€400 build incl Keyboard and Mouse...............

GEasy

Can it be done? Looking for something to keep family happy over next couple of years. This by no means needs to chew through bf3 or any of the latest fps'. I might play some tf2 on it and the sis will play the sims.

AMD seems the way to go. I'll need all the internal tower components and if possible a wireless card. I don't need an OS as I have a license for win 7 already.

In my head I'm thinking a quad core cpu, 4 gigs ram and a fairly good gfx card.
Where's the value to be got people ?

deconduo

Total build cost: €359.06 + €30 shipping
4GB-Kit Kingston ValueRAM PC3-10667U CL9 €19.59
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB, SATA II (HD502HJ) €32.95
Xigmatek Asgard II Midi Tower - black/black, ohne Netzteil €31.89
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €40.92
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €16.57
MSI 870-C45, Sockel AM3, ATX, PCIe €47.26
TP-Link TL-WN851N, 300Mbps PCI-Adapter €15.38
Club 3D Radeon 6770 1024MB, AMD Radeon 6770, PCI-Express €88.75
AMD Athlon II X3 450 "Boxed" 95W, Sockel AM3 €60.89
Logitech B110 optical USB Mouse OEM €4.86

You have a chance to unlock the X3 into a Phenom X4 as well. You should get a keyboard elsewhere unless you don't mind German layout.

GEasy

deconduo wrote: »

Total build cost: €359.06 + €30 shipping
4GB-Kit Kingston ValueRAM PC3-10667U CL9 €19.59
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB, SATA II (HD502HJ) €32.95
Xigmatek Asgard II Midi Tower - black/black, ohne Netzteil €31.89
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €40.92
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €16.57
MSI 870-C45, Sockel AM3, ATX, PCIe €47.26
TP-Link TL-WN851N, 300Mbps PCI-Adapter €15.38
Club 3D Radeon 6770 1024MB, AMD Radeon 6770, PCI-Express €88.75
AMD Athlon II X3 450 "Boxed" 95W, Sockel AM3 €60.89
Logitech B110 optical USB Mouse OEM €4.86

You have a chance to unlock the X3 into a Phenom X4 as well. You should get a keyboard elsewhere unless you don't mind German layout.

That's impressive, thank you, I tried doing it but kept going over budget. Would it be difficult to unlock the fourth core?

Do HVS only accept bank transfers?

Solitaire

What kind of monitor are you using? And what is its maximum resolution?

Unless you want to use (or upgrade to) a 1080p monitor/TV with it you could probably drop a little bit lower on the GPU

GEasy

Solitaire wrote: »

What kind of monitor are you using? And what is its maximum resolution?

Unless you want to use (or upgrade to) a 1080p monitor/TV with it you could probably drop a little bit lower on the GPU

Yeah, that's the thing, it's a really old monitor (only VGA input afaik). The resolution is something like 1024 x 768 so far from HD. I would like to be able to pick up a better monitor on the cheap sometime though. How much would a decent monitor set me back?

Solitaire

Depends on where you get it. On HWVS you can pick up a 19" 1440*900 screen for under €80, and a very basic 22" Full HD model for under €90. Irish websites will of course be pricier :rolleyes:

Tea_Bag

and a fairly decent 24" 1080p for ~140.

god RAM is cheap these days. when I built my last pc I paid £60 for the cheapest value 4gb kit available.

Trevor451

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit but while we are talking about budget monitors I may as well post this:

I am going to upgrade to this monitor (approximately €145 shipped)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0038P9AUU/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1Q7BF6J4KPDB1RN0HSSP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294

^^ anybody know if its any good

GEasy

deconduo wrote: »

Total build cost: €359.06 + €30 shipping
4GB-Kit Kingston ValueRAM PC3-10667U CL9 €19.59
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB, SATA II (HD502HJ) €32.95
Xigmatek Asgard II Midi Tower - black/black, ohne Netzteil €31.89
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €40.92
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €16.57
MSI 870-C45, Sockel AM3, ATX, PCIe €47.26
TP-Link TL-WN851N, 300Mbps PCI-Adapter €15.38
Club 3D Radeon 6770 1024MB, AMD Radeon 6770, PCI-Express €88.75
AMD Athlon II X3 450 "Boxed" 95W, Sockel AM3 €60.89
Logitech B110 optical USB Mouse OEM €4.86

You have a chance to unlock the X3 into a Phenom X4 as well. You should get a keyboard elsewhere unless you don't mind German layout.

What if I was to drop to a lower spec gfx card and up the cpu?

