-sata-iii-6gb-s-barracuda-hard-drive-7200rpm-16mb-cache-st500dm002 - £64.00

Total - £439.09

Any thoughts/suggestions/criticisms welcome

 

[metal orient]

I'd suggest a few changes:

1. Don't get a discrete VGA but use the integrated graphics in the CPU
2. Get a branded PSu e.g. Corsair, XFX, Antec, OCZ for greater reliability
3. Get a larger screen
4. Get a better case

Put this together for you:

Intel i3 2105 £102 (has the HD3000 graphics for slightly better gameplay)
http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/item-detail.php?products_id=4373477

Gigabyte Z68 DS3 £71
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Gigabyte+GA-Z68P-DS3+Intel+Z68+%28REV+B3%29+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=46378

4GB Mushkin 1333 £18
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR3/Dual+Channel+1333MHz/4GB+Mushkin+Silverline+%23996768+%282x2GB%29+DDR3+1333MHz+9-9-9-24+?productId=41783

Seagate 500GB £63
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/SATA+%28Serial+ATA%29/500GB+to+1TB/Seagate+Barracuda+7200.12+500GB+3.5%22+SATA+III+Internal+Hard+Drive+%5BST500DM002%5D+?productId=46054

OCZ ZS 550w £44
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/650W+or+less/550W+OCZ+ZS+Series+80PLUS+Bronze+Power+Supply+?productId=45457
Or
XFX Core 550W £53
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/650W+or+less/550W+XFX+Core+Edition+80PLUS+Bronze+Power+Supply+%28Seasonic+OEM%29+?productId=45332

Bitfenix Shinobi £48
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/MIDI+Tower/BitFenix+Shinobi+Black+Midi+Tower+Chassis+?productId=45934

Acer 22" V223HQVb £79 1920x1080
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Monitors/22%26quot%3B+Monitors/Acer+22%22+V223HQVb+Widescreen+LCD+VGA+Monitor+?productId=47717

Total is £445.24 (£101.75 at YOYOTECH and £343.49 at ARIA) inclusive of VAT and P&P.
Although please be aware i used some "super special" deals so prices may be different at time of purchase.

 

[drugie007]

Thx for the reply,

Looking at it again you're right, it would be better to remove the discrete gfx alltogether (and i didnt realise that the i3 had a version with the hd3000 gfx) and just get a propper card when funds allowed.

my only concern is that with that build it doesnt have a dvd drive but i can always use a usb drive for the initial setup work (and hope that money can be saved before one is needed for anything else)

 

[metal orient]

Oh yeah forgot to add that link (is included in the price though)

DVDRW £11
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Samsung+SH-S222BB%2FBEBE+DVD+Writer+?productId=48004

 

[drugie007]

ah right, well thats that sorted then.

but looking again won't i need a vga to hdmi adapter as well as the motherboard only has a hdmi port and the monitor only takes vga (unless im being a bit blind atm)

 

[longpig]

With Metal on the PSU. Definitely go better on that.
DVD drive is around £12

Hard drive £3 cheaper and free delivery.
http://www.cclonline.com/product/66223/ST500DM002/Hard-Drives/Seagate-Barracuda-500GB-Hard-Drive/HDD1190/

And extra £18 on the case? If on a budget I wouldn't do that even though I like the Bitfenix.

 

[drugie007]

are there any real advantages on changing the case (other than what looks like easier cable management and not having a third site to order from)?

otherwise might be better off just saving a bit of money..which is always nice

 

[metal orient]

Build quality will be higher, you get an extra fan, fan filters and i also wouldn't be surprised if it was quieter as the fans will be better in the Bitfenix. You also get more room to mount fans if that's your thing.

And no the MB i linked to has a VGA out connection.

 

[drugie007]

quieter is always nicer but cant see it being filled with fans at any point.

and ill take your word on the vga port but looking at the picture on aria and the specs on gigabytes site it only has the 1 hdmi out

 

[metal orient]

Ahh yes your right, i'm confusing the serial port for a VGA port, yes you'd need an adaptor for that.

 

[drugie007]

no worries, just something i'll have to remember to keep in mind (because i'm liable to forget when ordering)

 

[metal orient]

In light of this it might be better going with this board:

MSI Z68S G43 £72
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+1155+Z68+%28B3%29/MSI+Z68S-G43-G3+Intel+Z68+%28REV+B3%29+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=46929

As it does have a "graphics card port" which i assume is MSI's way of saying VGA port.

 

[drugie007]

agreed, seems about similar to the gigabyte board and apparently has a pci 3 slot as well which could be useful further in the future

 

[deadjon]

I have no idea where this thread is going but please wait before pulling the trigger.

Integrated graphics are NOT suitable for gaming.

I will be updating your build for gaming purposes over the next few hours, be patient and I can sort you a top Price/perf build

[EDIT] Didnt notice your bit about future upgrades, my bad - I dont think I could build you a Future Proof machine WITH a monitor and a decent graphics card and processor with an upgrade path for £450 - So yeah, drop the GFX card. Although you wont be doing any gaming with intel HD3000 Graphics. If I were you I would sit and wait for Ivy Bridge, apparently the HD4000 Graphics are much more powerful.

 

[drugie007]

sry for late reply, never got an email saying there was a reply.

But ye, wasn't expecting anything great and the problem with it being the 1st desktop means that everything you would normally have is needed as well (e.g. monitor) which means that theres no money available for the GFX card.

By gaming, (as far as I can think) the most demanding game that would be played is battlefield heroes, which should be easily played on the hd3000 (albeit probably not on max settings). But I should have made that a bit clearer in the main post.

As for Ivy being on the horizon, the computer is needed semi quickly (main delay is getting the money together) so delaying for the launch may not be possible and then there's the issue with pricing to think about as well (although if it can be delayed then more money could be saved to add a GFX card as well).

But as I said, I'm pretty much open to any ideas and with time required to get the money together who knows what could happen.

 

[longpig]

Maybe go for Llano, it would be much better as a basic gaming machine. Then there's the option to go Hybrid Xfire or even great single GPU later on.

Here's an example: £411.18

http://www.cclonline.com/page/customise/CCL-EL-KTE/

 

[deadjon]

Maybe go for Llano, it would be much better as a basic gaming machine. Then there's the option to go Hybrid Xfire or even great single GPU later on.

Here's an example: £411.18

http://www.cclonline.com/page/customise/CCL-EL-KTE/

I will always reccomend Llano for a basic gaming machine UNLESS the OP States that they want Future Proofing. They are amazing Value for money especially on DX11 games when coupled with a 6670.

FM1 will die very shortly though - The new APUs will be released on FM2, very soon and then support for FM1 will begin to drop and it will becom obsolete. Expect the 3870k to be the last CPU to be designed for that Socket.

At least if he gets a Z68 Mobo he can upgrade to Ivy and Discrete GFX when more money becomes available and over time he can build a monsterously awesome PC.

 

[drugie007]

That was one of the main reasons I went for the i3 initially as there was always the option of upgrades and with the prospect of newer and better on the horizon means it's better for longevity.

If leaving it open to upgrades wasn't an issue then I would most likely go for the Llano as the value for money is great.