Ater having a look around or a while, I've decided Im gonna build my next Pc. Is there an idiots guide to building one?? also whats the diferences in cases, they seem to range upto £150, just or an empty case whats so special about them??

I'm running a 2 yr old laptop and a pentuim 4 pc that I've had for about 7 years. I dont use the computer for gaming at the mo, Ive been using xbox 360 and ps3

Not sure what game I'd be playing and definatly aint got a clue about settings, I'm after a good system I will be able to start using for gaming and last several years

I'm running a 2 yr old laptop and a pentuim 4 pc that I've had for about 7 years. I dont use the computer for gaming at the mo, Ive been using xbox 360 and ps3

Not sure what game I'd be playing and definatly aint got a clue about settings, I'm after a good system I will be able to start using for gaming and last several years

 

Then the only thing would be budget, low end hardware goes out very quickly in gaming PC's and even now some of the low end budget stuff can not handle games from a few years ago.

 

So the real question then is how much cash do you have to throw at a PC?

 

Case in point, i had a Nvidia 5800ultra lasted about 3 years before struggling to run doom3 when that was finally released, then i upgraded to a 6800ultra. this too lasted about 4 years. i then upgraded to a 8800GTX which lasted only 3 years.

 

The 6800ultra was a top of the range card, the 8800GTX was a top of the range card, after 3 years the 6800 still played crysis on medium and some low setting.

 

Biggest problem with PC gaming, is the technology moves so fast, the big names tend to release a new top of the range card, about twice a year if they can.

 

So if you want to future proof your system, then this is what id do.

 

DD3 mother board, i7 if possible

Quad core CPU (Only a few games so far utilise All 4 cores so you will be future proofing there anyway)

Top of the range Graphics card [see notes below] (this will give you the best graphics and lasting future proofing)

Id also go for a blueray player, i cant see it being too long before PC games come in that format as blue ray players are now rather cheap for PC

 

 

Right the reason i say top of the line graphics card, is this, if you go for a Nvidia 295 i know its expensive but if you want the tech to last a while, you really need to go top of the line on this one. low range stuff will start to struggle with in a year to a year and a half, a top of the range one has enough performance benefits to last a lot longer. its that simple

 

If I bought this basket minus the graphics card and the sound card, would I have a usable system that I could just add to at a later date??

If I bought this basket minus the graphics card and the sound card, would I have a usable system that I could just add to at a later date??

 

No. The motherboard does'nt have onboard graphics so you would need a pcie grphics card, YOu can do without the sound as it hs 7.1 onboard...THe full spec of the mobo is here....Oh you will need a cpu cooler too.....

 

The EX58-UD3R was designed specifically to take advantage of the raw power of the next generation Intel® Core i7 processors and the Intel® X58 Express chipset, whose new evolution in computing architecture is able to deliver an amazing performance break through from past processor generations. Replacing the Front Side Bus is the new Quick Path Interconnect, or QPI, whose 25.6 GB/sec transfer rate (double the bandwidth of the 1600MHz FSB) eliminates the communication bottleneck between the processor and chipset. The Intel® Core i7 processors also feature an integrated memory controller inside the processor die and support 192bit 3-channel DDR3 memory that delivers a 50% memory bandwidth enhancement and lower memory latency for incredibly fast memory access. Additionally, The EX58-UD3R features Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, which is able to power down idle processor cores and dynamically reroute the power to the active cores for significant performance boosts, and at the same time, maintain greater energy efficiency.

 

- Support for an Intel® Core™ i7 series processor in the LGA 1366 package

- QPI 4.8GT/s / 6.4GT/s

- Chipset North Bridge: Intel® X58 Express Chipset

- South Bridge: Intel® ICH10R

- Memory 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory

- Dual/3 channel memory architecture

- Support for DDR3 2000+/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules

- Audio Realtek ALC888 codec

- High Definition Audio

- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel

- Support for S/PDIF In/Out

- Support for CD In

- LAN 1 x Realtek 8111D chips (10/100/1000 Mbit)

- Expansion Slots 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 x16

- 1 x PCI Express x4 slot

- 2 x PCI Express x1 slot

- 2 x PCI slots

- SLI Support with latest Gigabyte BIOS

You could always check the overclockers bundle deals they sell, for a pre cloccked setup, what is your budget?

