Trying to piece together a budget build PC

So many numbers, brands, letters and designs. They certainly don't make it easy for first time buyers. I'd have thought it would be the intention to keep it as simple as possible.
 
If you wanted to be super cheap you could always go with AMD Fusion
 
Ok, so I've compiled a list here of proposed parts for my PC. It's not finalised by any means, and I still need to find a GPU, but this is what I'm looking at.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...t+F3+SATA-II+3.5"+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...nel+Kit+-+F3-10666CL7D-4GBXH+?productId=46062

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...s+Silent+ATX2.2+Power+Supply+?productId=39798

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...hetic+Silver+Thermal+Compound+?productId=9573

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...er+Hyper+212+Plus+CPU+Cooler+?productId=39577

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...A1155+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43216#rqc

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=44075

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...k+Edition+Midi+Tower+Chassis+?productId=45676

Sandybridge processor - expensive, but among the best there is so I'm told. I know I said I had a budget, but that can be relaxed slightly as I won't be building this until later this year, when I can hopefully get some parts for Christmas and my birthday. Of course, I will be funding the largest part though.
 
Because more energy consumption = higher energy bills?

Well, thats negligible to be honest. Even the most power hoggish computer wont up your bill by that much. You'd save far more money moving your thermostat down 5 degress if thats your concern.

Secondly, if one is so short of cash that they have to try and save 5 bucks (or less) a month on their electricity bill, then why would someone even be buying computer parts? :confused:

Perhaps I should mention that, as a benchmark, I'm using games such as Shogun 2: Total War. My current PC can easily handle games like Portal 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout and S.T.A.L.K.E.R, but more intensive games such as Shogun is what lets it down. Perhaps I should also say that I am still on XP, and I can only manage DX9. Obviously my new PC will have Windows 7 as an OS (which I can get legally off my friend, for free. :D) How much effect will the leap to DX11 make?

Maybe if you listed what you have in your current PC and what resolutions you game at, we can help you even more by some specific upgrade recommendations.
 
Well, thats negligible to be honest. Even the most power hoggish computer wont up your bill by that much. You'd save far more money moving your thermostat down 5 degress if thats your concern.

Secondly, if one is so short of cash that they have to try and save 5 bucks (or less) a month on their electricity bill, then why would someone even be buying computer parts? :confused:

I don't know, I wasn't the one asking.



Maybe if you listed what you have in your current PC and what resolutions you game at, we can help you even more by some specific upgrade recommendations.

I have 3GB RAM, 8800GT and a 2.20 dual core processor. I run at a resolution of 1920x1080.
 
Ok, so I've compiled a list here of proposed parts for my PC. It's not finalised by any means, and I still need to find a GPU, but this is what I'm looking at.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...t+F3+SATA-II+3.5"+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...nel+Kit+-+F3-10666CL7D-4GBXH+?productId=46062

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...s+Silent+ATX2.2+Power+Supply+?productId=39798

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...hetic+Silver+Thermal+Compound+?productId=9573

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...er+Hyper+212+Plus+CPU+Cooler+?productId=39577

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...A1155+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43216#rqc

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=44075

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...k+Edition+Midi+Tower+Chassis+?productId=45676

Sandybridge processor - expensive, but among the best there is so I'm told. I know I said I had a budget, but that can be relaxed slightly as I won't be building this until later this year, when I can hopefully get some parts for Christmas and my birthday. Of course, I will be funding the largest part though.

Intel's stock coolers have improved, and unless you plan on doing some overclocking or you want a silent computer, there is no need to buy an aftermarket cooler. Since this is a budget build I think that's one way to save money and time in building. Also if you don't plan on having two video cards you can usually save money on a cheaper motherboard with only one PCI-E express slot.

That power supply is questionable. In any power supply you want the vast majority of power supplied by the 12V rail. Cheap PSUs try and circumvent this by supplying more power from the 3.3 and 5V rails to inflate their rated power supply, and it looks like that is what that PSU is doing. I would also invest in an 80 Plus certified PSU as those are more energy efficient and conform to stricter standards.

Also your PSU in the case you have selected is mounted in the bottom, and the case only comes with one 120mm fan. To have proper air flow you will need another fan in the back exhausting out air, preferably near the top of the case. (In the picture it looks like the single fan is in front.) Also sometimes bottom mounted psu cables to not reach motherboard connectors adequately, so make sure the cables are long enough and pay attention to comments on mobos dealing with connector placement (or look at pictures to see where things are).
 
I'd upgrade unless you know a friend who will give you a free dual core at about 3.2 ghz. Otherwise you might get a few more years out of your old setup with a video card upgrade.

The I-series mobo you suggest sounds super-durable. Going ATX is a good idea since you probably won't be replacing the mobo anytime soon and will probably add in other cards at a later date. Which makes want more PCIe slots. Also I can't see the board layout exactly so I'm not sure if it's really roomy enough. Remember that most video cards take up about 2 PCIe slots. You should spend the most time researching the motherboard since when you need to upgrade/replace it you'll have to rebuild your PC all over again.

I would upgrade your case to a Full size. That makes building it and routing cables a much easier task; it also lets you improve the shape of the interior air flow which will make it cooler overall. Yeah midi's might look prettier and are a little more portable, but you should be stashing your PC under a desk or corner table, so you won't see it anyway. I say this having upgraded my case size, myself.


