New Build €700-€800

Robgusbob

Hi guys see requirements below, i want to run 2 monitors, i already have one monitor (LG E2251VR 22 inch LED) which i run off my laptop which keeps crashing & freezing hence need for this new build. I can wait to purchase the second monitor if it would cause any compromise on other components.


1. What is your budget? 750 + - 50

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Office, Media & some Gaming

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No

5. Do you need a monitor? Only if price is suitable

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Need - Keyboard, Mouse, Wireless Card, & Speakers

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes]

8. How can you pay? [Any]

9. When are you purchasing? [1 week or sooner]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Co Louth, can travel to Dublin

Robgusbob

Had a look at Dell and this is what i could get for around €750 including VAT & Delivery,

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i5-2500 Processor (6M Cache, 3.30 GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM - English Genuine Windows® 7 Professional (64 BIT) with Recovery DVD
MONITOR - Dell E-series E2311H 23" 58 cm Wide LED monitor VGA,DVI (1920x1080) Blk UK/I
MEMORY - 4096MB (2x2048) 1333MHz
HARD DRIVE - 500GB (7200RPM)
GRAPHICS CARD - AMD Radeon™ HD 6450 1GB DDR3 graphics
OPTICAL DRIVE - 16X DVD +/-RW Drive edit
KEYBOARD -UK/Irish (QWERTY) Dell KB212-B QuietKey USB Keyboard Black
MOUSE - Dell Optical (Not Wireless), Scroll USB (3 buttons scroll) Black Mouse
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY - 1525 Card

Anyone think i can do much better on spec/price with a self build? Dell didnt give me the option to add a dual video card to support a second monitor, could this be done after?

Thanks

Serephucus

Item|Price
Total build cost: €736.84 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Tray, LGA1155|€191.80
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13 Pro(Sockel 775/1155/1156/1366/754/939/AM2/AM2 +/AM3/AM3+/FM1)|€22.25
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€101.99
8GB-Kit Corsair ValueSelect PC3-10667U CL9|€30.53
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.16
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€97.64
Samsung SpinPoint F4 320GB, SATA II (HD322GJ)|€66.00
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€16.01
D-Link DWA-125 Wireless 150 USB Adapter|€14.12
Club 3D Radeon 6770 1024MB, AMD Radeon 6770, PCI-Express|€89.16
Cooler Master Silent Pro Series - 500 Watt|€75.18


I've given you the K version of the 2500, which means it can be overclocked (along with the included cooler) to give you ~40% performance jump now or in the future if you want / need it. The cooler should also keep things quieter.

I've given you a smaller (320GB) hard drive, but I've also thrown in a 64GB solid state hard drive, which means very fast boot ups / shutdowns, and generally a very snappy computer.

I've also given you a much better graphics card for any gaming you decide to do. It won't max out all the newest games, but it should play them at least.

Oh, and I've also doubled the amount of RAM you have (8GB vs. 4). Depends on how much video encoding work you're doing (if any), but 4GB might be a bit limiting at times.

I've given you a wireless adapter, but I've left out the keyboard, mouse, and speakers, as they tend to be more of a personal preference. Just remember not to get a keyboard from this site, as it'll be German layout. (Look on Amazon or something instead)

I've tried generally to make the build as quiet as I can within the constraints of the budget. The PSU in particular is a very quiet model. The only noise really should be from the hard drive and graphics card.

Robgusbob

Thanks for this.

Just a couple of questions, i have never built a PC before, is there much chance of messing it up. I would pick things up pretty quickly but would need a bit of guidance.

How many monitors can this set up run, i need to be able to run 2 at least maybe 3 down the line.

From looking at the graphics card, it looks like there are 3 outputs - HDMI,VGA & DVI, does this mean i can run 3 monitors at the same time?

Serephucus

It's fairly easy. There are plenty of videos on Youtube detailing exactly what to do. You can always post here with any problems you have, and if you get really stuck, I'm happy to walk you through it over Skype / in person, depending on where you live.

If the card has three graphics ports, then you can run three monitors. You'll just need adapters to use the correct connections, obviously. I'd maybe stick to two with that one though; VGA isn't a great port. Better with HDMI/DVI. Mind you, I think - I've never used a Z68 board, so I'm not certain on this - you'd be able to use the DVI and HDMI ports on the board as well, so you might be able to run up to four monitors in the future*.

*Confirmation of this from someone with a Z68 board would be nice. I think to use AVX, etc. you are required to use the ports on the board anyway.

Robgusbob

Cheers

Going to give it a go

Robgusbob

Hi

If i want to go with a bigger hard drive (500GB) which of these would be suitable/best, im guessing the more expensive one?

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=49224&agid=682
or
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28151&agid=689

Serephucus

Yes, the second one. The first one you linked to is a laptop drive, and is much slower.

Robgusbob

Thanks

Just about to order all components apart from this one http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=49393&agid=1004 are ready for dispatch, is there another one you can recommend even if its a bit more expensive?

Serephucus

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=50205&agid=1004