Link to page of deals...

 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=339&subid=1333

is it worth getting the retail chip, or are you better buying the heatsink and fan seperate??

is it worth getting the retail chip, or are you better buying the heatsink and fan seperate??

 

from my experience you're better buying oem and chip cooler separate. The retail packs are a bit expensive for what you get.

I bought mine oem and purchased an akasa cooler seperate. YOu'll pay a little more than the retail chip but the extra cooling is definately worth it....

I have one of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/XIGMATEK-SCORPION-HDT-S1283-COOLER-CAC-SXHH3-U02_W0QQitemZ390120257289QQcmdZViewItemQQptZComputing_ComputerComponents_Fans_Heatsinks_SR?hash=item5ad4fab709 mines the straight edged one like they have pictured I think the proper scorpion has jagged style edges

 

and here's how good they are http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2233&page=5 and http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm sooooper for the cash better that many that are 3 times the price paid £18 for mine not sure if they are available in i7 fittment though and they are massive ....120mm fan

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by 8ace

Qty Product QuickFind Stock Price Line Total

Aplus Twin Engine Case - Front 250mm Blue LED Fan Side 250mm Fan - No PSU 123912 1 in stock £69.33 £59.00 £69.33 £59.00

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM 173804 470 in stock £68.13 £57.98 £68.13 £57.98

ASUS P6T iX58 Socket 1366 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard 159360 10 in stock £169.44 £144.20 £169.44 £144.20

Crucial 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ballistix Memory 166998 52 in stock £122.38 £104.15 £122.38 £104.15

Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail 135514 315 in stock £74.57 £63.46 £74.57 £63.46

Asus HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card 178941 9 in stock £104.57 £88.99 £104.57 £88.99

Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Socket 1366 D0 stepping 8MB Cache OEM Processor 161171 87 in stock £205.37 £174.78 £205.37 £174.78

Arctic Cooling (AC-FRZ-64P) Freezer64 Pro Socket 754 939 940 CPU Cooler with Heat pipe cooling Pro Ver 101471 27 in stock £17.74 £15.09 £17.74 £15.09

Cart total inc vat: Cart total ex vat: £831.53

was looking at this, couldn't get the motherboard from the other list, how does this one compare??

The following setup is just abit higher than mine

 

http://orders.ebuyer.com/customer/shopping/index.html?action=c2hvd2NhcnQ%3D

 

Think i have everything you are looking for with a few Changes IE Processor, ram etc.

 

And its 200quid cheaper :D

Link dont work

 

But I just bought one from PC world, after a Lot of hassel I ended up with this

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1679959200.1262706163@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdcadejfikhdelcflgceggdhhmdfoj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=667070&category_oid=-37526#productInformationSection

I started out by buying this

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0645671084.1262706468@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfkadejfjjdhdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=067434&category_oid=-37526

I then Had to go back cause they charged me for the more exspensive one:(

 

Will I be able to clock this much??

I thought It would do for a starting point and then upgrade parts

I know Its not it the same league as the other ones I was looking at, I was only there looking at cases. I thought it would be a good start, first on the list is a sound card then the graphics card

I also got a new monitor

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0529652536.1262707341@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccejadejfhlkjfecflgceggdhhmdfoj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=290081&category_oid=-37396

Edited January 5, 201015 yr by Zairs

I know it's a bit late but just had this deal emailed to me by ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180538#

 

Just had a read of a few reviews on the x4 athlon 620 in the bundle (which can be bought for about £60 on their own) and they are quicker than the phenom quads in most games but only about a third of the price. :shock: