Gaming Rig 800euro

Young Frankenstein

Hello.

Looking to build a gaming computer. Thinking about using the black BitFenix Prodigy M-ITX Case because its pretty slick for the price. But im open to other suggestions.

Ive had my head buried in online builds and benchmarks all week and im so so confused haha Would love to hear your suggestions. My budget is flexible but i only want to spend more than 800 if there is good reason to.

1. What is your budget? 800-1000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming. Eve. Skyrim. Planetside 2. Etc

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. Bigger the better. Whatever you recommend.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? mouse/ keyboard/ speakers/ wi-fi

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Im thinking no. Maybe if its necessary to get good FPS on high settings. Im afraid of cooking my comp

8. How can you pay? any

9. When are you purchasing? This week hopefully!

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

BloodBath

Just over budget but there was no way I could get prices down on this anymore without reducing quality for a specific part by a lot.

You could drop the ssd for now if you wanted to save some money.

Item|Price
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€129.00
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.50
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Gehäuse - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€69.99
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 450W|€49.79
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€73.49
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850, 2GB GDDR5, lite retail|€175.22
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€86.99
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€58.66
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.23
8GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24|€51.12
TP-Link TL-WN722N|€9.54
Revoltec Wired Gaming Mouse W102|€8.33
Intel Core i5-3330 Box, LGA1155|€160.67
Wavemaster MX-3+|€39.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1029.51

Young Frankenstein

Ah, thanks for the reply

I have a few question, if you dont mind... probably stupid questions because its my first time and i dont really know what im doing haha but hopefully not.

Im going to stretch the budget to 1100.

Im just curious why you recommend the wavemaster? Im thinking of cheaping out on the speakers by getting Logitech LS21 2.1. Then getting something a bit more badass at a later date. Money saved could go towards better gpu. 7870 Jokercard maybe? Dont know if that would bottleneck the cpu

Would you recommend overclocking? Can i overclock the gpu or do i need a different Mobo/ cpu or something? I havent got a grasp of OCing at all but i hear thats what makes these cards good so i guess i could figure it out. Bringing up the possibility of OCing could change the parts you suggested, sorry if im a nuisance.:o Like i dont think the RAM have a heat sink and i dont know if that would be an issue.

Also, is dust something to worry about? Is there a way to add dust filters? I think the Prodigy case has only got a dust filter on the front of the case.

Any suggestions for a keyboard?

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.50
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Gehäuse - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€69.99
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 450W|€49.79
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€73.49
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€86.99
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€58.66
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.23
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€56.46
TP-Link TL-WN722N|€9.54
Revoltec Wired Gaming Mouse W102|€8.33
Intel Core i5-3330 Box, LGA1155|€160.67
Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT jokerCard, 2GB GDDR5, DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort|€210.37
Logitech LS21 2.1 Speaker System|€23.97
LG 24EA53VQ|€169.00
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1093.98

BloodBath

No bother

The wavemaster speaker set is great value for money. For the sake of €16 I'd go for them now.

Performance wise it will rival far more expensive setups. They are out of stock atm though.

The graphics card won't be bottlenecked by the cpu.

Getting overclockable versions of the processor and mainboard + an improved cooler to make use of that feature would increase the cost by about €130. This would allow you to get to around 4.5ghz on the processor instead of the 3ghz non overclockable version above.

The graphics card can be overclocked regardless.

A heat spreader on the ram isn't really necessary. It just looks nicer.

Dust will always build up. If you smoke or have pets it's a bigger problem. You can buy dust filters but they are a double edged sword as they limit airflow.

The only unfiltered air getting into the prodigy is from the graphics card intakes on the side I think.

It's fine if you keep some cans of compressed air and give your system a clean every now and then.

You will have to get a keyboard elsewhere as the German layout is different.

Young Frankenstein

Alrighty.

Is OCing the CPU and Mobo even necassary to get better fps in games? Or is Ocing the GPU enough to do the trick?

That RAM i have in the list is slightly different than what you suggested. 1600MHz instead of 1333Mhz. If thats still compatable with everything else then i think its time to order as soon as that wavemaster is in stock

BloodBath

Some games are more dependant on the cpu than others. For most it will make little difference past a certain point.

As long as it doesn't bottleneck the gpu it's all good and that cpu won't bottleneck anything for a while.

The RAM will be fine. You can set it's speed in the BIOS.

Young Frankenstein

I was hoping to order today but the motherboard and graphics card are both delivery unknown. Can you recommend any replacements?