And not sure that an I5 will really need a cooler upgrade as the stock Intel ones are usually adequate; Intel doesn't try to be cheap on the stock cooler usually. Unless you will be doing extreme overclocking (be sure the mobo supports it) don't bother. You'll know after you build if you have a cooling problem, and can get the after-market fan then. I've never needed an aftermarket fan in the past 4-5 builds I've done.
 
Bigger case, scrap the cooler. I'm not planning on overclocking or any of that jazz, so unless my new PC warns me, I'll give the cooler a miss.
 
Yeah just download RealTemp or SpeedFan and monitor your temps after your build. If your temps are high then you need to make some adjustments but if you install everything properly you should be fine. But again, read some reviews on whatever PSU you choose as a bad PSU will really ruin your day.
 
I have 3GB RAM, 8800GT and a 2.20 dual core processor. I run at a resolution of 1920x1080.

Kick your rez down a notch, turn off AA/AS and shadows and you can probably play almost any game out adequately right now. Or at least you should be able to with that video card. Might be useful to buy yourself some more time for prices to come down a bit more, or to save up some more cash for even better upgrades. Tweaking video game settings is a fun and fairly harmless way to get familiar with what toggles what effects and what it does to your framerates. No harm in it at all as you can always just hit the default option key to go back to the factory settings.
 
Ok, so I spotted a full size case on aria.co.uk: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...ARD+Black+Full+Tower+Chassis+?productId=46223

Quite expensive, but will it be worth the money? Especially since it comes bundled with fans.

Buying individual fans separate isnt expensive, and often the ones you buy are better than the generic ones in a case. Just something to consider. Myself, I wouldnt pay more than 50 to 75 bucks for a case (with no power supply), and you can generally find some very good budget ones that are more than able to keep a non-overclocked CPU cool. Find a good one that has a larger side fan, front fan, top fan and rear fan, and you got all the basic covered. Also, do some research on how you want the fans to blow, that is have a plan for how you envision the flow of air to go thru and over the components in the case. If all you do is have every fan blow into the case with no fan to pull the air out, its not going to be that efficient at cooling the box.
 
Buying individual fans separate isnt expensive, and often the ones you buy are better than the generic ones in a case. Just something to consider. Myself, I wouldnt pay more than 50 to 75 bucks for a case (with no power supply), and you can generally find some very good budget ones that are more than able to keep a non-overclocked CPU cool. Find a good one that has a larger side fan, front fan, top fan and rear fan, and you got all the basic covered. Also, do some research on how you want the fans to blow, that is have a plan for how you envision the flow of air to go thru and over the components in the case. If all you do is have every fan blow into the case with no fan to pull the air out, its not going to be that efficient at cooling the box.

Trying to figure out if airflow in a specific case is good for cooling is really difficult for most end-users. One of the best cases I've ever used (Silverstone Fortress 2) has 3 120mm intake fans and only 1 output fan - best bet is probably looking at reviews/comparisons on good hardware sites.
 
SilentPCReview does really good ones, although they don't update very often. TechPower Up has a database that links to other third party reviews for almost every product out there.

I've been reading about this for a while the past 2 weeks, researching my own possible small form factor PC build which has quirky air flow issues. Basically in a regular sized case, without overclocking you can actually get by with one or two rear exhaust fans in the back (near the top of the back, near the CPU) sucking in air through the case and creating airflow over the CPU and mobo. Like this. Many cases today add a front intake fan to aid in this process. Some add another exhaust fan above the CPU on the top of the case. You can get by with fans just in the front and back on your average build. But a case with more mounting options for fans is always good if you run into problems.

The PSU also acts as a rear exhaust in many cases but this is not ideal. Many cases include side vents that allow the GPU to intake cool air from outside also.

But if you buy a decent case, don't worry about it. As Zelig said read some reviews and buy something decent and odds are it will work out fine. 99% of PC users never have to worry about cooling, it is more an issue for people pushing their hardware or trying to pack high power components in a smaller space.
 
I'd rather play it safe than be sorry, but I'm not looking to push my equipment to the very limit. Basic vemtiliation will be required but nothing extravagant.
 
I like Asus, they're usually well thought out boards and come with good support. There is a large community of users out there also which is always helpful.
 
My friend recommended a Nvidea GeForce GTX 560Ti. He said this was a high end card last year, and is half the price now of what it was.

I would recommend getting a MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II, it's a factory overclocked version of the 560ti built with more durable materials.

It can easily and safely be overclocked even further if you need even more performance for some weird reason. :)

Compared with the standard 560ti cards (and most if not all "stock cooled" high end gaming cards) it runs very cool and quiet.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/01/27/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-1gb-review/1
 
Ok, so I spotted a full size case on aria.co.uk: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...ARD+Black+Full+Tower+Chassis+?productId=46223

Quite expensive, but will it be worth the money? Especially since it comes bundled with fans.

I like the Coolermaster HAF series (My latest build is in one). They come in a couple of different pricepoints with different features.

E.g. http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...Full+Tower+Chassis+w/+USB3.0+?productId=33726

I think you can get one as cheap as $60, at least on Newegg.


EDIT: I'd hand pick the power supply also. I avoid buying case-powersupply kit unless the maker is well known for both.


IDK about the fans. You can spend quite a bit of change on Scythe fans if you really wont to try to mini-max air flow and noise levels, or you can go cheap with traditional fan designs, at which point the case better make it clear what quality of fans you get if they charge you an arm and a leg. I wouldn't pay more than $100 for a plastic case, personally. For much more than that, I'd expect machined aluminum, but I feel plastic is best overall (lighter).
 
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