For Ever After

DigestedLemon

DigestedLemon

Active member
Looking to buy a PC that can run pretty much anything on near top specs. However, as I'm a student, I won't be able to afford another PC for quite a while. Therefore, I'm looking for a build that can stand the test of time and also stay comfortably within my budget of £700. This is what I'm looking at so far...
Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4100 (3.60GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 SoundCard & Headphone AMP *Award Winner* £20
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Price: £675.00 including VAT and delivery.

Any corners you can see I can cut? Also, since I'm wanting to do top spec gaming, I need a decent graphics card. I'm looking at the Quad core processor, which is the same speed as the 8 Core (8 core has slightly more cache, would that matter?) so I guess that's a saving, or is there a particular advantage to more cores? Case is non-negotiable- a man has to have a few luxuries. Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
Ash

Ash

Well-known member
Do you need the sound card? Unless you're an audiophile, you won't need it.
Also, I'd get a faster HDD. Either a Seagate Barracuda or a Caviar Black. Having a faster HDD means the OS and programs will load faster.
You could possibly get away with a 450w PSU, however it'd be tight and tbh I wouldn't risk it.
I'd upgrade the motherboard as well to one which supports SATA 6GB/S.

:)
 
Corfate

Corfate

Author Level
I'd go for this:

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD A8-3870K APU (3.0GHz, 4 Cores) & AMD Radeon™ HD 6550D Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® F1A75-M: FM1 A-SERIES, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA-III 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE AMD CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £696.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-llano/

The GPU is great for games, and the CPU should also be fine for your needs. If you wanted to add another GPU down the line, you will need to upgrade the PSU (preferably get a Corsair one).

The HDD is also faster :)

Should suit you well for your budget :)
 
DigestedLemon

DigestedLemon

Active member
Thanks for the advice :) So I've got rid of the sound card, chosen a better HDD, changed the motherboard, and to top it all off, it seems I now only need a 450 Watt supply. I'm coming to about £653, which is great, I might buy myself another monitor! Any more tips, I'm going to be stuck with this machine for a long time, and I want it to be just right
 
Corfate

Corfate

Author Level
ashhol said:
It looks like he needs Wireless as well.
Click to expand...

Oops, thanks for that, must have missed it while reading it.

Just add the card and you're crystal :)

EDIT; if you post your current spec, we'll take a look at it for you, and make any suggestions for you :)
 
DigestedLemon

DigestedLemon

Active member
Corfate
I'd go for this:

...

Price: £696.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-llano/

The GPU is great for games, and the CPU should also be fine for your needs. If you wanted to add another GPU down the line, you will need to upgrade the PSU (preferably get a Corsair one).

The HDD is also faster

Should suit you well for your budget
Click to expand...

Looking at this and I quite like the look of this BUT...
  • Does the graphics card support DX11?
  • I don't really need the 3D capapility, but does it just mean the clock speed is faster?
  • Do I really need that additional processor cooler?

I'm also agreeing with ashhol's comment on the motherboard. Yet again, thanks for all the advice so far
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
That card should support DX11 i think. The card can do 3D, don't worry about it, lots of the cards can, rarely do you use that card for 3D anyway. i would strongly recommend the extra cooling as it does prolong the life of your cpu but it is your choice.
 
Corfate

Corfate

Author Level
1) Yes it does support DX11
2) The 3D capability is there incase you want to use it, most high end Nvidia cards have it, as you can see on the configurator. (not sure about clock speeds, sorry)
3) You don't NEED it, you could get by fine without it, but for £19 id go for it. May be quieter than the stock heatsink, and it WILL provide better cooling :)
 
DigestedLemon

DigestedLemon

Active member
Music Guy123 said:
That card should support DX11 i think. The card can do 3D, don't worry about it, lots of the cards can, rarely do you use that card for 3D anyway. i would strongly recommend the extra cooling as it does prolong the life of your cpu but it is your choice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but how is this card better than the 1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 (which is cheaper YAY)?

Edit: Here is also my amended specification, with some of your recommendations (I've saved some cash - Did I ever really need 8GB RAM etc.)
Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4100 (3.60GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE AMD CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £654.00 including VAT and delivery.

- Yet again, any advice is gratefully accepted
 
Last edited:
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
Don't forget the silver warranty, it is essential, only a fiver!

@ Corfate, like a boss? You were the one that have just used the site that I showed you, showing that you copied me, meaning that infact I am the boss ;) !
 
Corfate

Corfate

Author Level
When did you show me it? :p Nobody is my boss, im a free country, like.. erm.. that makes no sense, sorry.

Anyway, like Music Guy said, get the warranty :)
 
DigestedLemon

DigestedLemon

Active member
Looks like I've probably got my ideal build now, thanks everyone. All I need to do now is accumulate all the funds, so it looks like I'll be living of Lidl's boxed noodles for the next 6 months:D

Edit- Hmm... encountered problem- I've gone over budget! How can I make financial savings here without compromising on quality (bearing in mind, I'm only wanting to run Crysis 2 etc. on top specs, not extreme quality computer simulations) Check these-


Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4100 (3.60GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE AMD CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £725.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
Last edited:
DigestedLemon

DigestedLemon

Active member
ashhol said:
You could try using a long Ethernet cable instead of wireless.
Click to expand...

There's no way I'd be able to do that, unless I lifted up the carpet and ran a 20 meter cable under it (which would probably cost more than the wireless). Is there perhaps a graphics card which is cheaper than the GTX 560, but still allows maximum awesome
 
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