BloodBath

Board
http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/59313/ASRock+H77M-ITX%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+ITX.article


Graphics card
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/XFX+Double+D+Radeon+HD+7870+GHz+Edition+%28Tahiti+LE%29+OC+2GB+GDDR5+Graphics+Card+%5BFX-787A-CNAC%5D+%2B+4+FREE+GAMES%21+?productId=55140

or

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/PowerColor+PCS%2B+Myst.+Edition+Radeon+HD+7870+%28Tahiti+LE%29+OC+2GB+GDDR5+Graphics+Card+%5BAX7870+2GBD5-2DHPPV3E%5D+%2B+4+FREE+GAMES%21+?productId=54322

Young Frankenstein

I STILL have not order yet, due to me being an airhead and forgetting my bank pin XD
But thats all sorted and now im finally ordering today!

Although with Planetside 2 looking pretty awesome with Physx, im going to go with Nvidia.
Can you suggest a Nvidia card? Or would you advise against it? budget is now 1200!

Also looks like ill have to go with windows 7. Windows 8 is out of stock i think, and i really dont want to wait any longer! ha
Is it worth waiting? I hear it sucks anyways!

Digy123

Young Frankenstein wrote: »

Ah, thanks for the reply

I have a few question, if you dont mind... probably stupid questions because its my first time and i dont really know what im doing haha but hopefully not.

Im going to stretch the budget to 1100.

Im just curious why you recommend the wavemaster? Im thinking of cheaping out on the speakers by getting Logitech LS21 2.1. Then getting something a bit more badass at a later date. Money saved could go towards better gpu. 7870 Jokercard maybe? Dont know if that would bottleneck the cpu

Would you recommend overclocking? Can i overclock the gpu or do i need a different Mobo/ cpu or something? I havent got a grasp of OCing at all but i hear thats what makes these cards good so i guess i could figure it out. Bringing up the possibility of OCing could change the parts you suggested, sorry if im a nuisance.:o Like i dont think the RAM have a heat sink and i dont know if that would be an issue.

Also, is dust something to worry about? Is there a way to add dust filters? I think the Prodigy case has only got a dust filter on the front of the case.

Any suggestions for a keyboard?

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.50
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Gehäuse - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€69.99
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 450W|€49.79
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€73.49
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€86.99
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€58.66
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.23
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€56.46
TP-Link TL-WN722N|€9.54
Revoltec Wired Gaming Mouse W102|€8.33
Intel Core i5-3330 Box, LGA1155|€160.67
Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT jokerCard, 2GB GDDR5, DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort|€210.37
Logitech LS21 2.1 Speaker System|€23.97
LG 24EA53VQ|€169.00
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1093.98

Very nice build for the money,id just like to add that PC world has Windows 8 for 65 euro so you may be able to cut down on the price a little

Tropheus

Digy123 wrote: »

Very nice build for the money,id just like to add that PC world has Windows 8 for 65 euro so you may be able to cut down on the price a little

But it's probably not the System Builder version that's required to install on a naked PC.

Digy123

ksimpson wrote: »

But it's probably not the System Builder version that's required to install on a naked PC.

Never thought of that

Young Frankenstein

OK i tried building this thing today. It is so much harder than the videos on youtube make it seem haha
It seems i need to buy another sata cable. two came with motherboard but thats not enough to hook up the disc drive, hdd and ssd. Unless im wrong in thinking you need sata 3 cables to hook them up.
Also seems i need to buy a molex to 3 pin adapter for the fans that came with the case. they cant plug into the psu from what i can tell, and only one can fit in the motherboard.
Im so confused right now im struggling to turn this into a question haha does it make sense that id need to buy the extra sata cable and molex adapter or am i missing something?

BloodBath

You do sorry. I overlooked that. You only really need the disk drive to install windows anyway. You could just connect it for that for the install and change it to the hard drive after until you get another.

I'm not familiar with itx boards. Most usually have 3 x 3 pin connections but space is limited I guess. You can get molex to 3 x 3 pin cables or a 3 pin to 3 x 3 pin splitter. Bitfenix make a big range of these types of cables in a lot of different colours.

Young Frankenstein

Alrighty. No need to apolagise, you have been awesome help. Do you know any shops around dublin area that might sell all that?
Another blunder on my part is i think i might have bought Ram that has too high frequency for my motherboard. I think i read it can handle 1600 and lower. but mine is 1800. If that is the case you think it will work and bottle neck or just not work? :S

BloodBath

I don't no sorry. You should be able to get a sata cable in the likes of pc world or other big pc shops though.

It's unlikely you will get the 3 pin fan splitter though.

