# First Build.



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Hello,

I've just finished my first year at uni and i've decided that i want to build a desktop to replace my current laptop. I've been looking at many components trying to select which is best for my needs. I've ended up confusing myself about the differences and decided it was time that i seeked help. I know very little about computer components and would be very grateful if you could assist me.

I plan to use this computer for photoshop, dreamweaver, Maya etc. I would also like it to be able to run games smoothly but not too high spec (i.e. running crysis on top specs). 

1. Budget: Anything around $800, although the cheaper the better.

2. Brands: Not really bothered, dont really know enough to tell the difference.

3. Multitasking: I usually play music, editing in photoshop/maya and go on the internet. I also rip cds at the same time.

4. Gaming: I intend to play games, quite recent game. I dont intend to play them at top quality but i'd like them to be able to run smoothly.

5. Calculations: I doubt it.

6. Overclocking: I dont plan to overclock anything.

7. Storage: No less than 200 Gb, I'll be storing games, Video files etc.

8. Legacy Support: I dont believe so.

9. Operating System: Vista or Xp, Vista more likely.

10. Case: I know nothing about the differences in the case. My room as a wide area so size isnt really a factor, i'd like it to be easy for installing/changing components.

11. Accessories: I don’t have a keyboard or mouse in mind but they are not part of the $800 budget.

12. Recycled Components: No

13. Monitor: I will require a monitor. Preferred size is no less than 17 inch. I want it to be a good enough quality for my games without being highest spec.

14. Stores: Not really, as i live in the uk the common stores are www.pcworld.co.uk and Amazon.co.uk, but it isnt really a factor.

15. Location: Uk

I do apologise if I have written the wrong thing or haven’t given enough detail. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank You

P.s This is a great site, keep up the good work.


----------



## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

To get an idea of prices and parts, I'd suggest shopping around a few websites for the UK (in the US I'd suggest Dell). You aren't likely to build a complete PC much, if any cheaper than the big vendors. At a minimum, it will give you an idea of what parts you will need.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You can't build it cheaper then Dell but you can build it better.

For P/S Dreamweaver and Maya I think a Quad core will serve you well.

Have a look over these and let us know what you like/don't like or want to know more about.

Link	Disc	Cost
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Giga...0x16-DDR2-1066-1200-800-SATA-II-SATA-RAID-ATX EP45 UD3P	£94.29
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Inte...775-266-GHz-1333MHz-2MBx2-L2-Cache-95W-Retail Q8400	£153.28
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512Mb-Sapphire-HD-4670-DDR3 HD4670	£56.67
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-...-240-Pins-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-4-4-4-12-DHX 4Gig DDR2800	£53.64
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/550w-Corsair-VX-Series-PSU-ATX-PS-2-5-year-Warranty-see-specs 550VX	£69.63
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/640G...ALS-Caviar-Black-SATA-300-7200-rpm-32MB-Cache WD640Gig	£58.52
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sams...DR-12x-DVDR-DVDplusRW-x8-RW-x6-SATA-Black-OEM DVD	£15.93
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-Li-PC60F-Aluminium-Black Case	£76.48
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Microsoft-Windows-Vista-Ultimate-SP1-64Bit-1Pk-OEM-(DVD)	Vist U 64	£149.14


£727.58


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Thank you very much for the feed back. I just have a couple of questions about some of the parts that wrench97 suggested.

I like the motheboard that you suggested ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...-SATA-RAID-ATX ) but i'm having trouble finding it in another shop online that isnt scan.co.uk. I read customer reviews which suggested that about 1/3 of the items delivered were damaged. So i was wondering if you could maybe suggest a similar motherboard or if you know any other uk stores that may have it in stock.

The processor seems like a good choice.

The graphics card you suggested was one that i've previously looked at and was most likely to buy before i posted in this forum.

The ram seems like a good choice.

The psu seems fine although i dont know anything about it really. I was just wondering if it would be enough for cooling? 

The hard drive and dvd look good as well.

The case looks nice and seems like a good buy. 

Thanks Alot.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

How about here> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-152-GI
Or > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GA...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1240620212&sr=8-13


The PSU is not the only cooling, the case has a front fan to pull cool air in and a rear fan to exhaust hot air out the back, in the middle is the CPU heat sink with it's own fan, while the PSU fan does draw air from the case it's primary purpose is to cool the power supply it self.


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Cheers!

I wanna just make sure of something. Are all these components compatible with each other?

I mean i trust your judgement but its best to make sure


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes they are all compatible I've used all but the video card in a build, in that case I used a HD4850 card.


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Thanks for all the help.

I just have one more question. How important is a Heat Sink? and will i need one?


----------



## chowder_pants (Dec 3, 2008)

The processor comes with one that should work reasonably well if you dont plan on overclocking the computer. You can always add one after the fact if your computer is running too hot


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

I'm still thinking about this build and i cant decide if i just want to buy it made or make it yet. 

I've been trying to research good deals and i was wondering if this would be good enough for what i want? 

