~€800 Build

OldManJenkin

1. What is your budget? €800, but can go higher if there's a good reason.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming, nothing else intensive

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

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

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. 22'

6. Do you need any of these peripherals?

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Not fussy

8. How can you pay? Bank Transfer/Debit Card

9. When are you purchasing? In the next week or two

I've come up with this so far:

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€121.53
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€129.00
LogiLink Gaming & Grafikdesign Mauspad XXL|€2.76
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€14.64
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Core 1000 black|€31.10
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 400W|€38.94
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€86.99
HIS HD 7870 GDDR5 2048MB DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€187.94
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.50
Logitech LS21 2.1 Speaker System|€23.97
Samsung SH-224BB Retail|€19.59
8GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-12800U CL9|€52.49
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€813.44


Is there any disadvantage for choosing mATX over ATX? I'd like a small size case, but don't want to sacrifice performance.


Also, I'm not really too sure what to look for in a motherboard; I was looking at these two but am open to suggestions.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/59301/ASRock+960GM+U3S3+FX%2C+Sockel+AM3%2B%2C+mATX.article
http://www.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=66166&agid=1292&apop=0

BloodBath

Looks good.

The only disadvantages are the boards don't have as many expansion slots and the cases can't take many hdd's.

They tend to be not wide either so a lot of tower coolers won't fit. You need to use flat blower coolers.

I'd go with the Asrock board. It has sata 3 for the ssd.

OldManJenkin

I forgot to ask - it will be my first build so will I have to buy SATA/DVI cables or extra fans?

BloodBath

The mainboard should come with at least 1 sata cable and the monitor a dvi or hdmi.

They usually do but I don't know about those specific ones.

OldManJenkin

I've come back to show off some (terrible) pictures and give feedback on some of the components!


Cable management is near impossible in the case, all you can do is shove all the unused PSU cables into an unused optical drive bay so that the area near the front intake is clear. The pictures seem to make it look messier than it actually is!

The picture of the motherboard on hardwareversand makes the PCB look black, but it's really a brown/copper colour. Doesn't bother me but might some people.

LG 22EA53VQ-P|€129.00:
The stand is a bit unstable, but the screen itself is very nice.


LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€14.64
The only thing I really had a problem with. With this I was only getting a very weak signal and some crazy ping spikes pretty often during games. I replaced it with a USB adaptor which works fine. I've stuck the wireless card in a computer that's only used for internet browsing and is closer to the router; it seems to be working fine there. Wouldn't recommend.


FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Core 1000 black|€31.10
I really like this case! It looks really nice, and is nice and compact. It does have some strange design choices though, the usb ports/power button are on the right side of the case, but the fan slot is on the left side, so you can't put it against a wall. Also, the motherboard tray has no cutout, so you'd have to remove the motherboard if you want to change the CPU cooler.


HIS HD 7870 GDDR5 2048MB DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€187.94
Idles at 25-30 C, and has never gone over 65 C while playing games. It's a pretty tight fit in this case, thankfully the SSD is nice and small and can just about squeeze in.


Logitech LS21 2.1 Speaker System|€23.97
Not the best speakers, but good value for ~€20.


I really enjoyed building it overall, the only problems being due to my own stupidity (like putting the graphics card in and realising that there is no room to plug the headers in...)

Thanks for the advice BloodBath!

BloodBath

Hey yeah looking at the build now I would have made some changes but that was a 6 weeks ago. A few people have complained about that wireless card now. I've been recommending the Asus one since.

Cable management isn't really an option on the budget matx cases although I prefer the cheaper zalman t2. It's a great little case for the money.

I should have recommended the wavemaster mx speakers. They are great speakers for the money but are €40. You were already over your budget though.

psugrue

well shoot! i just ordered my parts yesterday and i went for your wireless card. is it really bad? have a few usb network sticks but would rather not have them sticking out of the computer.

BloodBath

It depends on your router and distance from it as well I guess. A few have said it's weak though.