3-pin to 3x3-pin fan splitter.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BitFenix-60cm-3-Pin-3x-Adapter/dp/B004J3MHDM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1369877578&sr=8-5&keywords=bitfenix+3+pin+black

Molex to 3x3-pin adaptor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BitFenix-20cm-Molex-3-Pin-Adapter/dp/B004J3P658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369877770&sr=8-1&keywords=bitfenix+3-pin+black+molex

Young Frankenstein

ok i think ive plugged everything in right. when i turn on the computer, all the fans spin and it seems to be working but i cant get anything to show up on the screen :S any ideas where to start in figuring out what i might be messing up?

Young Frankenstein

haha was plugging the monitor into the motherboard instead of gpu. My bad. Its working now.

beno619

Post some pics of your Prodigy build

Young Frankenstein

You really dont want to see the state of the cable management hah and theres no specail fans or lights so no need for a picture really. I am seeing some pink flickering dots or pixels around the screen alot. and sometimes there is jittering / waving lines going across the screen :S what you think could be causing that? ive installed latest gpu driver but that didnt fix it. :S

Gumbi

Young Frankenstein wrote: »

You really dont want to see the state of the cable management hah and theres no specail fans or lights so no need for a picture really. I am seeing some pink flickering dots or pixels around the screen alot. and sometimes there is jittering / waving lines going across the screen :S what you think could be causing that? ive installed latest gpu driver but that didnt fix it. :S

Flickering lines sound like a high resolution over a cable that can't properly carry that signal. Try reducing the resolution to see of this removes the problem. If it does fox it, then you know what the issue is. The solution is to use a HDMI/DVI cable to carry a 1080p digital video signal (and not an RGB cable).

Young Frankenstein

Im already using a HDMI cable though. Although it is an old one. Ill try a different HDMI cable and see if it helps any. Im after noticing that back of the case stops the HDMI cable from sitting flush by about a mm. :S Could that be the problem?

Topbike77

Young Frankenstein wrote: »

Im already using a HDMI cable though. Although it is an old one. Ill try a different HDMI cable and see if it helps any. Im after noticing that back of the case stops the HDMI cable from sitting flush by about a mm. :S Could that be the problem?

It may be, the first thing that came to mind was loose cable.

Young Frankenstein

cool. ive used a different hdmi and havent noticed the pink dots or wavy lines since. Have only been using it for about half an hour though so time will tell. Now to figure out why i am not getting any sound out of my subwoofer! haha nothing goes smoothly!

Young Frankenstein

Im going to try downloading motherboard audio driver again. any suggestions on what could be the problem with the subwoofer not working? it came with one lime coloured cable which only seems to be for front left and right speakers so makes sense that i cant hear subwoofer. but i dont know what im supposed to do :S

tuxy

The sound system will work with anything that has a 3.5mm jack so check it with another device to see if the fault is with the pc or sub.

Young Frankenstein

Hello again. Ive run into another problem. You guys where a huge help in the past so i figured id ask here. If i should have posted this somewhere else let me know. Today my computer stopped recognising the ssd.
The computer froze. I restarted and it said "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key". I went to the boot menu and saw that on the map of the motherboard it wasnt showing my ssd.
I checked and it is still connected. I tried switching the place i plugged it into the motherboard but its still not showing up.

Any ideas whats could be wrong and how i can fix it? I am going to try switching the sata cables between my ssd and hardrive and hoping its a dodgy cable!

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

Young Frankenstein

Switching Sata cables didnt change anything either. I guess the ssd is broken. :S Any ideas what could have caused that?
Am i able to install Windows onto my hdd, without losing everyhing on there already?

nesf

I know with some of the Sandy Bridge chipsets, some of the Sata ports on a board could fail. If possible try the SSD on a different port pair, sometimes there are two controllers on the board for Sata (one for the two high speed ports and the other for the slower regular Sata ports) and only one set of the ports fail. I don't know with your motherboard off-hand.

It would be very unusual for an SSD to fail this quickly.

Young Frankenstein

Unfortunately i ttried that already. I put the ssd into the sata port the hdd was in and vise versa. Ill try again though. I wouldnt put it past me to have unplugged them and put them back into the same place by accident. haha

nesf

Young Frankenstein wrote: »

Unfortunately i ttried that already. I put the ssd into the sata port the hdd was in and vise versa. Ill try again though. I wouldnt put it past me to have unplugged them and put them back into the same place by accident. haha

Well, if the sata port the ssd was in works for the hdd and you've tried a different cable there are two possibilities: hardware failure in the SSD (bad) or the power cable for the ssd is not plugged in properly. Try unseating and replugging the power cable in and if that doesn't work put in the HDD power cable to rule that out.

If none of that works, it's time to start googling your specific drive model to see if there's some firmware or other issue that can cause early failure and see if there's a solution you can use for it.