GEasy

anything here that jumps out as being wrong ? Decided not to go with wireless card, i have an adaptor that'll do for now



Any suggestions on cpu , gfx card welcome .

Solitaire

Looks fine to me You could upgrade the CPU to a quad-core and still have a tenner left over to pick up a keyboard, but you could also save that extra €20 toward getting that new monitor all that sooner

Heck, if you could stretch it get a new monitor now HWVS is cheap for low-end Full HD models and without one that HD6770 really is going to waste...

GEasy

Solitaire wrote: »

Looks fine to me You could upgrade the CPU to a quad-core and still have a tenner left over to pick up a keyboard, but you could also save that extra €20 toward getting that new monitor all that sooner

Heck, if you could stretch it get a new monitor now HWVS is cheap for low-end Full HD models and without one that HD6770 really is going to waste...

What would be your pick from hvs ?

GEasy

Would this be a sound choice ?
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44482&agid=603

Tea_Bag

LakesKeane wrote: »

anything here that jumps out as being wrong ? Decided not to go with wireless card, i have an adaptor that'll do for now



Any suggestions on cpu , gfx card welcome .

Dont buy that case!!

what i mean is, dont buy anything from HWVS that is a "special item" its not worth the discount to find that something important is missing.

GEasy

Tea_Bag wrote: »

LakesKeane wrote: »

anything here that jumps out as being wrong ? Decided not to go with wireless card, i have an adaptor that'll do for now



Any suggestions on cpu , gfx card welcome .

[COLOR="Red"]Dont buy that case!![/COLOR]

what i mean is, dont buy anything from HWVS that is a "special item" its not worth the discount to find that something important is missing.

Cheers . I guess it's a reduced item that's faulty ?!

marco_polo

LakesKeane wrote: »

Cheers . I guess it's a reduced item that's faulty ?!

Well it could be just something that was previously opened and returned or something like that, but given the price difference no reason not to get a new one.

GEasy

Best ATI card for €70-€80 euro ?



Upped the budget to ~ €500 incl monitor. Is that CPU any good?

GEasy

Sorry to bump this again. Going to order this in the evening. I just need someone to confirm that everything is ok on the order thanks in advance

Tea_Bag

LakesKeane wrote: »

Sorry to bump this again. Going to order this in the evening. I just need someone to confirm that everything is ok on the order thanks in advance

the CPU is ok, but not great. it doesnt have an L3 cache so its really just an athlon x4.

if you can find €12 the Phenom II X4 955 is a much better chip and i would argue its more futureproof because you can OC it quite well later in life to get a few drops out of it.

everything else looks fine, but again, if you put a bit more money into this (i know, im sorry) but for €6 more this Nvidia GTX550 OC 2gb is better than the 6770, and thats before its OC. i actually think it may be a price mistake tbh so jump fast if you do.

GEasy

Tea_Bag wrote: »

the CPU is ok, but not great. it doesnt have an L3 cache so its really just an athlon x4.

if you can find €12 the Phenom II X4 955 is a much better chip and i would argue its more futureproof because you can OC it quite well later in life to get a few drops out of it.

everything else looks fine, but again, if you put a bit more money into this (i know, im sorry) but for €6 more this Nvidia GTX550 OC 2gb is better than the 6770, and thats before its OC. i actually think it may be a price mistake tbh so jump fast if you do.

I read something about that L3 cache, for 12 euro it's worth it to me. 3 pints! or two in some places!

Is that card much better and will it work with the mo bo I listed?

Solitaire

No sign of an actual OC on that card other than in the title

AFAIK the GTX550Ti is a bit better than our endlessly rebadged friend the GTS450 but its not really any better than the HD6770 except when running loads of AA, something it doesn't really have the horsepower for anyway at 1080p The only difference is that the GTX550Ti is usually a lot pricier and thirstier than the HD6770

And if you say its only €6 more for 3-5% better performance, then bear in mind it in turn gets curb-stomped by the slightly pricier HD6790 and HD6850. That cycle never ends

Also is that the cheapest 22" monitor?

marco_polo

Nope this appears to be the cheapest @86 euro, 30 less than the Asus.

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44486&agid=603

Solitaire

I'm guessing it lacks a DVI port. Is that really so bad?

GEasy

Solitaire wrote: »

I'm guessing it lacks a DVI port. Is that really so bad?

I guess it isn't ? Is it? that would save me alot!

GEasy

So that change saves me around 35 quid. Where would ye put the extra ? I can go to 500 ex delivery

marco_polo

LakesKeane wrote: »

I guess it isn't ? Is it? that would save me alot!

