Building Computer (Approx £1500) [Archive]

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 08:47 PM

I'm in the mood for building a computer, don't want water cooling because I'm lazy and I like *ambient* noise. I want advice for parts because I'm normally terrible at picking them myself.

Rough spec I want:

CPU: Sandybridge ~3.3Ghz
HDD: 3x 1TB 7200rpm to be RAIDed
SSD: 120 GB (With nice read writes)
RAM: 16 GB (4x4GB)
Graphics: Something around £20, don't mind which brand
Motherboard: Needs to be sandybridge (Obviously), handle six drives and RAID 5 for at least three drives.
Case: EATX for convenience, pretty much settled on http://www.ebuyer.com/product/240814
Optical Drive: Any DVD drive really, I'd prefer a known good brand so it works well
Keyboard: Wired, no need to be special but I like ergonomic and prettyness, I like the razer one
Additional Case fans: 2x 200mm to fill up the remaining fan slots on the case, because why the hell not
Power supply: Enough to support this and future expansions (I guesstimated 850w but it's probably lower, known brands only because I don't want to fry my parts)
W7 HP OEM 64bit: Not much choice here... http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173791

What I built as a quick price guesstimation:
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6412/buildbm.png

The Sennheisers are there because I need a decent headset and for listening to music, they make decent headphones therefore by process of elimination they make good headsets (At least for listening, I don't care how good I sound).

AgnesIO

27-05-2011, 08:58 PM

Having a look for better stuff for you. Also you could probably save money buying some parts at eBuyer and some elsewhere. I recommend Overclockers UK - really good website.

16GB RAM seems overkill - massive overkill. So does 3000gb hdd space.

Take a look at SSD's - perhaps one to put your OS and core programs on. Also for that sort of money, personally I would expect a bluray drive.

Recursion

27-05-2011, 09:03 PM

1. 620w PSU will be more than enough
2. Why skimp out on the graphics card?
3. What kinda RAID?
4. 16GB RAM is massive overkill, what on earth do you plan on doing with it? A £20 graphics card is going to bottleneck the whole system
5. You say you like ambient noise, ditch the 2 200mm fans
6. Why the i5 2500k? You could easily get a i7 2600k (?)

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 09:06 PM

16GB RAM seems overkill - massive overkill.
8GB seemed underkill :/

So does 3000gb hdd space.
It's 2TB with RAID 5, most of it will be HD quality video, I already have 500GB accumulated over two years, planning for the future.

Take a look at SSD's - perhaps one to put your OS and core programs on.
I have one on the test build and in my desired specs list, I thought about the 500mbps read/write version but I thought that was a bit much, but only £80 for x2 speed over the one I picked... hmmm.

Also for that sort of money, personally I would expect a bluray drive.
It's a gaming PC, not a media PC though. Besides, no ones gets physical media any-more and I have a PS3 next to my desktop, if I did get some actual BluRay films. It just still seems like a waste of money too me.

I recommend Overclockers UK - really good website.
Yeah, I went for just ebuyer because it was easier to do quickly. I might look at different sites if there's any significant price drop.

1. 620w PSU will be more than enough
2. Why skimp out on the graphics card?
3. What kinda RAID?
4. 16GB RAM is massive overkill, what on earth do you plan on doing with it? A £20 graphics card is going to bottleneck the whole system
5. You say you like ambient noise, ditch the 2 200mm fans
6. Why the i5 2500k? You could easily get a i7 2600k (?)

1) Thought so :/
2) Well, I don't mind going for more, I'm just really out of the loop at the moment in terms of graphics cards
3) RAID 5, I don't want to lose 2tb of data at any point really.
4) No idea seemed a good idea at the time, perhaps I'll run vista with it's recommended spec? You're right, I'll dump the cash into graphics instead, I was being dumb.
5) Why? It makes the case cooler, all the reviews I've read say so.
6) I think it was like £60 more or something for just 0.1Ghz and hyperthreading, if you think it's worth it then sure.

