Posted October 5, 2009 Right im getting bored of not being able to play games or having programs run slowly with this laptop and as I dont have a whole lot of money I figured the best way to get a semi-good pc would be to build one, that way I can just buy the parts I need over time to not put a strain on my money. Im pretty sure I can build a pc myself once ive got all the parts but I could use some help from you guys on knowing which parts would be best to order so I know whats compatible with what. A list, preferably with links (I assume EBuyer will be best for getting the parts) would be a great help to me if you could. Im hoping to spend as little as possible as I can to achieve a good enough pc, something that will run games etc but doesnt have to be top end. Any help would be great, cheers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 5, 2009 Well if you haven't already got a case n whatever else your gonna have to buy about half of the parts all in one go. Stuff like motherboard, cpu, ram, psu, case, and probably a dvd drive and monitor/keyboard/mouse would be the absolute essentials. Buying a motherboard, then buying a cpu a few months down the line is a good idea in theory but if its not working you are risking your guarantee after having certain stuff for certain periods of time. Motherboard kits are a good start, because they may be slightly more expensive than parts, you know they are compatible, and some companies will have them built and tested. Good for novices, because building a PC by yourself is not easy if you know very little about hardware. BUY A STATIC STRAP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 5, 2009 I found a good video tutorial on youtube. The guy seemed to know hat he was talking about. I'm actually interested in building my own PC. I can't help much though, as I have very ittle knowledge myself. What I do know is that a good motherboard, is probably one of the most important things, if nothing else. That Mcphee fellow seems to know what he's talking about. Maybe you could send him a PM if he doesn't show up in this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) Case w/ PSU 160GB Western Digital HD 2GB Corsair DDR3 AMD Athlon II X2 240 socket AM3 MSI 785G That will get you started at a decent price. The AM3 CPU's are excellent for their price (Intel would be more expensive), the motherboard has built-in graphics, which are nothing special (likely the same or a teensy bit better than your laptop), but it allow you to wait for more money to get a GPU. It's also DDR3 which is the way memory is going so no point in getting stuck with DDR2 and needing to upgrade later. The case is a nice little case that will likely serve you well (unless you want something like the 5870 which is nearly 30cm long) it also comes with a Power Supply. You don't need a highly rated power supply, but you do need a reputable one. So, when the time comes for getting a GPU, a new power supply would be needed as well, but this one will get you started. The RAM and HDD are nothing special, just somewhere to start. I didn't factor in things like Keyboard/Mouse and the OS. Currently it is still possible to get Windows 7 RC for free, otherwise you'd need to buy a new copy or figure something out. Also, a monitor. Finally you'll probably notice that the Case/PSU and HDD come from ebuyer while the rest are Scan. Scan is cheaper except for the HDD (unless you want Maxtor instead of Western Digital) and their Case selection didn't have low priced cases w/ PSUs and it would be more to get them separately. Edit: I'm stupid, I forgot the CD/DVD drive. There you go. All of it approx. 211 Edited October 5, 2009 by Nolan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 5, 2009 Bah, for the case ebay the term Galaxy 3 / Galaxy III or xblade case. Will come with a higher watt PSU for around 30 quid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 What do you want it for and how much do you want to spend? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 If necessary I could spend up to maybe 500 but as I said I want to keep costs down as much as possible. Im not real fussy on whats going in it, just that it'll run well enough I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 If necessary I could spend up to maybe 500 but as I said I want to keep costs down as much as possible. Im not real fussy on whats going in it, just that it'll run well enough I guess. Your PC will never run well enough, and you'll always be left wanting MOAR POWAAAH!!! Also do you need a monitor in that? Keyboard/mouse? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 Your PC will never run well enough, and you'll always be left wanting MOAR POWAAAH!!! Also do you need a monitor in that? Keyboard/mouse? Im sure I probably will get a new monitor, mouse and keyboard at some point but ive got some older ones which will be fine to use for the time being so they wouldnt need to be added to the list Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GH ~£125 Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz ~£60 Coolermaster 460W eXtreme Power Plus PSU ~£40 Zotac 9800GT 1GB ~£80 Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 ~£55 That's roughly £360. You'd then have £140 to buy mobo and case. But I just made this post as I was bored, as I'm sure somebody will come and tell you that I'm talking rubbish soon enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) Only one thing Moogie. I'd say if he doesn't have a case already he currently has nothing to put all the parts in. As I was saying before ebay galaxy 3 or xblade the cases normally come with a psu as standard, and a a higher wattage than I've ever seen on Ebuyer. Galaxy 3 case with 750W PSU £43.49 delivered You may not need such a high watt PSU so do look around and find a 450 / 650 watt PSU included instead. But this one will let you SLI/ Crossfire and raid to your heart's content. If that's your thing. Leaving him with £140 for mobo. 500W PSU shinobi case £37 delivered Edited October 6, 2009 by Ten10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 Now that I have a price point I'll throw something else together that's a bit more complete later when I have the time. Moogle, the only thing odd about what you choose would be the DDR3 RAM. Which isn't a bad thing, it just adds an extra step of sifting through mainly DDR2 boards trying to find one that does DDR3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) Moogle, the only thing odd about what you choose would be the DDR3 RAM. Which isn't a bad thing, it just adds an extra step of sifting through mainly DDR2 boards trying to find one that does DDR3. I just chose it because it was faster really. If the mobo is DDR2 then Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz ~£50 Oh and what Ten10 said. You can get the same PSU I posted with a case for ~£60 or with an uglier case for ~£50 Edited October 6, 2009 by MoogleViper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) This is what i'd go for; CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 620" Mobo: Asus M4A785D-M Pro GPU: Powercolor Radeon 4770 512MB RAM: Crucial 4GB DDR3 HDD: Western Digital 500GB AAKS DVD: Anything really, can't go far wrong here. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164449 It'll set you back about £365 for that lot. I'd use the rest to upgrade your keyboard, mouse and speakers to half decent kit, no point in having a good PC if your display and input devices suck. Edited October 6, 2009 by McPhee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 Dude you got your url tags the wrong way round. Fixed for you. This is what i'd go for; CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 620" Mobo: Asus M4A785D-M Pro GPU: Powercolor Radeon 4770 512MB RAM: Crucial 4GB DDR3 HDD: Western Digital 500GB AAKS DVD: Anything really, can't go far wrong here. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164449 It'll set you back about £365 for that lot. I'd use the rest to upgrade your keyboard, mouse and speakers to half decent kit, no point in having a good PC if your display and input devices suck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 Can you provide lists/opinions for the same with intel and nvidia. I have windows 7 pro, decent speakers & mouse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 This is what i'd go for; CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173368 Mobo: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170281 GPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164568 RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166995 HDD: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228 DVD: Anything really, can't go far wrong here. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164449 It'll set you back about £365 for that lot. I'd use the rest to upgrade your keyboard, mouse and speakers to half decent kit, no point in having a good PC if your display and input devices suck. What Moogle said, also... Most of that is likely cheaper on Scan.co.uk (I know the Mobo is). Your Mobo is DDR2 not DDR3, which is the RAM chosen. This is suitable though. Also, since I'm slightly dumb at times, the motherboard I selected from Scan is still pre-order only. Making Ebuyer cheaper in that regard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) Intel E5300 Dual Core Processor Intel E7400 Dual Core Processor Intel Q8200 Quad Core Processor Those would be the competing Intel CPUs. Not too sure on Motherboards but I know they usually work out more expensive for the same spec due to them needing a memory controller on-board. The AMD ones also tend to include an on-board GPU which is handy if your graphics card blows and you want to carry on using your system. For graphics cards it makes little difference whether you go for ATi or NVidia, the ATi 4770 and 4850 and the NVidia 9800GT and GTS250 are all pretty similar in price and performance. The 4770 is the odd one out in that it's the slowest, but by a marginal amount. It's selling point is that it draws less power and produces less heat than the other three, which IMO makes up for the marginal performance loss. Your Mobo is DDR2 not DDR3 Woops I never even bothered to check, i thought all AM3 boards were supposed to be DDR3? I'm a bit behind on my info, not really kept up since I built my new PC in May. A quick look though and it seems the price on the Biostar TA790GX has crashed at Scan, making it a very good buy at the moment. http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Biostar-TA790GX-128-AMD-790GX-SAM2plus-PCI-E-20(x16)-DDR2-1066-SATA-3Gbps-SATA-RAID-OnBoard-VGA Dude you got your url tags the wrong way round. Fixed for you. Cheers dude Edited October 6, 2009 by McPhee Automerged Doublepost Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2009 Woops I never even bothered to check, i thought all AM3 boards were supposed to be DDR3? I'm a bit behind on my info, not really kept up since I built my new PC in May. It's improperly listed as a AM3 board when it's only AM3 compatible, it's actually AM2+. The 785 comes in two variants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2009 Not much to add here, just go for a Quad-Core CPUs because the X-360 is triple-core and the titles that get ported over to the PC lately develop a trend to require Quad-Core CPUs to run smoothly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 BUY A STATIC STRAP. Have you ever fried anything yourself? I never use a static wristband I built my i7 system without one and had no problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 Have you ever fried anything yourself? I never use a static wristband I built my i7 system without one and had no problems. Yeah but for the couple of quid it costs it's better to be safe than sorry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 I have to agree. Sometimes my body outputs static electricity like no tomorrow. Like today opening a door with a plastic handle. Sometimes I think I'm in the wrong industry. But I think building a pc is like flower arranging for blokesTM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 I know I'm not being very sensible, I've just never heard of anyone IRL actually damaging their components with static. Although I do take a few precautions just in case (wear non static clothes, work barefoot on laminated floor not carpet, and even touch something earthed eg non-painted pipes, inside of the case when it's plugged in) I can't see myself paying for something that I've never seen the need for with my own two eyes I suppose that's like saying I'm not wearing a seatbelt because I've never seen anyone go flying through their windscreen, but meh, I'm cheap Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 I know I'm not being very sensible, I've just never heard of anyone IRL actually damaging their components with static. Although I do take a few precautions just in case (wear non static clothes, work barefoot on laminated floor not carpet, and even touch something earthed eg non-painted pipes, inside of the case when it's plugged in) I can't see myself paying for something that I've never seen the need for with my own two eyes I suppose that's like saying I'm not wearing a seatbelt because I've never seen anyone go flying through their windscreen, but meh, I'm cheap I do agree with you totally. It is unlikely (if you know what you are doing that is) But at the same time, it costs a couple of quid for a static strap to eliminate the small (but still real) possibility of frying a £200 graphics card. And some people just don't have a foggies about what they are touching, and don't follow the suggested guidelines you mentioned Prevention rather than cure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
