Final build ~ Ordering next week!

[Jahova]

Hey there, just a progress update from me on my quest to build a custom PC. My mother has now said that I can order and build this PC after my final exam which is next friday, so I can't wait!

Next, I want to share my final build with you and I need YOUR help on choosing a graphics card for my build. I'm not a hardcore gamer, if I'm honest, I would like to be able to play games like the Call of Duty series of games and that's about it. I would also like to be able to watch HD movies on my PC, so it needs a HD connector for my HD monitor / TV.

Scroll down for the 4 graphics cards I have found. They all look similar but there are probably small differences between them, which could make one better than another. Also, my budget for this build is £501, but I can go slightly over if I have to (£20 max tbh).

Here is my build as of 09/06/09 ~
Case ## £20.00 ## - Piano black tower case.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150289

Processor ## £200.00 ## - AMD Phenom II X4 3.2Ghz black edition
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164047

Motherboard ## £52.00 ## - ASUS HDMI GeForce 8300 AM2+
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145753

DVD-RW ## £16.00 ## - LG 22X SATA DVD±RW/DL/RAM
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151999

PSU (600W) ## £45.00 ## - Arctic Power 700W PSU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124927

Hard drive (500GB) ## £40.00 ## - Samsung HD502HI 500GB GREENDRIVE
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164274

GPU (Graphics Card) ## £40.00 ##
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161559 SOLD OUT!

Memory (RAM) ## £40.00 ## - OCZ 4GB DDR2 1066MHz Gold Memory
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149202

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### Total of eBuyer: £416.00 (INC P+P) ##############
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Processor cooler ## £24.00 ## - OCZ Vendetta II
http://www.amazon.co.uk/K%C3%BChler-CPU-OCZ-Vendetta-Sockel/dp/B00168ZE7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243177153&sr=8-1

##########################################
Case fan (220mm) ## £9.00 ## - Akasa, el cheapo
http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Akasa-220mm-AK-F2230SM-CB-Crystal-frame-&-rotor-5-Blue-LED-Fan_6320.html

Case fan (120mm) ## £7.00 ## - Akasa, el cheapo
http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Akasa-120mm-Crystal-Blue-frame-&-rotor-w-4-Blue-LED-Fan_1786.html

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## Total of Overclock £18.00 (INC P+P) ##############
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So overall the current total is £458 out of £501, meaning we have potentially £43 to spend on a GPU. So comment and critisize, flame me for having three threads and suggest me a graphics card, here is the two I found:


http://www.ebuyer.com/product/153214 -
Sapphire HD 4650 512MB with 1GB HyperMemory GDDR3 VGA DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161314 -
Sapphire HD4350 1GB DDR2 DUAL DVI HDTV PCI-E Graphics Card

Any other HDMI suggestions are welcome, now get searching people =)

[Wootzeh]

I'd get a cheaper CPU and leave more to spend on a better GPU if it was me :S

[Jahova]

I'd get a cheaper CPU and leave more to spend on a better GPU if it was me :S
My build is about me learning and also I'm hoping it will last and be upgradeable for the future. I don't play PC games, I'm an xbox player, you see, so I thought a really good GPU wouldn't be needed.

Also, the list of the two I found, quite cheap, is at the bottom of my first post.

[N!ck]

What is the need for a HDMI port? You can convert DVI to HDMI which is what I do on mine. The sound of course runs through my computer as DVI only outputs an image, not image and sound like HDMI.

[Jahova]

Because I'm using a TV which only has HDMI (I think) to connect to. Anyway, some GPU suggestions would be nice from you guys.

[N!ck]

Because I'm using a TV which only has HDMI (I think) to connect to. Anyway, some GPU suggestions would be nice from you guys.

Yes, and what I'm saying is you can get a DVI to HDMI cable. From my experience with a computer HDMI port (it was a HDMI port build into the motherboard) the quality was crap. It should be fine with one of these graphics cards though.

[Jahova]

Which one should I go for, the 512MB DDR3 or the 1026MB DDR2?

[N!ck]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/153214 easily the best out of the two.

[Jahova]

Thank you. I now cannot wait until next friday, and then 5 days of that because that's when everything should arrive. Now it's time to watch a load of 'how to build a custom pc' videos, to make sure I get the correct idea.

[Recursion]

Nvidia did some great video tutorials on building a PC

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_diy_videoguide01.html

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_diy_videoguide02.html

[Mentor]

I may be wrong but that PSU only appears to have 1 sata power cable? Seeing as your useing the sata cd/dvd driver + sata hdd that could be a problem?

[N!ck]

I may be wrong but that PSU only appears to have 1 sata power cable? Seeing as your useing the sata cd/dvd driver + sata hdd that could be a problem?

You can convert molex to sata. Motherboard usually comes with an adaptor.

[Mentor]

You can convert molex to sata. Motherboard usually comes with an adaptor.
I knew you could adapt, but never know they bundled em with mobos :p
Useful to know :)

[Jahova]

You can convert molex to sata. Motherboard usually comes with an adaptor.
Does that mean you plug it into the molex and then it has an end to plug into a SATA plug instead?

[N!ck]

Does that mean you plug it into the molex and then it has an end to plug into a SATA plug instead?

Yes...

[Jahova]

Great. Sorry if I seem annoying with the questions, keep in mind, this is my first build ;)