AgnesIO

27-05-2011, 09:11 PM

8GB seemed underkill :/

It's 2TB with RAID 5, most of it will be HD quality video, I already have 500GB accumulated over two years, planning for the future.

I have one on the test build and in my desired specs list, I thought about the 500mbps read/write version but I thought that was a bit much, but only £80 for x2 speed over the one I picked... hmmm.

It's a gaming PC, not a media PC though. Besides, no ones gets physical media any-more and I have a PS3 next to my desktop, if I did get some actual BluRay films. It just still seems like a waste of money too me.

Yeah, I went for just ebuyer because it was easier to do quickly. I might look at different sites if there's any significant price drop.

1) Thought so :/
2) Well, I don't mind going for more, I'm just really out of the loop at the moment in terms of graphics cards
3) RAID 5
4) No idea seemed a good idea at the time, perhaps I'll run vista with it's recommended spec? You're right, I'll dump the cash into graphics instead, I was being dumb.
5) Why? It makes the case cooler, all the reviews I've read say so.
6) I think it was like £60 more or something for just 0.1Ghz and hyperthreading, if you think it's worth it then sure.

6GB would be fine, 8GB is the most you realistically should consider.

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 09:12 PM

6GB would be fine, 8GB is the most you realistically should consider.

Thing is, recently on my 6GB I have now I've started edging out to 5GB used when I've got multiple games running.

AgnesIO

27-05-2011, 09:14 PM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-061-OE&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=1801

Still 4gb more ram in

---------- Post added 27-05-2011 at 10:14 PM ----------

Thing is, recently on my 6GB I have now I've started edging out to 5GB used when I've got multiple games running.

Because you play multiple games at once.

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 09:18 PM

Oh, that's pretty nice. I also don't have to OC it myself. It's still about £50 more for what I have now (With less RAM) though and the mobo on that is overkill, ASUS deluxe editions are complete ripoffs.

Because you play multiple games at once.
I kind of have too, since at one time I'll be running EVE and mining, sorting some stuff on my garrysmod servers (Involving having gmod open and remote desktop open) and then I might also be playing a youtube video or a casual game at the same time (Like Terraria or minecraft).

Recursion

27-05-2011, 09:21 PM

The P8P67 motherboards are good boards, but they've had a lot of issues, so I'd look around overclock.net or something to make sure they've been sorted.

On a gaming PC I'd expect to pay between £150 - £250 for a graphics card, personally, which would easily max out today's games.

AgnesIO

27-05-2011, 09:22 PM

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 09:27 PM

The CPU is more what I was looking at - I believe they overclock CPU's by themselves too - which is good :)
Yeah the CPU was pretty damn impressive. But the rest seemed extortionate.

Edit: *drools* http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-071-OC&tool=3 review says Windows 7 desktop in 9 seconds, I'm liking that.

N!ck

27-05-2011, 10:18 PM

Yep, go for an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD. I have a Vertex 2E and it's epic, the Vertex 3 is is even better.

I've kept the extra stuff and case that you wanted. Try to go for RAM rated at 1.5 V or less, which you had chosen but there is only 1 in stock.

http://i52.tinypic.com/154fus6.jpg

Similar system from Aria without the peripherals. Gone for 2 x 2TB HDDs for RAID 1 as it's cheaper. I currently have one of these 2 TB drives and it's fantastic. Thinking about building a NAS containg a few of them.

http://i51.tinypic.com/k2eb13.jpg

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 10:52 PM

Yep, go for an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD. I have a Vertex 2E and it's epic, the Vertex 3 is is even better.
I saw the read/writes the other day and severely wanted it, also it supports SATA-III and the other doesn't so it's a no brainer really.

Gone for 2 x 2TB HDDs for RAID 1 as it's cheaper. I currently have one of these 2 TB drives and it's fantastic.
They would be cheaper, they're Caviar greens, the cache on those is only about 16mb so it makes more sense to go for the Caviar blues. I wouldn't go for a 2TB drive since rebuilding a RAID array would take ages. Also, would it make sense to order a spare 1TB for a hot-swap?

