20 replies to this topic

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

So I've never built a PC before, but I thought I'd give it ago. I've read up on what I need to choose, and learnt a lot, but I'd love to get some feedback, because I've probably made some horrible mistakes.

Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 Motherboard - £140.92

Intel 3rd Generation Core i7-3770K CPU - £205.53

Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX650Ti 2GB DDR5 PCI-E Graphics Card - £109.98

Corsair 16GB (2 x 8GB) Vengeance 1600MHz DDR3 240-pin DIMM CL10 - £45.83

Corsair CSSD-F120GBGT-BK Force Series 120GB Solid State Drive - £82.93
(I will likely get a 1TB harddrive at a later date, but to start with I'll get this up an running)

Samsung SH-118AB 18x DVD ROM Drive - £9.21

Sharkoon T9 ATX Midi Tower Case - Green - £41.90

Corsair 500W Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze ATX Power Supply - £36.53
Corsair 750W CX Builder Series 80PLUS Bronze PSU - £44.97

Total: 681.27

Thoughts?

Edited by Bob, 27 December 2012 - 22:01.

[Major Fuckup]

I know nothing about computers but if its all the latest stuff then it should run Crysis!

[TheDR]

I'm unfortuntly in the same position as you Bob in knowledge terms. I can however say it doesn't look like you've made any mistakes.

Some advice I've been told is always get a better Motherboard and PSU. Obliviously a better Mobo will mean that it will last longer (also it is a pain to change it) and the PSU is vital to everything and a bad one can mean destroying other components. So it might be worth upgrading in those two areas if you have any extra cash.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Thanks for the feedback.

TBH, the PSU I don't have a clue about, I literally just chucked one in there that looked OK. I don't have a clue what wattage I need.


While I'm here. Any tips for the assembly step? Do I need any special tools, or is it literally just a set of screwdrivers?

[CJ]

Bob, on 27 December 2012 - 15:17, said:

While I'm here. Any tips for the assembly step? Do I need any special tools, or is it literally just a set of screwdrivers?

All you need is a regular (philips) screwdriver since all the screws are of the same size, but you might need a fucking hammer fot the motherboard's backplate, believe me, that shitty piece of metal will most likely drive you mad when you'll try to place it in the case ._.

I find it funny however that you've listed the same Mobo and Processor that I was planning to buy (before I spent all of my money on other crap )

[Libains]

Bob, on 27 December 2012 - 15:17, said:

[color="#7FB22E"]Thanks for the feedback.[/color]

[color="#7FB22E"]TBH, the PSU I don't have a clue about, I literally just chucked one in there that looked OK. I don't have a clue what wattage I need.[/color]


[color="#7FB22E"]While I'm here. Any tips for the assembly step? Do I need any special tools, or is it literally just a set of screwdrivers?[/color]

You will need an upgrade on that psu there I'm afraid - considering your gfx card and processor come to about 500W between the two of them. Better safe than sorry with the psu, would recommend something about the 750W mark, especially if you want to add in extra components later on.

EDIT: and you may want to invest in some SATA data cables and power cords - I've found with some components these days they actually don't come with the bits you need to plug them into each other.

Edited by Libains, 27 December 2012 - 20:28.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Libains, on 27 December 2012 - 20:24, said:

Bob, on 27 December 2012 - 15:17, said:

Thanks for the feedback.

TBH, the PSU I don't have a clue about, I literally just chucked one in there that looked OK. I don't have a clue what wattage I need.


While I'm here. Any tips for the assembly step? Do I need any special tools, or is it literally just a set of screwdrivers?

You will need an upgrade on that psu there I'm afraid - considering your gfx card and processor come to about 500W between the two of them. Better safe than sorry with the psu, would recommend something about the 750W mark, especially if you want to add in extra components later on.

EDIT: and you may want to invest in some SATA data cables and power cords - I've found with some components these days they actually don't come with the bits you need to plug them into each other.

