Hi all, this is my first post on the forum but I've been visiting Anandtech for quite a while . I'm trying to put together a budget midrange system. I have a decent knowledge of PCs and have been consistently reading and keeping myself up to date with components but have never actually built a PC from scratch myself so would appreciate any advice regarding items I might have left out, hardware conflicts, choice of platform etc.
The PC builders questionnaire is below
:
1. What YOUR PC will be used for: Will be used for normal everyday tasks, occasional gaming, moderate video editing & encoding.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread: Budget is between 600-650 British Pounds (preferably lower)
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from: Parts must be bought in the UK, from Scan Computers.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference: Have no brand preference.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are: No current parts will be used, build has to include EVERYTHING required apart from Monitor which I will purchase separately.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads: Have searched and read similar threads on multiple forums. Have also read reviews on relevant components and many Anandtech articles.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds: Plan on overclocking for value.
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with: Monitor will be 1920x1080, will not have to perform at that resolution during gaming.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it? ASAP, preferably within the next week.
Within my budget I am able to build either an i5, Phenom II, or Core2 system and are leaning towards the i5 with Phenom II as a second option.
The common components would be:
Coolermaster Elite 331 or Antec 300 case.
Antec Basiq Plus 550W psu
4GB(2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC312800(1600) CAS-9-9-9-24 RAM
500GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 7200 OS Hard Drive
512MB XFX Radeon HD5750 Graphics card
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro v2 Cooler or reccomended alternative
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM Operating System
For i5, currently selected motherboard/processor would be:
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 or Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 if extra amount justified.
Intel Core i5 750 Processor
The total for i5 build in Antec case would come up to 654 British Pounds if using UD3 board.
For Phenom II currently selected motherboard/processor would be:
Asus M4A79XTD-EVO AM3 motherboard
Phenom II X4 955 BE Processor
The total for Phenom II build would be 610 British pounds.
The difference in price, approx 40 pounds (60 US$) is not too substantial however are the performance benefits worth it for going i5? If so is the UD3 worth it over the UD2?
The Antec case is 10GB cheaper, is it more durable and larger than the Coolermaster, or are there other cases to consider within the price range?
In addition to current performance benefits what about upgradeability with Socket 1156 vs AM3? If necessary for a bit more horsepower the P55 could in the future be fitted with the i7 8xx series. Is it likely that further AM3 compatible chips will be released and provide an upgrade path?
Any other advantages or disadvantages in P55 vs 790X?
Any known hardware conflicts or known faults in the selected components?
Sorry for the long post and thank you all in advance but just want to make sure that I do not make a mistake when making the purchases bearing in mind that budget and value are paramount.
The PC builders questionnaire is below
:1. What YOUR PC will be used for: Will be used for normal everyday tasks, occasional gaming, moderate video editing & encoding.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread: Budget is between 600-650 British Pounds (preferably lower)
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from: Parts must be bought in the UK, from Scan Computers.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference: Have no brand preference.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are: No current parts will be used, build has to include EVERYTHING required apart from Monitor which I will purchase separately.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads: Have searched and read similar threads on multiple forums. Have also read reviews on relevant components and many Anandtech articles.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds: Plan on overclocking for value.
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with: Monitor will be 1920x1080, will not have to perform at that resolution during gaming.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it? ASAP, preferably within the next week.
Within my budget I am able to build either an i5, Phenom II, or Core2 system and are leaning towards the i5 with Phenom II as a second option.
The common components would be:
Coolermaster Elite 331 or Antec 300 case.
Antec Basiq Plus 550W psu
4GB(2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC312800(1600) CAS-9-9-9-24 RAM
500GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 7200 OS Hard Drive
512MB XFX Radeon HD5750 Graphics card
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro v2 Cooler or reccomended alternative
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM Operating System
For i5, currently selected motherboard/processor would be:
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 or Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 if extra amount justified.
Intel Core i5 750 Processor
The total for i5 build in Antec case would come up to 654 British Pounds if using UD3 board.
For Phenom II currently selected motherboard/processor would be:
Asus M4A79XTD-EVO AM3 motherboard
Phenom II X4 955 BE Processor
The total for Phenom II build would be 610 British pounds.
The difference in price, approx 40 pounds (60 US$) is not too substantial however are the performance benefits worth it for going i5? If so is the UD3 worth it over the UD2?
The Antec case is 10GB cheaper, is it more durable and larger than the Coolermaster, or are there other cases to consider within the price range?
In addition to current performance benefits what about upgradeability with Socket 1156 vs AM3? If necessary for a bit more horsepower the P55 could in the future be fitted with the i7 8xx series. Is it likely that further AM3 compatible chips will be released and provide an upgrade path?
Any other advantages or disadvantages in P55 vs 790X?
Any known hardware conflicts or known faults in the selected components?
Sorry for the long post and thank you all in advance but just want to make sure that I do not make a mistake when making the purchases bearing in mind that budget and value are paramount.
Last edited:
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