Not when a DVI -> VGA adapter would only set you back a couple of euro.

GEasy

marco_polo wrote: »

Not when a DVI -> VGA adapter would only set you back a couple of euro.

so go for the vga monitor so?

marco_polo

LakesKeane wrote: »

so go for the vga monitor so?

Yeah for sure, you can literally pick up an adapter for peanuts on amazon. And shove the rest on the GPU. I 35 extra is just shy of a HD6850 (+40 for the cheapest) but HD6790s start from 112 upwards for the Club 3D one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cabling4Less-DVI-VGA-HD15-Adaptor/dp/B000FII810/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1313344777&sr=8-3

Trevor451

Are you going to go for the club 3D 6770?

http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/radeon-hd-6770.html

It has a vga port on the graphics card so there is no need for a adapter

GEasy

marco_polo wrote: »

Yeah for sure, you can literally pick up an adapter for peanuts on amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cabling4Less-DVI-VGA-HD15-Adaptor/dp/B000FII810/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1313344777&sr=8-3

That's great, should I spend the extra I save on that on case fans? Better mouse maybe?

Like I said before, I do not need this to run bf3 or any of the latest fps' at full tilt (I know it won't).

How much is a g15 keyboard?

marco_polo

LakesKeane wrote: »

That's great, should I spend the extra I save on that on case fans? Better mouse maybe?

Like I said before, I do not need this to run bf3 or any of the latest fps' at full tilt (I know it won't).

How much is a g15 keyboard?

Wouldn't bother with extra case fans unless you have a good reason to get one. I guess you you could spend a bit more one wherever you want really, nicer peripheral, slightly fancier case, bigger hard drive etc.

I think the core build (PSU CPU etc) is solid enough and doesn't need much improvement.

GEasy

Trevor451 wrote: »

Are you going to go for the club 3D 6770?

http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/radeon-hd-6770.html

It has a vga port on the graphics card so there is no need for a adapter

Yup, going for that card, it seems solid enough according to your comments and has a low power draw it seems.

marco_polo wrote: »

Wouldn't bother with extra case fans unless you have a good reason to get one. I guess you you could spend a bit more one wherever you want really, nicer peripheral, slightly fancier case, bigger hard drive etc.

I think the core build (PSU CPU etc) is solid enough and doesn't need much improvement.

That's great! This forum is the shizz. I'm going to order this tonight. not gonna bother with any fancy peripherals. Going to buy a decent mouse and keyboard (not german layout).

Thanks for all the help again !

GEasy

Bought and money sent.
Thanks for the help

Trevor451

LakesKeane wrote: »

Bought and money sent.
Thanks for the help

Good luck with the build

GEasy

Trevor451 wrote: »

Good luck with the build

Do I need extra Sata cables ?

Solitaire

Ah cock. Yes, you'll need one. Just saw the mobo on YouTube and like most newer sub-€100 boards it only bundles one SATA cable

GEasy

Solitaire wrote: »

Ah cock. Yes, you'll need one. Just saw the mobo on YouTube and like most newer sub-€100 boards it only bundles one SATA cable

ok, so where does the other one lead to? IMA n00b! Front usbs?

Donny5

LakesKeane wrote: »

ok, so where does the other one lead to? IMA n00b! Front usbs?

One for the HDD, one for the optical drive.

GEasy

Donny5 wrote: »

One for the HDD, one for the optical drive.

Ok, that's sound> I wonder does my old pc have them? Do they have to be sata 2 cables?

Tea_Bag

LakesKeane wrote: »

Ok, that's sound> I wonder does my old pc have them? Do they have to be sata 2 cables?

yea. SATA2 and 3 cables are the same. SATA1 didn't catch on so chances are its IDE PATA or SATA2.

GEasy

Tea_Bag wrote: »

yea. SATA2 and 3 cables are the same. SATA1 didn't catch on so chances are its IDE PATA or SATA2.

Sound, I'll pick one up so. Doubt the pc in 2003 had them in it

Solitaire

It may have, always worth a look so long as you're sure you won't need them in the old computer!

GEasy

Solitaire wrote: »

It may have, always worth a look so long as you're sure you won't need them in the old computer!

Ok ,will do , tried opening it last night but it was like fort knox! I know the side panel comes off it and I loosened two screws but it wouldn't budge!

Also, HVS dispatched today :cool:
Great service imo, they received payment at 4:00pm and dispatched it at 8:00pm , Trojans I tells ya!

Can't wait to get it now