Enquiry for a new PC?

Do you guys think this NZXT M59 is a good case?

If it is will it fit all of these components:

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55A
G.Skill Trident 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB
Corsair 450W VX Series PSU
Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB

That case should do nicely. I am personally an Antec guy, I have the Antec 900 and couldn't be happier. The NZXT M59 is $40 less though, and it's reviewed quite positively. The included fans are rated to 42 CF/M, so I think you should be fine for heat as well, especially without OC.

Ok guys

Heres the system i am planing to build:

NZXT M59(case)
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55A
G.Skill Trident 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB
Corsair 450W VX Series PSU
Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB

Total: £626.90

I currently own a dell studio 1555 laptop.
The system above is £627 without a monitor, ideally i wouldent wont to go past the £700 mark. So that means i would have to wait to buy i monitor.

While i was searching the net yesterday i found a awsome deal.
Which i think is better than the system above:

http://www.techspot.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=61778&stc=1&d=1277032622

I`m looking at the one which on the right side which includes a monitor.

To me this sounds like much better system for the money in price as the system is £609.
Heres diffrent versions of the systen:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/business/4x_vostro_430/fs.aspx?refid=4x_vostro_430&s=bsd&cs=ukbsdt1

Do you guys think i should buy this one over the one i am thinking of building.
Also i would like to know if the system with the monitor includes a better processor, than the one i am thinking of building.

Thanks

Well, you would be getting a much better processor, but the reason it is much cheaper problem revolves around two things: The case is going to be Dell, which often times means you won't have much room to mess around with things later. The other item that is a huge difference is the graphics card. Here are the specs for the included card for the Dell:

GeForce G310 -- Core Speed: 589MHz, PFR: 2,356 MP/s, TFR: 4,712 MT/s, Mem speed: 500 MHz, Mem bandwidth: 8 GB/s, Mem bus width: 64-bit

ATI Radeon 5770 -- Core Speed: 850MHz, PFR: 13,600 MP/s, TFR: 34,000 MT/s, Mem speed: 1200 MHz, Mem bandwidth: 76,8 GB/s, Mem bus width: 128-bit

In other words, the GPU you have chosen for your home build destroys the one they will put in your Dell, and even if you paid the extra £120.00 for the better card in their machine, it still won't touch the 5770. So, the monitor is a nice add, but not worth sacrificing your GPU for. Your build is still a much more capable machine for that price range, even though you don't get the hyper-threading i7.

This also isn't mentioning the decrease in hard drive space (500GB vs 1TB), memory speed (1600 down to 1333), etc. I think there are some places you could trim a little cost off here and there on your personal build to leave a little more leeway for a monitor, but it's a far more capable machine as it currently stands.

The reasons for going with the Dell come down to an included monitor, slightly better processor w/ hyperthreading, a name-brand warranty, and included license for Windows 7 Professional.

The reasons against going with the Dell include an extremely downgraded GPU (nowhere near the same ballpark), slower RAM, less hard-drive space by 50%, and a potentially less flexible case.

As for a monitor for the remaining £70, I'm not sure what the premium is across the pond, but a 15" can be had for about that on this side. If you're wanting something with a little more real estate, I would suggest an Acer 22", but that's going to cost you closer to $165, or £112.

Sorry this is a long post, but I thought I'd give you as much detail as possible to show you the pros and cons. I've always been an advocate of getting in there and putting a PC together. I've been building PCs since I was 10 or so, and it's become a hobby I really enjoy. I'm sure many folks on here will be happy to answer any questions you have along the way.

Hey there. I'm a new member so TechSpot won't let me send PM's yet, so I'll reply here.

Let me start off by saying this: your current configuration resulting from this thread is probably a very good start. I think it's more than adequate. I would say that the advice given in this forum has been pretty spot-on. I think in your budget, the system you have picked out will be close to maximizing bang for buck.

I think if you throw in a 15-22" monitor with this system for £70-112, you'd be golden. I have used Acer's cheap monitors for years and for basic use and even gaming, they're great. They may not have the best color accuracy and consistency, but for the price you can't complain.