I just did an update to the build I had implementing the suggestions, I reduced the RAM, added the Vertex 3, reduced the PSU, increased the CPU and changed the motherboard to the pro version of the one N!ck suggested since it was cheaper than the non-pro version. The graphics card on there is now just a place holder for the one on Aria. I still need to add a non-stock CPU fan, I'll probably just add the one N!ck used.

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/5863/buildo.png

Edit: Quite a few of these components are looking much cheaper on Aria, I'll keep them all in ebuyer for now so I have a working list and when I'm down I'll look around for cheapest place to buy, also +rep to all who have replied :)

ben

27-05-2011, 11:37 PM

rv02 sick case

Agnostic Bear

27-05-2011, 11:38 PM

http://i.imgur.com/q2OPY.png

Please change the following items, they are all worthless and horrid.

Chippiewill

27-05-2011, 11:49 PM

Please change the following items, they are all worthless and horrid.

The Case I've only seen good reviews for and it's useful when fitting parts (Loads of attachments and the like are tool-less, I know it looks like one of those tacky wannabee cases but there's loads of useful parts to it), it's really good for cooling too.The keyboard I'm not really bothered about but I want a wired one that's partially ergonomic and doesn't look dumb. The Sennheiser headset is mainly for listening to music with, they make good headphones so it'll do it's job.

Agnostic Bear

28-05-2011, 12:45 AM

they make good headphones.

No they don't. I recommend Audio Technica A700 or AD700 or some of the AKG headphones, they are all boss.

AgnesIO

28-05-2011, 10:05 AM

No they don't. I recommend Audio Technica A700 or AD700 or some of the AKG headphones, they are all boss.

Yes they do.

N!ck

28-05-2011, 10:12 AM

I saw the read/writes the other day and severely wanted it, also it supports SATA-III and the other doesn't so it's a no brainer really.

They would be cheaper, they're Caviar greens, the cache on those is only about 16mb so it makes more sense to go for the Caviar blues. I wouldn't go for a 2TB drive since rebuilding a RAID array would take ages. Also, would it make sense to order a spare 1TB for a hot-swap?

I just did an update to the build I had implementing the suggestions, I reduced the RAM, added the Vertex 3, reduced the PSU, increased the CPU and changed the motherboard to the pro version of the one N!ck suggested since it was cheaper than the non-pro version. The graphics card on there is now just a place holder for the one on Aria. I still need to add a non-stock CPU fan, I'll probably just add the one N!ck used.

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/5863/buildo.png

Edit: Quite a few of these components are looking much cheaper on Aria, I'll keep them all in ebuyer for now so I have a working list and when I'm down I'll look around for cheapest place to buy, also +rep to all who have replied :)

The motherboard you have changed to is micro-ATX. I would go for a full size board.

Also, if you want 8 GB RAM I'd buy it as 2 x 4 GB rather than 4 x 2 GB so you can upgrade easier in the future.

Agnostic Bear

28-05-2011, 11:25 AM

Yes they do.

No they don't. I guarantee it.

AgnesIO

28-05-2011, 11:28 AM

No they don't. I guarantee it.

All I can do is talk from personal experience. In which case: yes they do.

Chippiewill

28-05-2011, 11:51 AM

The motherboard you have changed to is micro-ATX. I would go for a full size board.

Also, if you want 8 GB RAM I'd buy it as 2 x 4 GB rather than 4 x 2 GB so you can upgrade easier in the future.

Oh, that was dumb. And yeah, the price is basically the same so I guess I may as well.

Agnostic Bear

28-05-2011, 03:37 PM

All I can do is talk from personal experience. In which case: yes they do.

You have no decent headphones to compare them to. They're piss poor for anything other than dullmusic.

AgnesIO

28-05-2011, 03:40 PM

You have no decent headphones to compare them to. They're piss poor for anything other than dullmusic.

Because you know me? Lets me be honest here, everyone has an opinion about things - and from what I have heard from them they are absolutely fine, and good headphones (especially for the price many of them are available at.)

What exactly is 'dull music' to you?

Technologic

28-05-2011, 04:20 PM

Get some sennheiser HD 595's.

