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Suggestions for building my first PC

dan369

Member
Hi guys,

Well its come to a point now were my laptop is starting show it's age quite a bit. And i think now is know better time to upgrade and build my first PC, i've always wanted too but have never gotten around to it.

So really want i'm looking for is an overall, well balanced computer, in around the mid range aspect. In all honesty i have no clue were to start though, it's quite difficult to compare things without really knowing your hardware (which sadly i don't).
My budget that i'd like to be at or atleast around at would be the
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
Not too familiar with UK prices and dealers but I'll try to budget one out tomorrow for you. A Core i3 or i5 would be ideal for the CPU, possibly a GTX 560 (not sure on prices yet), etc.
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
Will you be gaming on this? If not, then you can just go with the integrated graphics on the CPU.
 

dan369

Member
Are you able to reuse a hard drive? Prices have shot up for them due to the thailand flooding so it'll take out a big chunk of your budget now.

Unfortunately not :/, i did read about that on lifehacker awhile ago. Only hard-drive i have is in my laptop. Is this the same for SSDs? (I can't remember if it was).

Will you be gaming on this? If not, then you can just go with the integrated graphics on the CPU.

I'd like to-do some moderate gaming, nothing special. Some mid-range GPU might be nice, and if perhaps i could overlclock it? Unsure, again it's one of those "some many options out there".
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
Unfortunately not :/, i did read about that on lifehacker awhile ago. Only hard-drive i have is in my laptop. Is this the same for SSDs? (I can't remember if it was).



I'd like to-do some moderate gaming, nothing special. Some mid-range GPU might be nice, and if perhaps i could overlclock it? Unsure, again it's one of those "some many options out there".

Won't be able to get too good of a GPU, the 560 is priced around 150 which is pretty pricey for your range. 550 might be the next best choice.
 

x3sphere

Administrator
Staff member
Enforcer Team
Game Info Editor
The 550 is more of a low-end card, I'd say the best bang for buck GPU is the HD6850:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1322505156&sr=1-1

35941.png


It's about 30% faster, can provide a playable experience in Crysis with everything maxed while the 550 cannot (30 FPS is the threshold for me).
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team

x3sphere

Administrator
Staff member
Enforcer Team
Game Info Editor
Isn't the HD6850 around 130-150? The only reason I suggested the 550 is the price point although AMD might be a better choice for lower-end cards.

The one I linked is
 

dan369

Member
Yep that's the one

EDIT: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/wishlist/I9HWTVGEBTOC/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_wl

That comes out to 444 without a CD Drive or HDD.... tough to price it. A DVD sata drive can be had for ~10 and the HDD prices are crazy right now so that will bring it just over 500 with HDD and DVD. Best to see if you can go to a local store and see if their prices have changed much since the flooding (I know early on the in-store prices weren't affected as quickly as online)
Thats fantastic :), looks like exactly what i was looking for. Luckily i do indeed have a CD Drive spare that i could use.

Wondering one question, in terms of the port in which i'd connect a monitor into the board, i don't seem to see that on that asus motherboard. Surely there's one on it, perhaps you could see me which port that is?
asus-socket1155-ip67-p8p67-m-pro-rev-3.0-matx.jpg
 

slicer4ever

Coding random shit
that motherboard doesn't appear to have a built in basic video card, so, the video card well provide that when u install it(either vga, or hdmi)
 

dan369

Member
This ^

Although I did find another alternative motherboard with built-in video support that was actually cheaper too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-1155-P...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1322534997&sr=1-1
Ah i like that :). The other board did have a lot more ports which i really didn't need, this seems ideal.

Another query; I know one of the big things to worry about now when building this will be temperature of CPU. What should i do here? Buy some form of product fan to help? I think the case comes with some stick fans, but not too sure about that.
Also heat sinks, do i need one for my CPU?
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
Ah i like that :). The other board did have a lot more ports which i really didn't need, this seems ideal.

Another query; I know one of the big things to worry about now when building this will be temperature of CPU. What should i do here? Buy some form of product fan to help? I think the case comes with some stick fans, but not too sure about that.
Also heat sinks, do i need one for my CPU?

The CPU usually comes with its own fan which is very capable and I wouldn't recommend buying an aftermarket cooler for it unless you plan on overclocking it.

EDIT: To clarify a bit: The CPU and GPU (graphics card) are the two components in the system that need their own fans (well PSU too) and heatsinks. The Graphics card has the heatsink and fan attached to the card itself. The CPU on the other hand usually comes with a separate fan (with small heatsink) that you have to place on top of the CPU once installed. It's an easy process and no additional fans should be required.

The case fans are used to regulate the temperature inside the case to protect the other components.
 

Adiuvo

Active Member
I definitely wouldn't call a CPU's stock HSF capable... in the summer months he'll be hurting even at stock.

Overclocking is a free performance boost anyways, and if sticking a $20 cooler on there will allow you to do it I'd say it's worth the investment.
 

dan369

Member
in the summer months he'll be hurting even at stock.
You haven't been to Wales then :p. It doesn't get very hot here even in the summer, around 25c max is about the average.
But i guess internally, it might get quite a bit hot even in my climate? Especially if i do overclock. I was thinking perhaps this fan would be alright:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Mast...PFCK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1322590515&sr=8-3

Extremely cheap, looks like it has good reviews and it's made by the same company as the case so there shouldn't be any problems with installation? + It does look cool imo :cool:
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
I definitely wouldn't call a CPU's stock HSF capable... in the summer months he'll be hurting even at stock.

Overclocking is a free performance boost anyways, and if sticking a $20 cooler on there will allow you to do it I'd say it's worth the investment.

Never had issues with any stock Intel HSF's in the summer time, including in a room with no air conditioning.

@Dan - that's a case fan, not a CPU fan. With the CPU you need a heatsink + fan combo. If you do choose to go this route though (aftermarket cooler) you'll need to make sure the clearance is enough for the RAM - some new coolers extend over the RAM slots and the newer RAMs, including the one I recommended, have their own heatsinks that extend above their slots.

Also: The CPU I recommended is not overclock friendly, it is the locked version of the CPU - if you want the overclockable version you need a processor with a K after it (so 2120K). Intel has locked their new processors unless otherwise noted in order to keep costs down and in your case your budget is tight so that's why I recommended the CPU I did - it should not be overclocked.
 

dan369

Member
Never had issues with any stock Intel HSF's in the summer time, including in a room with no air conditioning.

@Dan - that's a case fan, not a CPU fan. With the CPU you need a heatsink + fan combo. If you do choose to go this route though (aftermarket cooler) you'll need to make sure the clearance is enough for the RAM - some new coolers extend over the RAM slots and the newer RAMs, including the one I recommended, have their own heatsinks that extend above their slots.

Also: The CPU I recommended is not overclock friendly, it is the locked version of the CPU - if you want the overclockable version you need a processor with a K after it (so 2120K). Intel has locked their new processors unless otherwise noted in order to keep costs down and in your case your budget is tight so that's why I recommended the CPU I did - it should not be overclocked.

Ah right, didn't realize that :/. So why do they lock it down? Just curious on how that saves money for them.. Would be great to know :).
 
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