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160512

Acer Aspire M7200 Desktop PC, Phenom II X4 805, 4GB RAM, 640GB HDD, DVDRW, ATI Radeon HD 4850, Keyboard and Mouse, Vista Home Premium

any thoughts?

i know this is the build section but i was hoping for your advice since you people seem to know your stuff about computers 

thanks in advance


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

It's out of stock now.
Pre-built PC's commonly use low quality parts. Perhaps that's why they never list them.


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Hm, must have sold the last 1 soon after i posted. ow well 

In a way i'm glad because i do really wanna try building my own, even if it does goes bad 

I've made a few changes to what i hope will work together. Below is my plan for the pc.

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L, P45, Socket-775 - http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=404482&view=detailed#ProductTabs

Case - Lian-Li PC60F Aluminium Black Midi Tower Case - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-Li-PC60F-Aluminium-Black

Graphics Card - Sapphire HD4850 1GB GDDR3 HDMI DVI VGA PCI-E - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161308 

Ram - 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-...-240-Pins-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-4-4-4-12-DHX) 

Processor - BX80580Q8400 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Inte...775-266-GHz-1333MHz-2MBx2-L2-Cache-95W-Retail)

Hard Drive - 640GB Western Digital WD6401AALS Caviar Black (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/640G...ALS-Caviar-Black-SATA-300-7200-rpm-32MB-Cache) 

DVD Drive - Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±R (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sams...DR-12x-DVDR-DVDplusRW-x8-RW-x6-SATA-Black-OEM) 

Power Supply - 550w Corsair VX Series PSU (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/550w-Corsair-VX-Series-PSU-ATX-PS-2-5-year-Warranty-see-specs)

I was wondering if everything will still work together?

If you could suggest any improvements i'd be greatful.

Thanks again.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Swap the Power Supply to the 650TX and you'll have a very nice system, the Lian-Li is a nice case.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W...-quiet-and-cool-fully-compatible-5yr-warranty


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Cool! i will do, thx for the suggestion.

I have 1 quick question though, what is the main difference between the processors?

I mean like Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 compared to Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400.

what would be the main benefit between getting a Q9400 over the 8400?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The biggest difference is the onboard cache 4meg vs 8meg. If you want to move up from the Q8400 the Q9550 with 12meg is the best choice> http://processorfinder.intel.com/List.aspx?ParentRadio=All&ProcFam=2774&SearchKey=


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Ah right, well i think i'll just get the Q9550, managed to get extra £100 

Thanks for the help


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Hate to do this again but i've made some more changes 

Last time i promise!

Was just wondering if everything will be compatible with each other.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L, P45, Socket-775 -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GA...XOMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248558126&sr=8-1
----

Case: Lian-Li PC60F Aluminium Black Midi Tower Case -
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/Lian-Li-PC60F-Aluminium-Black
----

Graphics Card : 
XFX HD 4890 1GB GDDR5
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167969
----

RAM : OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Reaper Memory HPC Edition
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141930
----

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Inte...775-266-GHz-1333MHz-2MBx2-L2-Cache-95W-Retail
----

Hard Drive: Western Digital 750GB Hard Drive SATA300 7200rpm 32MB Cache Caviar Black
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146079
----

DVD Drive: Samsung SH-S223F Internal 22x DVD Writer Drive SATA (Black)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-SH-...38QC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1240361872&sr=8-2
----

Antec EarthWatts 650W PSU - 80Plus Certified 12cm Fan 3x 12V Rails
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141006

Of course any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks a huge amount in advance.

Everyone here has been a great help.


----------



## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

This would be a better choice for the PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514

Otherwise it looks like a great build and I think you'll love it. :grin:


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

See i was going to originally go for that but a friend told me that it had only 1 rail...whatever that means. Does the amount of rails make a difference?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

For a HD4890 I would want a 750TX.


----------



## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

One +12V rail is better. The cheaper PSU makers like to tout multiple rail units like they're some great thing for the consumer, when they actually make compatibility harder to figure out, it's harder to tell just how much power is getting where unless you know which rail powers what. It's basically cheaper to make a multi-rail PSU than to make a single rail PSU, so the manufacturer benefits and you get screwed. The high-end makers tend to make mostly single rail units and only offer multiple rails on their lower-end models. The Corsair unit I linked to is very nice, I have the 750w version and it's working flawlessly.


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

So will the 650W be enough or just to be safe go for the 750W?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134677


----------



## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Either will work fine, but if you have the extra $20 you might as well get the 750w for future upgrades.

EDIT: Whups, or whatever the price is in Britain. :grin:


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Like £20 

Thanks alot mate, all been great help.


----------



## Stokey (Apr 21, 2009)

Now that i've got my build together i was wondering if anyone had any advice about this monitor. 

Samsung SM2433BW 24" TFT Monitor 1920x1200 20000:1 300cd/m2 5ms VGA/DVI Glossy Black 3 Years Warranty: 

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150970

Is this a good monitor choice for designing and playing games?

If anyone has other suggestions then please share them.

I'm sorry if i've posted this request in the wrong section but i thought its better than statring a new thread.

THanks alot


----------