They're the bomb.

Chippiewill

28-05-2011, 05:09 PM

You have no decent headphones to compare them to. They're piss poor for anything other than dullmusic.

Sorry, I refuse to call headphones with ubermegalolzorepic bass on them headphones.

Jordy

28-05-2011, 06:24 PM

Whilst Sennheiser sound quality isn't too bad for its price, the build-quality is piss poor and I'd sooner buy fake chinese headphones off eBay as they'd be more reliable. Sennheisers simply don't last, I've been through like 5 or 6 pairs (Finally given up) and they don't last for more than 6 months, sometimes less than that. The build-quality is total ****, yes Sennheiser has a good name but their cheap stuff is no bargain or miracle sound quality, you pay for what you get and it really isn't much.

And no I couldn't care less if you tell me a story about how "your" Sennheisers have lasted for years as you've just been lucky.

AgnesIO

28-05-2011, 06:43 PM

-Sweex

28-05-2011, 10:07 PM

DO NOT! Get the razor lycosa! I have it and everyone who has it has problems with the touchpad etc. The touchpad randomley goes haywire and starts opening loads of programs as if your pressing the buttons. And sometimes the lights go out completely on the whole keyboard. Because of the anti ghosting sometimes random keys stop working all together and you have to unplug it and plug it back in to solve it. Its not just me - look on google.

Jordy

28-05-2011, 10:10 PM

Was that last bit aimed at me? :P If so, I have only had mine for six months.Aha it was just in general to anyone who advocates Sennheisers. They must be on their last days haha, any day now :P

AgnesIO

28-05-2011, 10:13 PM

Aha it was just in general to anyone who advocates Sennheisers. They must be on their last days haha, any day now :P

I reckon my pair will last longer :L

Only because I never bring them outside my house, as I only use them if people are asleep, or I am playing keyboard or something.

Jahova

28-05-2011, 10:41 PM

Speaking from an audio engineers point of view, Sennheiser do produce brilliant headphones (when you pay a premium for them, the cheaper ones are ok but you get what you pay for).

Obviously, there are other headphones that are on par, however, using a price : build quality : sound quality ratio, the best headphones which are commonly used by music producers in studios around the world are the Sennheiser HD-25 II (http://www.sennheiser.co.uk/uk/home_en.nsf/root/professional_headphones-headsets_headphones_502188). The headphones cover all frequencies (16hz+ which includes the lowest basses) and provide a clear, crisp and all important flat sound (no EQ). (Also, the availability of parts for the headphones is a plus - each part is detachable and replaceable).

Obviously, they are not gaming headphones, but I thought I would give a neutral perspective on headphones in general.

Firehorse

29-05-2011, 12:49 PM

You can save a lot of money in a number of small places. E.g. buy the OS from here http://www.software4students.co.uk/Windows_7-software.aspx

Agnostic Bear

30-05-2011, 06:41 AM

Because you know me? Lets me be honest here, everyone has an opinion about things - and from what I have heard from them they are absolutely fine, and good headphones (especially for the price many of them are available at.)

What exactly is 'dull music' to you?

Dull music: Flat pop.

I don't need to know you, I do however know that because you're calling Sennheiser better that you haven't used decent headphones.

AgnesIO

30-05-2011, 09:45 AM

Dull music: Flat pop.

I don't need to know you, I do however know that because you're calling Sennheiser better that you haven't used decent headphones.

Love how you ignored Jahovas post.

Jahova

30-05-2011, 10:21 AM

Love how you ignored Jahovas post.
;)

I would also like to highlight that the following sentence: "Obviously, there are other headphones that are on par," should be: "Obviously, there are other headphones that are on par, or are even better" :)

Recursion

30-05-2011, 10:38 AM

Speaking from an audio engineers point of view, Sennheiser do produce brilliant headphones (when you pay a premium for them, the cheaper ones are ok but you get what you pay for).

Three words: Skullcandy and Beats.

Your point is now invalid.

Chippiewill

30-05-2011, 12:12 PM

Three words: Skullcandy and Beats.

