My first build advice needed

[BOBBANKBOY]

Hi guys

Over the last few weeks I've been thinking of doing a custom built PC, so I'm asking for some sound advice as I am not aware what manufacturers are the best and how reliable their equipment is.

The set up I am thinking of doing is based around the i5 650 processor.

Motherboard: Asus P7H55-M.
CPU: Intel i5 650.
RAM: 4gb
Optical Drive: ?? (not sure what are the best drives)
HDD: 500gb or 1Tb
Case: Cooler Master Elite 335
PSU: Corsair 450 or 500 watt
OS: Windows 7, not sure if it needs to be 32 bit or 64 bit

Please can you point me in the right direction if this is wrong.

Thanks in advance for all help given.:thumb:

[Pancake]

Just get the cheapest optical drive, i dont even have one.

Good choice on PSU's

Get 64 bit windows

Think about a small drive for OS and then a bigger one for storage.

[alexnifty]

You going to be gaming? Needs a graphics card if so :) Those GTX460 are pretty smoking by all accounts, might need to get a beefier PSU though.

[NickCPC]

It's always a bit daunting with your first build, so well done for joining and asking for a bit of help :)

The two biggest questions we need answering when helping someone spec a PC is 1. what do you want to do with it? Gaming, video editing, general browsing, watch Blu-Rays, create a film collection, create a low-noise PC, create an overclocking monster... you name what you plan to do with it, we'll come back with suggestions! The other thing, 2, is budget which obviously has a big influence over what we recommend!

Let us know the answer to those two questions and we'll help tailor your rig as best as we can. Welcome to Aria!

[Broadsword1976]

Good choice on PSU's

Get 64 bit windows

Think about a small drive for OS and then a bigger one for storage.

+1 to all of that (+3?)

If you're starting with a Corsair you won't be going too far wrong with the rest of your build imo.

As Sean says, a smaller drive for your OS - the Samsung 500Gb F3 is a great drive at a great price.

As long as you're not hard-core gaming the Mobos' on board GFX will be adequate for browsing/streaming/media but if you want to play the latest and greatest games then a seperate graphics card would be in order.
Good luck.

[BOBBANKBOY]

Hi guys

Over the last few weeks I've been thinking of doing a custom built PC, so I'm asking for some sound advice as I am not aware what manufacturers are the best and how reliable their equipment is.

The set up I am thinking of doing is based around the i5 650 processor.

Motherboard: Asus P7H55-M.
CPU: Intel i5 650.
RAM: 4gb
Optical Drive: ?? (not sure what are the best drives)
HDD: 500gb or 1Tb
Case: Cooler Master Elite 335
PSU: Corsair 450 or 500 watt
OS: Windows 7, not sure if it needs to be 32 bit or 64 bit

Please can you point me in the right direction if this is wrong.

Thanks in advance for all help given.:thumb:


This build won't be used as a hardcore gaming machine, the only game I'm probabily going to play on it is Football Manager, so the pc has to be able to handle the following
Internet & E-Mail
Watching Movies/TV
Playing Games but not an avid gamer
Writing Documents/ scanning doc's/Burning DVD's or cd's
Listening to Music & sync ipod

and allow for any upgrades in the future without scrapping to much of the build, the current pc is what i call a mass built and is starting to show its age some time i could do the following to the pc :fail

[clemos]

Can't see the need for a drive for the OS and another drive for storage. You could just get a cheap graphics card, something like http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/XFX+ATI+Radeon+HD+4650+1024MB+DDR2+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=34725

[BOBBANKBOY]

cooling fan for processor??

[BOBBANKBOY]

which one do I need

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Software/Operating+Systems/Microsoft+Windows+7+Home+Premium+64-Bit+-+OEM+?productId=38272

or

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Software/Operating+Systems/Microsoft+Windows+7+Home+Premium+English+Retail+Ve rsion+32+Bit+%2B+64+Bit+?productId=37595

I'm confused

[zaz]

If you have one eye on future upgrades, get a bigger PSU as its likely you will add a GPU. You wont need more than 4gb ram or so the common consensus seems to be, the F3 500g is a great drive for an OS, might be worth chucking a 1TB on there for data etc.

Win7 64bit the only way to go, i believe retail sales come with both versions anyway.

[sibeer]

If you are aiming not to buy a separate GPU and are not planning to do a heavy overclock of your system then AMD offer far better built in graphics solutions. You will also find that a 400W Corsair is plenty to run most systems until they get the top end GPUs in there.

[sibeer]

https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/qpSEFL_ZR2pcwDYRmhSj_A,,

There is a basket set up here. If I was buying a general use machine for the next few years, this would be a better way to spend your cash.

1. Quad processor will be used more as time goes by.
2. AMD AM3 Mobo has much better graphics onboard for games and has one eye to the future with USB 3 and SATA 6Gbs.
3. SSD Drive will make more difference to the general feeling of speed for most day to day use than any other component.
4. Large and cheap storage drive to chuck any downloads on.
5. Pioneer drives produce much better burns in my experience so are sell worth the extra £5.
6. 400W Corsair is more than man enough for this system, even if you add a decent Graphics card and some more drives at a later date.

[sibeer]

This build won't be used as a hardcore gaming machine, the only game I'm probabily going to play on it is Football Manager, so the pc has to be able to handle the following
Internet & E-Mail
Watching Movies/TV
Playing Games but not an avid gamer
Writing Documents/ scanning doc's/Burning DVD's or cd's
Listening to Music & sync ipod

and allow for any upgrades in the future without scrapping to much of the build, the current pc is what i call a mass built and is starting to show its age some time i could do the following to the pc :fail

Also worth mentioning that the AMD systems are better for movies / TV as they are better at helping the system decode HD and will also bitstream HD audio over HDMI to a receiver if you go for surround sound in the future.

Basically I reckon Intel is were it is at for the serious gamers and overclockers, but for a general use system the AMD ones are far better value for many people :thumb:

[Pancake]

http://green.cx/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/combo-breaker-2.jpg

[sibeer]

http://green.cx/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/combo-breaker-2.jpg
I tend to post and then if I am still thinking I post again, then again, then again, etc, etc. Some would call it spam, but combo breaker is far nicer :thumb:

[wonderlust]

I tend to post and then if I am still thinking I post again, then again, then again, etc, etc. Some would call it spam, but combo breaker is far nicer :thumb:

There's always the edit key ;)

[BOBBANKBOY]

Is the "turbo technology" used in the i5-650 the same as overclocking?

[sibeer]

Is the "turbo technology" used in the i5-650 the same as overclocking?

The turbo technology acts like a small overclock done by the system when it feels necessary. You will normally achieve a much better manual OC if you are up for tinkering.

[BOBBANKBOY]

Finally commited to building the pc, it was reallly fun and interesting as I never it this sort of thing before, now I can enjoy using the pc again!