PC Build 600-700 euro

Blue_Seas

1. What is your budget? €750 at the most, would like to spend €650

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Photoshop, Sims games (want to play Sims 3 in highest detail with no lag)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No, will get student copy

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

5. Do you need a monitor? No

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Need to be able to use Wifi, so a Wifi card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? Paypal, will probably need to use bank transfer though

9. When are you purchasing? Soon as I know what I want, will wait if needed

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Castleknock


I have a sample build but I would really like to cut down on costs somehow as with a student copy of Windows 7 it's over 750 euro. I think I have everything, but if something is incompatible or someone has a better build idea, especially if it's cheaper then I'd love to hear it! I was hoping to take advantage of Hardwareversand's 5 euro build deal by March but if there's better CPUs or GPUs out soon I can wait, but would definitely like it by Summer



Total build cost: €690.49 + €30 shipping
LogiLink PCI Soundkarte Dolby 5.1 €6.27
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R €17.15
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9 €40.14
HIS HD 6870 Fan GDDR5 1024MB HDMI/DP/2xDVI €143.49
Cooler Master Elite 311 Plus titanium, ohne Netzteil €49.97
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 11 LP €10.35
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz €16.78
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht €6.32
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s €89.00
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX €86.69
Rechner - Zusammenbau €5.00
Intel Core i5-2500 Box, LGA1155 €178.36
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €40.97

Serephucus

If you're not bothered with OCing, you can drop to an i5 2400 and a H61/H67 board, should save you about €60. You can also ditch that sound card. It won't be any better than the included onboard sound. That's €66. This RAM saves you another €9, bringing the total to €75. You can also ditch the aftermarket cooler - again, only necessary for OCing. €85. How's that?

Blue_Seas

I want to add an SSD drive in the future maybe, will my choice in motherboard affect how well it will perform?

Also the reason I'm steering clear of OCing is because I don't want to wear out the parts. Would I be better off getting the i5 2400 and a few years down the line upgrading the CPU instead of getting the i5 2500k now and overclocking down the line?

I wasn't sure whether the sound was onboard or not so I added it in! Do I need any fans, or a different/better case with more room/fans?

And is the PSU large enough? Sorry for all the questions, just don't want to spend a load of money and it to end up not being what I want!

Blue_Seas

Ah, just noticed that 5 euro build deal is gone Thought it was until the end of March.

Right, should I simply wait until Summer? I heard somewhere that Intel are releasing new CPUs. If nothing else, should I simply wait until then so that the current price of my CPU goes down (rather than getting a new one), or is it going to make much difference whether I get it now or not?

jaykhunter

I want to add an SSD drive in the future maybe, will my choice in motherboard affect how well it will perform?

The Z68 is a beast. It'll accept an SSD, there's the 6mps port on it, that's what's in my PC right now

Also the reason I'm steering clear of OCing is because I don't want to wear out the parts. Would I be better off getting the i5 2400 and a few years down the line upgrading the CPU instead of getting the i5 2500k now and overclocking down the line?

The main man deconduo explained it to me (i bought a pc a few weeks ago) - although it's true that OC'ing does shorten the lifespan of parts (in exchange for working it harder, getting more more juice out of it) it's like reducing it from 10 years to 9 years, at which point you'll likely have upgraded already/the same thing'd be dirt cheap. So there's really no reason not to! The business end is getting the i5 2500k (which allows OC'ing and great hyperthreading, amazing price) and clocking it from ~3GHz up to something like 4-4.5GHz! (Making it comparable to a CPU that costs a ton more)

I wasn't sure whether the sound was onboard or not so I added it in! Do I need any fans, or a different/better case with more room/fans?

Sound card isn't needed, the one on the Z68 is the bees knees, baby!

And is the PSU large enough?

The lads will compute how much energy you'll need but I'm fairly certain your best bet is with a 550W

jaykhunter

Here's my main build before adding in the extra bits & bobs

TOTAL|€615.82 + €30 S&H
RAM €32.63| 8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9
MOBO €86.69| ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX
CPU Cooler €23.99|ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13 Pro
HDD/SSD €83.88|Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")
CPU €187.76|Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155
GPU €146.49 |Sapphire HD6870 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP
PSU €54.38|Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W *This i5 comes with a (terrible) stock cooler, you might be able to save a few bucks with one that just is the CPU.
**I substituted your HDD to a super-fast reliable SSD (64GB).....if you need space over speed (of programs) then put back in the SATA!
***also needed : Pick a case that you like! Wifi-card, Card reader

FlyingIrishMan

jaykhunter wrote: »

This i5 comes with a (terrible) stock cooler, you might be able to save a few bucks with one that just is the CPU.

Nothing wrong with the i5 stock cooler. It keeps mine averaging around 50 whilst playing BF3 on high. Its a bit loud but not loud enough to bother spending an extra 30euro on a third party cooler. If he doesn't want to overclock the stock cooler will do just fine.

edit: Read your post where you explained overclocking to him, and in that scenario the stock cooler is bad.