I used one of the original Intel Quad Cores up until a few months ago when I got the chance to upgrade (for fun, not out of necessity). I'm a enthusiast photographer and videographer, and had done a considerable amount of video editing and rendering on that system, and the i5 750 is going to be more powerful than that. I think your current selection would be awesome.

Having said all that, if you want to trim off a little money and there, see the points that follow:

The motherboard you have chosen may be slight overkill, but is probably relatively future-proof since it includes the USB 3.0 ports. I'm a tech enthusiast (who spends far more than I should to satisfy my gadget envy) and I don't even have USB 3.0. For the i5, there are several boards that could shave off around $30 (~£20). I would suggest looking at the Intel BOXDH55HC, for ~£20 less than your current selection. Trimming off some of the features (like more than one PCI Express 2.0 x16 port or less max RAM support (16GB vs 32GB, which the average user will never get close to) can save you a few bucks here and there. This Intel motherboard has onboard graphics (which you won't want/need since you'll have a graphics card) so there may been even slightly cheaper options. I'll send you anything I run across.

The graphics card (ATI 5770) is on par with what I've been gaming with up until recently as well, so it should handle casual gaming very well, and is probably one of the best choices in that price range. That being said, you might be able to find some cards that are slightly cheaper, but not without sacrificing quite a bit of performance. I suppose a close to same performance would be an Nvidia GTS 250 which would cut another ~£20-30 off your price tag. I'd probably stick with this choice, but if you can get an XFX branded 5770 for a similar price, they have a double lifetime warranty. EVGA is my other favorite brand for GPUs.

There may be slightly cheaper options for RAM, such as OCZ's Gold RAM (or any OCZ RAM is typically good), which I use and it runs great. It was the cheapest option a few months ago when I built this machine.

As for the discussion regarding SSD's for your budget, I think CPU/GPU take priority over the SSD, and since getting a monitor in is going to be tight anyways, I think a 500GB - 1TB HDD would be just fine. Even smaller, but 500GB and 1TB are the sweet spot for the lowest cost/GB. Just my .02 USD.

Another thing that you (may) have overlooked is an optical drive. Perhaps you have an old one, or don't need one, but you probably want a DVD+/-RW for video editing. They're cheap, around $25 or £17, so nothing too incredibly expensive. Also, ensure you get a SATA drive and not a PATA drive. Easy mistake to make.

You may also need a Windows license, which aren't necessarily cheap. I'm not sure what your operating system of choice is, but that is something to consider in the pricing.

I did take a quick look at various brand names, and they unfortunately offer a lot less customization for your location, so I would say building your own is still the best option price-wise to maximize performance.

I know this message was kind of all over the place but I think most of the info is pertinent, and hopefully it helps and doesn't simply muddy the waters. If you have anymore questions, please feel free to ask. I'm more than happy to help. Please do let me know what you end up ordering when you decide as well, and hit me up with any questions you have regarding the construction and installation of everything.

Very good detailed explanation, you seem to have good general knowledge in this sector.

Could you recommend me a system to build for £630?

I know you mentioned my current system I am thinking of building is “a very good start”, but I would like to her your thoughts and opinions on building a system for my budget.

Thank you

Ok Guys

I don’t have a good knowledge when it comes to buying a DVD Burner.

Could you guys help me out by choosing one for me?

I want the DVD Burner to include the fowling:

A real fast speed and write.
A big buffer.
A support for +R/RW and -R/RW.
Dual or double or single layer support.
The ability to support bluray.

If you could find all of the points a mentioned above in a DVD Burner for £50.00

Thats called a blue ray drive...and adds a huge cost.
Do you mean blu ray burner or reader?

Ok maybe not blu ray if it has huge costs.

I want burner that is future proof and includes all the points a mentioned previously.

Can any one suggest one?

Cheapest Blu ray Burner

The cheapest Blu-Ray burner I have found is S140, or ~£95.

You can get a Blu-Ray reader for around $60, or ~£40.

If you just got the reader, you can get a DVD+/-RW drive for ~$25, or ~£17. The NZXT M59 should accommodate both of these drives. However, if you ever are pulling max power, you may need a slightly larger PSU.

Again these prices reflect those in the US. I'm not sure what the prices are like across the pond. I'm working on responding to your other post; I'll get it to you ASAP.