OK, I'll look into that.

How do you figure out which PSU you need, BTW?

Edited by Bob, 27 December 2012 - 21:03.

[Libains]

Well for starters, look at the specific wattage of any components that you can - the CPU on amazon is 77 and the gpu is 400.

I usually then work off a table like this one on new egg and add up from there - it's not wholly accurate on things like memory (15w per gb is vastly overrating it IMO) - but on the whole it's a good table. If you add your components up roughly they'll come to just shy of 700 - add in a bit of room for expanding etc and Bobs your uncle. I run my system on 750W no problem - have a slightly lower wattage gpu, but two optical drives and two hdds (also, have you considered a blu ray drive, they're quite cheap now and as you have a ps3 I'm guessing you've got blu rays lying around too?).

EDIT: new egg link might help... http://www.newegg.co...leId=199#topic4

Edited by Libains, 27 December 2012 - 21:15.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Thanks for the link.

Regards blu-ray, I really don't see much point. I barely use the DVD rom drive as it is - Hence why I went for the cheapest one (with in reason) that I could find.

As for the PSU, would this be all right?

Corsair 750W CX Builder Series 80PLUS Bronze PSU - £44.97

Edited by Bob, 27 December 2012 - 21:47.

[Libains]

Bob, on 27 December 2012 - 21:47, said:

[color="#7FB22E"]Thanks for the link.[/color]

[color="#7FB22E"]Regards blu-ray, I really don't see much point. I barely use the DVD rom drive as it is - Hence why I went for the cheapest one (with in reason) that I could find.[/color]

[color="#7FB22E"]As for the PSU, would this be all right?[/color]

Corsair 750W CX Builder Series 80PLUS Bronze PSU [color="#7FB22E"]- £44.97[/color]

Looks good to me, surprised at the price (in a good way). Re the blu ray, I barely use mine either, just thought I'd mention it due to the ps3 - tbh digital delivery of content > any disc these days for me.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Cool. Thanks a lot.

[Ion Cannon!]

So am I, but in an annoyed way, I paid £70 for that very PSU a few weeks ago. Secondly, all your quoted prices seem low, do you not pay VAT or something?

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Nope, no VAT in Guernsey.

[ΓΛPTΘΓ]

I would recommend a better case since you are already spending a fair bit on it. A good case with dust filter will save you a lot of work in the long term.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Well, I've ordered everything. Thanks for the help everyone! I'll probably be asking for more help once everything arrives.

In the end I went for a different DVD Drive, since it was going to cost me over £10 postage to get the sodding thing from ebuyer. >_> It's only a couple of quid more expensive, but ultimately over £8 cheaper since it's free postage.

I also went for a different case. It's a bit more expensive, but from the reviews I've seen, it seems well worth it.

[CJ]

Bob, on 30 December 2012 - 00:16, said:

I also went for a different case. It's a bit more expensive, but from the reviews I've seen, it seems well worth it.

I doubt you're gonna make all the components fit in such a small case

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

You make a good point, so I canceled that and went for this one instead.

Edited by Bob, 30 December 2012 - 13:36.

[Wizard]

White?

Since when have you been a chav?

[Libains]

Bob, on 30 December 2012 - 13:35, said:

You make a good point, so I canceled that and went for this one instead.

Those cases are very nice, I have a NZXT one myself - dead easy to fit components into (including the mobos) which should make life a lot easier.

Also, I do agree with Wiz. White = ewwwwww

Edited by Libains, 30 December 2012 - 14:26.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Wizard, on 30 December 2012 - 14:20, said:

White? <87

Since when have you been a chav?

Since when do chavs buy gaming PCs?

Edited by Bob, 30 December 2012 - 14:51.

[Wizard]

Bob, on 30 December 2012 - 14:51, said:

Wizard, on 30 December 2012 - 14:20, said:

White? <87

Since when have you been a chav?

Since when do chavs buy gaming PCs?

Since they came in white.....