Serephucus

I'd get a stock cooler if only to help with the noise.

Blue_Seas

jaykhunter wrote: »

Here's my main build before adding in the extra bits & bobs

TOTAL|€615.82 + €30 S&H
RAM €32.63| 8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9
MOBO €86.69| ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX
CPU Cooler €23.99|ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13 Pro
HDD/SSD €83.88|Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")
CPU €187.76|Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155
GPU €146.49 |Sapphire HD6870 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP
PSU €54.38|Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W *This i5 comes with a (terrible) stock cooler, you might be able to save a few bucks with one that just is the CPU.
**I substituted your HDD to a super-fast reliable SSD (64GB).....if you need space over speed (of programs) then put back in the SATA!
***also needed : Pick a case that you like! Wifi-card, Card reader

I'm liking this build, especially the fact that it has an SSD. I don't need that much space and I'm guessing installing Windows, Photoshop/other drawing programs, iTunes and Sims 2 and 3 will take up maybe... three quarters of that SSD? I can store any digital media on an external 30 GB hard drive and add a second hard drive whenever, probably when the prices come down.

I see that I can also OC if I feel like it in the future, which I may do in 2 years or so to keep up with the faster CPUs.


Quick question about RAM and the cooler: Am I better going for 1666 or 1333 RAM if I'll be using photoshop? And you mentioned noise - is a non-stock cooler much louder?

Finally I guess if someone can recommend me a cheap case that has a few USBs on the top part Will need about 4, one for keyboard, one for mouse, one for tablet when I'm using it and one to plug in the external hard drive.

Sorry for all the questions, again!

Serephucus

You're probably roughly right with SSD size, though you'll have to remember to disable a few things when you install it, and to install Windows correctly on it.

RAM: Whatever's cheaper, it doesn't make a difference. The third-party cooler will actually be quieter than the stock one.

You'll want to plug your keyboard and mouse in around the back of the case. In that scenario you'll be using the USB ports on the motherboard (that show out the back side of the case).

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=50576&agid=631

That's a nice cheap one, and as it happens, it has four USB ports on the front panel.

Blue_Seas

Thanks so much! I've gone up in price though :pac: especially if I need to buy and install Windows.

Is there a special procedure for installing Windows on an SSD? What do I need to disable, also?

EDIT: I've been an idiot. I have Windows 7 Home Premium edition upstairs, I'm almost certain! Can scratch that off my list anyway

Serephucus

You have to boot into your BIOS and change the SATA controller from IDE to AHCI, that's it. (Sounds complicated, but it's just one setting in the BIOS) Once it's installed, disable:

Main:
Defragmentation - It's bad for SSDs to be defragged, so this has to go.
Drive indexing - Not needed, and potentially bad over a long time period.

Optional:
Hibernation: Not needed really, and can take up a lot of space.
System restore: Same thing.
Pagefile: Same as above, especially with 8GB of RAM.

It might seem like a lot of work, but it's just simple Windows settings, etc.

Blue_Seas

Okay, so here's the build as it is. Any ways to cut down costs after this would be appreciated



Total build cost: €747.24 + €30 shipping
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €187.76
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX €86.69
GPU: Sapphire HD6870 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP €146.49
Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13 Pro(Sockel 775/1155/1156/1366/754/939/AM2/AM2 +/AM3/AM3+/FM1) €23.99
RAM: 8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €32.63
Hard Drive (SSD): Corsair ForceGT 90GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") SA €122.44
Power Supply: Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €54.38
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta €32.61
Extras:
Wireless card: LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R €17.15
DVD Drive: LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz €16.78
Card reader: LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht €6.32
Build costs: Rechner - Zusammenbau €20.00

EDIT: Worried that 64 GB won't be enough, so I changed it to a 90 GB Corsair Force GT as it has synchronous memory and 600 mpbs data transfer like the Crucial m4. Is this alright or should I simply go back to 64 GB? I'll be using Windows 7, Photoshop and the Sims 2 (and 3) games which can take up a lot of space with custom content installed (thinking from 4-10 GB each?), and iTunes, with videos too. Will I have enough space with 64? Really don't want to be ADDING money when I'm trying to cut costs!

Blue_Seas

Compromised thanks to help from Serephucus, getting a 500 GB SSD-hybrid drive so that I get some speed increase and retain a big size. Here's the final build in case anyone else is interested:

Total build cost: €728.94 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €188.78
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX €82.61
Sapphire HD6870 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP €148.51
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13 Pro(Sockel 775/1155/1156/1366/754/939/AM2/AM2 +/AM3/AM3+/FM1) €23.99
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €34.67
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.62
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R €17.15
Rechner - Zusammenbau €20.00
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz €16.78
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht €6.32
BitFenix Merc Beta €32.61
Seagate Momentus XT 7200.1 500GB 32MB 6,4cm (2,5") €104.90