Ok mabye not a blu ray drive.

You said

Can you recomend a better powersulppy?

For £55

Not really...but if you want you can get the corsair 550 for about 5 - 10 USD more.

I don’t have a good knowledge when it comes to buying a DVD Burner.

Could you guys help me out by choosing one for me?

I want the DVD Burner to include the fowling:

A real fast speed and write.
A big buffer.
A support for +R/RW and -R/RW.
Dual or double or single layer support.
The ability to support bluray.

If you could find all of the points a mentioned above in a DVD Burner for £50.00

I've run into this problem before. The setup he has currently is "rated" at a max pull of ~438W, give or take. Add any significant number of peripherals and you can get some crazy behavior from pulling too much power. I had this happen a few months back, and it took a while to diagnose. For hardly anything more, it's probably worth the wiggle room.

Again, just my .02 USD.

Like my earlier post mentioned, the cheapest I could find for that functionality was the Blu-ray reader for £40, and the DVD burner for £17, which puts you at £57. That's the cheapest option I found.

Usually, it'll just turn off/blue screen.
Corsair 450 is a high quality power supply with exceptional ampers.

As for a DVD drive, they're all about the same.
I personally like pioneer drives.
but you can get the asus or lite-on drives for cheaper, albeit a couple dollars USD.

Computer Suggestion

Okay, again this is pricing on this side of the Atlantic. I'm not sure what the premiums are over yonder, or what shipping would be, so I left a little lee-way:

Case: NZXT GAMMA (great reviews for great price) - $29.99, or £20.20
Case cooling: 4 IPCQueen 120mm Fans - $14.76, or £9.94
CPU: i5 750 2.66 GHz Quad-core - $199.99, or £135.69
Motherboard: Intel BOXDH55HC LGA 1156 - $94.99, or £64.12
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB 2x2GB 1600MHz - $89.99, or £60.74
GPU: XFX Radeon HD5770 - $159.99, or £108
PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 550W - $69.99, or £47.14
HDD: WD Caviar 250GB - $44.99, or £30.30
DVD Burner: Asus DVD+/-RW - $22.99, or £15.48

Total: $727.68, or £491. This does not include a few rebates, but again I'm not sure if they're international or not.

If you want a Blu-Ray burner, swap the DVD Burner for this:

LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner - $139.99, or £94.99

which brings the total to $847.69, or £572.22

I would suggest not going for the Blu-ray burner just yet, since prices are going to continue to fall. If you don't that leaves you with £139 to get a monitor with.

Add an Acer V24eHAJbd 24" LCD for $209.99, or £142, and you'll come to a total of $937.67, or £632.96. There are smaller, cheaper options for monitors, but you know that. This leaves ~£70 for shipping, or added premiums for local companies to stick under your £700 budget, and you end up with a great computer.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

I've often found that some of my SATA devices just don't receive power, so aren't recognized. It only freezes when this happens on my system drive. Anyways, I like having a bit of power leeway, so in my suggestion above, I put a OCZ 550W.

PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 550W - $69.99, or £47.14
HDD: WD Caviar 250GB - $44.99, or £30.30
DVD Burner: Asus DVD+/-RW - $22.99, or £15.48
Case cooling: 4 IPCQueen 120mm Fans - $14.76, or £9.94

Thanks for these components.

But the ocz fatality 550w is a modular power supply. That means i would have to buy cables. Can you recomend one which is a non-modular power supply for the same price and voltage?

Also can you give me links to buy these components:


HDD: WD Caviar 250GB - $44.99, or £30.30
DVD Burner: Asus DVD+/-RW - $22.99, or £15.48
Case cooling: 4 IPCQueen 120mm Fans - $14.76, or £9.94

No it doesn't.

Thats not really necessary.

the 500gb hdds should really be the same price, you may as well.

Sorry, i'm not well qualified to present links for europe...

Nice idea but unfortunately there's no way you would get those prices in the UK. an i5 750 is about £160, mobo and RAM are both about £80.

Regarding the DVD burner, I personally would not bother with Blu-ray (unless you watch a lot of movies on your PC), just get the cheapest or whatever is on sale, there's not much difference between DVD drives nowadays.