First time budget build, need advice

[jplex]

Ok so this is going to be the first PC that I have built, Im trying to build a budget gaming PC and after reading loads of articles i've come up with a list of hardware but I need some advice on PSU , Case and heatsink / cooling

So my budget is about £500 and am buying form aria.co.uk or ebuyer.co.uk
Here is the list of components soo far

Processor = AMD Phenom II X2 Black edition @ 3.2GHz
Mobo = Asus M4A79XTD Evo AMD 790X
GPU = MSI HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 (Going to Crossfire in future when more Gfx needed)
HDD = Standard 500GB Sata hard drive
CD/DVD = Standard 24x CD/DVD RW sata connector


So as for RAM, I know that I want DDR3 and probably 1333 Mhz as it is in my budget range, what I dont understand is whether I want "unbuffered" ram or "1.5v" ? What does this mean?

As for PSU, I have looked and looked and am still lost in the woods. Any recommendations for a Good value PSU that will power this system

CPU heat sink - Is it necessary to Buy a custom heat sink or will the stock heat sink do ?

Finally I am in need of a cheap gaming case that will keep my system cool but I don't want to spend much on it! Any Recommendations?


Thanks in advance
Josh

 

[Ritwik7]

How much are your abobve components adding up to? Based on that we could recommend the remaining stuff.

 

[jplex]

£350 so far aiming to spend £500 at most!
Thanks for quick reply!

 

[Ritwik7]

These would be a good buy:

Corsair CX Series 400W ATX2.2 Power Supply- £42.29
Patriot Viper II "Sector 5" 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz - £93.99
Antec Three Hundred Gaming Midi Tower Case - £43.46

Total - £179.74

It does exceed your budget by a little bit. The only possible compromise is the case. You could hunt for a cheap one that would house all your components. Or you could sacrifice 2GB of RAM.

 

[Route44]

Okay, Rit beat me by seconds.


What X2 are you considering?

If you are not overclocking there is no need to purchase a heat sink

The 1.5v is the voltage required for the RAM. This is set by the motherboard. There are times though when the motherboard does not set it correctly and so you need to go into the BIOS to change it manually. Perhaps this is too much information at this time, so we'll cross that proverbial stream if we even need to.

Look to the CoolerMaster mid-towers. Great prices and some really well made cases.

IMO I would up your video card to at least a 5770.

@ Rit - School over friend? Hope you did well. A good Corsair should do him fine. What do you think?
Well I do fully agree with the Corsair.

 

[Ritwik7]

@ Route - Yes. College over. I think the OP is considering the Phenom II X2 550 BE (Callisto) CPU. The 550 BE can achieve pretty decent overclocks on the stock HSF.

 

[jplex]

Thanks for all the advice.
As for the ram the only thing that confused me was the fact that one of the sets had the description "Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit Unbuffered" the other at the end just said "Memory Kit 1.5v"

The processor is the Phenom II X2 555 not the 550, the 555 has a clock speed of 3.2 Ghz while the 550 is at 3.1. Also I have read that some 555's can be unlocked to quad core and essentially they are the Phenom II X4 with 2 cores locked. but if the unlocking doesnt work it wont bother me that much.

Also just been doing some browsing and came across this. what do you think ? ... ebuyer.com/product/192207 cant post hyperlink yet

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

As for the ram the only thing that confused me was the fact that one of the sets had the description "Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit Unbuffered" the other at the end just said "Memory Kit 1.5v"

Thats fine...

The case comes with a powersupply, and not a good one so, I would say no. If you can find the case individually...

 

[jplex]

What do I need to look for in a "good" Psu ? Also wont I need more than 400W if I decide to Crossfire ?

 

[red1776]

whatever you land on for choices make sure the MB has the 750 or better southbridge, and if you want to unlock cores, make sure you get a black edition CPU. and yes you will need a 550w for crossfiring a pair of 5750's.
as far as what to look for in a PSU, a quality brand like Corsair, and the total amperage on the 12v rails. The Corsair 550w has 41A on a single 12v rail. That will serve your proposed rig and give you headroom for OC'ing and crossfiring if you choose.

 

[jplex]

just checked and the mobo that i posted above the ( Asus M4A79XTD Evo AMD 790X) has the 750 southbridge! so i think that'll be fine, its also got plenty of room for 2 GPU's !

 

[Ritwik7]

For Crossfire you'll need to pick something like the Corsair 550VX at least. However, that will exceed your budget by quite a bit.

What's the price difference between the X2 550 and 555. If it's anything significant then go with the cheaper alternative. The cores on the 550 can be unlocked too.

 

[jplex]

Price difference is about £7 so I think ill go with the X2 555! but thanks decided to go for this PSU I think "ebuyer.com/product/190751"

 

[Ritwik7]

Never heard of that brand. If it's not a reliable one then it will cause problems in CF. It has 35 Amps combining the dual 12V rails compared to 41 on a single rail in the Corsair 550VX.

 

[red1776]

BeQuiet seems to review rather well.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviewdb/PSUs/Be Quiet!

 

[Route44]

Price difference is about £7 so I think ill go with the X2 555!

Yes, that is an excellent choice.