Your point is now invalid.
Well, actually in those cases the money isn't spent on the sound quality, it's spent on dressing them up.

hamheyelliot

30-05-2011, 12:27 PM

I love how the entire thread has turned to the most non-essential item on the list. :(

Chippiewill

30-05-2011, 12:44 PM

I love how the entire thread has turned to the most non-essential item on the list. :(
Slightly frustrating that it's the only thing that people care about... Could people stop talking about the headphones because they weren't really up for discussion in the first place.

GommeInc

30-05-2011, 01:25 PM

Slightly frustrating that it's the only thing that people care about... Could people stop talking about the headphones because they weren't really up for discussion in the first place.
To be fair, they are a bit subjective, it was bound to happen :P The other items like RAM, HDD, Graphics etc. should all work to your specified price range, the headphones were bound to cause a stir as people have different ideas of what a good set of headphones should cost :P Is there anything else you need to know about what's actually going in your computer?

Agnostic Bear

30-05-2011, 06:22 PM

Love how you ignored Jahovas post.

I don't need to answer a ridiculous post. Sennheiser are a ride-on-reputation brand and have been for a very long time. The headphones he quoted are small and worthless, they look ugly and would likely produce bland, boring sound due to (what i assume to be) a minuscule driver.

Also @Jahova shame on you for recommending sennheiser at all, that's almost (almost) worse than recommending bose.

Chippiewill

30-05-2011, 08:53 PM

You can save a lot of money in a number of small places. E.g. buy the OS from here http://www.software4students.co.uk/W...-software.aspx
They appear to only offer upgrade versions there.

I don't need to answer a ridiculous post. Sennheiser are a ride-on-reputation brand and have been for a very long time. The headphones he quoted are small and worthless, they look ugly and would likely produce bland, boring sound due to (what i assume to be) a minuscule driver.

Also @Jahova shame on you for recommending sennheiser at all, that's almost (almost) worse than recommending bose.
It's a shame the only suggestion you can make is over the Sennheiser's, coincidentally the only thing not up for discussion. Especially when you were very helpful last time I built computer. You've changed.. for the worse.

Is there anything else you need to know about what's actually going in your computer?
Nothing in particular, just general improvements/refinements.

Current build for those interested:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/8607/builder.png
and
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/XFX+ATI+Radeon+6950+2048MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=44532 - £199

Just from a brief look I've some of the parts cheaper on Aria, although only a few pounds each.

Jack!

30-05-2011, 08:57 PM

You can do a full install from just an upgrade, read it up, you have to do a few 'tweaks'

Chippiewill

30-05-2011, 08:58 PM

You can do a full install from just an upgrade, read it up, you have to do a few 'tweaks'

Naturally entirely legal as well.

Jack!

30-05-2011, 09:06 PM

Naturally entirely legal as well.

Makes no difference, your still using the same code? As long as you have a legal code what's the problem?

N!ck

30-05-2011, 09:16 PM

Looks fine to me. You need an aftermarket cooler so you can overclockkk.

Chippiewill

30-05-2011, 09:38 PM

Looks fine to me. You need an aftermarket cooler so you can overclockkk.
Damn, keep forgetting to add that, thanks for the reminder.

Edit: This look fine? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157

Firehorse

30-05-2011, 10:35 PM

Damn, keep forgetting to add that, thanks for the reminder.

Edit: This look fine? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157

Thats one I used to use, works great and is nice and quiet. (Bit of an annoying clip if you ever plan to disconnect it from the board again). The pre-applied thermal compound on it is also very good.

Recursion

30-05-2011, 10:44 PM

Damn, keep forgetting to add that, thanks for the reminder.

Edit: This look fine? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157

Two words, Push. Pins.

Stay away xo

Agnostic Bear

31-05-2011, 06:57 AM

It's a shame the only suggestion you can make is over the Sennheiser's, coincidentally the only thing not up for discussion. Especially when you were very helpful last time I built computer. You've changed.. for the worse.

I didn't suggest changing things other than the headphones. Nope. Definitely didn't. You totally read the entire thread. Yep. Totally. Good job.